SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – To drive on the busy Shelburne Rd., cyclists have to squeeze themselves into four lanes of car traffic, and it was along the road that cyclist Sean Hayes of South Burlington died after being hit by a police cruiser.
To memorialize Hayes and bring awareness for cyclist safety, the group “Vermonters for People-Oriented Places” placed a “ghost bike” – a bike spray-painted white.
“You get out of Burlington, and that infrastructure quickly falls away going into Winooski and at times going down to Shelburne. We’re hoping that the towns work together to bring a more interconnected cycling network through the area,” said Evan Gold from Vermont People-Oriented Projects.
Over a dozen fellow cyclists showed up to pay respects and speak out about dangerous biking conditions in the city.
Gwen Donovan and Ryan Doyle are neighbors from South Burlington, but only Donovan biked to the location.
“I chose not to have a car, and I’m saving the environment for the children, for the grandchildren. I don’t get too much credit for that, though, because the drivers keep trying to kill me. They really don’t do it intentionally, but very distracted drivers,” said Donovan.
Doyle says the roads are so dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians that he wears a headlight even when he walks at night.
“I hear a lot of people say that Burlington is not like the rest of Vermont, and I would disagree with that. I would say that South Burlington, Essex Town and Williston are not like the rest of Vermont. Vermont has nice rural lands that are spread out around small, compact developments. I grew up in the city of St. Albans, we used to have trolley cars,” said Doyle.
Doyle attends meetings every week in an effort to make his community safer.
“I go to the Council, the Planning Commission, the Bike-Ped (Bicycle & Pedestrian) Committee, the Safe Routes to School (Task Force) Committee, which to get the council to support that was like pulling teeth.”
He says he’ll keep showing up until he sees the change he and his community need.