Bicycling Community plans for a vigil and short bike ride to raise awareness

Members of the bicycling community are gathering at 6pm on Wednesday, April 10th, to hold a vigil for James Mills and call for safer streets. A ghost bike will be installed at Liberty and Stanwix, where the crash occurred. For nearly two decades, Ghost Bikes have become a worldwide movement and symbol that provides a street-side memorial to people who died while riding their bicycle.  

Mills, 67, was bicycling on Stanwix St in Downtown Pittsburgh on March 26, 2024 when a truck driver struck him at the intersection of Liberty Ave. He died five days later of his injuries. Despite the high volume of biking, walking, and transit users, this gateway to downtown also serves as a ramp for a number of highways placing it on the City’s High Injury Network in need of safety improvements.

His death comes just weeks after Mayor Gainey and Pittsburgh City Council passed a Vision Zero Resolution, in which the city committed to ending traffic fatalities and serious injuries.  A core tenet of Vision Zero is that our city needs to look beyond individual blame, and look towards holistic changes that keep Pittsburghers safe. Due to the Vision Zero initiative, the City released a High Injury Network Map revealing that this section of road is included. This map will help guide where they will focus safety improvements to correct road designs of our car-oriented past.

Between 2010 and 2022, we have lost 245 Pittsburghers to traffic violence, 64 of whom were walking, with another eight people who were riding bicycles, comprising roughly a third of all traffic fatalities. 

Humans make mistakes. At the core of the City’s new Vision Zero commitment is that, with good planning and infrastructure, these mistakes won’t cost someone their life.

The vigil is being organized by Pittsburgh Bike Jam, an informal collective of bicycle riders. It will start at 6pm, include a series of speakers, and resume with a bicycle ride around Downtown Pittsburgh. The ride will end at Stanwix & Liberty following the route of James Mills’ final ride.