INDIANAPOLIS — In the shadows of the Indianapolis City-County Building, Bike Indianapolis advocate Chris Holcomb was somber as he rang a bicycle bell 81 times.
“It just keeps going and going and going," explained Holcomb.
Each ring of the bell represents a traffic fatality that occurred in Indianapolis over the past year.
"It's really difficult to think about,” Holcomb said. “The purpose was to take some time to pause, to remember those who we've lost to road traffic crashes this year in Indianapolis.”
Early Sunday morning, an 82nd person was killed after a hit-and-run on Kessler Boulevard.
Bike advocates hope vigils like this can lead to further action from the city.
"The best thing we know to do is to be here together and to try to make changes in the future.”
In attendance was Jakob Morales, an avid Indianapolis cyclist. He has always warned others about hit-and-run accidents. Last month, he became part of one.
"By the time I realized what was happening, I was on the windshield," Morales explained.
He hopes by sharing his story, he can spark change.
"We see beautiful cities all around the world that have this figured out," Morales said. "I think this is attainable, and I think we should fight for it.”
Advocates hope this fall's passing of Vision Zero, a city-wide initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, is the first step.
WATCH | City-County Council looks to address pedestrian safety with "Vision Zero" initiative
“Vision Zero action planning is just beginning," explained Holcomb. "We're calling for a traffic safety triage fund, at least $8 million, that may not be enough, to be able to respond swiftly and immediately to the high injury locations in the city where we've already identified that crashes are occurring.”
More resources on bike safety are available on the Bike Indianapolis website.
