‘All cyclists want to do is live’: Vancouver memorial ride highlights bike safety after deadly crash

Dozens of people joined a memorial bike ride through Downtown Vancouver Sunday, in honour of a 28-year-old man who was killed earlier in the week and to highlight the issue of bike safety in our cities.

Agustín Beltrán, a first-year economics PhD student at UBC, was killed on Wednesday when a dump truck collided with his bicycle at Pacific and Hornby streets around 7:45 a.m.

The Vancouver cycling community is invited to ride with the family and friends of Agustín Beltrán who died while cycling this week. We are meeting on Hornby Street in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery at 11.00 am on Sunday and riding around Stanley Park. + pic.twitter.com/67R9TVbBba

— Lucy Maloney (@Lucyincanada) July 2, 2022

Organizers of the event have said the ride “is not a protest,” adding it was a way to show Beltrán’s family support in the wake of the tragedy. It was also a ways to stress the urgent need for better road conditions for all.

“Some are angry that our leaders are still not providing safe infrastructure for people who want to get around outside of a car. There’s a lot of vulnerable road users out there, not just cyclists,” said James Glave, one of the many who took part in the ride Sunday.

“Our environment, our cities are very much designed just to prioritize driver convenience above all else. That needs to change otherwise we’re going to keep seeing tragedies like this time and time again. There needs to be profound change to the infrastructure. We don’t need more signage and we don’t need people wearing neon vests — we need to make it so it’s impossible for this kind of a tragedy to happen again.”

Glave and others would like to see a more expanded network of protected bike lanes across the city and beyond.

“You have to combine that with a lot of education, awareness, and training for the actual drivers themselves,” explained Kevin Schwantje, an event volunteer.

“In reality, all cyclists want to do is live. We don’t want to be hurt, we don’t want to die. We just want to be safe trying to get from point A to point B.”

Ride organizers note the memorial was organized at Beltrán’s parents’ request, adding the family was flown in for the weekend.

This ride is not a protest ride but a chance to show our support for his family and reflect on the need for safer road conditions for people #walking and #cycling.

Please consider coming out to show your support for Augustin's family, who have flown in this weekend.

— HUB Cycling (@WeAreHub) July 2, 2022

In a statement posted Thursday, Dr. Patrick Francois, UBC professor and director of the School of Economics, wrote about Beltrán’s passing, saying his death has “shocked and devastated” the community.

“This is a tremendous loss for the UBC community and our tight-knit PhD program. We extend our deepest sympathies to Agustín’s family, friends, and peers. We share in their grief today, and in the days to come,” his statement reads, in part.

He notes the university has reached out to students to provide support and counselling services, as needed.

Anyone with information about the fatal crash is asked to contact the VPD at 604.717.3012.