City Desk got the scoop on Friday that the ghost bike memorial for Alice Swanson — who was killed over a year ago after she was struck by a vehicle near the intersection of Connecticut and R Street NW — had been removed by the D.C. Department of Public Works.

One has to wonder: why? The very purpose of a ghost bike is that it remains in one spot in perpetuity, to serve as a constant reminder of how fragile life can be, the importance of bicycle safety on the streets, and of course — like all memorials — draw those passing it to think about what happened. The ghost bike certainly accomplished that; there were many times when I found myself explaining the sad story to visitors.

Perhaps it’s too much for us to expect the city to care, but removing a non-obstructive memorial remembering the death of a young person without notifying their family and friends — and then placing the ghost bike down the street — seems especially callous. Mayor Fenty and his administration might be building all sorts of shiny, expensive new facilities for the District, but he’d do well to keep the simple, meaningful things, like Swanson’s remembrance, in tact. In its place is a small bouquet of flowers, which Swanson’s aunt placed at the site yesterday.

“Why has the Mayor taken the bike?” a note amidst the flowers asks. Why, indeed.