On Friday, July 18, West Hollywood came together at Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street for a vigil honoring Blake Ackerman, the 26-year-old cyclist killed in a hit-and-run on July 10. Following a ghost bike installation on July 16, the event, organized by Streets for Everyone and the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition, ended with a march to City Hall to urge better street safety.
At the vigil that evening, attendees wore Hawaiian shirts at the request of Ackerman’s family, according to a Streets for Everyone. The group then marched to City Hall, calling for protected bike lanes after the tragedy on Fountain Avenue. Authorities arrested Douglas Morton Adams, 73, in connection with the hit-and-run, a rare moment of justice. With roughly 40,000 hit-and-run crashes yearly and only 1 in 5 cases solved, tens of thousands of drivers are escaping justice every single year.
Streets for Everyone called the event a step beyond mourning, framing it as a commitment to improved infrastructure.
With a GoFundMe campaign raising over $160,000 for Ackerman’s family, the community continues to focus on preventing future losses. A petition launched by Erin E. on Change.org is urging West Hollywood officials to install a red‑light camera at the intersection of Fountain Avenue and Gardner Street. Supporters are encouraged to sign and share the petition before the July 28 meeting, when Erin E. will formally present it to the Public Safety Commission.
And a petition for Lauren meister to resign given her history of anti-safer streets.