5,000 cyclists protest for better safety on London's roads after spate of deaths

 
Protests: Up to 5,000 cyclists took to London's streets yesterday
Lindsay Watling3 September 2013

Thousands of cyclists brought central London to a standstill as they called on the mayor to give them more space following a spate of deaths.

Around 5,000 riders, including families of victims and injured survivors, took part in the protest last night which was the third of its kind organised by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC).

Guided rides from 20 different areas across the capital and individuals - armed with bells, hooters, stereos and “space for cycling” flags - joined forces in the shadow of the London Eye at Jubilee Gardens before snaking their way to Parliament Square where MPs were debating the Get Britain Cycling report.

At the front of the colourful three-mile long parade was wheelchair-bound John Hartley, who broke a leg and arm in a crash with a 4x4 in Holborn five weeks ago.

Protest ride: London's streets were swamped with cyclists yesterday

The 65-year-old, from King’s Cross, who worked in computing but is now retired, urged Boris Johnson to spend some of £386million he promised over the remainder of his term earlier this year on new infrastructure so cyclists could be kept separate from other traffic.

“Some space has to be taken away from motor vehicles and given to cyclists. Some of the traffic would evaporate as more drivers turn into cyclists,” he said.

Also at the event was biomedical scientist Debbie Dorling, 52, from Hounslow whose husband Brian, 58, a cyclist of 40 years, was killed by a construction lorry on the cycle superhighway in Bow on October 24, 2011.

The driver David Cox has since pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for a year.

Mrs Dorling agreed “the only way” to stop the fatalities was to create a physical barrier between the cyclists and motor traffic.

She said: “It’s good to see the politicians starting to listen as they hold the power and the purse strings. To just brush it under the carpet and say ‘London is an old city’ as in the past, isn’t acceptable. Solutions have to be found.”

Great and small: A protester rides a penny farthing during the demonstration

As well as investment in infrastructure, for Lucy Pearson, 25, who shattered her right arm and dislocated her wrist earlier this year when an overtaking car hit her from behind near Aldwych, it is as much about changing the city’s mentality as policy.

The TV producer, from Angel, who now has a piece of metal and six pins in her arm, added: “We have just as much right to be on a bike as in a car. People need to realise that.”

Alongside the victims was London Assembly member and former deputy mayor Jenny Jones, who became the first Green to be appointed a peer last month.

“We’re here to show we are a force to be reckoned with. We hear a lot about the money being spent but it’s not enough and it’s in too few places. We want more money and we want it now,” she said.

Fourteen cyclists were killed on the capital’s roads last year, compared to 16 in 2011, according to Transport for London figures. A further 657 were seriously injured, up from 555 in 2011.

This year, six cyclists have died in London, most recently Dr Clive Richards who suffered a suspected heart attack after a collision with an HGV in Archway, north London, last month.

The LCC is calling for London-wide 20mph speed limits in residential streets, at least £10 to be spent per head on cycling, the separation of cyclists from traffic on main roads and at junctions and a more sustainable approach to policy-making.

Other demands include setting out timetables to upgrade Cycle Superhighway 2 to international standards of cycle tracks along its entire length and for the creation of the central London BikeGrid of safe routes in Zone 1.

LCC chief executive Ashok Sinha said: “We urge the mayor of London and prime minister to show the leadership qualities needed to make this happen.”

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