Increasingly I'm seeing more Ghost Bikes appear beside London's most congested and traffic prone junctions. Yesterday (Thursday October 27th) another was placed on the junction of Kings Cross station where fashion student Deep Lee tragically lost her life earlier this month. Her death came in a week when two other women were knocked off their bikes in the same area. It stories such as this which make me question whether the London community is doing enough to protect cyclist's.
The crashes in recent weeks around the Kings Cross area and Ms Lee’s death have led to cycling campaigners pledging to do all they can to prevent yet another tragedy. Fuelling their anger is the fact that TfL, which is responsible for road safety, failed to implement recommendations made in a report dating back to May 2008 regarding safety at the Kings Cross junction. You can't help but think this death, like others, could have been avoided if the required safety measures were installed.
It begs the question whether the London streets are safe enough to ride without fear. I believe for the seasoned cyclist possibly, however my concerns surround the casual, relatively new cyclists to the London streets. I know from riding around the city streets everyday, I feel as is cyclist's are becoming moving targets on London streets. Sharing the congested London roads with motorists requires expert navigation at times. Like cyclists, motorists aren't going anyway, fact. As cyclists we may want to convert everyone and their granny to pedal power, however in a city like ours we have to understand its not a visible concept in practice. Secondly many have become overly reliant and accustomed to their beloved gas guzzlers.
Cycle Superhighways
The installation of the cycle superhighways have certainly been a great addition to the London cycling community, however they can't be considered the solution to cycling safety within the capital. A man aged in his 50s earlier this week became the first cyclist to die on one of London’s Barclays Cycle Superhighways. The incident bears some of the all-too-familiar elements of a London cycling fatality, with a tipper lorry involved, and taking place at a busy junction. The cyclist died during Monday rush hour on the Bow flyover roundabout in East London. The junction is yet another in London that has long been viewed as a danger spot for cyclists and pedestrians alike. In a compelling blog piece posted a couple of days back, local blogger Diamond Geezer said “the Bow Flyover roundabout is a bloody disgrace, both for pedestrians and cyclists". Even with Bow's newly installed floating towpath, constructed at a cost of £2.4m which enables cyclists and pedestrians to pass underneath the roundabout in perfect safety it only benefits those traveling North-South, at a junction where the major traffic flow is East-West.
A solution to a growing problem
I firm believer education needs to begin with us, the cyclist, and continue with motorists and the general population in general. Safety initiatives by the TFL such as introducing safety mirrors and launching an awareness campaign highlighting the dangers to cyclists of riding up the inside of lorries go some way to improving our safety standards amongst cyclists. By the end of the year, TfL will also have rolled out an “on bike” safety training course for lorry drivers in the capital, and an HGV cycle safety guide on the internet. All positives towards the growing problems surrounding cyclist safety.
The solution isn't to remove motorists from our roads, but to install systems which enable us to ride safely alongside them. Whether the motorists or the bicyclists were at fault is irrelevant next to the stark fact that any time a collision like Ms Lee's occur, the person on the bike comes out on the losing end of the impact. While bones and scrapes can heal, it’s often head injuries that result in death or serious injury, which can be prevented most times with the use of a bicycle helmet. In fact, three-quarters of all cycling fatalities involve head injuries. No surprise that many consider given recent incidents in the city, perhaps it’s time to revisit the helmet law. The current argument is adults should be able to make up their own minds whether to wear a helmet.
While there is some legitimacy to this argument, times are changing. More people are converting to cycling as their primary form of transportation throughout the city, whilst roads are becoming more congested. Just as seat belts are mandatory in cars for obvious safety reasons, maybe it’s time to take the same approach for helmet usage on bicycles.
A Cycling Revolution
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s promised “Cycling Revolution” in the capital appears to be well and truly under way. The launch of initiatives such as the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme and Barclays Cycle Superhighways, is encouraging more people to take to two wheels for their daily travel needs. Its astonishing to think well over half a million journeys are made by bicycle in London everyday. On one hand this is great news, however on the other hand the fear element associated with cycling has to be tackled in order to make our cycling community a safer more enjoyable environment for all.
