Cyclists unveil 'wall of death' memorial at London road safety protest

 
Protest: members of the Stop Killing Cyclists group
2 April 2014

Cyclists today unveiled a “wall of death” memorial as they called for road safety to be a priority in the local and European elections.

A total of 56 cyclists have been killed in London since the last town hall elections in 2010, including bus depot manager Kevin Lane in Woodford Green in February and retired teacher Michael Mason last month after a crash in Regent Street.

Today the protest group Stop Killing Cyclists said that only three boroughs had installed segregated cycle lanes in the last four years - Ealing, Camden and Waltham Forest - as a protest was held outside Westminster City Hall.

Banner: number of road deaths are shown (Picture: Ross Lydall)
Ross Lydall

Freedom of information requests to all 33 councils also established that only four - Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Hounslow and Waltham Forest - plan to introduce Dutch-style segregated lanes next year.

Report author Will Nickell said: "This research for the first time exposes the lethal failure by the vast majority of London's boroughs to invest in Go-Dutch standard segregated safe-cycle lanes."

Councils spent £795,000 on segregated lanes over the four-year period. Thirteen boroughs - including Barnet, Richmond and Kensington and Chelsea - said they had no segregated lanes. About 270 pedestrians are estimated to have died over the period.

Donnachadh McCarthy, co-organiser of Stop Killing Cyclists, which was launched after six cyclists were killed in a fortnight last November, said: "Every one of the 56 cyclists killed on London's roads over the last four years is a tragedy, but it is also important to note the thousands of other deaths from the failure to provide a safe unpolluted cycling and walking environment.

"Londoners should ask every candidate in May#x2019;s local and European elections if they will support 10 per cent of their transport budget to be spent on segregated cycle-lanes."

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