Cyclists plead for better protection from vehicle attacks on ALL roads in London

Police stand at the barrier where the car crashed yesterday
REUTERS
Alexandra Richards15 August 2018

Cycling campaigners today said more needs to be done to protect bike users from vehicle attacks on the streets of London.

Their calls come after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said Parliament could be pedestrianised following the “ghastly crash” on Tuesday where a man drove into cyclists and pedestrians in Westminster.

Simon Munk, of the London Cycling Campaign, said he would welcome a move to pedestrianise Parliament and claims this is something campaigners have been pushing for “for years.”

“Since 2012 we have been pushing for motor traffic to be banned from Parliament Square,” he said.

Cyclists lie on the ground after being hit in the crash
BBC News

"There are a whole bunch of locations at risk for people using vehicles as weapons, highly populated areas that are vulnerable to attack.”

Mr Munk said that he feels the move has come too late from officials and said that it should not only address terrorism in the capital.

“While the current impetus is welcome, it would be more useful for everyone to have a grown up conversation about the safety of cyclists on over-crowded roads in general.

“We need to acknowledge that the day to day threat of motorists on cyclists is significant even before you factor in terrorism.

“So much of this is about political will to change London for the better. Why has Westminster been so unwilling to do this before?”

Cyclists were hit during the crash
BBC News

He said that in order to protect cyclists on the road there needs to be more “segregation” between motor vehicles and vulnerable road users which would involve more cycle lanes and bollards to prevent traffic from entering certain areas.

“No one is saying get rid of all traffic in the city, but we need to have a conversation about the role of motor traffic in central London. It’s long overdue.”

Christian Wolmar, a writer and broadcaster who specialises in transport, echoed Mr Munk’s call for more areas of London to ban motor vehicles.

“Of course Parliament should be pedestrianised, the crowds increase there year on year,” he said.

“If cars are a weapon of terrorism they need to be restricted, not just near Parliament but in many more places.

“If we are going to start pedestrianising places then there are many areas that need to be addressed.”

Armed police stand in the street after the car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament
REUTERS

He said in order to protect cyclists, more cycle lanes needed to be put in place, however he also highlighted the risks that come with choosing to cycle on London roads.

“Clearly, the more cycle lanes there are the better. But, at the end of the day, it’s impossible to fully protect cyclists.

“Apart from segregating cycling lanes, I don’t know what more could be done.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick suggested that parliament could be pedestrianised as she praised police officers for their quick response to the crash at the Houses of Parliament.

A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terror after crashing a silver Ford Fiesta on Tuesday morning.

Salih Khater: the suspect has been named locally
Sky News

Over the past year and a half Westminster has become a target for attack for a variety of motivations, including terrorist, Ms Dick said.

She said: "You will notice that the security around parliament both in terms of armed officers and police officers and physical barriers has been further enhanced over the last several months and there is more to come on that in further months.

Parliament Crash - In pictures

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"Whether that area outside should be pedestrianised further, there should be further physical works done, I think is a matter that will be discussed no doubt between parliamentary authorities, us, the intelligence agencies and indeed the local authorities and the mayor."

A spokesman for Westminster Council said it is currently addressing security issues around Parliament Square.

He said: “Westminster City Council is involved with other partners in ongoing and detailed discussions on security arrangements around Parliament Square, and various options are under discussion – for obvious reasons, we can’t really go into what they are.”

Mr Khan backed the part-pedestrianisation of Parliament Square but stressed there would be "all sorts of challenges" with making the entire area vehicle-free.

Asked if the physical security around Parliament should be strengthened, including potentially pedestrianising Parliament Square, Mr Khan said:

"I think it should be, I've been an advocate for a while now of part-pedestrianising Parliament Square, but making sure we don't lose the wonderful thing about our democracy which is people having access to parliamentarians, people being able to lobby Parliament, visitors being able to come and visit Parliament."

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