Horse Riders killed or injured 2005-2015 | Map

For a larger version of the map, click here.

STATS19 mapping implementation notes

These maps are based on the data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data), which has been edited down to make the file sizes more manageable. If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The data for "Journey_Purpose_of_Driver", "Vehicle_Type", "Make" and "Model" refers to the other vehicle involved where that has been possible to match*. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.

*Bicycles, horses and mobility scooters are all counted as vehicles.

For a few of the entries we have found errors in the data, such as missing location data which may means they have not been mapped. Examples of this are accident references 2005600GN6024 and 200504BB05106.

Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

Alternative map of KSIs involving Heavy Goods Vehicles

In my previous post I presented a map created using Google Fusion Tables. This post shows an alternative map produced using the same data fed in to Google Maps. Due to limits on the file size, the collisions resulting in minor injuries have been omitted.

Vulnerable road users killed or seriously injured in collisions involving HGVS for the years 2005-2015

For a larger version of the map, click here.

'Vulnerable Road Users' refers to pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders & mobility scooter riders. Due to the number of dangerous goods vehicles classed as 'Other', that category has been included and the maps will also include some collisions involving different vehicles in the 'Other' category.

STATS19 mapping implementation notes

These maps are based on the data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data), which has been edited down to make the file sizes more manageable. If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The data for "Journey_Purpose_of_Driver", "Vehicle_Type", "Make" and "Model" refers to the other vehicle involved where that has been possible to match*. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.

*Bicycles, horses and mobility scooters are all counted as vehicles.

For a few of the entries we have found errors in the data, such as missing location data which may means they have not been mapped. Examples of this are accident references 2005600GN6024 and 200504BB05106.

Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

Mapping KSIs involving Lorries

Lorries and other large vehicles are a serious danger to vulnerable road users.

Using the STATS19 data I've produced maps showing collisions involving these vehicles where pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders or mobility scooter riders were killed or injured. Due to the number of dangerous goods vehicles classed as 'Other' (details here) the maps will also include some collisions involving different vehicles in the 'Other' category.

Deaths & Injuries involving HGVs, 2005-2015

Key: 
Fatality = Symbol
Serious Injuries = Yellow dot
Minor Injuries = Blue dot

This is a map I produced showing where vulnerable road users have been killed or injured 2005-2015. Click here for full size version, produced using Google Fusion tables.

Other mapping:

In addition to this, I have tried presenting the data using Google 'Maps' rather than 'Fusion Tables'. This has several advantages however it limits each layer to 2000 data points, which poses challenges when dealing with data for the whole of the UK (except Norther Ireland). Due to this limitation it is necessary to filter the data down, reducing the years, casualty types or casualty severities shown.

Click here for a map showing where pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists have been killed or injured in collisions involving Heavy Goods Vehicles for the years 2012-2015. This is a subset of the data shown in the map above.

STATS19 mapping implementation notes

These maps are based on the data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data), which has been edited down to make the file sizes more manageable. If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The data for "Journey_Purpose_of_Driver", "Vehicle_Type", "Make" and "Model" refers to the other vehicle involved where that has been possible to match*. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.

*Bicycles, horses and mobility scooters are all counted as vehicles. 

For a few of the entries we have found errors in the data, such as missing location data which may means they have not been mapped. Examples of this are accident references 2005600GN6024 and 200504BB05106.

Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

Croud-sourcing information for collision maps

The police STATS19 reports contain few details about victims and the circumstances of collisions. Linking these to press reports, blog posts & local campaigns can give more information on the people involved, the incident, the investigations and any court cases.

Finding, linking and mapping press reports about all road fatalities in the UK would be a huge task to undertake. Therefore I wanted to look at ways of allowing members of the public to submit reports online in a way which could be easily mapped and linked to other data.

I've created the form below as a prototype - please try it out and let me know what you think.

Mapping Road Danger - Submit Report/Article

The main challenge was getting the location data. Ideally the user would be able to click on a map and have the location recorded. I wasn't able to do that, so the user has to copy the latitude and longitude in to the form - OK on desktop, but really not phone/tablet friendly.

Output

The form populates this table (email addresses removed):

This probably needs a disclaimer 'This data includes links and information submitted by the community, please contact us if you believe any of the information is inaccurate or inappropriate'.

Using the data

• This data could be mapped to provide real time logging of incidents.
• Once the STATS19 collision reports are published it would be possible to link the data sets. These could be matched with a good degree of accuracy using the date and a search radius, however this might still need a final check by a human. 
• Similarly, this could be used to link historic reports to the STATS19 data to improve our understanding of the accident history of locations.
• This form (or similar) could be used by people currently recording collision reports to put the data in a consistent format which would allow it to more easily mapped in future.

Mapping of collision reports is already being undertaken by a few people (here for instance) and if efforts were to be put in to this it would be good to coordinate to avoid duplicating efforts and ensure data could be transferred across if needed.

Second Hand Bikes East London

Here's a list of places to get serviced and checked (not stolen) second hand bikes in East London.

It's a departure from my usual subject matter because I'm helping out a friend :-)

I've put stars by the ones people have recommended to me based on experience.

• Hackney Peddler near Hackney Downs
• heavenscycles.com/road-bikes/, Broadway Market - this is the sister shop of Lock 7 Cycles*
• peddlemywheels.com/wanted - they regularly run buy and sell stalls at markets across East London

Not in East London but possibly worth a look:

• Camden Cycles*: http://www.camdencycles.co.uk/our-bikes/secondhand-bikes/touring-bikes/cat_79.html
• re-cycling.co.uk/ in Elephant and Castle

STATS19 collision data - Overview

The database of police collision reports comes from a standard form called STATS19. This collects a range of data on the collision, vehicles involved, casualties and injuries. A selection of this information is published annually as a database (details such as registration numbers are recorded but not published).

The data is published as three separate lists of information (in .csv format):

• 'Accidents' (collisions) lists out the individual collisions with a reference number and data relating to the incident.
• Vehicles lists out the vehicles involved, the accident reference, vehicle reference, plus data relating to the vehicle.
• Casualties lists out the casualties, the accident reference and data relating to the casualty.

Each collision will have one or more vehicles and may have several casualties.

The STATS20 form gives details of what information is meant to be recorded and how the various categories work (for instance: what constitutes a minor injury, or how the vehicle codes should be used).

In this post I've summarised what is contained in the publicly available data, with a focus on information relevant to pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Collisions

The list of collisions includes the reference number 'Accident Index', the location (easting & northing) and date & time in addition to:

• The Police Force and Local Authority
• Number of vehicles involved
• Number of casualties 
• Speed limit
• Roundabout / One way street / Dual carriageway / Single carriageway / Slip Road / Unknown 
• If the collision was near a junction/pedestrian crossing and if so the type of junction/crossing.
• Lighting, weather and road conditions/hazards
• Urban/Rural area

Vehicles

For each vehicle we are given the Accident Index and vehicle reference (001, 002, etc). If there is only one vehicle linked to a collision that would be 001. Details of the vehicle are:

• The vehicle type (more info) and whether it was towing, left hand drive.
• Vehicle manoeuvre, for instance: reversing, turning left, changing lane to right, overtaking on nearside etc.
• Vehicle location: Main carriageway, Bus lane, marked Cycle Lane (advisory or mandatory), separate Cycle Way, Footway. Note that there is no code for shared space area so this information is not recorded.
• Information on whether the vehicle is entering a junction, at a junction, leaving a junction, entering a roundabout etc. 
• Whether the vehicle skidded/overturned, whether it left the carriageway and whether it hit an object.
• Point of impact: 0. Did not impact, 1. Front, 2. Back, 3. Offside, or 4. Nearside 
• Age and sex of driver.
• Journey purpose of driver: 1. Journey as part of work 2. Commuting to/from work 3. Taking pupil to/from school 4. Pupil riding to/from school 5+. Other/Not known 

Casualties

Similarly to vehicles, the records start with the Accident Index and then a casualty reference. The first casualty associated with the collision is 001, then 002, 003, etc. Details of the casualty are given as follows:

• The 'casualty type' classification (more info)
• Casualty class: 1. Driver or rider 2. Vehicle or pillion passenger 3. Pedestrian. Another field records whether they were a Bus/Coach passenger.
• The severity of the injury. Injuries are recorded as serious/slight by the police usually within a short time of the accident and are often not based on the results of medical examinations.
• 1, Fatal
• 2, Serious: Serious injuries are generally those that would send the casualty to A&E or where they're likely to require further medical treatment. This includes: Broken neck or back, Severe head injury, Loss of arm or leg (or part), Fracture, Concussion, Deep cuts and Injuries to casualties who die 30 or more days after the accident from injuries sustained in that accident. 
• 3, Slight: Slight injuries are generally those which require first aid or require no medical attention and include Whiplash, Shallow cuts, Sprains and Bruising.
• Vehicle reference number - this is the number of the vehicle they occupied, or for pedestrians the number of the vehicle which first hit them. 
• Age and sex of casualty.
• Pedestrian location: footway/verge, refuge/central reservation or carriageway.

Mapping

The data can be filtered using any of these categories and then mapped. One or two of the categories can be used to determine the map marker shape and colour. Other data can be displayed when the user clicks on a data-point.

For instance the data could be filtered to show only cyclists and pedestrians injured in collisions involving cars, with round markers for pedestrians and square markers for cyclists with the following colours: (fatal, serious, minor) = (red, yellow, orange).

Please let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for maps which might provide insights or illustrate particular problems.

STATS19 collision data - Vehicle and casualty categories

When the police record road traffic incidents they use various classifications to record details vehicles, casualties and injuries. This information is entered in to the STATS19 database which is published annually.

The STATS19 data can be found here. The details of how vehicles, casualties, injuries etc. should be classified is published on the STATS20 form.

Vehicle Classification

The vehicle classifications are shown below. The number on the left is the code stored in the police database for each category (for the detailed notes about classification refer to the STATS20 link above).

It should be noted that many vehicle types do not fit the classification well - construction industry diggers would be classified as agricultural vehicles and 'other' category contains refuse vehicles and a variety of construction lorries and equipment. As a result, the goods vehicles data significantly under-represents the lorries most often causing fatalities by as much as 10-15% for both refuse lorries and construction lorries (based on TfL data for London 2010-2014). Taken together this could mean around a fifth of lorry fatalities are recorded in the 'other' category.

• 01  Pedal cycle - includes tricycles etc.
• Motorcycles - 'motorcycle' includes mopeds, motor scooters and three wheeled motorcycles.
• 02  Motorcycle 50cc and under
• 03  Motorcycle over 50cc and up to 125cc
• 04  Motorcycle over 125cc and up to 500cc
• 05  Motorcycle over 500cc
• 97  Motorcycle – unknown cc
• 23  Electric motorcycle - includes all electrically powered motorcycles over 0.25 kW, whether or not they are also equipped with pedals.
• 08  Taxi/Private hire car - any vehicle operating as a hackney carriage, regardless of construction.
• 09  Car - includes three wheeled cars, estate cars, family vans/multi-people carriers, Land Rovers and similar four-wheel drive vehicles.
• 10  Minibus (8 - 16 passenger seats)
• 11  Bus or coach - defined as 17 or more passenger seats.
• 16  Ridden horse
• 17  Agricultural vehicle - includes construction vehicles such as mobile excavators and front dumpers, but not heavy plant.
• 18  Tram/Light rail
• Goods vehicles include tankers, HGV tractors travelling without their semi-trailers and articulated vehicles.
• 19  Van/Goods vehicle 3.5 tonnes maximum gross weight (mgw) and under
• 20  Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes and under 7.5 tonnes mgw - Sometimes referred to as Medium Goods Vehicles or Large Goods Vehicles. These vehicles are included in the CLOCS safety scheme.
• 21  Goods vehicle 7.5 tonnes mgw and over - Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), although sometimes this term is used to mean all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.  These vehicles are included in the CLOCS safety scheme.
• 98  Goods vehicle – unknown weight
• 22 Mobility scooter
• 90 Other vehicle -  Predominately the vehicles causing serious injuries and fatalities in this category are large vans, refuse vehicles, tipper lorries, cement lorries and skip lorries. However the category also includes ambulances, fire engines, motor caravans, and quad bikes, plus anything else which doesn't fit the other classifications.

In addition to the information released publicly, the police database includes information such as the registration number. This can be used by the DfT/TfL to determine the exact make & model of the vehicles in order to analyse the data in more detail (especially the 'other' categories).

'Casualty Type' Classification

The casualty classifications are shown below. The number on the left is the code stored in the police database for each category:

0 Pedestrian

1 Cyclist

2 Motorcycle 50cc and under rider or passenger

3 Motorcycle 125cc and under rider or passenger

4 Motorcycle over 125cc and up to 500cc rider or passenger

5 Motorcycle over 500cc rider or passenger

8 Taxi/Private hire car occupant

9 Car occupant

10 Minibus (8 - 16 passenger seats) occupant

11 Bus or coach occupant (17 or more pass seats)

16 Horse rider

17 Agricultural vehicle occupant

18 Tram occupant

19 Van / Goods vehicle (3.5 tonnes mgw or under) occupant

20 Goods vehicle (over 3.5t. and under 7.5t.) occupant

21 Goods vehicle (7.5 tonnes mgw and over) occupant

22 Mobility scooter rider

23 Electric motorcycle rider or passenger

90 Other vehicle occupant

97 Motorcycle - unknown cc rider or passenger

98 Goods vehicle (unknown weight) occupant

See Me Save Me - Eliminating Lorry Danger

See Me Save Me is a campaign to eliminate deaths and injuries caused by collisions involving HGVs, with a focus on the most vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists).

See Me Save Me work to prevent the blaming of victims (for not wearing hats, jumping lights, not having insurance etc etc) and focus on the danger of the vehicles.

• They have been involved in the development of safer lorry standards with industry and regulators, in particular CLOCS. 
• They are also members of the ‘Action on Lorry Danger’ working group which includes CyclingUK, LCC and Living Streets. 

See Me Save Me was started in 2009 by Kate Cairns following the death of her sister Eilidh.

CLOCS

The Construction Logistics and Cyclist Safety report was released in February 2013 and is the basis for the CLOCS programme. The CLOCS standards include a range of measures to reduce risk:

• Requirements for safer vehicles to maximise vision
• Driver checks and training
• Fleet management and route planning
• Proper investigation and reporting of collisions

In London, adoption of CLOCS is now a requirement in many public sector contracts for clients including Crossrail, TfL and the Greater London Assembly. However widespread adoption by the public and private sector across the UK is needed to prevent the pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists being killed or injured by collisions with HGV.

See Me Save Me's campaign

See Me Save Me are raising awareness of lorry danger and campaigning for the adoption of preventative measures and standards such as CLOCS across the UK:

• Build relationships with industry and public bodies across the UK, especially in major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast.
• Collaborate with pedestrian, cyclist and residents groups to campaign for a reduction in lorry danger.
• Keep a record of those killed or seriously injured by HGVs to show the scale of the problem.

Lorry danger has consistently been identified by our supporters as a major concern and one of the top priorities for campaigning. In 2016 we will be working with See Me Save Me to help launch their campaign to have CLOCS standards adopted widely and for safer lorries across the UK.

Please join their campaign by signing up for email updates here: http://www.seemesaveme.org/

Mapping for road safety

For road safety campaigners much of the information we have could be mapped, whether that's speed limits, consultations/schemes or collisions. With such a lot of information, no one maps will show everything. Maps for communicating with the public tend to be the simple, while those to aid decision making often have multiple layers of information.

I've been reviewing various sites to identify what information is already being mapped to identify how it might be used for campaigning (or whether there are maps we're missing).

Police Collision Reports

There are several websites which map the UK wide STATS19 database of police 'accident' reports in different ways. The data is published annually for the proceeding year at in late June (details here):

• crashmap.co.uk A mapping tool based on supported by the ability to buy detailed reports. Can filter by severity, casualty type and year and includes information explaining the definitions used.
• map.itoworld.com/see-me-save-me [HGV, cyclist & pedestrian, KSIs] displays the STATS19 data from 2000-2010 with the casualty's age, gender and the year of the accident shown graphically. Discontinued
• collisionmap.uk a basic map which displays limited information and can only filter by casualty severity.
• cyclestreets (see below) maps all road users and has the full information.

Going beyond Police reports

The following websites map other data related to road safety:

• collideoscope.org.uk/ [cycling, incidents, UK] Collisions and near misses, plus the ability for users to add their own experiences. Also includes STATS19 record information. MySociety/Barts Charitys Safe Cycling Appeal initiative.
• Fill That Hole [Cycling UK / CTC, road defects, UK] A map showing reported road defects with indicators for whether the issue has been fixed or not.
• cycling-intelligence.com [cycling, KSIs, London]  Cyclist fatalities in London updated regularly and includes some information and links. The map goes back to 2006, although they say the data is not complete for the early years.
• beyondthekerb.org.uk/casebook [cyclists, KSIs, UK, 2015-2016] Details, map and links to press reports.
• cycleinjury.co.uk/map STATS19 map combined with information from Levenes personal injury lawyers.
• Cyclestreets [cycling, UK]  In addition to mapping the STATS19 information with detailed search/filtering it has a mapping tool for campaigns, consultations and issues used by cycling groups around the UK. Allows for issues to be identified and discussed. Issues in London can be seen on the LCC website.
• Give a beep [cycling, London] is a scheme where cyclists are given a button on the handlebars which registers the time and location every time it is pressed. The intention is that users press it every time they feel less safe and this builds up a map of the problem locations around the city for use as a campaigning tool.
• Camden Cyclists have produced a similar list of maps including their own analysis of collisions in Camden, plus maps for traffic flows, cycling and mapping specific to London.
• alexinthecities.co.uk - Alex has produced several really useful maps including a map of DfT traffic counts, a list of sites mapping census data and a lot of more London specific maps. He also has information about producing maps using Google Fusion tables. 
• Please let me know if there are any I have missed

Lists of information

There are also several websites listing incidents and details:

• twowheelsandbeyond.blogspot.co.uk [cycling, KSIs, UK]  Cyclist obituaries listed from around 2000-2012.
• visionzerolondon.wordpress.com [cyclists and pedestrians, KSIs, London] Names where known, links and some photos 2014+
• lcc.org.uk/pages/news is the blog for London Cycling Campaign. Articles about specific locations are tagged and can be viewed on a map. An RSS feed of the data is available.
• The campaign group See Me Save Me are collecting reports of collisions and fatalities involving HGVs and are planning to publish this in the future.
• Again, please let me know if there are any I should add.

Conclusions

There is a lot of good mapping being done on the STATS19 data, but the story behind the data (news reports, people's experiences, etc.) are not generally being mapped. There are several initiatives mapping cycling in London but this is quite fragmented.

Creating maps with more detailed information and analysis could be useful to make the case for action to be taken at a particular junction, or to brief journalists following incidents, so would be a useful tool.

For cycling, Cyclestreets seems to be the main focus, however the aim would be to have a UK wide system which covered all incidents with different organisations able to filter for the content relevant to their campaigning.

Thank You

Dear Friends,

Thank you

It has now been nine months without a cyclist being killed by a HGV - a stark contrast to the first half of 2015 which saw seven cyclists killed by lorries. This pause would not have happened without the increased focus on safety in response demands for safety improvements, and every supporter of this campaign played their part in making that happen.

We have shown that progress is possible and fatalities are not inevitable, but there is much more which needs to be done [1] - Stop Killing Cyclists have called on the Cycling Minister Robert Goodwill to urgently extend the London requirements for HGV mirrors nationally to protect cyclists all over the UK [2].

In London we now have several mayoral candidates and parties committed to expanding protected space for cycling, showing that many of our politicians believe in the need for safe cycling for all Londoners.

I won't be emailing again before the election, but a reminder that Stop Killing Cyclists' protest is this evening (Wednesday) in central London, the die-in is from 6pm (speeches from 5:30pm) - please attend if you can.

Thank you again for your support,


Fred


P.s. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our #SaveOurCyclists Twitter campaign, if you haven't there's still time to get involved - simply share your own messages using #SaveOurCyclists.

---

[1] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/nine-months.html
[2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/stopkillingcyclists/permalink/1710065762577662/

You helped keep cyclists safe this winter

Dear Friends,

Thank you

It has now been nine months without a cyclist being killed by a HGV - a stark contrast to the first half of 2015 which saw seven cyclists killed by lorries. This pause would not have happened without the increased focus on safety in response demands for safety improvements, and every supporter of this campaign played their part in making that happen.

We have shown that progress is possible and fatalities are not inevitable, but there is much more which needs to be done [1] - Stop Killing Cyclists have called on the Cycling Minister Robert Goodwill to urgently extend the London requirements for HGV mirrors nationally to protect cyclists all over the UK [2].

In London we now have four candidates supporting protected space for cycling: @CarolinePidgeon @SianBerry @SophieRunning and @SadiqKhan have committed to safe cycling and protected lanes in London. @ZacGoldsmith hasn't

Whoever the mayor is, the London Assembly is crucial to ensure cycling and road safety never slip down the agenda. Every vote counts for the London-wide Assembly Members (the orange voting form) - Please consider using your London-wide Assembly Member vote to support a party which champions cycling.

Finally, Stop Killing Cyclists' protest is on Wednesday in central London, the die-in is from 6pm (speeches from 5:30pm) - please attend if you can.

Thank you again for your support,


Fred

P.s. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to our #SaveOurCyclists Twitter campaign, if you haven't there's still time to get involved! Simply share your own messages using #SaveOurCyclists.

---

[1] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/nine-months.html - this post contains (distressing) details of non-fatal collisions.
[2] https://www.facebook.com/groups/stopkillingcyclists/permalink/1710065762577662/

Nine months.

It has been nine months since a cyclist was killed by a motor vehicle in London, a halt which would not have seemed credible at this time last year.

This pause follows a string of needless deaths which inspired the campaign for lorry safety which we have all been part of. Inexplicably, it was legal to drive HGVs around London blindly until the rules were updated to require more extensive mirrors. Haulage companies have also made this a focus, with industry groups concerned that their vehicles might be banned from the centre.

But we have been lucky

In this time many cyclists have received serious injuries on our roads. https://cycling-intelligence.com/fatal-cycling-accidents-in-london/ gives details of some of the non-fatal collisions: 

first hit by one vehicle and then dragged under the wheels of a second

victim had leg amputated; left turning driver arrested

Witnesses reported hearing a "gut-wrenching scream" in the collision near the notorious Old Street roundabout

These were incidents which could easily have resulted in another death. It is only luck and the work of NHS trauma teams which prevented fatalities here.

More is needed to keep cyclists safe in London

It is important to recognise the progress which has been made to improve safety for people on bikes - progress which is in part thanks to the supporters of this campaign, the London Cycling Campaign and Stop Killing Cyclists.

However, this isn't the end of HGV deaths in London. 

Last year 7 people were killed by lorries - a toll which is totally unacceptable and in no way diminished because the overall toll is less than last year. There are no 'acceptable' deaths from our transport system so we need London to adopt the same approach as New York:

This status quo is unacceptable. The City of New York must no longer regard traffic crashes as mere "accidents," but rather as preventable incidents that can be systematically addressed. No level of fatality on city streets is inevitable or acceptable.

The future

We cannot allow complacency to creep back in to City Hall, or for HGV operators to relax their focus. A confidential reporting system such as CIRAS is needed to allow drivers and employees to report safety concerns without fearing for their jobs.

The NHS has done an excellent job of keeping cyclists alive, too little has been done to prevent collisions on our roads. If we go back to old ways we will see the numbers of road deaths go back up.

Now is the time to press home the need for a network of protected cycle lanes across all of London and a Vision Zero approach to safety on our streets.

Make a difference to the London Assembly

While the mayoral election gets the attention, the role of the London Assembly is crucial in shaping how our city is run and it's also where your vote is most likely to get a result.

What can the London Assembly do?

London Assembly members pressured Boris to deliver on Cycle Superhighways, pushed for HGV safety improvements and held the authorities to account when things went wrong (such as mis-targetting of safe cycling by Operation Safeway). They have the power to amend the Mayor's budget if they vote with a two thirds majority.

They also question the mayor & key officials in detail - finding out what TfL is up to, teasing out the substance behind the announcements or getting the latest statistics. You may never have read about the Mayor's Question Time, but many/most of the articles about infrastructure or HGV safety will have been informed by answers to these questions.

In particular, this campaign has benefited from the work of Green Party and Liberal Democrat assembly members, especially Darren Johnson.

How to make your vote count for the London Assembly

If you want your vote to make a difference for London, in the London Assembly you have the chance to do that, even if you don't support one of the two most popular parties. This is because a portion of the members are chosen using proportional representation - the orange ballot paper.

The London-wide Assembly Members are elected from votes for different parties on the orange ballot papers. Details of the calculation can be found here, but for the smaller parties essentially it boils down to:

• 5% - One Assembly Member
• ~8% - Two Assembly Members
• 11-12% - Three Assembly Members

The exact percentages vary slightly depending on how the other parties perform and parties getting less than 5% are not counted. For the larger parties the number of members are around 1 member per 4% of the vote.

You cast your vote by putting an 'X' by one of the parties, but as long as they win at least 5% of the vote your vote will help elect a representative to the London Assembly.

Your vote can make a difference

I hope you've found this helpful and if you've got a vote, please use it!

Here's your guide to voting on 5 May - in under 30 seconds #LondonVotes pic.twitter.com/KSlJoUVqCw

— London Elects (@londonelects) April 20, 2016

Women's Equality and Cycling

Sophie Walker is the mayoral candidate for the Women's Equality Party. She is a diversity campaigner, cycling proponent and the third candidate to commit to the London Cycling Campaign's ambitious Sign for Cycling pledges (triple the number of protected cycle lanes in London, a mini-Holland scheme in every borough & an end to lorry danger).

Her vision is to make London the first city in the world where men and women are equal, including for transport. She believes safe cycling infrastructure is the key to allowing more women to enjoy the benefits of cycling:

We want to make transport accessible & safe for everyone. More segregated cycle lanes & bike facilities #AskSophie https://t.co/7pj6POGURO

— SophieWalker (@SophieRunning) April 5, 2016

Cycling in the UK is not equally accessible to all genders and the proportion of women who cycle is half that of men. Sophie Walker is committed to working towards a 50:50 modal share of female cycling in London.

We do not currently have details about whether they would support a rush hour HGV ban, the cycling budget and their plans for the congestion charge, but if we get more information we will publish that here.

Tweets and Replies

Top #SaveOurCyclists tweets and replies:

Want my vote? Segregated cycle lanes are a must. @ZacGoldsmith @SadiqKhan @CarolinePidgeon @sianberry #SaveOurCyclists

— NicJones (@Nicola_Jane1985) April 7, 2016

@SadiqKhan Please support protected cycle lanes.me and my cycle buddies will vote for u if u do. #SaveOurCyclists

— pcjwss (@pcjwss) April 7, 2016

#SaveOurCyclists @Sadiqkhan, @sianberry, @CarolinePidgeon, @ZacGoldsmith, commit to segregated cycleways! Our safety is vital.

— Joanna Cronin (@ironjawcannon) April 7, 2016

Hi @FredBikeLondon - don't forget @SophieRunning, Women's Equality Party mayoral candidate, who is a cycling proponent! #saveourcyclists

— Katy Cooper (@DecSop1) April 7, 2016

Love the new cycle lanes along blackfriars, makes such a difference! Feel safer on a bike than a moped! #SaveOurCyclists

— Laura Mcaulay (@lauramcaulay) April 7, 2016

.@SadiqKhan @ZacGoldsmith @CarolinePidgeon @sianberry make London work 4 the non-motorist majority! #SaveOurCyclists https://t.co/mvSuw0mT3A

— Daniel Demmel (@daaain) April 7, 2016

@ZacGoldsmith Disappointed in the lack of Tory support for safer cycle facilities and extending Cycle Superhighways #SaveOurCyclists

— Giuseppe Squidamari (@gsquidamari) April 7, 2016

Disappointed to not see a stronger message from @SadiqKhan on cycling. Much better from @sianberry and @CarolinePidgeon. #SaveOurCyclists

— Darren Palmer (@dazlington) April 8, 2016

Tweets to Sadiq

More than any other candidate, our supporters wanted to send personal messages to Sadiq:

@SadiqKhan I'm really hoping you support protected cycle lanes & commit to extending the programme of Cycle Superhighways #SaveOurCyclists

— richard bultitude (@pointbmusic) April 7, 2016

Investing in protected infrastructure to promote cycling is about the environment & our physical/mental health. @SadiqKhan #SaveOurCyclists

— NicJones (@Nicola_Jane1985) April 8, 2016

@SadiqKhan Until no. women = men cycling, we need more safer cycling infrastructure, can u commit to this? #LondonMayor2016 #SaveOurCyclists

— Liane Fredericks (@lianefredericks) April 8, 2016

I always voted @labour but will not vote for @SadiqKhan if he doesn't support protected cycle lanes #SaveOurCyclists

— Marceli Szpak (@pojutrze) April 7, 2016

The last word

#SaveOurCyclists I do not live in the capital but my son does and he being environmentally aware, cycles daily. Choose your mayor with care.

— Danbury Dame (@SuePriestley) April 8, 2016

Who will keep London's cyclists safe?

Dear Friends,

Our next mayor could make or break cycling in London.

We need the next mayor to support the construction of high quality cycling infrastructure, not just completing all the planned Cycle Superhighways but building protected cycle lanes in all parts of London.

Many people have taken up cycling after hard won improvements bought in under Boris - even though half his schemes have not yet been completed. Protected cycle lanes are key to allowing more people to cycle in safety and it is clear there is huge demand these lanes.

"I’ll rip up London’s cycle superhighways if they don’t work"

The candidates are split, with some talking against protected cycle lanes or suggesting they might withdraw support for the Cycle Superhighways [1].

#SaveOurCyclists

We need to highlight the demand for protected lanes and put pressure on the candidates to support them. Please join our new Twitter campaign:

1. Write tweets to candidates using the hashtag #SaveOurCyclists - Ask them to commit to protected cycle lanes, support a scheme you care about or highlight a good policy: @ZacGoldsmith, @SadiqKhan, @CarolinePidgeon, @sianberry

2. See what others are posting here for inspiration & re-tweeting!

3. Use or adapt our ready made tweets:

• @ZacGoldsmith Please support protected cycle lanes and commit to completing & extending the Cycle Superhighways programme #SaveOurCyclists
• @SadiqKhan Please support protected cycle lanes and commit to completing and extending the programme of Cycle Superhighways #SaveOurCyclists
• @CarolinePidgeon supports protected cycling "I want to carry on the cycle superhighways – even the controversial bits”  #SaveOurCyclists
• @sianberry on protected lanes: “I’d put new segregated cycling infrastructure top of the list for new investment plans” #SaveOurCyclists

4. On the 27th April Stop Killing Cyclists are organising an air #PollutionProtest outside the Department for Transport in Westminster. They are demanding action to tackle motor vehicle emissions and increased funding for cycling across the UK - please join us if you can [2].

Thanks again for your support and please share this with any friends you think would be interested.

Kind regards,


Fred

@FredBikeLondon

P.s. If you are not on Twitter please email the candidates and copy us in!

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[1] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/who-will-give-us-safe-cycling.html
[2] https://www.facebook.com/events/1124784950872843/

Who will give us safe cycling?

Our next mayor could make or break cycling in London. There has been a mini boom in cycling after hard won improvements bought in under Boris, even though only half of the original Cycle Superhighways and a dozen 'safer junctions' are built.

Despite this, the impact of the schemes has been huge, with a big increase in cycling along the routes and no doubt those under construction will tell a similar story. It is clear there is a huge demand for protected cycling and we need the next mayor to enthusiastically back these projects, clear the backlog and expand protected cycling across London.

When we surveyed our supporters last year we found the important issues you wanted us to campaign on were:

• Demand a programme to build protected cycle facilities at junctions and along main roads in every borough.  
• Ban HGVs from the rush hour and make them deliver early in the morning or during the day.

While some of the mayoral candidates fully support these aims, some of the main contenders offer very limited support for the Cycle Superhighways programme and are reluctant to support protected space for cycling. All of the candidates support safer lorries but not all will commit to banning them from the rush hour.

Here is where the candidates stand:

	@ZacGoldsmith	@SadiqKhan	@CarolinePidgeon	@sianberry
Protected cycle facilities at junctions and along main roads	‘I’ll rip up London’s cycle superhighways if they don’t work’	Narrower cycle tracks and promises to 'make sure cars flow smoother', although his manifesto promises to build on the work of Ken and Boris...	"I want to carry on the cycle superhighways – even the controversial bits – but I also want to look at outer London, because I think that there’s a real opportunity there to get more people out of their cars and on to bikes for those shorter trips."	"I’d put new segregated cycling infrastructure top of the list for new investment plans. For me it’s the number one measure that would get a wider range of people cycling... we’re well overdue this kind of road space revolution in London!"
HGV Ban	No - Update and adjust the current London Lorry Control Scheme	No - Work... to reduce the number of large lorries... particularly at the busiest times.	A rush hour ban to reduce congestion and keep cyclists safe.	Sian would introduce a rush hour HGV ban.
TfL's cycling budget	No details.	Would increase, but no commitment.	Would nearly double spending on cycling to 3% of Transport for London’s budget.	Supports a substantial increase paid for by city-wide congestion charging.
Congestion charging	No details in his manifesto.	No change to the congestion charge.	Increase the congestion charge to reduce the number of motor vehicles in the central London zone.	Bring in a road-charging system to extend the congestion charge city-wide.
Notes	Manifesto: “Pedicabs in the West End have become an urban menace, ripping off tourists and tripping up pedestrians”. Zac would expand cycle hire schemes.	Sadiq would investigate the merits of car free weekends in central London.	Caroline has signed up to the London Cycling Campaign's ambitous 'Sign for Cycling' pledges	Sian has signed up to the London Cycling Campaign's ambitous 'Sign for Cycling' pledges

See also: Sophie Walker - Women's Equality Party

Green Party Manifesto released

After publishing my post about Caroline and Sian yesterday, we now have the Green Party manifesto - so here's an update on Sian Berry's policies:

Sian Berry

Sian Berry is a Green Party Councillor in Camden, previously worked as a roads and sustainable transport campaigner at the charity Campaign for Better Transport and cycles to work.

She has previously signed up to the LCC's 'Sign for Cycling' vision (currently the only other candidate backing this ambitious challenge is Caroline Pidgeon). Sign for Cycling is a commitment to:

• Triple the number of miles of protected cycle lanes on London’s roads, 
• Introduce a ‘Mini-Holland’ for every London borough and 
• Action to end lorry danger. 

The Green Party transport manifesto begins:

"Greens will prioritise investment in walking, cycling and public transport to help people out of car dependency. Our policies won’t create new traffic or make air pollution and congestion worse."

The Green Party manifesto is a detailed document with many proposals to improve cycling and reduce car use. Of particular interest to this campaign, they are proposing to:

• Increase funding for major cycling projects with a requirement for safe junctions and segregated space, so that Londoners of all ages can cycle safely. 
• Introduce a rush hour HGV ban.
• Bring in a city-wide road-charging system to extend the congestion charge and a 20mph default speed limit on all Transport for London roads.

There are also proposals about pedestrian/cycle bridges over the Thames in East London, car-free Sundays in the West End, expanding the Cycle Hire scheme and addressing the failure of the justice system to adequately prosecute driving offences which result in serious injury. 

The manifesto does not include a commitment to spend a certain percentage of Transport for London's budget on cycling, but she has previously discussed very significant increases in investment. 

Finally, the manifesto also highlights their commitment to working with campaigners to get the best for London:

http://saferoxfordstreet.blogspot.co.uk/

Caroline and Sian on bikes

In a follow up to my post about Zac and Sadiq, today I am writing about the mayoral candidates Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat) and Sian Berry (Green).

Both candidates have been vocal about their ambitions for cycling, have plendged serious investment and they are currently the only candidates to sign up to the LCC's Sign for Cycling vision.

Sign for Cycling includes three main pledges which align closely with the aims of this campaign:

• Triple the number of miles of protected cycle lanes on London’s roads, to help people of all ages and abilities access the road network by bike. We need high-quality, protected space on main roads and at junctions to avoid forcing cyclists to mix with heavy or fast moving motor traffic. 
• A ‘Mini-Holland’ for every London borough - ‘Mini-Holland’ schemes create cycle-friendly town-centres. They encourage people to make local journeys by bike or on foot, help regenerate communities, and bring more customers to local businesses. 
• London’s next Mayor must act to end lorry danger. This must include upgrading the Safer Lorry Scheme and using planning powers over major construction projects so that only the safest lorries, are allowed onto London’s streets.

This establishes both candidates as frontrunners in terms of cycling ambition and policy, here are some of the details of their proposals.

Caroline Pidgeon

Caroline Pidgeon is a long standing member of the London Assembly and advocate of cycling and road safety. She is keen to make the point that improving London for cycling improves the environment for everyone and her policies are for the benefit of all Londoners. Key policies:

• She is unashamedly pro cycling in her proposal for a central London lorry ban to reduce congestion and keep cyclists safe.
• Increase the congestion charge to reduce the number of motor vehicles in the central London zone.
• Nearly double spending on cycling to 3% of Transport for London’s budget by the end of her term in office to match the number of people cycling (and further increases if more people cycle).
• Face the tough political decisions "I want to carry on the cycle superhighways – even the controversial bits – but I also want to look at outer London, because I think that there’s a real opportunity there to get more people out of their cars and on to bikes for those shorter trips."

She has appeared in a video interview with Chris Boardman, which is worth a listen if you have three and a half spare minutes.

Sian Berry

Sian Berry is a Green Party Councillor in Camden, previously worked as a roads and sustainable transport campaigner at the charity Campaign for Better Transport and cycles to work. 

We don't yet have details of the official Green Party policies for the election (we will publish when we do). Previously she responded to Stop Killing Cyclist's 10 by 2020 campaign and detailed her ambition for cycling:

Making cycling an easier and safer way to travel would make our city better in so many ways: reducing traffic and congestion, cutting the pollution that causes nearly 10,000 early deaths every year, reducing noise, allowing more space to be given to pedestrians, play and life on the streets, and helping citizens stay fit and healthy too.

• Responding to a call for 10% of Transport for London's budget to be spent on cycling she said she would work towards this if elected, but recognised she would need to ensure bus and tube services didn’t suffer as a result. She suggested funds could be found by:
• Cancelling the planned new motorway bridges and tunnels in East London.
• Introducing a Workplace Parking Levy using existing powers, similar to her proposals in Camden. 
• An overhaul of the congestion charge (see below).
• She proposes replacing the Congestion Charge with a scheme covering all of London (not just the small central zone), with the funds raised used to provide sustainable transport options.
• On physically protected cycle lanes she says "For me it’s the number one measure that would get a wider range of people cycling, and get current cyclists using their bikes for more journeys... If New York can do it, we’re well overdue this kind of road space revolution in London!". We agree.
• She supported having two cyclists positions on the TfL board - one for inner and one for outer London - and reducing the number of business representatives.

Boris' Air Pollution Legacy

At the end of Boris' term, London is still experiencing high levels of illegal air pollution with health impacts for tens of thousands of Londoners. His response to this has been to propose a scheme he's called the 'Ultra Low Emission Zone' (ULEZ). This article looks in to the details of this, why it isn't going to give us clean air and what different mayoral candidates are proposing:

• The Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) and the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) are referring to the same small area of central London. Essentially the ULEZ is an update on the CCZ with additional environmental considerations. 
• It means vehicles have to be at the latest EU standards (Euro 6 for diesels, Euro 4 for petrol), So this doesn't ban diesels.
• It begins in 2020.

Other measures to reduce air pollution:

Currently the mayor has just got buses to the Euro 4 standard at the end of 2015 (by retrofitting Euro 3). The mayor has pinned his hopes on Euro 6 and so many of the buses in service are two generations older and very significantly dirtier.

Impact

• 9'500 deaths in London each year: http://www.healthyair.org.uk/twice-as-many-deaths-caused-by-air-pollution-in-london/
• Cardiovascular diseases account for 80% of all premature deaths due to air pollution. That's around 20 Londoners a day are dying from Cardiovascular Diseases linked to air pollution, mostly heart attacks and strokes. 
• Royal College of Physicians latest report: https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution

It is obvious that the proposed ULEZ is coming in too late, lacks of decisive action and will fail to make any significant improvement apart from in a very limited area of central London.

Mayoral Candidates:

Zac (Conservative): Backing Boris' inadequate plans and promising more of the same.

Sadiq (Labour): Although showing a willingness to go further than Boris, his policies currently lack decisive action to deliver clean air for all Londoners. 

• Consult on bringing forward the Ultra-Low Emission Zone and expanding it along major arterial routes or a wider section of central London. Lack of details on what he would like to introduce.
• Call upon the Government to introduce a diesel vehicle scrappage scheme to support those who wish to change to a greener car. But not using his mayoral powers to ban these vehicles...
• Deliver the electric charging infrastructure, in partnership with the private sector, necessary for a major expansion in the use of electric vehicles.

Caroline (Lib Dems): Caroline Pidgeon's experience as an assembly member shows in her policies for clean air, which they say aren't just ambitious, but are deliverable in practice by a future mayor:

• Immediately add a £2:50 surcharge for diesels in the zone,
• Start the ULEZ in 2018 (2 years earlier)
• Ban diesel vehicles up to and including double-decker buses (not HGVS, presumably due to lack of alternatives) from the zone by 2024

Sian (Green Party): The Green Party are proposing a raft of policies to tighten up and improve the ULEZ in addition to making sure it is expanded to a wider area. This includes:

• Immediately introduce a higher congestion charge for all but the cleanest vehicles in central London, to create a Very Low Emission Zone. We will invite boroughs to opt in some or all of their area to expand this zone into illegally polluted parts of inner and outer London.
• Begin consultation immediately on a scheme to replace the ULEZ that will cover all of London and be effective in complying with the law. This could be combined with the new traffic demand management scheme we will develop to replace the Congestion Charge. 

Conclusions

While Sadiq is clearly leading Zac with his ambition for clean air, neither of the leading candidates are proposing decisive action on air pollution. In contrast, both the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are proposing immediate actions which would start giving us cleaner air from day one with plans to tighten the rules significantly over the next 5 years.

However in order to improve the health of the millions of Londoners living away from the centre, it's clear that clean air measures must be applied far beyond the limited zone currently proposed.

If you want to highlight the problem of air pollution, Stop Killing Cyclists are holding an Air Pollution Protest outside the Department for Transport on the 27th April - gathering from 5pm, main  action 6-6:30, join after work, details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1124784950872843/

Zac & Sadiq on bikes

In the run up to the election we'll be looking at what the different candidates are saying. I'm going to start with the men regarded as the front-runners and see what we're hearing at this early stage.

I will cover the other candidates and also how their manifestos develop in the run-up to the election (some would say I'm saving the best candidates until later, you can make up your own mind on that one).

Zac on bikes

I'm starting with the easy one because there's not a lot to say so far - Apart from a few very poorly considered remarks (and here) about roads/cycling, there is very little to go on.

There is one mention of 'encouraging' safer cycling on his website, but no detail. The website seems to have very little content overall: https://backzac2016.com/

If you believe Zac has a credible chance of becoming our next mayor, this is quite a worry.

Sadiq on bikes

This is also easy - Sadiq's office sent me an email setting out his policies! ctrl-c, ctrl-v:

Sadiq is determined to continue the progress in making cycling safer in London. He believes making cycling safer for more Londoners will ease pressure on our public transport system, as well as it being a greener and healthier way of getting around our city.
A list of the things Sadiq wants to do include:

• Roll out the Twenty’s Plenty initiative to reduce average speeds on the capital’s residential roads
• Target investment on completing works to tackle the capital’s most dangerous junctions, making them safer for road vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians
• Pedestrianise Oxford Street and part-pedestrianise Parliament Square
• Establish a Public Realm Committee, to lead on how we can further improve public spaces across the capital, getting a better balance between all road users
• Investigate the merits of car free weekends in central London, along the lines of that adopted successfully by Paris
• Working with cycling groups, local authorities, TfL and businesses to identify ways of cutting the number of the most dangerous lorries from London’s roads at the busiest times
• Continued investment in cycling provision, including the next generation of Cycle Superhighways, further investment in Quietways and town centre improvement schemes, looking at how we can expand the cycle hire scheme, and enhanced cycle storage on street in residential areas, and in new office developments
• Further work to bust some of London’s physical barriers, such as the backing the Rotherhithe-Canary Wharf cycling and pedestrian bridge 

On top of this, Sadiq wants to tackle pollution on London’s streets, making them cleaner and safer for all users, by:

• Widening the area covered by the Ultra Low Emission Zone and investigating bringing forward the introduction from 2020
• Only wanting to buy electric or hydrogen buses by 2020, thus reducing diesel emissions by the TfL fleet 
• Planting 2 million trees, centred primarily on schools and colleges

Sadiq believes this package will bring about a marked improvement on London’s roads and he looks forward to the opportunity of implementing them, and hearing more from groups like the London Road Safety Council, on what more we can do.

I think there's lot here which indicates Sadiq has ambitions to improve conditions for Londoners to cycle (my question also mentioned air pollution).

Several of these items are concerned with finishing Boris' unfinished business (safer junctions, Cycle Superhighways, Quietways) which is a very necessary and important task. On all of these programmes there have been concerns about the length of time needed to implement and, for Quietways, there are real worries about some very inadequate schemes being put forward. These are key improvements to cycling, so we will need Sadiq to set out how he can do a better job than Boris has done.

It would also be great to know who might be our next cycling commissioner(s), so I've asked that very question. I will let you know if I get an answer!

P.s. I like trees but am disappointed that in the top three items on the air pollution which affects the health of tens of thousands of Londoners, there is a measure which is literally ineffective green-washing. This is a really big issue for the health of children and the elderly and it seems Sadiq's team haven't got to grips with it yet :-(

Support Londoners on Bikes!

Ahead of the London mayoral election a group called Londoners On Bikes campaigning for better cycling in London. As well as asking candidates to commit to ambitious improvements for cycling in London, they are also putting pressure on candidates to set out their policies in real detail, so voters can make an informed choice.

As well as online campaigning, they are also tagging bikes and handing out flyers at junctions across London. You can find out more about their plans here:

http://www.londonersonbikes.org/

Sign up on their website to add weight to their calls for safer cycling in London and they will also make sure you're fully informed of the candidates' policies before polling day!

Safer Lorries Consultation - Respond today!

Dear Friends,

TfL's consultation on Safer Lorries needs your support!

Last year, seven out of the nine cyclist fatalities in London involved lorries.

TfL are now proposing that HGV's should be fitted with extra vision panels in the passenger door so the driver can see adjacent road users. This will reduce the 'left hook' collisions which have resulted in many cyclist and pedestrian fatalities.

The consultation includes two options:

• Option A - Differential road charging to encourage higher vision lorries
• Option B - Restricting non-compliant vehicles (a ban or partial ban)

A full ban would be most effective to keep dangerous lorries off our streets. A partial ban would shift danger to those cycling outside restricted times. Limiting lorries to so called 'safer routes' would inevitably mean allowing dangerous HGVs to mix with cyclists due to the lack of continuously segregated routes in London.

Respond to the consultation here - takes less than 5 minutes.

Stop Killing Cyclists are challenging the London mayoral candiates to implement 10 cycle safety measures by 2020, including ending HGV blind spots and other measures to reduce the danger from HGVs. You can read more about the 10by2020 here, and read responses from the candidates here. There will be more campaigning in the run up to the mayoral election, so watch this space!

Please support these measures and encourage friends to do the same.

Kind regards,


Fred


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[1] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/call-on-mayor-and-gla-to-end-lorry.html
[2] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/our-2015-demands-reviewing-mayors.html

Seven Sisters Road consultation

There's a consultation on Seven Sisters Road which I need to alert you to which is a real cause for concern. It ignores cycle safety and presents a series of sub-standard options some of which appear to be positively dangerous.

http://www.sevensistersroad.co.uk/

The photo on their front page shows the very spot Stephanie Turner was killed by a lorry last year, a fact they seem totally unaware of. 

They have floated seven 'ideas', to "design a solution for the road which balances the needs of residents and pedestrians". In fact they have presented a motor centric vision for Seven Sisters Road maximising traffic speed, marginalising residents & pedestrians and ignoring cyclists and safety. They are suggesting ideas which are totally inappropriate for London as a safe, pleasant and healthy city.

Respond to the consultation:

Please respond to the consultation visiting the website and emailing the address provided. Please add your own comments, you can copy and paste from below or use it for inspiration:

Due to the volume and speed of traffic on this road, fully protected cycle lanes are needed to keep cyclists safe and allow people of all ages and abilities to cycle. These should include physical separation in the form of significant kerbs and/or bollards to provide proper separation from the road.

It is essential we see proposals for all the major junctions including protection for right turning cyclists and designed to prevent 'left hooks', which are totally neglected by this consultation. Without understanding the junctions it is impossible to design or evaluate a scheme such as this.

The road will require regular safe signalised crossings to allow people of all ages and abilities to cross in safety. This should include crossings for bikes side by side to the pedestrian crossings. The designs of all junctions and crossings should avoid potential conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians and avoid 'shared space' solutions.

All parts of the scheme should be designed fully in accordance with the latest issue of the London Cycling Design Standards. All proposed options should be assessed against the 'Cycling Level of Service' tool and the results of the assessments included in consultation documentation.

The ideas suggested in the consultation are badly thought through and most of them would be dangerous for cyclists and/or pedestrians. In addition the consultation fails to consider the option for a bi-directional track on one side of the road in some instances can provide a higher quality solution (perhaps due to fewer turnings on one side of the road) depending on safe and convenient connections at both ends and allowing easy access for cyclists to/from turnings on the far side of the road.

In summary of the ideas put forwards:

• Ideas 2, 3 and 6 would be dangerous for cyclists. 
• Idea 1 has insufficient protection for this busy road with fast traffic and would not allow people of all abilities to cycle. 
• Ideas 4a and 4b are positively dangerous for pedestrians and do nothing to allow people with impared mobility, or with children, to cross the road. Providing pedestrian crossings is the only way to allow vulnerable pedestrians to cross safely.
• It is worth noting that although 'idea 5' shows a protected cycle lane, this design appears poorly thought through and does not provide acceptable pedestrian safety. In particular the central island will encourage high speeds and does not constitute a safe crossing.

Due to the generally very poor quality of the options proposed in the consultation, and the failure to consider options which could provide the best solutions for cycling, we feel the results of this consultation may be unsound. Where respondents expressed preferences between the ideas put forwards this will have failed to identify where the ideas proposed failed to meet the aspirations of the consultee as preferences my represent the 'least worst' ideas due to better options not being presented.

Safer Lorries Consultation

Dear Friends,

TfL consultation on Safer Lorries needs your support!

Last year seven out of nine cyclist fatalities in London involved lorries. Improving lorry safety was one of our four demands.

TfL are now proposing that HGV's should be fitted with extra vision panels in the passenger door so the driver can see adjacent road users. This may reduce the 'left hook' collisions which have resulted in many cyclist and pedestrian fatalities.

The consultation includes two options:

• Option A - Differential road charging to encourage higher vision lorries
• Option B - Restricting non-compliant vehicles (a ban or partial ban)

A full ban would be most effective to keep dangerous lorries off our streets. A partial ban would shift danger to those cycling outside restricted times. Limiting lorries to so called 'safer routes' would inevitably mean allowing dangerous HGVs to mix with cyclists due to the lack of continuously segregated routes.

Respond to the consultation here.

Please support these measures and encourage friends to do the same.

Kind regards,


Fred


P.s. These measures have been bought forward in response to cross party pressure from members of the London Assembly. In particular, this campaign has been taken up by Darren Johnson, Caroline Pidgeon and Andrew Boff. In the run up the London election we will be looking to hear from all parties (and independents) about their plans for cycle safety - if you're a representative we'd love you to get in touch, just reply to this email!

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[1] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/call-on-mayor-and-gla-to-end-lorry.html
[2] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/our-2015-demands-reviewing-mayors.html