End London's Lethal Truck Epidemic - petition update

Dear Friends,

On the 20th of October we learnt another cyclist was killed by a lorry in London [1], the fifth such death this year [2]. At the very same junction in April a cyclist was crushed to death under a similar vehicle [3].

One of the key demands of the petition is for the police to clamp down on dangerous lorries. Over half of cyclists killed in London are killed by lorries [4], but statistics from TfL show enforcement action against deadly lorries has reduced [5].

This petition has over one thousand supporters but right now we need to campaign even harder prevent more cyclists dying. On the 15th of November Stop the Killing will be marching down Oxford Street highlighting their demand to Stop the Killing by HGVs [6].

Please join the November 15th protest on Oxford Street to demand cyclists are protected from lethal lorries: www.facebook.com/events/620158668053003

For further details of the protest's location, timing and demands - click here [7].

We will also continue to push TfL and the police on this issue.

You can also follow campaign developments at saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk which also includes updates from the 'Save Our Cyclists' petition.

Many thanks for your support,


Fred Smith

Save Our Cyclists Petition - Update

Dear Friends,

Last winter 36'000 people signed the 'Save Our Cyclists' petition calling for action to keep cyclists safe. After nine cyclist deaths in London this year and 7 months since Andrew Gilligan responded, here is an update of what we've achieved and where we need to keep pushing [1] [2]:

• Ambitious plans for North-South & East West segregated superhighways were released by TfL, which need your support [3]. 
• HGVs safety: TfL are proposing Safer Lorries measures and it appears the HGV enforcement team will be expanded [4] [5].
• CS2 delayed: We were promised designs in June & works starting this year. Detailed proposals have just been announced for works starting next year and completed in 2016 [6] [7]. However we were alarmed to notice the lane disappears at one point and no improvements are proposed for Bow roundabout [8].

We're making progress but the delayed CS2 plans need major changes to address serious gaps in provision. The superhighway must extend the full length of the route and Bow roundabout must be improved for cycling and walking [8].

You can follow campaign developments at saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk

One campaign development we want to tell everyone about is that Rhiannon, who started the campaign, has moved to Switzerland and handed the campaign to me, Fred [9]. A big thanks to Rhiannon for creating the petition and all her hard work. Rhiannon will continue to support the campaign as an advisor, and looks forward to seeing where we go next!

In March we asked you about our next steps and over half chose segregated lanes and in second one fifth chose HGV safety [10]. We will be pushing for both of these in the coming months, and with some councils actively opposing segregated lanes we be widening the campaign.

We will be in touch about this soon but until then please support the ambitious plans for segregated superhighways!

Many thanks for your support,


Fred Smith

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P.s.
-  We asked Andrew Gilligan for comments but he didn't reply.
-  Finally, the petition is still open for new supporters: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-our-cyclists!

References:
[1] http://cycling-intelligence.com/fatal-cycling-accidents-in-london/
[2] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/gilligans-response.html
[3] http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/how-you-can-help-make-londons-planned.html
[4] http://ibikelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/want-safer-lorries-in-london-say-yes-to.html
[5] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/hgv-enforcement-statistics-update.html
[6] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/gilligans-response.html
[7] http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/cycle-superhighway-2-boris-johnson-announces-25m-upgrade-to-notorious-bowwhitechapel-cycle-route-9750149.html
[8] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/cs2-plans-theres-something-missing.html
[9] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/petition-news-since-february.html
[10] http://saveourcyclists.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/survey-results-what-issue-do-you-think.html

Petition news since February

The Save Our Cyclists petition has been quiet since February, so this post is to tell you there have been some big changes within the campaign.

Rhiannon, who started Save Our Cyclists, has moved to Switzerland for work and didn’t feel she could run the campaign from such a distance. After some searching in the cycle-campaigning community, Rhiannon has handed over the campaign to me, Fred, a structural engineer and cycle campaigner.  Rhiannon will continue to support the campaign as an advisor, and looks forward to seeing where we go next!

I feel there is still a lot the petition can achieve, especially on segregated lanes which was the issue most of our supporters told us we should push on. So expect more action on this soon, but in the meantime please support the North-South & East-West superhighways proposal if you haven't already.

I set up this blog to record the progress of the petition. It also includes a related petition I started before I became involved with Save Our Cyclists (the link is here and you're welcome to sign it). We will be using this to coordinate our next steps on the petition.  Please comment below if you have anything you'd like to share with us.

Finally I would like to leave you with an inspiring video from the Netherlands and if that speaks to you, here's a post about getting involved in cycle campaigning!