Red alert for London cyclists

The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has issued a warning to London cyclists that 700 heavy concrete mixer trucks are this weekend scheduled to visit The Shard building site near London Bridge Station.

Starting during this evening's rush hour - oh joy - and lasting for 36 hours, almost 700 return lorry trips will continuously pour 12,500 tons of concrete into the foundations of Europe's largest building site.

The LCC are concerned that building lorries are among the most hazardous for cyclists; only last month a cyclist was killed in a collision with a tipper lorry from The Shard building site.

All cyclists in the central London area, particularly south of the river around London Bridge, are warned to take extra care this Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. The lorries will be coming from concrete plants in Bow and Battersea.

Route details are on the LCC website here.

A spokesperson for The Shard's principal building contractors, Mace Group, told the LCC "Please be assured that the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and all road users has been treated very seriously in the planning - which has been ongoing for several weeks and has involved local authorities, Transport for London and immediate neighbours."

LCC lorry campaigner Charlie Lloyd said, "Around half of all cyclist deaths in London involve large lorries, even though there are relatively few on the road.

"This weekend's 36-hour rush creates an extra hazard. LCC is calling on the developers and transport companies to do everything they can to reduce the danger to cyclists and pedestrians."

Be careful out there, people.