A Croydon councillor who holds the transport portfolio at the London borough has promised cycling campaigners and fellow council members that an “urgent review” will be conducted over the road layout at a location where a woman was killed in a collision with a lorry earlier this week.
The victim, aged 25, had been riding over a railway bridge on St James’s Road, Selhurst, close to the junction with Gloucester Road on Monday afternoon when the collision took place. Her next of kin have been informed, but she has not yet been named.
> Young woman killed cycling in London lorry collision
The driver of the vehicle involved, a 48-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and failure to stop. He has been bailed while police continue their enquiries.
Both Croydon Cycling Campaign and a local councillor have said that the location where the cyclist was killed, opposite the Windmill pub, is dangerous, reports the Croydon Advertiser.
Austen Cooper from the campaign group explained: “The painted cycle lane disappears as the road starts to narrow, effectively diverting the unwary cyclists into the nearside of vehicles travelling alongside or just behind.
"This is very poor design, and needs to be reviewed urgently."
Addiscombe councillor Sean Fitzsimmons described the railway bridge as “not safe for pedestrians or motorists, let alone cyclists.
"It's just too narrow for a major road and my view is it should be rebuilt like the Tennison Road bridge, with a separated cycle lane, but it will need Network Rail support and finance."
He and other councillors from Addiscombe and Selhurst have asked for a meeting to discuss the site and Monday’s fatality.
Confirming that he would meet them as well as Mr Cooper, Croydon’s cabinet member for transport, Stuart King, said: “I am very saddened to learn of this tragic death. My thoughts and sympathies are with the young lady who lost her life and her family.
"We take our responsibility to provide a safe environment for road users very seriously.
"I am looking to talk to the council's transport staff but I will be arranging meetings with Austen and also the ward councillors in the area who have also got in touch with me about the issue.
"I understand there is an ongoing police investigation so it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage," he added.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that another cyclist in London lost their life earlier in May.
Christopher Holt, aged 58, died in hospital on 15 May from injuries sustained four days earlier in a collision with a car at the junction of Rainham Road and Sowrey Avenue.
The London Evening Standard reports that the female motorist involved stopped at the scene, adding that police have asked witnesses to contact them on 020 8597 4874.
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9 comments
"transport chief promises urgent review"
Translation: car facilities chief promises urgent PR exercise, box-ticking, sweeping under carpet, empty promises, possible installation of road sign saying "cyclists dismount", followed by inaction.
I know that area well. The road system round there is really poor in places.
I'm sure you're right about that, but we need measures aimed at improving cyclist safety, not just lorry convenience!
Of course cyclist safety is highly important and the subject of the above article, but by reducing the amount of motorised transport in the city to goods vehicles and public transport, you get more road space to use for a protected cycle lane for cyclists to keep them away from the lorries and buses.
Yes - I do take your point. Nothing would make me happier than high-quality segregated infra anywhere where lorries and bikes have to share the same road space. But other than in inner London, this is unlikely to happen any time soon. So we need to look at other ways to protect vulnerable road users.
And less cars means just that the lorries would be driving that bit faster so they could fit in more pickups/deliveries, and probably not looking so much because if there's more room for them then why would they? Might be easier for them, but still dangerous for the "vulnerable road users".
It's so sad that a young woman had to die before people take notice of bad infrastructure.
Banning lorries form London will stop cyclists getting hit by lorries, but you wont get goods delivered to shops and you wont get bulding materials turning up for construction sites
Instead why not heavily reduce the number of private cars in London and encourage people to hire cars for the few times they really need one.
Because it is lorries, not cars, that are disproportionately involved in cyclist deaths.
True, but with less cars on the road in the city, it would be easier for the lorries to get in and around the city, then you impose a 20mph limit and properly segregate motorised transport from cyclists and pedestrians. Lorries themselves still need improving in terms of visibility and safety for pedestrians and cyclists etc. as well, but they are already working on that.
ultimately though, in a city, we need lorries more than we need cars