Speed bumps.....for cyclists

A local tenants and residents association in Islington have installed speed bumps for cyclists after becoming fed up with speeding cyclists rampaging down one road. They have laid 14 bumps on the no-car backstreet after a catalogue of complaints about cyclists careering down the road.

The yellow and black plastic speed bumps were installed over the last fortnight after dozens of complaints by fed-up residents to Homes for Islington (HFL), the firm that runs the borough's housing estates.

Cyclists use the 250-metre narrow road as a cut-through to avoid the traffic-congested main highway. Residents say the move on the pedestrian-only backstreet graphically highlights the dangers of speeding cyclists.

The news comes after Cycling England, an agency funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) to promote cycling, recommended that new laws be implemented to make it easier for cyclists injured in road accidents to make compensation claims against drivers earlier this week. T

he proposal, put forward as part of the consultation process for the government’s National Cycling Plan and Active Transport Strategy, would see motorists become legally responsible for all crashes involving cyclists whether they are at fault or not has been

The scheme would place the presumption of blame against whoever was driving the most powerful vehicle involved in an accident, so they or their insurers would be liable for costs or damages.

Cyclists' groups say the reforms would encourage people to ditch their cars and make more journeys by bike.

Islington council recently disappointed London Mayor Boris Johnson after they rejected plans for a bike docking station for the London Cycle Hire Scheme in the street where he lives at a town hall meeting.

It came after 15 of the Mayor's neighbours opposed an application by Transport for London to install 35 automated bike racks in Colebrooke Row. They supported residents who complained the bike racks could lead to increased noise and crime and would not be in keeping with the Georgian terraces in the street, despite Islington's planning officers recommending the application be approved.