Boris promises review of fatal Bow roundabout

Pic: Sarah0s

The Mayor of London has begun an urgent safety review of Bow roundabout and its cycle superhighway after two people were killed on its tarmac in three weeks.

At a meeting called by local London assembly member John Biggs, Boris Johnson and TfL agreed to report back within a week on how they intend to improve safety at the junction.

The Mayor’s new commitment comes after months of warnings from the community to increase safety at the roundabout.

A 34-year-old woman was fatally injured travelling west at the roundabout last week. On October 24, Brian Dorling, a 58-year-old cost consultant at the Olympics site in Stratford, was killed as he cycled to work.

On Monday his widow Debbie made a public plea for TfL to revise safety at the roundabout, calling it “a recipe for disaster”.

The cycle superhighway at the Bow flyover roundabout, where the A11 meets the A12, has vehicles turning left across a cycle lane in what Biggs called “an accident waiting to happen”.

During the meeting, Biggs raised questions about  pedestrian and cyclist safety at the junction, as well as the safety of existing and planned cycle superhighways across London.

After the meeting, Biggs said: “I welcome this commitment from the mayor and TfL. It is important that they look into this as a matter of urgency and the necessary steps are taken to make the Roundabout safe for cyclists. All parties need to work together to find a solution and do all we can to avoid any more tragedies on our roads.”

Biggs first raised concerns about the junction’s safety in October 2009.

Dorling, from Hounslow, told the BBC her husband was an experienced cyclist who would ride about 200 miles (320km) a week.

“I think it’s a definite design fault with the superhighway,” she said.

TfL also plan to review all other cycling superhighways and assess the types of vehicle that appear to be most regularly involved in these incidents.

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