Safety plan for Superhighway Cycling network announced

New scheme announced to improve safety for London’s cyclists. Pic: Leshaines123

New scheme announced to improve safety for London’s cyclists. Pic: Leshaines123

A new £35m scheme to improve safety for London’s cyclists was announced by Boris Johnson announced yesterday, with part of the new route running through Tower Hamlets.

The news comes less than 24 hours after a cyclist was killed in a collision on Mile End Road.

The victim, believed to be a 62-year-old male, was pronounced dead at the scene just before 5pm on Monday after he collided with a tipper lorry on the cycle superhighway. At the time of publication, the Police had no update on the identification of the victim.

Tuesday’s announcement from the Mayor’s office hopes to secure safety for London cyclists, upgrading the inner section of the Barclays Cycle Superhighway 2 between Aldgate and Bow. Plans include the installation of the first fully segregated and pioneered cycle-separated junctions on Whitechapel High Street.

This includes the area where 20-year-old French student Philippine De Gerin-Ricard was killed last July after being hit by a lorry while using a Boris Bike.

Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Transport Commissioner for London, said: “The completion of this flagship, fully-segregated extension, and the planned upgrades to existing superhighways to raise them to an even better standard show that the Mayor and TFL are determined to ensure that the capital’s roads are as safe as can be for cyclists.”

Cycle-separated junctions will also be added at all busy junctions on the CS2, with cycle-specific traffic lights to guard against encounters with oncoming motor traffic. According to the mayor’s office, most serious bike injuries and fatalities occur at those junctions.

Other improvement areas include west of the CS2, the rotary on the Aldgate High Street and St Botolph Street around Aldgate tube station. These lanes will be completely removed by the City of London, with traffic now running two-way on both streets.

The city will also install innovative trial layouts on Aldgate High Street to deliver safe and separate spaces for cyclists only.

In 2012, 122 cyclists died in Britain: a five-year high, with 106 of the deaths coming after a collision with a vehicle. There were 14 cyclists killed in London last year alone.

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