Hackney cyclists staged a protest ride across the borough on Wednesday to demand safer streets after three people were killed cycling in the area in recent months.
The protest ride was organised by the Hackney Cycling Campaign (HCC), which is part of the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), following the deaths of Gao Gao, Harry Webb and an unnamed man in his 40s in three separate road collisions in August and September.
Ahead of the protest, Tom Fyans, the CEO of LCC who has lived in Hackney for 20 years, told ELL that he and other cyclists were there despite the pouring rain to show “solidarity and support” to the families of the cyclists who had died.
“I feel really proud that the cycling community can come together to events like this and say, we matter and we will support each other,” he said.
“There have been huge improvements [in cycling in Hackney], but the challenges that we’ve seen in the deaths recently showed there’s a lot more work to be done. It’s not safe enough.”
The protest ride started shortly after 5:30pm.
The protesters stopped at Kenworthy Road and Whiston Road, where two of the fatal collisions happened.
Cyclists lit candles and placed flowers on the road.
Harry Webb, a 27-year-old from Wales, was injured in a collision with a car on Kenworthy Road on September 10 and died two days later.
The collision happened just hours after his parents had dropped him off in London. Webb was due to start the second year of his master’s degree at the London College of Contemporary Music the day after the crash.
Gao Gao, a 36-year-old mother-of-two, died after an alleged hit-and-run on Whiston Road on September 21. Gao was said to be cycling home when the incident happened.
Last week it also emerged that a male cyclist in his 40s who was seriously injured in a collision in Shoreditch on August 14 had not survived his injuries.
The crowd arrived at Hackney Town Hall an hour after the protest started.
A number of protesters joined along the route and gathered at the town hall for speeches by the organisers and families of the cyclists who had died.
In a speech on behalf Webb’s family, a representative from HCC said: “Harry’s parents have said the grief and devastation this has brought to their family is unbearable. The loss of a beautiful young man who had so much to offer this world is keenly felt in the close-knit community in Crickhowell in South Wales.”
Ella Gao, sister of Gao Gao, said: “On behalf of Gao Gao and our family, thank you for coming today. Thank you for coming to remember and honour her, and stand up for what should have been her right – to get home safely.”
The crowd held a minute’s silence in remembrance of Webb and Gao after each speech.
The Evening Standard reports that at least 88 people have died on London’s road in 2023, including seven cyclists.
Why aren’t cyclists in Hackney using cycle paths and closed roads provided at great expense by Tfl
And Hackney Council? Roads are extremely crowded now because of LTNs and motorists can barely navigate the few remaining roads. All road deaths are tragic. Let’s stop all careless use of roads. Cyclists need lights at night, helmets, high vis clothing and a big dollop of common sense/education about road safety before setting off on two wheels like Miss Marple in the city!