The Daily Telegraph website, via the excellent Londonist blog, has produced an interactive map charting the deadliest year for cyclists in London since 2006, with 16 people killed in bicycle accidents in the capital in 2011. The link to the map is here: Mapped: London’s Cycle Accident Blackspots | Londonist.
The map can be configured by the type of accident — running from slight, through serious and, sadly, on to fatal — and for each incident salient facts are displayed, including the date and time, the gender of the person hit and the vehicle(s) involved. There’s also a Google Street View plug-in for good measure, which might allow cyclists to scout out a particularly dicey area if they’re heading for unfamiliar territory.
You are also able to drill down into details locally in and around Croydon.
It is worth noting that at recent meetings of the London Assembly, when the issue of cyclists’ safety has been tabled for discussion, our local Assembly Member, Steve O’Connell, has got up and walked out to help to prevent discussion of an issue which must surely be close to Mayor “Biker” Boris’s heart. Well worth £120,000 per year of public money…
Related articles
- Boris is back in town and Menta questions tower over O’Connell (insidecroydon.com)
- Twitter exposes O’Connell’s priorities over £1bn incinerator (insidecroydon.com)
- £115,000 man O’Connell refuses to support Living Wage (insidecroydon.com)
- Croydon pedestrians risk death on unsafe crossings (insidecroydon.com)
- Cyclists urged to have insurance (autonetinsurance.co.uk)
Regarding Steve O’Connell and the walkouts (good name for a band!), in reality these Tory strikes are part of a long-standing fight about GLA procedural issues.
They get a ticking off for this being at the expense of essential motions, the motion gets re-tabled (amended) and it’s all right in the end. That at least seems to be the pattern of this bit of set piece theatre.
It is a pity that these walkouts affect business that matters to constituents – political posturing should play second fiddle to life-and-death matters such as poor quality Cycle Superhighways being so dangerous that cyclists are killed on them. However, it is good that with Tory help a strong resolution was eventually passed with cross-party support.
Locally, it is good that no cyclists have died in Croydon for many, many years.
It is bad that opportunities to obtain hundreds of thousands of pounds to invest in improved cycling facilities (junction and road layout improvements and the like) were squandered due to a lack of effective scrutiny, political support and priority within Taberner House.
And there are hopes that we can do better, thanks to the right people now being in place that can and are doing a better job than their predecessors, and the possibility of us riding on the coat-tails of new developments and getting some Section 106 improvements that will make central Croydon an easy, attractive, safe and convenient environment in which to get on your bike.
So it is wrong to portray O’Connell and his cronies’ walk outs as politicians playing with people’s lives then?
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