Features
Protesters Go Slow for Safer Cities
February 1, 2012 Nicola  |
Around 100 protesters brought King’s Cross to a stand-still for an hour to campaign for a safer, more people-friendly London.
Last week around 100 protesters took part in a “Go Slow” demonstration organised by cycle campaign group Bikes Alive “to rebalance priorities on London’s roads in favour of people: in favour of their health, safety and sanity”.
Protester Beth Anderson told The Fresh Outlook she took part in the protest in order to campaign for a safer London:
“I fundamentally believe that to attempt to get as many vehicles through our city as fast as possible is the wrong approach. While other cities are turning away from plans to increase vehicular traffic and instead to improve infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists, TfL and the Mayor of London still seem fixed on prioritising motorised traffic.”
According to a statement from Bikes Alive: “The situation on major roads and at major junctions in London is exacerbated by the policy of Transport for London (TfL), which prioritises the speed and volume of motor vehicles above the safety and sanity of everyone else.”
The protesters were also protesting on behalf of pedestrians. TfL has plans to develop roads without building pedestrian crossings. Campaigners say this puts the safety of the most vulnerable: children, the disabled and the elderly, at risk.
“We should be thinking of the most vulnerable road-users first and designing our cities with a zero-tolerance approach to road casualties. TfL are currently undertaking work to remove pedestrian crossings and shorten the safe crossing phase for pedestrians. While many people can cross busy roads we’re leaving our most vulnerable road-users with an increasingly dangerous city that does not cater for them,” Ms Anderson added.
Albert Beale, a Bike’s Alive activist, told us that “there is really no role for private cars in a congested area like urban London”.
Last week’s protest echoed a protest which took place at King’s Cross earlier in January. This was also arranged by Bikes Alive.
At the previous protest, around 100 cyclists brought King’s Cross to a halt for an hour by occupying the roads. They cycled very slowly around the area as one large mass.
100 cyclists is a small number for a protest. However, it is one of the many signs that cycling culture is slowly changing in the United Kingdom. The issue of cycling has become so big in London that the candidates standing for mayor have made it a top election priority.
Jenny Jones, the Green party mayoral candidate told us: “As mayor I would stop City Hall’s focus on smoothing ‘traffic flow’—which has been the overriding and very damaging principle for Boris Johnson’s transport policies. We would ensure that Transport for London’s planning decisions were focused on walking, cycling and public transport.”
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, is an avid cyclist. He has introduced a plan to make London more cycle friendly which has included the introduction of city bikes to get more cyclists on the road and the construction of the Barclays Superhighways which connect various suburbs to the city centre.
However, cyclists have criticised some of his schemes. They feel some of the Superhighways have been badly designed when they meet junctions.
A 58-year-old cyclist was killed during a collision with a lorry at the Bow roundabout last October and a second cyclist was killed in a similar incident three weeks later.
The London Cycling Campaign had alerted Boris Johnson to the dangers of that junction the previous February.
The site of last Monday’s protest, King’s Cross, was where a 24-year-old Korean student was killed. A ghost bike was erected to commemorate her and the 15 other cyclists who died on London’s roads last year.
Implementing cycle-friendly policies and infrastructure is an achievable aim. Both the Netherlands and Denmark developed their cities to favour cars during the 1960s during a period when the two countries became exceedingly wealthy.
As a result of protests from the people, the two countries began re-designing their cities to favour bikes from the early 1970s.
To date around 40% of commuters in Copenhagen and Amsterdam travel by bike.
As cycling increased, the amount of pedestrians who died as a result of traffic collisions fell. In 1971, 400 children died as a result of traffic accidents on Dutch roads; in 2010 this number had dropped to 14.
According to a recent report by the Greater Manchester Public Health Practise Unit, the UK has the highest percentage of pedestrian road deaths in Europe at 22.5%.
Cycling can also save a city money. Copenhagen saves an estimated 1.7bn kroner (over £13m) from cycling annually due to the increased health of its citizens putting less strain on the health system, less pollution and reduced road repairs.
Mr Beale informed us: “There will be some more enforced road closures, Go Slow, like we’ve had in the last two weeks…if the numbers interested in doing that sort of action grow then they will be more frequent.”
The next Bikes Alive “Go Slow” protest will take place on Monday February 6 at King’s Cross from 18:00.
By Louisa Guise
[Image courtesy of sludgegupler]
