After two cycling accidents in the summer, council are being urged to take action in making London a safer city for cycling. Many Londoners have taken to social media to voice their opinions on cycling around the city. Heather Hill is a professor at Western University. She bikes to work every day and has had many close calls.
Almost hit twice on way to work. low traffic neighborhoods. aggro mini van didn't like that I existed & passed dangerously close on right. Other turned rt in front of me. Didn't see me. Brakes slammed. #LdnOnbike @cityoflondon #VisionZero
— Dr. Heather Hill (@rollin_academic) September 11, 2018
Hill says drivers need to be more cautious. She has come close to being hit way too many times. Every time a car is millimeters away from her bike, she gets the same anxious feeling.
“It’s a panic. You just, you get that adrenaline rush through your body and you’re just hoping that you hit the brakes in the right way so you don’t go flying over the handlebars.”
Hill hopes council can work out something soon in order to prevent future accidents.
Council Plans
Council realize why cycling has become so unsafe in the city.
“Traffic volumes and congestion are getting high. In other words, every street it seems this summer has become a very, very busy street,” says Councillor Phil Squire.
They are ready to make changes in the city by adding additional dedicated bike lanes. Councillor Squire realizes that cyclists are in danger and want changes, but says
London was structurally never built for cyclists.
“People I know are anxious, and they really want it to happen overnight. But London when it was built, was not built as a modern city to accommodate people riding bikes. So, we’re making the changes.”
Council are working on a project right now called the safe streets initiative. Council evaluate each road and simulate ways to make them safer for everyone. Pedestrians will have sidewalks on both sides of the road, cyclists will have bike lanes on both sides, and roads will be made narrower to reduce the speed of motorists.
A good example of the safe streets initiative is currently on Western Road where construction is ongoing to create sidewalks and cycle lanes on both sides of the street. Council hope to continue constructing through the safe streets initiative to prevent future pedestrian and cyclist accidents.
