Anger at ‘death mile’ cycling safety action - Campaigners say TfL ‘dragging feet’ following Paula Jurek tragedy

CYCLING campaigners  have warned Transport for London (TfL) that doing nothing is not an option on a road that has been labelled “death mile” due to the high number of collisions and accidents that have taken place on it.

Protesters are determined to not let the death of Paula Jurek, a cyclist who was killed on Camden Road, simply be consigned to the statistics and this week repeated calls for new safety measures.

They fear that while there are pledges made  whenever a cyclist is killed on London’s roads, these do not lead to concrete action.

Twenty-year-old Ms Jurek’s death in April came at a location recognised in TfL’s own reports as one of the worst black-spots in Camden. 

Ten cyclists have been involved in accidents on the same stretch of road in the past three years.

Councillors representing Cantelowes ward say TfL are “dragging their feet” over improvements and launched a cross-party petition demanding immediate action.

The petition, organised by council-appointed cycling champion Lib Dem Councillor Paul Braithwaite and, Labour ward councillors Angela Mason and Phil Jones, accuses TfL of prioritising the speed of buses over road safety.

It also says advanced stop lines for cyclists are “not enough” and calls for a four-way pedestrian green traffic sequence.

The petition reads: “More than three months on, TfL, who control this main road, show no signs of acting. Deplorably, TfL has never implemented the improved safety measures proposed as a result of the big consultation exercise in 2005. They appear more concerned for the speed of their buses than for public safety. The accident record on Camden Road is very poor.”

Paul Dean, Ms Jurek’s friend, described it as “disappointing” that no action had been taken, adding: “Cycle safety does not feel like the priority that TfL and [Mayor of London] Mr [Boris] Johnson claim it is. I think the Camden Road situation is another example of both Mr Johnson and TfL failing to get things done and failing to follow up on their plans.”

Catherine Hays, chairwoman of the Camden Square Neighbourhood Association, said: “This has been an ongoing problem for as long as I’ve lived here, which is 15 years. 

“We have done everything a good neighbourhood should do – we engaged in consultation, went on walkabouts. None of the recommendations have been implemented and in the meantime lives have been lost.”  

Camden Road resident Chris Briere-Edney said: “It’s an absolute outrage. For the past 25 years I’ve been writing to TfL over this road and we’ve struggled on with years of plans, but absolutely nothing has happened.”

TfL declined to comment.

Published: 21 July 2011
by JOSIE HINTON