Cycle superhighway 2 on Whitechapel Road, where a cyclist was killed. Pic: Google 2017
A 32-year-old female cyclist died after being hit by a coach on Whitechapel Road in Mile End on Monday at the height of the morning rush hour.
The accident happened at around 9a.m. on Cycle Superhighway 2 which runs from Stratford to Aldgate on February 6.
An off-duty doctor was the first at the scene. He proceeded to help the cyclist when she got trapped in between the wheels of the coach. Ambulance services then arrived and the victim was rushed to the hospital and where she was pronounced dead. Paramedics said she went into cardiac arrest at the scene.
No arrests have been made.
The unidentified victim is one of the first cyclists to die this year on the streets of London. Last year, ten cyclists died in the capital. Monday’s incident occurred on a stretch of cycle superhighway 2, a route that became notorious after three cyclists died while using it in 2013.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s has pledged to spend £770m on cycling initiatives to make cycling safer and prevent future cycle related deaths.
Khan stated in a London Assembly press release: “Getting more people cycling in London is going to be central to achieving a greener, more modern and more affordable transport network.”
Countries like Denmark and the Netherlands are well known for their cycle-friendliness. It is estimated that about £17 per person per year would need to be spent to match that level support for cycling in London.
“With record amounts of money now committed for cycling in London, we will continue to work over the coming months developing further detailed plans for making cycling a safe and obvious choice for Londoners of all ages and backgrounds,” Mayor Sadiq Khan told the Guardian.
London currently has five cycle superhighways across London and two new cycle superhighways are planned, but critics and campaigners have questioned the practicality and layout of these.
Speaking in the House of Lords in 2015, former chancellor Lord Lawson said of cycle superhighways: “They are doing more damage, to London than almost anything since the Blitz.”
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