Highbury on Foot

Like many Islington councillors my email inbox has been overflowing with messages about the Council’s parking consultation.  Interestingly the emails cover a wide range of conflicting opinions and demonstrate the complexity of parking and the huge emotional weight it carries.

The consultation arrived out of the blue for back-bench councillors and the public alike at the start of the summer holiday period.  Some residents, but by no means all, have received a flyer alerting them to the consultation. There has however been a notable lack of opportunity for face-to-face engagement.

I received an email from Jon Snow last night asking where I stand on CTC's 5 asks for cycling.

I spent my evening yesterday at the location of  another road death, quietly contemplating with others all that is wrong with our streets and the miserable lack of UK road justice. 

We were marking the anniversary of Mick Mason's death and also raising the profile of his case.  Mick Mason was hit from behind on Regent St on 25th Feb 2013, he died in hospital a few weeks later - a year go today - on 14th March.

On Monday night (2 March 2015), I attended the Vigil for Claire Hitier Abadie, who was killed by a lorry in Victoria while riding a hire bike on Thursday 19 March. The vigil was organised by the campaign group Stop Killing Cyclists.  As we lay in silence, for six minutes or so, on the freezing tarmac I wondered whether the councillors and council officers in Westminster City Hall had any interest in what we were pointing out to them; namely that our road transport system is brutally flawed.

Alerted by a call from a member of the Islington Living Streets Committee, I jumped on my bike this morning and cycled to Drayton Park.  Where I saw the latest car to be flipped over at the width restriction being carted off on a recovery truck. The driver, Allison Webber, was still there speaking to the police.

It turned out she was in a hire car having recently arrived from San Francisco.

DANNY Michelson is right in saying that the number of road accidents has increased in areas with a 20mph limit (Sobering rise in accidents on roads with 20mph limit, Islington Tribune August 31) but is completely wrong to imply that these figures suggest lower speeds somehow increase risk. The numbers have increased simply because so many councils are recognising the benefits of 20mph limits that there are a lot more of them – as shown on the BBC’s More or Less programme the other week.