Moira Gemmill, 55, was killed on Thursday 9 April 2015 in the Lambeth Bridge roundabout in Westminster (photo: Evening Standard)
Moira Gemmill was killed in a crash whilst cycling at Lambeth Bridge and Millbank, Westminster on Thursday, 9 April 2015.
Over 400 people joined a vigil and die-in organised by ‘Stop Killing Cyclists’ on Monday, 20 April 2015 at Lambeth Bridge from 6pm.
Moira was the 25th person killed whilst cycling in the UK in 2015. She was the 5th person killed in London whilst cycling – all in crashes involving an HGV. All but one of the victims were women.
(photo by Sam Khamtonwong)
Our deepest condolences go to victim’s family and friends.
Our thanks go out to all the volunteers who helped organise the event, made speeches and shared their photos and videos of it. Special thanks go to the members of the MET Police who cycled to the vigil and kept us all safe.
You can read about the vigil and die-in, plus see videos, pictures and news reports, here:
Akis Kollaros (bottom centre), a music producer, shown here with the Monument band, was killed on Homerton High Street on Monday 2 February 2015.
For the second time in less than a month, London’s cyclists will gather to commemorate the tragic and untimely death of one of their own in a vigil and die-in organized by the direct action protest group Stop Killing Cyclists.
On Monday, 9 February 2015 at 6pm (for 6:30pm) at Homerton High Street, near the Fire Station at Wardle Street, London E9, hundreds will riderode in memory of Akis Kollaros who was crushed under the wheels of a tipper truck a week before.
We ask as many of you as possible to attend and to remember our fellow cyclist as well as highlighting the need for space and decent infrastructure for cyclists.
If anyone knew the victim and would like to take part in the vigil, you would be very welcome. But we also respect the privacy of family and friends if they do not wish to take part.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends.
UPDATE: Thank you!! Please now see the post-event page: CLICK HERE
Following the very sad news of the death of Stephanie Turner on Tuesday, 20th January 2015 near Bethune Road, Hackney, at the junction with Amhurst Park, and Seven Sisters Road, London N16, there will be a Vigil and Die-In at this spot on MONDAY 26th JANUARY, meeting from 6pm for Die-In and Vigil at 6.30pm.
We ask as many of you as possible to attend and to remember our fellow cyclist as well as highlighting the need for space and decent infrastructure for cyclists.
If anyone knew the victim and would like to take part in the vigil, you would be very welcome. But we also respect the privacy of family and friends if they do not wish to take part.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Stephanie.
The event was very well attend — thank you to all who came out and especially to those who stepped in at the last minute to ensure the event went ahead smoothly when organiser James Gower fell ill the evening before.
Soon after a few words about the gyratory, and the ride will be said.
At 6:10pm we will hold a two minute silence for Deep Lee, killed on the gyratory in 2011. There will be a floral tribute, so this can be laid during this time.
Straight after we will head out onto the gyratory; ride on this route until about 7pm or 7:30pm.
Thank you for the backing behind this. It is my first time organising anything like this, so here is hoping everything goes to plan!
Donnachadh writes…
James Gower, who is a member of Stop Killing Cyclists, is organising a Flashride Protest on Tuesday at Kings Cross.
The protest is because despite numerous submissions to the TfL proposals to re-configure the junction, it no-way approaches Go Dutch standards.
Almost ZERO suggestions from cyclists were taken on board. For example, there are NO protected Left-Hand-Turns and despite FIVE lanes for traffic on Grays Inn Road, NO segregated space has been allocated to cycling.
TfL admitted when we met them that they had old school - “car is king” - planners who were not up to speed with Go Dutch standards but said they were waiting for them to retire….. !!!!
We wanted them trained to Go Dutch Standards and to deliver Go Dutch Standards or be fired.
How many more rubbish designs will these guys leave behind as a lethal legacy before they retire?!!
The route cycled, which covered all the boroughs of London (click for larger image).
On Saturday 28th June we* Cycled The Boroughs.
We cycled every one of London’s 33 boroughs (lets count City of London as a borough for the purposes of this write up!).
Seven people cycled the 95-mile route around and through London.
We’d done this before, in 2010 some friends and I mapped and cycled the shortest route for the first time- a 95 mile ‘e’ shaped ride starting in Hammersmith and Fulham. A few of us repeated the ride in 2012 and as 2014 rolled round it felt time to do it again.
My partner, some friends and I had attended the first Stop Killing Cyclists ‘die-in’ outside the TFL offices in November and lay down on the pavement at Elephant in Castle in May. My friend Chris, who rode the first ‘Cycle The Boroughs’ with me in 2010 suggested that our 2014 ride would be a great opportunity to promote the Stop Killing Cyclists campaign.
EVERY BOROUGH
And so it came to be that seven cyclists and friends, four from the UK, a Pole, a German and an Italian set off from Willesden Junction at 7.15am on a bright Saturday morning to stage a public ‘die-in’ in every London borough.
There was rain. There was sun. There was fun; with a serious message.
The route carried us along canal towpaths, through parks, on designated cycle routes and paths and along many minor and major streets and highways, sampling just about every sort of urban cycling experience there is to offer.
We began heading east from Hammersmith, a long straight route through the central boroughs north of Hyde Park, along an eerily empty Oxford Street, through Old Street, Victoria Park and past the Olympic site.
By Redbridge the sun bailed out behind an ominous looking cloud just as I swerved to narrowly miss a car door being flung open across the cycle lane. On reaching Havering we’d staged eleven die-ins, cycled about 25 miles, made a pit stop for espresso’s and more than burnt off breakfast.
DELUGE
Our long broad sweep through the northern boroughs saw us cycling on plenty of red routes, happily lost in a few woodlands and a stretch along the river Lea. The showers were at first refreshing, then chilling, obscuring glass on route and
The group held a ‘Die-In’ in each borough that they visited.
slowing our pace through very heavy traffic in Barnet and particularly aggressive driving in Finchley.
After our Ealing ‘die-in’ we peddled south through the western boroughs before crossing the river at Twickenham through another deluge.
THUNDEROUS ROAR
A rainbow at Bexley.
A welcome breather as we cycled through Richmond Park soon gave way to the thunderous roar of the A3 as we began to tick off the southern boroughs.
Passing through Merton, Sutton and Lambeth we knew that the greatest climb awaited; at Crystal Palace. Thankfully the rain had stopped by this point and soon as were atop the hill we were speeding down the other side towards Sydenham.
The sun returned for the first time since Waltham Forest giving us a much needed boost for the last stretch. The section of the Green Ring we cycled to the South of Catford was a joy and a break from the traffic, noise and pollution that had plagued us on much of route.
13 HOURS AND ONLY 1 FLAT TYRE
Approaching our final borough Bexley brought the unpleasant ride along the A20 and our only flat tyre of the day, just 3 miles before our finish at Sidcup Station.
The journey had taken us over thirteen hours, slowed by the many traffic lights we encountered meaning that parts of the group were forever getting stuck behind a red while that others were left waiting up ahead.
We completed the cycle on a collection of road bikes, hybrid bikes and mountain bikes.
The cycle highlighted just how far there is to go in creating a safe cycling environment in London and the lack of improvement in cycling infrastructure in the 4 years since we first completed the route, which is even more scandalous considering the huge increase in numbers of cyclists in this time.
— Adam
*The riders were: Adam Jukes, Jodie Cross, Jacob Przeklasa, Craig Horsfall, Laura Horsfall, Fabrizio Stefanoni, and Chris Speirs.
Emergency services attend to a crash at the Elephant and Castle roundabout in London on 13th May 2014. Photo by Nyron Gopeesingh, used with permission.
Remember: this protest is taking place at the southern intersection, next to the Strata building.
Dignified and Peaceful
Some family members of those killed and injured may be attending - so we are asking that people treat the event as a dignified peaceful Direct Action expressing our anger but our peaceful determination to get emergency action to protect cyclists and pedestrians asap from Southwark Council and TfL.
Timings
Approximate timings of the event today - rain or shine. Subject to change depending on situation, weather and media goals.
The Die-In may take place before the Rally at 6pm as London Tonight, Evening Standard, Live TV, South London Press and Southwark News have all said they want to cover the event - possibly on their evening broadcast.
The police have been very helpful liaising to ensure its safe.
NOTE: Timetable may vary slightly from that published. Be there for 5:30p and then you won’t miss a thing!
5:00 Pre-event meet-up for volunteers to sketch the outline of where a segregated cycle lane should go
5:30 Start of “Draw-In” event. Protesters invited to colour in the cycle route in whatever way they feel moved to -whether images or messages. We must be respectful as the protest is a result of Abdelkhars Lahyani’s terrible death last week.
6:00 Die-In (bring something soft for lying on the ground!)
6:10 Rally - speech by Steve. Poem to be read by Abby. Special message to the protest from Thames Street victim Bart Chan to be read out by Will. Possibly other statements.
Third Pedal on Parliament announced for Saturday 26th April 2014
People gather on the Meadows for start of PoP 2013 (photo by allebong on flickr)
April this year will once again see Edinburgh’s streets taken over by a colourful mass of cyclists of all shapes and sizes calling for a cycle-friendly Scotland.
Pedal on Parliament (“PoP”), the grass-roots organisation which brought 4000 demonstrators to Holyrood last year, from children on balance bikes to champion cyclist Graeme Obree, have announced their third mass protest ride on the Scottish Parliament on Saturday the 26th of April.
Graeme Obree makes his point (photo by Anthony Robson on flickr)
People will be gathering at noon at the Meadows for a minute’s silence to remember those killed on Scotland’s roads and then riding down the Royal Mile to call on politicians to support the PoP manifesto for safer cycling.
This will be a light-hearted occasion, but with a serious purpose.
Last year saw 12 cyclists killed in Scotland, the highest number for several years, and 2014 has already seen three cyclists die, the most recent only this week.
Organiser Kim Harding with Ian Fyfe, widower of Audrey Fyfe (photo by Anthony Robson on flickr)
Meanwhile the latest census figures show that the Scottish government is far behind on its target to see 10% of journeys by bike by 2020 - in the last decade, the percentage commuting to work by bike has risen only 0.1% to 1.6%.
The organisers believe that without real and sustained investment in cycling and roads designed to accommodate people of all ages and abilities, then these figures will not improve.
Organiser David Brennan said,
“This year Scotland will be hosting the Commonwealth Games, bringing some of the world’s top cyclists to race around the streets of Glasgow. Yet if those same riders were to venture out in Glasgow on the roads that I and others cycle on any other day of the year, they would be shocked at how little quality provision there is for people who chose to travel by bike. As a result I often feel that my safety is compromised and many potential cyclists are discouraged from starting at all.”
He continued,
“We may have produced some great sporting cyclists as a nation but we’re a very long way from being a cycle-friendly country. We want to see a Scotland where anyone - from Sir Chris Hoy to my four-year-old daughter - can enjoy the freedom of getting about by bike if they wish, and not having to wait until the roads are closed to do so.”
Graeme Obree, who led the ride last year alongside the families of Audrey Fyfe and Andrew McNichol who were both killed on their bikes on the streets of Edinburgh, said,
“Pedal on Parliament are not asking for spending here, but an investment, so that young people can cycle freely and without fear. We want a network from our homes to our workplaces, our shops, and schools and everywhere we want to go. It’s an investment in the health of the nation.”
Starting to gather at Parliament (photo by Anthony Robson on flickr)
Investment in cycling and other forms of active travel has been shown to return up to 19 times the amount invested in reduced congestion and improved health and pollution levels. It also makes the roads safer for everyone, including drivers, and substantially improves lives and livelihoods, as the experiences of places as diverse as New York, Copenhagen and Seville have shown.
People of all ages cycling to Parliament (photo by Chris Hill on flickr)
Pedal on Parliament believe that with proper funding and well-designed cycling infrastructure, Scotland can be a healthier, wealthier and above all happier place.
Notes:
Pedal on Parliament’s eight-point manifesto asks for:
Proper funding for cycling;
Cycling to be designed into Scotland’s roads;
Slower speeds where people live, work and play;
Cycling to be integrated into local transport strategies;
Improved road traffic law and enforcement;
The risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians to be reduced;
A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training; and,
Improved statistics supporting decision-making and policy.
Side-by-side accessible tandem Pedal on Parliament (photo by Kim Harding on flickr)
The first Pedal on Parliament on April 28 2012 brought 3000 people onto the streets of Edinburgh, and the second saw 4000 gather, including hundreds of kids.
Several children completed the 1.5 mile protest ride on balance bikes, with others on tagalongs, trailers, child seats, or pedalling alongside their parents. Cyclists rode in from as far afield as Aberdeen to join the event.
Directions to the starting place are on the PoP website HERE.
People killed in Scotland whilst riding their bicycles in 2014:
George Fairley, 78, from Kirkliston killed 10am Sunday 16 February on B800 Kirkliston to South Queeensferry;
Grant Gourlay, 48, from Dundee killed 10:30am Wednesday 16 April on A926 between Maryton and Kirriemuir
The police are also seeking witnesses after a 33 year old woman was injured in a hit and run collision in the Liberton area of Edinburgh at 9:30am on 17 April - please see HERE.
