Darren Johnson has responded to the tragic news of another cycling fatality in London by calling for a doubling of the money spent on cycle safety measures in the Transport for London business plan. The crash happened on Commercial Road in east London, near to the junction with Arbour Square, according to the Met Police.

The number of killed and seriously injured cyclists in London rose by 22% last year.

Darren Johnson commented:

"This terrible news should concern every Londoner, whether they cycle or not. The Mayor is still not acting fast enough to end preventable deaths and injuries. Cycling should be seen as an incredibly healthy activity, not a potential death sentence."

"The Mayor is still not promising to invest the kind of big money that cycle safety needs and the London Assembly recommended in its recent cross party report. Transport for London need to dig deeper to at least double their planned funding for cycling over the next decade. There has been a complete failure of leadership by the Mayor who has encouraged cycling whilst giving priority to cars and lorries."

ENDS

Transport for London's business plan has around £90m a year spent on cycling over the ten year period. The London Assembly called for £145m a year, based upon cycling being 2% of modal share. They recommended that this amount should rise as the proportion of journeys made by bike continued to rise. The Mayor's target is for 5% of journeys to be made by bike by 2026.