Progress in making cycling safer in London appears to have faltered under the current Mayor. This is shown by an analysis by Jenny Jones AM of Transport for London figures.
The Mayor told Jenny Jones on the 9th November
"Your duty as an honest politician (is) to tell people the truth that cycling is actually getting safer, when you consider the number of people on the roads".
Cycling increased by 61% between 2000 and 2008, as the total number of cycling casualties fell. At the end of the previous administration, Transport for London claimed that a cyclist was nearly half as likely to be injured, as they were eight years before. Under the present Mayor, the number of cyclists has continued to rise, but the number of casualties has risen faster proportionately .
Jenny Jones said:
"Cycling in London is certainly safer than it was in 2000, but progress has stopped, or even reversed, since Boris Johnson took charge. I admit that this only my best estimate, as neither TfL nor the Mayor has produced their own figures. However, my estimate highlights the fact that the Mayor is making this assertion that ‘cycling is getting safer’ without actually knowing if it is true. The instinct of a growing number of cyclists is that the Mayor is over confident . He came into office encouraging people to cycle and then introduced his ‘smoothing traffic’ measures which give motorised traffic the priority at dangerous junctions like Bow Roundabout. This has made vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists) even more vulnerable."
