Safer cycling

A few weeks ago I visited Copenhagen for the first time and saw for myself the brilliant cycling facilities they have there. It seems like every resident has a bike and for tourists, there are loads of cycle hire places . Even better are the widest cycle lanes I have very seen. A recent report by the World Health Organisation claims that 500 lives a year in London could be saved if cycling increased to 26% of journeys which is the level in the Danish capital. This compares to the 3% of journeys in London that are by bike. It is estimated that over 3,000 Londoners die prematurely every year as a result of air pollution and in 2012, over 600 cyclists were seriously injured in London and there were 14 deaths. Albeit nearly 10 years ago now, I can vividly remember seeing the beautiful face of a colleague from Somerset House smiling up at me from the front page of the Evening Standard, and then dazed, reading that she had been killed riding her bike on her way to work in London. Since then I've ridden bikes in the country with friends but haven't dared do so in town, not even a handy Boris bike. And actually, despite all Boris's publicity, it's local councils who are in charge of 95% of London's roads so it's our newly-elected councillors who we need to keep lobbying about safer cyling. The Danish scenario is but a distant dream.