Cyclist killed at Woolwich junction that has been removed from cycle safety improvement programmes

A cyclist has died following a collision with a lorry on Woolwich Road, just under the A102. The local MP says he will ask Sadiq Khan why the notorious junction has been removed from two cycle safety improvement programmes.

The London Evening Standard reports that a 37-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene following a collision at around 8.25am on Friday. The driver of the lorry stopped and is helping police with their enquiries.

The Woolwich Road roundabout, which connects the busy road with the Blackwall Tunnel’s southern approach, is well known for being dangerous for cyclists.

In May 2009, 31-year-old Adrianna Skrzypiec, from Rotherhithe, was killed at the same junction while cycling home from her job in Charlton. A lorry driver was initially charged with dangerous driving but the charges were dropped before the case went to court and a coroner subsequently recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The junction had been part of the Better Junctions programme, but does not appear in the Safer Junctions scheme that replaced it. It will also not be covered by the revised route of CS4, which will now only run as far as Greenwich Town Centre.

Matthew Pennycook, the Labour Member of Parliament for Greenwich and Woolwich, says he will be asking Sadiq Khan to reconsider.

My condolences to the family and friends of the cyclist killed this morning in a collision at the Woolwich Road roundabout. This junction should never have been removed from the two improvement programmes that had been promised. Please look again at what can be done @SadiqKhan

— Matthew Pennycook MP (@mtpennycook) May 18, 2018

Councillor Stephen Brain told News Shopper the junction was under Transport for London (TfL) control and that attempts to get it to address safety concerns had come to little.

He said: “I live literally two streets away from where that person was killed. It was a very upsetting sight.

“We have been after changing that roundabout for some while. We have been pushing this junction for ages and ages and they don’t respond. That’s all I can say about it, it’s really frustrating.”

Nigel Hardy, head of programme sponsorship for surface transport at TfL, said: "Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the man who sadly died after a collision with a HGV this morning while cycling in Greenwich.

"We will assist the police as they investigate the circumstances and we will work closely with Greenwich council on our plans for a new cycle route between Greenwich and Woolwich.”