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Queens Circus Rondabout, Battersea (Google Street View).JPGLondon cyclist was killed at city's first "segregated" roundabout - which critics had said was "hugely complicated"
A roundabout in London where a cyclist was killed last week was described by campaigners as “hugely complicated” when plans for it were unveiled in 2014.
Shane Murtagh Hammond, aged 34, died following a collision involving a bin lorry at 5.45pm on Monday 9 July at Queens Circus in Battersea.
Queens Circus, which lies on the route of Cycle Superhighway 8, is the first roundabout in the city to have a segregated cycle lane running around the outside (in the picture above, it passes between the two traffic lights to the left, with the cyclist riding on the main carriageway instead).
But when the London Borough of Wandsworth revealed the design of the roundabout in August 2014, critics said it failed to meet Dutch standards for infrastructure.
> Cool reception for "hugely complicated" London segregated roundabout plan
The council was also criticised for prioritising motor vehicles rather than cyclists, and for putting traffic lights on the roundabout, which also uses kerbs and traffic islands to provide segregation.
At the time, the London Cycling Campaign said: "Currently cyclists make up about a third of the morning peak hour flow on the roundabout. Often there are so many that they fill a whole traffic lane and cars give them space.
"The new design gives less space to cyclists with added delay… That can only lead to congestion and risk taking behaviour.”
It added: "While the proposals at Battersea provide segregation from motor traffic at the busiest points it is at the cost of a confusing set of signals which are likely to increase the number of times cyclists have to stop and increase the waiting time, especially for those coming out of town in the evening peak."
Stop Killing Cyclists co-founder Donnachadh McCarthy also hit out at the plans when they were announced, saying: "The design at present is quite confusing, which makes it more dangerous.”
He added that the design of the roundabout “requires the cyclists to stop at lights, whereas in Dutch designs, the cyclists would have right of way.”
Mr Hammond, a graphic art graduate, died from his injuries last Monday evening in St George’s Hospital, Tooting, reports the London Evening Standard.
His mother Teresa De Marco told the newspaper: “We are heartbroken. We can’t believe Shane has gone. He was a very experienced cyclist and was very careful. He wouldn’t even take the bike out in the rain. We need a full investigation.”
The Metropolitan Police’s Serious Collision Investigation United is appealing for witnesses and can be contacted on 020 8543 5157.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Another tragic case affecting all of us, whether or not a relative of friend and whether or not we live in the area. In I975 I co-founded Wandsworth Cyclists (WC for short) so I have more than passing interest. For far too long we have allowed highway engineers who have had no training in designing for cycling, who often despise cyclists (from years of working alongside them) and see their main interest (self interest!} is speeding up motorists, whatever the conseqences for other road users, to produce more and more designs that are dangerous to cyclists.
The solution is to set up in each highway authority a cycling (and walking) design team of an equal status to the highway design team. This would ideally comprise urban planners, engineers, surveyors and the like. The team would be responsible for the design and implementation of all cycling routes, whether segrated or not, including bridleways and other rights of way legally open to cyclists. All highway schemes, whether designed specifically for cyclists or as part of an integrated scheme for motorists and cyclists, should be cycling safety audited at design stage and not when a death has resulted.
This group would work alongside local cycling groups to take advantage of outside experience and knowledge which, sadly, is often wider than in the highway aothority.
Another tragic case affecting all of us, whether or not a relative of friend and whether or not we live in the area. In I975 I co-founded Wandsworth Cyclists (WC for short) so I have more than passing interest. For far too long we have allowed highway engineers who have had no training in designing for cycling, who often despise cyclists (from years of working alongside them) and see their main interest (self interest!} is speeding up motorists, whatever the conseqences for other road users, to produce more and more designs that are dangerous to cyclists.
The solution is to set up in each highway authority a cycling (and walking) design team of an equal status to the highway design team. This would ideally comprise urban planners, engineers, surveyors and the like. The team would be responsible for the design and implementation of all cycling routes, whether segrated or not, including bridleways and other rights of way legally open to cyclists. All highway schemes, whether designed specifically for cyclists or as part of an integrated scheme for motorists and cyclists, should be cycling safety audited at design stage and not when a death has resulted.
This group would work alongside local cycling groups to take advantage of outside experience and knowledge which, sadly, is often wider than in the highway aothority.
Scary thought that Brooksby, scary thought...
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Why are Wandsworth Council butting in when the thread is obviously about bike.owner trying to change don simon’s (abrasive but quite witty) attitude? /s
Wandsworth, does London Cycling Campaign’s analysis of 3 years ago still apply, particularly with regard to the delay, which might conceivably make people cycling take higher risks on the main carriageway than otherwise ?
"Queens Circus was chosen because new developments at Battersea Power Station and at Chelsea Bridge Wharf will generate much more motor traffic in the area (and as stated elsewhere in the article, was the first major re-designed junction aiming for a dramatic reduction in danger to cyclists). All across London motor traffic usage is falling, except for here where Wandsworth Council are planning for increased motor traffic. They saw the need to put traffic signals on the junction to stop motor traffic blocking the whole area. They also responded to decades of protests and lobbying by people on foot hoping for safe access to Battersea Park.
Putting (in) traffic signals slows down traffic, reduces danger and creates delay. Cyclists are concerned that they are suffering more delay than other road users.
The level of service analysis in the London Cycle Design Standards gives a zero score to any facility that gives more time to motor traffic than to cyclists. At Queens Circus it is possible for a cyclist turning right through the roundabout to be delayed for over two minutes, occasionally the impact is even higher.”
https://lcc.org.uk/articles/separated-cycle-tracks-at-queens-circus-is-t...
Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and friends of the person involved in this tragic incident and if there are any lessons to be learned as a result of the police investigation we will obviously consider those very carefully indeed.
The roundabout has been operating in its current form for the past three years and in that time there have been no other cycling fatalities or serious injuries even though it is part of a cycle superhighway and used by many thousands of cyclists each day.
The changes to the layout, which were drawn up in close partnership with Transport for London, were designed to make the roundabout safer and since being implemented accidents involving cyclists have been dramatically reduced.
Clearly the design to make it safer does not work...
Does "only one death in three years" represent success?
\
This roundabout is a lesson on how not to design and safer cycling environment. More traffic lights for cyclist, continually having to cross the flow of traffic to navigate around it and encouraging drivers to beat the lights at every opourtunity..
You shouldn’t need a police investiation to tell you that you have been negligent in your duty to the public - it’s clear from your complete shirking of responsibility that you simply do not care!
Do you have statistics confirming how many deaths of and serious injuries to cyclists there were prior to this 3 year period?
The important take home point is that when you get opinions from experienced cyclists, you should listen, not just ignore them.
Have you collected any data on collisions, injuries or near misses on the roundabout? Have you made any attempt to verify that the users; pedestrian, cyclist and motorised are able to traverse it safely? Just because this is the first time you've had to mop blood off the tarmac here does not mean its safe, it may very well mean that you've just been very lucky.
Your response whilst well meaning comes over as rather complacent and it sounds like the only time you check up on how well your designs work is when you hear ambulance sirens out the office window and that you have no system for pro actively checking that your residents and vistors can use the road network you provide safely.
Oh dear.
You cite your close partnership with Transport for London. Forgive me pointing out the obvious, but if you want to develop a facility for cyclists, surely you whould work in close partnership with cyclists?
Just out of interest does any one know if he was on the carriageway or the segregated path when he was hit? It's not clear from either this article or the Standards story
Just out of interest does any one know if he was on the carriageway or the segregated path when he was hit? It's not clear from either this article or the Standards story
Are you like this in real life or just on the internet?
I used to ride through that roundabout 2 times/day on my old commute. Traffic volumes were always high and you had to keep your wits about you. Since it's been changed, it's actually worse I think because it's segregated only in part. Either do it all, or not at all.
I'm not keen on driving through it either now as it's more confusing from behind the wheel too.
Very sad. That roundabout is a mess, one moment you're segretgated, the next you're not.
A female cyclist was also killed last year just up the road coming onto Chelsea Bridge, also by an HGV rounding a bend. Sadly, just over Wandsworth's boundry so they probably won't feel the pressure to do something.
I'm sick of reading these stories. When are we as a nation going to take cycling road deaths as sersiously as seat-belts, smoke-alarms, danergerous dogs or any of the other things we fixed! Arrghgh.
It is a tenet of highway design that the more complicated a junction is, the more risks occur. It seems beyond the wit of our highway designers to both make junctions simple and safe. It's not rocket science, the examples are a hop over the north sea, but we still can't do it.
As the report says, emphasising the throughput of motor vehicles over safety is just wrong, and unacceptable. If the designers were warned about the dangers, they bear some responsibility. There are many examples of badly designed roads putting vulnerable road users at risk, and it's time that the designers and HE and local authorities were held to account.
Indeed it is, but our planners seem to prioritise motor vehicle throughput above everything. I recently moved to a new area with a village green that has been utterly ruined in order to allow people to drive their cars through it unhindered. We've given our quality of life away to cars.
That's not entirely true the dutch are not "anti car".
The top standard of dutch roundabouts is a vertical seperation by raising the road to allow cyclists to pass underneath.
???
I never said they were. Here's the village green I mentioned. Look at it and tell me that any thought has been given to anything other than motor traffic.
18-07-2018 16-35-25.png
Do you know how long ago the roads were laid out as it's not unusual for a village green to be cut through by a road, defined by roads or even, as this appears to be, the site of a cross roads leading to nearby towns / villages.
Do you know how long ago the roads were laid out as it's not unusual for a village green to be cut through by a road, defined by roads or even, as this appears to be, the site of a cross roads leading to nearby towns / villages.
Not sure if serious.
I'm not exactly sure when the roads were last remodelled here, but judging by the mini roundabouts, speed tables and metred parking spaces, I'd hazard a guess that it's recent enough for the council not to have any excuse for prioritising vehicular traffic over green space.
The point is, if you choose to see it, that the road layout probably hasn't changed for decades if not centuries. It's unlikely any significant green space has been sacrificed by the installation of features aimed at improving traffic flow.
While I'm sure your sincere in your desire to have a safe and healthy environment the simple fact is, until you're crowned emperor of the world then the needs of the many ......
Are you referring to it as a village green in the legal sense, or do you just mean 'bit of green space too small to be developed'
Bedford 'turbo' roundabout exactly the same. More complex, more time, more distance and more dangerous for people on bikes. Designed simply to get cyclists off the network and to get motorvehicles through quicker and delay or completely put off riders.
Motors allowed to take the bends off the roundabout at 30mph if they so wish, this being the point/ position of the zebra crossings that pedestrians and cyclists are supposed to beg/wait for the tin canners to allow them to cross.
It's a fucking national disgrace we allow this bullshit that has only one purpose and it isn't safety nor indeed encouragement to get people cycling.
Whats also bad about the roundabout is that drivers will speed through changing, even red lights through sheer impatience and put the cyclist phase starting to move at risk.
its also designed so that vehicles do not have to slow down to enter or exit the junction while it slows cyclists at every opportunity.
Typical piss poor UK urban design.