Cyclox chairwoman Dr Alison Hill mourns the death of another cyclist, reflects on the vigil held in her memory, and presses for safety improvements on the roads.
On the morning of Tuesday, February 8, a woman in her 40s was killed while cycling on the A4165 near Oxford Parkway Station.
She was on her regular daily commute from Kidlington to Oxford city centre, expecting to return home that evening to her family.
The pain and suffering her family and friends must be suffering is unimaginable and our hearts go out to them.
Her tragic death is the third one in or near Oxford within two years -we remember also Jenny Wong and Samantha Blackborow who lost their lives while cycling.
A vigil was held in her memory on Tuesday, February 15 at 8am, exactly a week after her death, near the site where she was killed.
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It was organised by some Kidlington residents, who cycle along the A4165 daily, with Cyclox.
It was deeply moving that her husband and sister heard about the event and came along, joined by over 100 people who wanted to show their grief and support for the family and friends.
The victim’s sister spoke movingly and passionately that her sister wouldn’t want anyone who cycles to be deterred by her death.
She would have wanted us all to keep cycling, and to campaign even harder for radical change to our roads, and safe cycling infrastructure. It was heart-breaking to hear her speak so bravely amidst all the pain and suffering of family’s loss.
The vigil was a time to show our grief at the loss of a life, marking her death with quiet solidarity.
But we are horrified at the loss of yet another life and now in her memory we want to express our anger that our roads are so unsafe.
Many people commute on their bikes along the A4165 between Kidlington and Oxford.
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The road is a main road, providing access to the station and the major roads to the north and south. Like the victim they use the road daily, braving heavy traffic, and putting themselves at risk just by being on a bike.
No changes were made to the A4165 and the junction when Oxford Parkway was built.
It has a slip road and wide sweeping curves designed to keep up the flow of traffic.
It is now made even more unsafe by the high volume of heavy goods vehicles now entering the Parkway site to access the Kidlington Rail Depot, a virtual quarry used for the construction of HS2.
It was one of these vehicles that hit the cyclist. These lorries come off the Kidlington roundabout into a 40mph stretch of straight road - with little to indicate the presence of cyclists joining the road from Kidlington - and then turn left across a shared bus/bike lane to get into Parkway.
Not only do cyclists have to cross that junction, they also have to cross the Kidlington and Cutteslowe roundabouts.
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The two roundabouts and the Oxford Parkway junction are unsafe and intimidating for cyclists and pedestrians.
People who cycle daily along this road are calling for change to happen fast to make it safe.
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We now intend to put pressure on the county council to make immediate changes to the road.
These include dropping the speed limit to 30mph, improving signage and road markings to alert drivers that there are cyclists in bus lane and on the roundabouts, and working with the depot company to make drivers aware of cyclists.
But this will do little to make improve safety until there are high quality, wide, segregated cycling and walking paths on both sides of the road.
We are asking Oxfordshire County Council for an urgent meeting to address our concerns and ensure that another death is avoided.
Road accidents are not accidents, they can be prevented by good road design.
Our roads need to be safe for everyone.
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