A cyclist has been killed in a collision with a lorry at a junction with a history of accidents.

Today's incident, at 10am, was at Ludgate Circus junction at the bottom of Fleet Street in the City of London.

The male cyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Roads in the immediate vicinity, including Fleet Street, Farringdon Street abnd Ludgate Hill, remained closed during the morning.

 

 

 

London Assembly Green Party member Darren Johnson said there had been six cyclists killed or seriously injured at the junction between 2008 and 2012.

He added that Ludgate Circus had featured on Transport for London's original list of 100 junctions which it planned to overhaul following safety concerns, but that it had not featured on a revised list of 33 junctions where work would be carried out.

Mr Johnson said London mayor Boris Johnson "has to show some leadership and take responsibility for getting London's road network fit for cycling".

He went on: "It is terrible to think that we have to endure another decade of preventable casualties at this junction and many others which have been dropped from the mayor's list, because of the lack of money."

The issue of cycling safety has been to the fore since last autumn when six cyclists in London were killed in accidents during a two-week period.

The Mayor's cycling commissioner Andrew Gilligan said: "This claim is completely untrue. As we stated, many more junctions than those named in the junction review will be improved, including all main junctions on the new superhighways.

"This junction is one of the main junctions on the new superhighways which will be consulted on this year and will be given a fully-segregated junction as part of a fully-segregated cycle route."

A spokeswoman for the mayor added that work on Ludgate Circus would begin next year as part of the creation of the new cycle superhighway in that area.

"As we announced in February, there will also be improvements to many junctions not on the list of 33, usually delivered and funded as part of specific new or upgraded cycle routes. "

Improvements would include fully cycle-segregated approaches to junctions and cycle-specific traffic lights to reduce conflict with turning traffic.