'Crossrail for bikes' scheme is backed by City Police

 
Janina Gehlau, who was killed in a crash with a lorry during a three-month unpaid internship in London

The police force investigating two cycling deaths at a notorious junction is the latest group to back Boris Johnson’s “Crossrail for bikes” scheme.

The City of London Police said it supported the Mayor’s vision for an 18-mile segregated east-west route via the Victoria Embankment and a second north-south route passing through Ludgate Circus, the scene of both fatalities.

The force announced its support as refuse company Veolia unveiled a £1 million programme to fit safety sensors to its council vehicles in 11 boroughs. One of its lorries was involved in the death of a cyclist in West Dulwich last September.

Two weeks ago the family of German postgraduate student Janina Gehlau, 26, who died after a collision with an HGV at Ludgate Circus, called for politicians to improve safety.

The incident happened opposite the site where former Spanish soldier Victor Manuel Ben Rodriguez, 32, was killed by a HGV while cycling to a job interview in April.

As the Transport for London consultation on the two cycle routes entered its final week, a City Police spokeswoman told the Standard: “The City of London Police supported both schemes as there is potential benefits that they could bring to cyclists and pedestrian safety.”

The north-south superhighway would link King’s Cross and Elephant and Castle via Farringdon Street as it passes through Ludgate Circus. A raised kerb would protect cyclists from vehicles.

Work by the City of London Police safer transport team has been linked to a year-on-year drop of 10 per cent in the number of cycling collisions in the Square Mile over the past six months. It is now at the lowest figure for five years. Inspector Dave Aspinall said: “If everyone looked out for each other and had a positive attitude in sharing the road it would be a safer place.”

More than 120 organisations have backed the £48 million cycle superhighway plans, most recently Microsoft UK, which employs 2,200 staff in five London offices. Its managing director Michel Van Der Bell said: “Other cities that have invested in segregated cycling infrastructure have seen dramatic increases in cycling and reductions in injuries.

“We want to see the same benefits here in London.”

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