Been alerted to ENews editorial on Tuesday (this is it in full) -
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Published on Tuesday 6 March 2012 12:05
TODAY we report on the tragic news of another cyclist killed on the streets of Edinburgh.
The accident is the fourth cycling fatality in the Capital in a year – and comes less than two months after the death of Andrew McNicoll on Lanark Road.
That these two accidents were so close in time and location will inevitably result in a renewed debate on the safety of travelling around the city on two wheels.
Indeed, Andrew’s stepmother, the successful charity fundraiser Lynne, has already launched a campaign in his memory, which we fully support, aimed at promoting safer cycling.
But while education and road safety awareness is a must for both cyclists and other road users, we must also be careful not to over-react.
We do not yet know the exact circumstances and, until we do, suggesting whether anything could have prevented them is speculation.
Cycling group Spokes is, of course, right to press for more education but is also right to point out that Edinburgh is not an intrinsically unsafe city to ride around.
As we have reported before, our city leaders have some ambitious targets when it comes to cycling, and want 15 per cent of all journeys to be by bike in the next ten years, compared with the current four per cent. There are also plans for improved cycle corridors to support safer routes across the Capital.
In a modern, environmentally-friendly capital city, and in an increasingly congested city centre, this is a worthy aim. And there is much sense in the argument that the more cyclists there are on the streets, the safer cycling will become.
The good work being done by organisations such as Spokes and the campaign in memory of Andrew will help in ensuring our roads are safer for both cyclists and motorists.
But that is not to say there is not much more to be done. Four deaths in a year is a statistic which reminds us of that fact.
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