Stefano Casalotti lays a wreath at the spot where Mr Neve (right) died

Published: 18 July, 2013
by TOM FOOT

TRANSPORT chiefs have vowed to rip up the “dangerous” one-way system where a cyclist was killed on Monday, following years of warnings from campaigners.

Alan Neve, 54, was killed by a tipper truck near the junction of Kingsway and High Holborn around 9.25am.

Mr Neve, who cycled to work in Berner’s Street every day, is believed to have been forced to turn left off Theobald’s Road into four lanes of heavy traffic in Procter Street following a Town Hall ban on cyclists using a narrow bus lane as a more direct route into central London.

Camden Council, which is responsible for the Holborn road layout, said it was trying to protect cyclists’ safety but is now taking a second look at the system.

Cllr Phil Jones has pledged to “change the streets” around Holborn by ripping out the heaving gyratory to meet the needs of a “cycling revolution”.

Recent figures show that 64 per cent of vehicles travelling down the road where Mr Neve was killed are bicycles.

Tributes have been paid to Mr Neve by his former workmates at the Fitzrovia music agency offices describing a “dedicated and popular” man and lamenting the “waste of a beautiful man”.

It is the latest black mark for the borough’s road network following a terrible series of Camden cycling deaths in recent years.

More than 2,000 cyclists took to the streets on Tuesday night in a mass protest led by Camden Cycling Campaign’s Stefano Casalotti.

After laying the main wreath of flowers by the death spot, creating a powerful image for the campaign, he said: “This is an issue we have aired with police and transport for many years – going back to 2005 – and even last month. One: the bus lane should be wider; Two: it should allow cyclists on them.”

“From what we understand from his colleagues, he was cycling in a lane that becomes bus-only.

"It is the more direct route for him to get to work. But only a few days ago police had been ticketing cyclists who went into the bus lane, and many had been taken down into the gyratory. He was an experienced cyclist – he cycled all the time we heard from his colleagues.”

The concern about the bus-lane ticketing was raised by the campaign group at a meeting at West Hampstead Police Station on June 26.

Lib Dem Cllr Paul Braithwaite, the Town Hall’s “Cycling Champion” who was at the meeting, said: “To force commuter cyclists into the huge one-way is putting cyclists unnecessarily in harm’s way.”

But Camden Council transport chief Cllr Phil Jones said: “The bus lane issue was put in place as a cycle safety concern. Because it is so narrow, cyclists overtaking would have to go into opposing traffic. We will look at it again.

"We want more segregated cycle routes because the volumes are going up massively, and we have to change the streets.

"We support the cycling revolution. We have a three-year transport plan and the next major scheme is going to be Holborn. We want to remove the gyratory, but that requires a lot of work.”

Cllr Jones said there was a “problem” with HGVs going into central London but that an outright ban would be difficult to enforce. He said the council would only contract building firms that ensured lorry drivers had been properly trained about sharing the roads with cyclists.  

Mr Neve had worked for music copyright company PRS in Fitzrovia for more than 30 years and yesterday (Wednesday) chief executive Robert Ashcroft said: “Alan was a dedicated and popular employee, having been with the company for 30 years. We are all in shock at this tragic news and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

Notes in a bunches of flowers left near the death spot said “Alan – Love You – what a waste of a beautiful man”.

Mr Neve’s death follows the death of talented 24-year-old UCL scientist Dr Katharine Giles in Victoria in April, following a collision with a left-turning heavy goods vehicle.

Last month, an inquest into the death of Paula Jurek found she was killed “almost instantaneously” at the junction of St Pancras Way and Camden Road by an HGV.

Fashion student Deep Lee was killed at the age of 24 in King’s Cross in 2010 by a HGV. Maria Fernandez, 24, died in 2009 from fatal head injuries in a collision with a dustcart in Holborn Circus.

In March 2007, Amelia Zollner, 24, died after a truck driver failed to see her at a set of traffic lights in Russell Square, Bloomsbury. In 2006, Hampstead writer, jeweller and mother-of-two Emma Foa was killed outside the King’s Cross development.

A 51-year-old lorry driver has been arrested for suspicion of causing “death by dangerous driving”, Metropolitan Police said.

The Metropolitan Police’s Road Death Investigation Unit have launched an investigation. Witnesses should call the RDIU on 020 8998 5319.

>>NEW JOURNAL COMMENT: A ban on HGVs is the only way to protect cyclists