Almost two years ago Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, confirmed that he was seeking government approval for a cycling initiative involving the use of so-called Trixi Mirrors. The system, a simple and inexpensive convex mirror solution, mounted at lorry-cab height on posts (most suitably traffic lights) at junction would reduce driver blind-spots and thus help to eliminate, or at least reduce, the disproportionate number of cyclist deaths on the Capital’s roads. A year later, in July 2010, Transport for London (TfL) announced that “The first cycle safety Trixi Mirror to be trialled in a UK city has been installed on a traffic signal at a junction in Tooting, south London.” The press release went on to confirm that a further 37 would be installed along London’s “Barclays Cycle Superhighways”.
Despite this, and indeed the hugely successful use of “Trixi” Mirrors in both Germany and Switzerland where deaths have been demonstrably reduced, the Capital still sports a mere 39 sites where they are employed, many of which are now in poor repair. TfL and the Mayor’s Office have, it has been reported, gone rather quiet on the subject and cyclists continue to be killed in numbers – a great percentage by left-turning lorries. The Guardian’s Paul Dean, a fervent supporter of the Trixi, has set up the “Petition for Paula” (named after 20-year-old student Paula Jurek who was tragically killed by a lorry on April 5, 2011) – Cyclo invites you to add your name to it at the link below.
http://www.gopetition.com
Almost two years ago Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, confirmed that he was seeking government approval for a cycling initiative involving the use of so-called Trixi Mirrors. The system, a simple and inexpensive convex mirror solution, mounted at lorry-cab height on posts (most suitably traffic lights) at junction would reduce driver blind-spots and thus help to eliminate, or at least reduce, the disproportionate number of cyclist deaths on the Capital’s roads. A year later, in July 2010, Transport for London (TfL) announced that “The first cycle safety Trixi Mirror to be trialled in a UK city has been installed on a traffic signal at a junction in Tooting, south London.” The press release went on to confirm that a further 37 would be installed along London’s “Barclays Cycle Superhighways”.
Despite this, and indeed the hugely successful use of “Trixi” Mirrors in both Germany and Switzerland where deaths have been demonstrably reduced, the Capital still sports a mere 39 sites where they are employed, many of which are now in poor repair. TfL and the Mayor’s Office have, it has been reported, gone rather quiet on the subject and cyclists continue to be killed in numbers – a great percentage by left-turning lorries. The Guardian’s Paul Dean, a fervent supporter of the Trixi, has set up the “Petition for Paula” (named after 20-year-old student Paula Jurek who was tragically killed by a lorry on April 5, 2011) – Cyclo invites you to add your name to it at the link below.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/boris-install-mirrors-that-save-cyclists-lives-petiti.html
The countdown to the Giro d’Italia 2011 is now in its final stages with events kicking off on Saturday May 7 with the 19.3km Venaria Reale to Torino Team Time Trials before what promises to be 21 stages of blistering action which will culminate on May 29 in Milan with the 31.5km Individual Time Trials. This year’s Giro also marks an historic milestone for the country and Giro d’Italia Director Angelo Zomegnan has promised an event that: “…celebrates 150 years since Italian unification, underlining all the specific things that are important for our country, not just sporting but also cultural, social, political, geographical, artistic, agricultural and gastronomic…” And with a boost to national pride and to help honour the occasion Italian National Champion Giovanni Visconti (team Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) has been awarded the number 150.
