YEP says: We need to change mindsets in Leeds over cycling, not just the colour of the tarmac

It will be some time before details emerge of how a cyclist died on the Stanningley bypass.
Cycle lanes alone are not enough to keep cyclists safeCycle lanes alone are not enough to keep cyclists safe
Cycle lanes alone are not enough to keep cyclists safe

It will be some time before details emerge of how a cyclist died on the Stanninley bypass.

This is not the moment to second-guess or apportion blame. But it is a stark reminder that cyclists are incredibly vulnerable on our roads.

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Leeds as a city is committed to making it cycle-friendly. A lot of work, and an awful lot of money, has been spent on creating cycle routes and cycle lanes, not least the controversial cycle superhighway which runs up Stanningley Road. Whilst at this stage we have no idea if 25-year-old Dale McDonald was using the cycle lanes but the investigation into his tragic death will tell us, and its findings must be considered very carefully.

Cycle lanes should make a city safer for those on two wheels but they should not make any of us complacent - on two or four wheels. We must all be mindful of the road conditions and of other road users.

If, as a result of this accident investigation, more thought and more alterations need to go into the cycle superhighway, despite the millions that have been spent already, then so be it.

We need more people to take to two wheels in this city, it is the fastest and least polluting way to get around. But they have to be safe and that might need a change of mindset and culture - just changing the colour of the tarmac is not enough.

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