2013-09-04 - Rider Down/Fatality, Thurlow Park Road

This is my lovely and very good friend, all who knew her are devastated - she was a lifelong cyclist and very road savvy. She wasn't on here, but thanks for kind thoughts which I'll let family & other friends know about - no names here out of respect for privacy. Please do leave thoughts / flowers at the spot if you're passing.

Condolences.
RIP.

This is my lovely and very good friend, all who knew her are devastated - she was a lifelong cyclist and very road savvy. She wasn't on here, but thanks for kind thoughts which I'll let family & other friends know about - no names here out of respect for privacy. Please do leave thoughts / flowers at the spot if you're passing.

So sorry for you and other family and friends.

This is my lovely and very good friend, all who knew her are devastated - she was a lifelong cyclist and very road savvy. She wasn't on here, but thanks for kind thoughts which I'll let family & other friends know about - no names here out of respect for privacy. Please do leave thoughts / flowers at the spot if you're passing.
So very sorry for your loss Shiniqa. :( xx

Awful.

Just wanted to RIP

Be safe everyone

Please note that I have just deleted a post which linked to a standard article.
This has been done out of respect for the family's privacy.

Please do not post any links to news stories which name the cyclist.

Object - is that a general rule across these threads or specific to this?

The family had requested privacy.

The poster of the link was contacted with the option to delete, when they did not do this a moderator was notified.

Ah right. Sorry I didn't see that.

Thanks for being thoughtful on this - I didn't include her name initially as didn't want to jump ahead of family releasing it. Info is out there now with their permission, so would be ok to link.

RIP rider

Terrible. RIP.
Condolences to family and friends.

This girl was great. RIP

Very sad....thoughts to family and friends

RIP rider. Thinking of her family & friends.

I had just been made aware of this tragic incident earlier today. On being notified I was reminded that I had notice flowers by the road side on my commute earlier in the week but unaware of the details.

Brings tears to my eye... I pass this very spot twice a day. .........

RIP my two wheeled friend. Xxx

Very sad to hear this. RIP.

A few days on & just wanted to update, and thank all again for your kind thoughts. It's not getting any easier, and still doesn't seem likely or believable.

Chiara, like anyone killed on the road, is more than a stat, whatever the timing of her death. The Standard's piece is actually pretty good in giving a fuller picture (they obviously did a bit of trawling to find out more), but doesn't mention that Chiara was a very experienced cyclist. She was also extremely responsible and aware. No mention that she was using a "cycle lane".

A friend phoned me from the place on Thursday afternoon, & I went to leave flowers (one of the grimmest experiences of my life) at the weekend. I'm not sure if the flower place is where she was hit, or maybe has been moved?, but even at the weekend I could tell it's a sneakily horrible bit of road. (A couple of us had reckoned her new job commute, East-West Dulwich, would be loads nicer and safer than her old Tate one around Vauxhall or the Elephant.) I didn't hang round long. but it looks to me & friend (don't want to get into dangerous conjecture at all) like the road is too narrow for the number of lanes - filter lanes both directions for motors, with a bend. Add a large vehicle, and eg. distraction / excess speed / lapse in attention and it's not good. The cycle lanes on both sides are stupidly narrow, & look like in a few weeks will be full of leaves and road dirt run-off.

There was no yellow 'incident witness' sign I could see. Not sure if they don't go up straight away, or if it was elsewhere. If anyone can update on this that would be good. The driver's been arrested / bailed to December.

V early discussions in family / bikey friends about anything to do next, eg donations / publicity / ghost bike??. There's no rush with any of that. I got some great info from Oliver S about Roadpeace, and LCC of course.

To be honest right now it all seems futile as none of it will bring her back, and it seems totally crass to think in terms of anything good coming from our lovely Chiara's death. I'm feeling the environment for cyclists in London is broken beyond repair; so much depends on good will and responsible attitudes. In the UK we've gone too far the other way and the roads do seem to be just a battleground with very unfair rules of engagement.

Sorry to vent slightly – hope y'all understand it's from the heart. Ride safely.

A few days on & just wanted to update, and thank all again for your kind thoughts. It's not getting any easier, and still doesn't seem likely or believable.

Chiara, like anyone killed on the road, is more than a stat, whatever the timing of her death. The Standard's piece is actually pretty good in giving a fuller picture (they obviously did a bit of trawling to find out more), but doesn't mention that Chiara was a very experienced cyclist. She was also extremely responsible and aware. No mention that she was using a "cycle lane".

A friend phoned me from the place on Thursday afternoon, & I went to leave flowers (one of the grimmest experiences of my life) at the weekend. I'm not sure if the flower place is where she was hit, or maybe has been moved?, but even at the weekend I could tell it's a sneakily horrible bit of road. (A couple of us had reckoned her new job commute, East-West Dulwich, would be loads nicer and safer than her old Tate one around Vauxhall or the Elephant.) I didn't hang round long. but it looks to me & friend (don't want to get into dangerous conjecture at all) like the road is too narrow for the number of lanes - filter lanes both directions for motors, with a bend. Add a large vehicle, and eg. distraction / excess speed / lapse in attention and it's not good. The cycle lanes on both sides are stupidly narrow, & look like in a few weeks will be full of leaves and road dirt run-off.

There was no yellow 'incident witness' sign I could see. Not sure if they don't go up straight away, or if it was elsewhere. If anyone can update on this that would be good. The driver's been arrested / bailed to December.

V early discussions in family / bikey friends about anything to do next, eg donations / publicity / ghost bike??. There's no rush with any of that. I got some great info from Oliver S about Roadpeace, and LCC of course.

To be honest right now it all seems futile as none of it will bring her back, and it seems totally crass to think in terms of anything good coming from our lovely Chiara's death. I'm feeling the environment for cyclists in London is broken beyond repair; so much depends on good will and responsible attitudes. In the UK we've gone too far the other way and the roads do seem to be just a battleground with very unfair rules of engagement.

Sorry to vent slightly – hope y'all understand it's from the heart. Ride safely.

Thanks Shiniqa

Take care

A friend phoned me from the place on Thursday afternoon, & I went to leave flowers (one of the grimmest experiences of my life) at the weekend. I'm not sure if the flower place is where she was hit, or maybe has been moved?,

Sorry to vent slightly – hope y'all understand it's from the heart. Ride safely.

Hi Shiniqa - totally understand the venting.

I went to lay flowers on Wednesday night and was surprised by the lack of anything to mark the spot or witness signs. There were no other flowers there and I debated where to leave them. I was looking at the Standard's website to try to determine where the photo was taken when I met their reporter who pointed out where it happened. I left my flowers between those two gates - it did look like the picture when I looked closely - so I hope I haven't inadvertently put them in the wrong place. I found laying flowers there very emotional and I'm a stranger. I hate to think how horrible it must have been for you and Chiara's other friends and family.

Please let us know if you do decide to do anything - as another local commuter who has had a few close shaves with HGVs along the South Circular, I'd like to help/join in. It really was so close to home that I had a distinct sense of 'there but for the grace of god go I' .

{hug} Thoughts are most definitely with you.

It's sinking in more and more about Chiara, words fail. Any reliable details of what happened will only come out at the inquest, but even then it needs to be well-managed.

I wish you much strength, Shiniqa, and anyone who knew her.

horrible :-(

To confirm, there was an 'incident' board on the approach from Gallery Rd to South Circular last night.

http://rosslydall.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/lorry-driver-involved-in-death-of-cyclist-escapes-prosecution/

This is beyond words... My commiserations once again to Chiara's family and friends. Shame on the pitiful CPS..
I think all Veolia lorries should have CCTV trained on drivers.. The one who almost mowed me down in 2010 was holding a full mug of tea.