Ghost bike placed by Camcycle on A1303 junction where cyclist Lee Walford lost his life
Campaigners have placed a ‘ghost bike’ on a stretch of road where a cyclist died three weeks after he was involved in a crash with a car.
Lee Walford, 52, died in Addenbrooke’s last month after being admitted to the Cambridge hospital following the crash involving a Fiat 500 at the junction of Little Wilbraham Road and the A1303 on January 27.
Cambridge cycling charity Camcycle wants the white cycle to stand as a memorial to him and the many other people killed or seriously injured while walking and cycling on the county’s rural roads.
It says the bike is also an urgent reminder of the action needed to prevent others from being hurt.
Last year, the charity placed a ghost bike at the Addenbrooke’s roundabout in Cambridge following the death of Anna Garratt-Quinton.
It launched a new campaign for Safe Junctions on the same day, calling for action from local authorities and asking for information from local people on the places they would like to see improved.
One respondent to the petition survey wrote: “Enough is enough.”
The county’s Vision Zero Partnership had pledged to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the region’s roads by 2040, but incidents have actually increased in recent years in both rural and urban locations.
The goal was to reduce the number of cyclists and pedestrians killed or seriously hurt by 40 per cent by 2020, but the result was an increase of two per cent.
Department for Transport data show that more cyclists are being killed on rural roads nationally.
Camcycle’s executive director Roxanne De Beaux said: “It’s a scandal that in 2022 so many residents living in rural communities have to weigh up the risk to their lives before walking and cycling for everyday journeys.
“If local authorities are serious about helping more people choose active travel options and reducing road injuries, they must take urgent action to keep people of all ages and abilities safe.”
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