In November 2020, The Leamington Courier reported that the number of cyclists injured on roads around Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth had fallen for the second year in a row.
In the Warwick district, 34 cyclists were injured during 2019 – this is a fall from 49 in 2018 and 62 in 2017. but it’s still too high.
This is of course good news but it’s still too high. Furthermore, as the figures are not compared to the total number of cyclists on the roads in these years, we do not know whether the falling numbers could be due to less people cycling from 2017-2019, rather than any real changes in cycling safety. What we do know is that cycling has had a major uptake since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and that many more people want to make use of this healthy, cheap, environmentally friendly and inclusive mode of transport.
We also know that road safety is one of the key concerns deterring people from cycling in Warwickshire. We need our council to do more and quickly improve the cycling infrastructure in and between our towns speeding up cycling infrastructure projects already agreed.
We also urge residents to make use of their vote in the upcoming local election to push for councillors who will support and work seriously to make active travel safer for all.