Transport for London has yet to complete a programme to resurface large stretches of two Cycle Superhighways (CSH) that it found to be ‘deteriorating’ nearly a year ago, including a section where a motorcyclist had been killed.
Transport Network has asked TfL about its response to a coroner’s call for it to urgently review its CSHs to identify areas of reduced grip, following the death of motorcyclist Milan Dokic in March last year.
In a report to prevent future deaths in February, coroner Fiona Wilcox said the use of road surface with reduced grip on the CSH compared to the usual road surface ‘represents a hazard to road users making it more likely they will lose control of their vehicles’.
She said: ‘TfL should therefore undertake an urgent review of all such road surfaces and replace it with a higher grip surface’.
TfL told Transport Network that it ‘has not assessed any areas as having insufficient skid resistance’, but that in August 2016 SCRIM tests, ‘together with other surveys, indicated that some areas of the surfacing were deteriorating and a programme began to resurface approximately 50% of cycle superhighways 7 and 8, including the section where the collision occurred’.
SCRIM is a common method of measuring the skid resistance of a surface using specialist equipment.
TfL added that it is ‘currently undertaking walked inspections of the sections of cycle superhighways 2,3,7 and 8 which use local borough roads’.
Leon Daniels, TfL’s managing director of surface transport, said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Milan Dokic. We are now reviewing the full detail of the coroner’s conclusion and taking action to address all of the points raised.
‘Work to resurface the worn main road sections of cycle superhighways 7 and 8 has been underway since January and is due to complete this month. As a further precaution, inspections are being carried out along the full lengths of cycle superhighways 2, 7 and 8, with skid resistance surveys being undertaken wherever necessary.’
With regard to the section of road where Mr Dokic lost control of his motorcycle after straying into the CSH, TfL told Transport Network: ‘On installation, the specified Skid Resistance Value (SRV) of the surface was 60. Police tests a month after the incident showed the SRV at the collision location to be 56.3 which TfL assessed to be adequate.’
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