Tuesday, November 01, 2011
At the Bow Flyover roundabout, five bouquets.
Three on the traffic lights, two on the no entry sign.
To a friend, to a workmate, to a much loved Dad.
A life untimely ended, at the end of Cycle Superhighway 2.
An Olympic worker, on his way to the office, never arrived.
One week on from the unfortunate accident, a reconstruction was held.
At the height of Monday's rush hour, did you see anything, were you there?
Family and friends come together to remember, to bear witness, to pray it never happens again.
The widow's pleas make page 27 of the Evening Standard, and barely a mention in other mainstream media.
Mrs Dorling said her husband's death had left a huge void in her life and that of their children. She said: "We were planning for our future. The kids were leaving home and now it has been taken away in one fell swoop. My life is now completely irrelevant.
"He may have been 58 but he was very fit and very road aware. He has not just decided to cycle to work - he has always cycled. It's awful, just absolutely awful. To think that Brian will end up as another statistic on Boris Johnson's cyclist superhighway."
After work I go down to the Flyover to see the fresh flowers.
I walk beside the Cycle Superhighway.
There is nothing super about it.
Now you see it, now you don't.
Now it passes through a parked car.
Now it disappears into a bus stop.
Now it swings out into open traffic.
Now it narrows down to half a lane.
Now it's blocked by queueing vehicles.
Now it broadens out to an advanced stop line.
Now it continues invitingly across the roundabout.
Now they see you, now they don't.
Brian's funeral takes place in Twickenham on Friday.
The blue stripe remains.
<< click for Newer posts
click for Older Posts >>
click to return to the main page
