Family of Edinburgh cyclist killed last week launch safety campaign

The family of a cyclist killed last week in Edinburgh have launched a campaign to make conditions safer for cyclists in the Scottish capital to ensure his death is “not in vain.” Andrew McNicoll, aged 43, a member of Edinburgh Road Club, died last Thursday from injuries sustained on Lanark Road when he hit a parked car in an incident in which a lorry was also involved.

His stepmother, Lynn McNicoll, told The Scotsman that her family was now seeking to raise money for the campaign to ensure that something positive could result from his death.

“The first issue for me was always the fact that buses and cycles share the same lane – it’s not like the old days when you learned to cycle, things have to move forward,” she said, adding, “We’re determined Andrew’s life was not in vain – we’ve been galvanised into action.”

The family has set up a website, www.andrewcyclist.com, to get the campaign started, with the homepage saying that efforts to encourage people to cycle more must be accompanied by “road conditions that are suitable and for all abilities.”

The website adds: “We may never know exactly what happened on Thursday morning 5 January 2012 when he cycled to work as he often did – down the Lanark Road from Balerno.

“What we believe is that the stretch of road he died on has a speed limit of 40mph and we think that is too fast.

We also think that changes need to be made to parking at the side of a road when there is a traffic island.

“Andrew was a really good cyclist – wore proper gear at all times, checked his lights, loved his bikes and kept them in top condition.  He was a member of the Edinburgh Road Club.”

Donations to help get the campaign in Andrew’s memory started can be made via the website.