Strava has responded to calls for a popular segment in London’s Regent’s Park to be scrapped following the widely reported case of an elderly pedestrian who died from injuries sustained when she was hit by a cyclist as she crossed the park’s Outer Circle road, the ride-sharing app reminding users and the public that “hazardous” segments can already be flagged and urging cyclists to “prioritise everyone’s safety”.

The Royal Parks, the charity that manages London’s eight royal parks, contacted Strava asking for the Outer Circle segment to be deleted, believing that this may deter cyclists from riding the route at high speeds.

It comes in response to the incident from June 2022, but that has made headlines in the past week since a coroner’s inquest heard that Brian Fitzgerald — the cyclist riding laps of the Outer Circle as part of a group ride and travelling at between 25-29mph when he hit the 81-year-old pedestrian, causing her several broken bones and bleeding on the brain, injuries she died from in hospital two months later — would not face prosecution as the Metropolitan Police deemed there was “insufficient evidence for a real prospect of conviction”.

> Transport Secretary says tougher laws for dangerous cyclists “under review” and will be considered “with an open mind”

In a statement provided to road.cc this morning, Strava urged cyclists to “prioritise everyone’s safety” and stated that “the behaviours related to this incident violate” the app’s community standards.

“We are aware of the tragic cycling incident which occurred in London’s Regent’s Park in June 2022 and our condolences go to the victim’s family,” a spokesperson told road.cc.

“At Strava, safety of our active community and those around them is a priority, and we have community standards that note that ‘sports happen in dynamic environments that we share with motorists, pedestrians, other people, equestrians, pets and wildlife’. Strava expects those in our community to ‘prioritise everyone’s safety and enjoyment of our shared resources and respect the law’. The behaviours related to this incident violate Strava’s ‘community standards’.

“At the end of last week, we received a request from Royal Parks to discuss the cycling route segment where the incident occurred. The ability to flag a cycling route segment as hazardous already exists in Strava. Anyone can report a segment that they would deem as hazardous. If segments are flagged as hazardous, achievements are not awarded for that segment and leaderboards are disabled. Any Strava community member who cycles on that same route segment will receive a warning of the hazards on that segment.”

Strava hazardous segment
Strava hazardous segment (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

At the coroner’s inquest, Mr Fitzgerald said he had “zero reaction time” to avoid Ms Griffiths, who had been walking her dog and was crossing the road to a pedestrian island, when she stepped out in front of the group of cyclists. While the speed limit in the park is 20mph, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that it does not apply to people riding bicycles.

The Royal Parks believes removing Strava segments would remove the incentive for cyclists to ride as fast as possible, a spokesperson yesterday stating that the organisation would also be working with the police and “local stakeholders, including cycling groups, to inform our approach”.

Over the weekend, the Telegraph reported that on 1 May another pedestrian was struck by a cyclist at the same spot where Ms Griffiths was fatally injured. It was reported that Paolo Dos Santos was left with fractures to her eye socket, jawbone and cheekbone when she was hit by a cyclist overtaking “a car which was said to be observing the 20mph speed limit”.

“Apparently, the cyclist didn’t slow down but overtook the car by going around the pedestrian island on the wrong side of the road where I was crossing,” she said. “It means he was very likely speeding and was on the wrong side of the pedestrian island.”

The Royal Parks is also considering other safety measures, such as raised pedestrian crossings and cited Richmond Park in south-west London as a case study for where it has introduced “additional measures to encourage safe cycling”.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “We were extremely sorry to hear of the incident which resulted in the death of Hilda Griffiths. We take visitor safety extremely seriously. The speed limit for motor vehicles in Regent’s Park is 20mph and this is clearly signposted on both the Outer and Inner Circles.

“We are working closely with the police and other partners, notably the Crown Estate Paving Commission, to review if there are any additional measures we can put in place to encourage safe cycling in the park, as we have done in Richmond Park where we have introduced raised crossing points, improved signage and other road infrastructure.”

In a second comment, the charity added: “We will continue to work with local stakeholders, including cycling groups, to inform our approach. We have made contact and will follow up with cycling apps such as Strava to request removal of the Outer Circle in the Regent’s Park as a segment on the app.”

It has also been reported that a letter was sent to the cycling clubs who use the Outer Circle and Inner Circle for organised rides, asking cyclists to observe the “motor vehicle speed limit for the park” and stating that “pedestrians have priority within the royal parks, as they make up the majority of park visitors”.

Regent’s Park Outer Circle (via StreetView).jpg
Regent’s Park Outer Circle (via StreetView) (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)

In light of some of the media attention that the incidents in Regent’s Park have attracted, including renewed calls from some for stricter regulation of cyclists including number plates and registration, former Top Gear presenter James May yesterday called the talk “nonsense”.

“I don’t think people should try to achieve personal bests through places like London. And I don’t think people should race around the park. I think that is disrespectful and irresponsible and can lead to accidents,” he said.

“The vast majority of people can’t achieve even 20 miles an hour on a bicycle. I ride a lot in London, and I’m not particularly fit and I’m getting quite old. But even so, my average speed is usually ten to 12 miles an hour and I’m putting my back into it.

“Trying to cure the world’s problems by adding more admin is pointless and expensive and makes life miserable. I’ve been listening to various debates, including one yesterday on another radio station. There were some terrible things being said on that about regulating bicycles, and bicycles were being blamed for drivers speeding and people were saying insurance would make bicycles safer and all sorts of things that were, to my mind, nonsense,” he said.

Last week, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said tougher laws for dangerous cyclists are “under review” and will be considered “with an open mind”, the comments coming after Conservative Party colleague Iain Duncan Smith tabled a series of amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill that would see cyclists, as well as riders of electric scooters and “personal transporters”, subject to stricter laws if they ride dangerously and kill or injure.