The Royal Parks, a charity responsible for managing London’s Regent’s Park, is asking Strava to remove a popular segment following a pedestrian fatality. The 81-year-old pedestrian was hit by a cyclist while crossing the park’s Outer Circle road and died two months later from injuries sustained in the crash.
Strava has responded with a reminder to its members and the public that segments can already be flagged as “hazardous” and requesting cyclists to “prioritize everyone’s safety”.
While the fatal accident took place back in June 2022, a recent coroner’s inquest discovered the cyclist was traveling between 25-29mph when he accidently crashed into the elderly pedestrian. While the park’s speed limit is 20mph, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed that it does not apply to cyclists.
Strava gave the following statement to road.cc this morning:
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.
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.
The Royal Parks requests that if Strava were to remove its segment at Regent’s Park, it would decrease the incentive for cyclists to ride so quickly.
While Strava is unlikely to take down the segment, The Royal Parks is also considering other potential safety measures, including adding raised pedestrian crossings.
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