The grieving family of a Huntingdon crash victim have made an emotional appeal for safety improvements to be made to Huntingdonshire’s cycling and road infrastructure.
Relatives of Mike Gough spoke to The Hunts Post to pay tribute to the popular cyclist who campaigned for safer routes, but also spoke of their wish for urgent action to improve road safety in the district.
Mike, 65, from Rodney Road in Huntingdon, was killed when his bicycle was struck by a van on George Street on March 16.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving and released on police bail until 16 June.
In light of his death, this newspaper is publishing a three-part report investigating whether our cycle routes, paths and roads are safe for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.
Mike’s widow Hazel Gough said: “After retiring from Huntingdonshire District Council, Mike took up cycling and would ride every Saturday.
“But when his mum and dad passed away, he was at a loss as what to do. He decided he wanted to get more involved in cycling and after taking a course, he started to repair the odd few bikes.
“It was from there that he became quite popular, and his reputation built up. He wasn’t a competitive cyclist, he just liked to ride.”
Mike was the owner of Roadies Cycles in Hartford and was much-loved by the community.
Described as “generous” and “selfless”, Mike was known across the county for his love of encouraging others to get into cycling and his enthusiasm for bike repairs.
His son Ben Hazelden said: “We have so many fond memories of him that it’s just impossible to narrow them down. The fact is dad put everyone first.
“Whether it was family or his customers, he always did everything for everyone, no matter what.”
Ben and Hazel both cited the Huntingdon ring road and Godmanchester’s shared use path as examples of Huntingdonshire infrastructure that requires safety improvements.
According to Collision Data published by Department for Transport, around 92 serious or slight road traffic incidents occurred in Huntingdon between 2017-21
Forty-five per cent of the 92 casualties were cyclists or pedestrians.
Hazel said: “By cycling around, Mike himself began to notice that the provision for cyclists, pedestrians and road users was really quite poor, which is where his passion for road safety began.
“He regularly spoke of the need to make certain parts of the district more road-friendly, and how Europe’s cycle infrastructure is so much better because road users, pedestrians and cyclists all mingle as one.
“For every new road that’s built or being reconstructed, there needs to be serious conversations about the extra facilities that could be provided to promote greater road safety.”
Ben added: “Safety improvements need to be made so that roads are safer for cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians."
The Hunts Post will be speaking to cycling groups and Cambridgeshire County Council to gauge what needs to be done to improve the safety of our paths and roads.
RECOMMENDED READING: Cambridgeshire’s cycling community pays tribute to Mike Gough
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