Cyclists are to be given free bike lights and reflective gear as part of a new road safety project launched by Hull City Council.
The ‘Bike Lights for Dark Nights’ initiative is funded by Safer Roads Humber. It aims to reduce collisions on the city’s roads by encouraging more cyclists to ride with lights and reflective wear.
Members of the council’s highways team will be out on the streets of Hull looking for poorly lit cyclists, offering them lights and reflective wear to ensure they are safe and seen. The project is already under way with the team focusing on busy junctions in and around Hull city centre.
Councillor Mark Ieronimo, Portfolio Holder for Roads, Highways and Transport, said: “Increasing numbers of people are choosing to cycle in our city, and we want to help them do so safely. To make the roads safe for everyone during these dark nights, it is important that cyclists are as visible as possible.
“With this project, we are helping cyclists stay safe and seen on the roads. This is not about ‘catching people’ or ‘telling them off’ for not using lights, and the help has been well received by all the people the team has talked to so far.”
On Wednesday, January 11 the council’s highways team handed out 27 lights to passing cyclists on Beverley Road and fitted them on the spot. They also gave reflective rucksack covers to those who needed them.
As part of the initiative and the council’s ongoing travel plan engagement, the highways team will also be visiting some of the city’s largest employers, including Hull Royal Infirmary and the University of Hull, providing bike lights and reflective wear to help keep commuting cyclists safe on the roads. Local cycling charity R-evolution will also receive lights and reflective wear which it will distribute through some of the cycle hubs it operates in the city.
Cyclists on the streets will have the chance of getting free visibility equipment until the end of March, when the clocks go forward, and again next autumn/winter when the highways team will go back on the streets. The council has said travel plan engagement will continue throughout the year.
