Lancaster man calls for help with road safety campaign set up after dad was seriously injured

Wednesday, 6 April 2022 07:39

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

Mark Bryan was left with devastating injuries after he was struck by a flatbed truck while cycling home from work

A Lancaster man is calling for help with his road safety campaign set up after his father was left with devastating injuries while cycling.

Josh Brandwood has called for Lancashire residents to send a message to Lancashire County Council that there needs to be a protected cycle lane on the old stretch of the Bay Gateway.

In 2018, his father Mark Bryan was seriously injured when he was struck by a flatbed truck while cycling home from work on the A683 near Heysham.

Mark suffered multiple life-threatening and altering injuries - lacerations to his liver and kidneys, multiple fractures to his arm, ribs, shoulder blade, spine, neck, pelvis and skull. He also fractured his femur which ruptured the main artery in his leg, and was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and brain damage as a result of the trauma caused by the incident.

Josh, a former Morecambe town councillor, set up a petition last year to call for the protected cycleway.

At time of writing, 2714 people had signed the petition.

He has since had several meetings with highway bosses including an on-site visit to the Bay Gateway road in order to explore potential routes for a protected cycle lane.

Josh and Lancashire County Council are now asking residents to share their experience of cycling and walking in Lancashire and where improvements are needed.

The council is working on Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP), aimed at making the county a place where cycling and walking is easily accessible, safe to use, attractive and well maintained.

"This is a key opportunity for us to send a clear message to Lancashire County Council that there needs to be a protected cycle lane on the old stretch of the Bay Gateway," said Josh.

"Please let Lancashire County Council know your thoughts by completing the survey.

"On behalf of my dad, thank you all so much for your support."

The survey is open until May 5 and can be found here or you can visit the Lancashire County Council website here.