A PROTESTOR against a one-way gyratory system in Poole is among those attending a mass “die-in” rally in London this Saturday.

Andy Hadley, from Transition Town Poole, will be among those from Dorset at the Oxford Street horse-drawn funeral protest and Marble Arch mega die-in for cycling pedestrian safety.

He said the Stop Killing Cyclists event was especially relevant to towns in Dorset and Hampshire.

“Poole Council still intend to develop a one-way gyratory system, which is acknowledged to be pedestrian and cycle unfriendly,” he said.

Borough of Poole is considering two options for the roads between the town centre and the two lifting bridges and cabinet is to be recommended to take both to consultation.

One would see a multi-lane one-way gyratory, West Street for southbound traffic and West Quay Road northbound, while the other would be a two-way scheme with through traffic using West Quay Road.

Mr Hadley says both schemes placed cyclists on the pavement.

“This design, created in the 1980s, is now entirely at odds with their own strategies about modal shift and integrating the significant development area with the town, has met significant local opposition, and five nationally recognised independent experts on urban design and transportation have advised that two way links would be equally workable, and far less dangerous, for vulnerable road users,” he said.

“The modelling for the Poole scheme is entirely based on motorised journeys, and not on movement of people by all means, yet the distances should be ideal for encouraging walking and cycling,” he said.

He added: “There are a number of such schemes in London that have been ripped out as they are recognised as being very dangerous.”

Stephen Thorne, head planning and regeneration at Borough of Poole has said: “The council must do what is right for Poole and for the future. No decisions have been made yet.”