— Man killed in collision on Friday named.

— Family and campaigners want Friday’s death to be turning point.

A “die-in” or lie-in protest is planned to take place outside Dublin City Council office tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8.30am.

There was mixed response to the idea of die-ins when the protest method was used outside the Dail previously, but die-ins are seen as a key protest tool and were seen to be used successfully in London to pressure authorities to build more segregated cycle paths and were previously used in Amsterdam before its streets were made safer.

People who want to take part in the protest tomorrow are being asked to meet at top of Fishamble Street, by side of Christchurch.

On Facebook, I Bike Dublin said: “I Bike Dublin will stage a series of die-ins over the course of the week, starting at Dublin City Council offices on Tuesday 4th November. These actions aim to highlight that slow and inadequate progress from CEO Owen Keegan and his team is costing lives. The die-in represents the risk that each and every person in Dublin takes when they step up on their bicycle to go to work, school, college or elsewhere.”

🔔Stop Killing Cyclists action🔔

When:Tomorrow Tues 5th Nov @ 8.30am.

Where: Meet @ side of Christchurch, the top of Fishamble Street (img 1).

Dublin City Council are responsible for deaths, injuries and fear on our streets.#StopKillingCyclists pic.twitter.com/zFCDXGLF2w — I BIKE Alerts 🔔 (@IBikeAlerts) November 4, 2019

Over the weekend the man killed in a collision with a truck driver on Friday was named as 34-year-old Neeraj Jain.

The collision happened at the junction of the South Circular Road and Brookfield Road, across from the construction site of the new National Children’s Hospital.

Jain was from Faridabad, near New Delhi in India. He moved to Ireland in 2018 and studied for a Masters degree in Engineering in UCD before he started working with Deloitte.

The Irish Times reported over the weekend that his brother, Ashish Jain, said: “We really want Ireland to do something about the safety of cyclists. We don’t want any other family to have to go through this. It’s devastating.”

I Bike Dublin said in a statement: “We demand that the killing of Neeraj Jain on Friday the 1st of November marks a turning point – and that those responsible for safety on our streets ensure that no more cyclists are killed. I Bike Dublin is planning other actions at the doorsteps of public institutions that bear responsibility.”

The group said: “The safety needs of people who cycle in Dublin have been ignored by the State for too long. This week, I BIKE Dublin will hold a series of actions targeting those State institutions that bear responsibility for the safety of people who cycle in this city. We don’t take the decision to hold these ‘Stop Killing Cyclists’ events lightly, but we are demanding urgent action to ensure that no-one else dies on Dublin’s roads.”

The group said it wants the following:

“Dublin City Council to immediately fast-track a programme of physically protected cycling infrastructure in the Dublin City Council area. NB The space for this can be taken from private motor traffic lanes and on-street car parking and not from pedestrians; this history of reallocating space from pedestrians is completely unacceptable.”

“Dublin City Council to immediately release all statistics in relation to the 5 axle HGV ban, including the names of companies in violation and the frequency of violations.“

“Dublin City Council to install speed cameras to measure the worst streets in Dublin for speeding motorists.”

“An Garda Síochána to desist from all social media activities pending an independent review by the Garda Ombudsman into derogatory and insensitive communications dating back to 2017 (following inappropriate tweets from the @gardatraffic account which make jokes about bicycles on the same day that Neera Jain lost his life).“

Meanwhile, TheJournal.ie reported that Gardai have apologised after being criticised for tweeting a meme about cycling and speeding just hours after the fatal collision on Friday.

IMAGE: From I Bike Dublin

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