White Bike Cyclist Memorial for Irene Leardini in New Cross Road

 People gathered opposite New Cross Gate station on Friday 6th February 2026 to commemorate the life of cyclist Irene Leardini and to campaign for safer roads in her memory. Irene, aged 39, was among other things an Italian bike mechanic who had worked at Clapham Cycle shop. She was killed by a lorry on 20th January.

A white bike memorial was installed with flowers and candles.

'Irene was a young woman with an enormous love of life. Many many friends and a loving family are grieving her loss and will always miss her dreadfully. Those who loved her say she would have described herself as a happiness seeker and that she was passionate about human rights. She was a cycle mechanic and someone who made a difference in her community. She is a huge loss. Rest in peace, Irene'.

'And Irene is not the only person to be killed or badly hurt on this road. Along its whole length dozens have suffered and many families are grieving and struggling with the ongoing effects of serious collisions. We have known it is not safe for vulnerable road users, walking and cycling here for decades. Yet what could be done to make it safer has not been done. It needs to be done. Now. Safe space for cycling is needed here. If Irene had not had to share this space with a much larger vehicle and its driver, she would be here now. If she had the space she deserved here, her family and loved ones would not be grieving. Safe space for cycling, safe space for people;

'Cycling is not dangerous - this road is' (photo by Alex Raha from Lewisham Cyclists facebook page)

Irene

Sad that this has happened so soon after another cyclist was killed further up the Old Kent Road, and only two weeks after a man was killed by a police car on Borough High Street (see here)

Sports writer/presenter Ned Boulting was there on Friday and has written about it at his substack:

'London has seen considerable improvements over the last decade or so. Some of the infrastructure which has been designed, separating bikes from the motor traffic is genuinely fantastic. But this particular stretch of the A2 is one of many arterial roads managed by TfL rather than the individual boroughs, on which no material changes to protect vulnerable road users have been effected. There are advance stop boxes at junctions, but no clear path to access them for riders. And once the lights change, you’re on your own. It is almost as if the complexities and costs of doing the right thing to protect those who choose to ride are so overwhelming that the default position is simply to do nothing'.