Clapham/Stockwell - Oil Spill in CS7

monkimark
monkimark Posts: 1,881
edited July 2013 in Commuting general
Nasty slick of oil in the CS7 cycle lane running from clapham north to stockwell this morning, I saw one cyclist lying on the pavement with a few others around him and another guy went down pretty hard just in front of me.

It covers pretty much the entire lane and half or meter or so beyond in places - TfL had put out a couple of cones but it wasn't at all clear what they were meant to indicate. Looks like some sand has been put down past union road - all in all, a pretty poor attempt at making it safe. May be cleared up by now (I went through at 7:45) but I'd stay well out of the cycle lane down there anyway just in case.

Big thanks to the cyclist standing by the roadside waving us out away from the danger - you probably saved me from a fall.
Big shame to whoever laid a 500km oil slick down one of the busiest cycle routes in London and the TfL numbnuts who thought a couple of traffic cones was adequate to deal with it.

Comments

  • Thankfully I was alerted to the oil this morning by the kind chap in the final photo below. Unfortunately a friend of a friend who was travelling separately didn't see it and now has large chunks of skin missing from his hand.

    Upon reflection I don't think I can be 100% certain but at the time it appeared that the oil was being left by a road sweeper. My only doubt is that the sweeper may have turned up to clean it up but in that case it's odd that they started at the end of the slick rather than the start, and that the oil immediately stopped after the sweeper. Also, the driver was out of the cab dumping grit behind the vehicle, not using the vehicle to clean it. It must have been left by him, surely!?

    If you or anyone else would like to take the matter further (in whatever sense that might be, with the council, insurance, whatever), please feel free to use the images below. I also have the full video footage that the photos are taken from. Send me a message if you want it and I'll stick it up on Youtube.

    Driver of the road sweeper trying to cover oil with what appears to be grit:
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    Road sweeper that dispensed the oil parked on the approach to Stockwell: (Reg: GN12 FEO)
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    Company branding on vehicle:
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    Council branding on vehicle:
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    The nice guy that alerted me and my friend to the oil at Clapham North. Thank you!
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