Leaders in Cambridgeshire have responded to calls for greater road safety, pledging to "do more" to prevent deaths on roads. 

Both Cambridgeshire County Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said road safety will remain a "top priority" as they develop strategies to better protect road users following the death of Mike Gough. 

Mike, 65, from Rodney Road in Huntingdon, died when his bicycle was struck by a van on George Street on March 16.

In light of his death, this newspaper has sought to investigate whether our cycle routes, paths and roads are safe for cyclists, motorists, pedestrians and horse riders. 

Mike, middle, was killed when his bicycle was struck by a van on George Street on March 16. Mike, middle, was killed when his bicycle was struck by a van on George Street on March 16. (Image: Hazel Gough)

In March, Mike's family issued an emotional appeal for safety improvements to be made to the district's cycling and road infrastructure to prevent future deaths on the district's roads. 

Reacting to our findings, the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said local and highways authorities must be "more preventative" in their approach to designing roads and neighbourhoods. 

He said: "I've seen the horror of road safety tragedies from the other side as a doctor working in A&E dealing with grieving families, children and parents as they've recovered. 

"They stick with you in terms of knowing that so often these tragedies are avoidable. Furthermore, the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and feeling safe to walk or cycle is being threatened by road safety not being seen as a priority.

"It's the tragedies that involve friends like Mike Gough that get to you on a personal level and which is what drives your decision to make public pronouncements about the need to prevent future such tragedies."

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Dr Nik Johnson said he has seen the horrors of road safety tragedies. Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson said he has seen the "horrors" of road safety tragedies. (Image: Newsquest)

According to collision data published by the Department for Transport, around 92 serious or slight road traffic incidents occurred in Huntingdon between 2017-21

Forty-five per cent of the 92 casualties were cyclists or pedestrians.

Dr Nik said the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has "pivoted" to ensure active travel within the county is a "high priority" and viewed through the lens of public health. 

He said: "It's prioritised in terms of decision making about where we target our medium-term financial planning.

"In the new budgeting process, we put aside funds which would from both a capital and revenue point of view take the work of Vision Zero alongside a focus on active travel.

"Hence we have the benefit of a designated expert to work with constituent authorities, that's Huntingdonshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, to embed change."

A 'ghost bike' was recently unveiled at the Sebastopol Cannon on George Street in Huntingdon in honour of Mike. A 'ghost bike' was recently unveiled at the Sebastopol Cannon on George Street in Huntingdon in honour of Mike. (Image: Karl Webb)

The Vision Zero Partnership is a road safety project with a longer term goal of ensuring no people are killed or severely injured on the partnership's roads. 

Dr Nik added: "I am absolutely driven to make sure that we minimize and ideally get to zero road traffic collision and deaths in this county combined with every area.

"I owe this to Mike as much as his family, but I also owe it to the people of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough wo should be able to make healthy choices in the day to day lives."

Responding to the provision of an extra £1.1 million worth of funding from Active Travel England, chair of Cambridgeshire County Council's Highways and Transport Committee, Cllr Alex Beckett, said: "Extra funding will help us to deliver more active travel schemes across the county. This is on top of the 16 schemes we have delivered through Active Travel England funding to date.

“Active travel is one of our top priorities and is an integral part of our vision to ‘create a greener, fairer and more caring Cambridgeshire’. 

"We want to make Active Travel the ‘go to’ option for local journeys which would make travel across the county to be safer and more sustainable environmentally – which is part of our ambitions."