Boris Johnson challenged to cycle “dangerous” King’s Cross junction

The Green Party’s mayoral candidate Jenny Jones �appealed to the Mayor of �London – who lives barely a mile away in Islington – to join her in cycling across the “notorious” junction of York Way and Pentonville Road.

Her plea came as a white painted bike was left there in tribute to Korean-born �designer Min Joo Lee, also known as Deep Lee, near to the spot where she died in a collision with a lorry on �October 3.

Ms Jones said: “This tragic death was a shock to everyone that cycles in London and our thoughts are with Deep Lee’s friends and family.

“King’s Cross is notoriously dangerous for cyclists and unfortunately, key points from a safety report I helped commission in 2008 have been ignored.

“I have challenged the Mayor to join me in cycling round King’s Cross and to talk through what needs to be done.”

Ms Jones joined around 50 cycling activists and friends of Miss Lee, who was a student at Central Saint Martin’s in Granary Square, as they gathered there last Wednesday to leave the bike.

Christine Kim, 21, a close friend, said: “She was the perfect daughter to her parents and the best sister one could wish for and a great friend to me. There’s no one quite like her. She was the loveliest person that I’ve ever known and she will always be in my heart forever.”

Safer

Transport for London (TfL) has faced repeated calls to make the junction safer since the accident. This week, London Assembly member and former Islington councillor Jennette Arnold said: “London’s cycling community, residents of King’s Cross and the family of Min Joo Lee need to be assured that TfL is doing everything in its power to prevent a recurrence of this tragic event.”

A spokeswoman for the Mayor would not say whether he would take to his bicycle with Ms Jones, but said work was underway to increase pedestrian capacity and safety improvements at the junction by early next year.