Illuminating the existence of a safety problem is difficult when what you are trying to show is essentially invisible. That is the case for instances when cyclists ride in darkness with nothing that can distinguish them from the background. No reflective clothing and no lights means that the only way such a cyclist is visible is through the lighting of passing motor vehicles or overhead street lighting.
The above photo is an example of an invisible safety problem. It shows a cyclist on November 26, 2025, travelling westbound, the wrong way, in the eastbound lane of Hamilton Road just west of Egerton Street in London, Ontario. The cyclist is wearing dark clothing with no lights, and he is also not wearing a helmet.
Only 17 months earlier a cyclist was killed at this location on June 19, 2024. That collision occurred in the early morning at 0510 hours, or in darkness. However, other than this fact, no further information was ever provided as to how the collision occurred.
Fatal cyclist collisions along Hamilton Road are not rare but information about cyclist collisions in London is essentially non-existent. Agencies such as the Canadian Institute For Health Information hold data from hospital emergency department visits that might show how many cyclists get injured but such information is available to certain registered organizations and not to the general public.
In response to the incidence of two fatal cyclist collisions on Hamilton Road (June, 2019 & September, 2022), The Hamilton Road Senior’s Community Centre hosted a meeting on February 26, 2023. The meeting appeared to be organized by the Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre (branch of London’s library) and by representatives of the City of London. As reported in a CTV news article, a spokesperson for the Crouch library branch, Jennifer Martino, indicated that the meeting was organized as a result of an inquiry from a resident who had safety concerns:
“In the fall the Crouch Resource Centre was approached by a resident in the Hamilton Road neighbourhood and she was looking for some solutions about the constant sound of near misses on the road and accidents she’s witnessed,” said Jennifer Martino, with the CRC. “She was also concerned that every year for the past four years we have had a fatality that was traffic-related on Hamilton road including two fathers. One a very well-known community volunteer and the other a student.”
The city councillor for the area, Ward 1 Councillor Hadleigh McAlister, also expressed opinions about the need for safety improvements for the area of Hamilton Road.
Some discussed solutions at the meeting included the need for a “speed clock” which appeared to be another name for a speed display board that illuminates a vehicle’s travel speed. A reduction in the number of lanes from 4 to 3 was also proposed. A red light camera was also proposed for the intersection of Hamilton Road and Rectory Street. The repainting of roadway lines was also mentioned.
Not much changed in the months following the February 2023 meeting except that the political landscape appeared to worsen. In mid-October, 2024, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that he would prevent cycling lanes from being installed on arterial roads in Ontario’s municipalities if it caused the removal of driving lanes for motor vehicle traffic. This development fell flat in the lap of London Ward 1 Councillor Hadleigh McAlister, whose proposal in August, 2024 asked for the reduction in travel lanes on Hamilton Road and installation of cycling lanes.
More recent illogical announcements from Premier Ford’s administration in September, 2025, included that speed cameras would be outlawed in Ontario. So even if such cameras were deemed one of the safety solutions along Hamilton Road that would no longer be possible.
The Ford Administration also installed other changes that would have indirect safety repercussions on Ontario’s roadways. The decision to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in grocery and variety stores meant that persons who may be too young or too intoxicated could be sold alcohol without more diligent screening. The Ford administration also increased maximum speeds on 400 series highways. And it also allowed booze to be drunk on “pedal pubs” which are multi-person pedalled “bikes” operated in tourist areas. In May, 2024 news broke out that Ford also instructed local prosecutors to reduce penalties for impaired driving as a way of reducing court backlogs. All these signs are indicative of the Ford administration’s piecemeal attack on road safety. This has consequences for the safety on individual roadways such as Hamilton Road.
Gorski Consulting has accumulated a considerable database of cyclist observations in the City of London. For the year 2025, which is not yet completed, we have already documented about 1400 cyclists. In the past year our focus on Hamilton Road has increased since our previous data suggested that the characteristics of cyclists may be different from other parts of the City. We were prepared to give a presentation on our findings and made a proposal both to the Crouch Branch of London’s Public Library as well as to the Central library. This proposal was denied by both groups. Independent comment on road safety means that it is not always favourable to those who want to control what messaging reaches the public. It is indicative that even basic road safety information is denied to the public for undisclosed reasons. Despite these actions Gorski Consulting has posted numerous informative articles recently dealing with cyclist safety on our website. The titles of these articles, posted since 2023, are noted below:
2023 Cyclist Observations Provide Important Data on Cyclist Safety In London Ontario, Posted January 1, 2024.
2023 Data on Cyclist Helmet Use in London Ontario, Posted January 3, 0224.
What Has Been Learned From Five Years Of Reported Cyclist Collisions in London, Ontario, Posted January 4, 2024.
Cyclists on Sidewalks in London Ontario – From 2022 & 2023 Observational Data, Posted February 21, 2024.
Toronto Research Compares Emergency Department Data Against Police Data for Cyclist & Pedestrian Collisions, Posted February, 27, 2024.
Disappointing Actions By All Involved in Addressing Cyclist Safety, Posted March 10, 2024.
Most Cyclist Injuries Not Related To Motor Vehicle Impacts: Research Finding, Posted March 15, 2024.
Another Cyclist Fatality In Toronto That Will Never Be Explained To those Who Are Being Killed, Posted April 26, 2024.
Cyclist Collision on Hamilton Road in London Ontario – Safety Concerns Continue, Posted June 19, 2024.
Hamilton Road Fatal Cyclist Collision – Characteristics of Cyclist Road Users, Posted June 21, 2024.
Cycling Data From London Ontario For 1st 6 Months of 2024 – Previous Trends Continue, Posted July 2, 2024.
Painted Cycling Lane Safety: Theory Versus Reality, July 23, 2024.
Warning From Ontario Hospital of Spike in E-Bike & E-Scooter Injuries, Posted August 21, 2024.
Doug Ford Government Teaching Ontario How To Cycle Backwards, Posted October 21, 2024.
13-Year-Old Female Cyclist Dies At Rossland & Stevenson At East Edge of Toronto Ontario, Posted November 8, 2024.
Review Of Safe And Unsafe Cycling Facilities in London Ontario Canada, Posted November 14, 2024.
Continued Lack of Information About Cyclist Injures And Deaths Continues To Confuse The Public, Posted November 28, 2024.
Cycling Dangers on Hamilton Road In London Ontario, Posted December 2, 2024.
Cycling Abandonment? So Now What?, Posted December 30, 2024.
2024 Cyclist Observations now Available For London Ontario, Posted January 3, 2025.
Observed Differences In Cyclist Characteristics & Safety Across City of London Ontario, Posted February 2, 2025.
Trump Tariff Turmoil – An Impetus For Canadian Cycling?, Posted February 22, 2025.
Harsh Winter In Southern Ontario Affects Cycling Observations, Posted April 1, 2025.
Cycling in Stump City, Formerly Forest City, Posted April 21, 2025.
Cyclist Fatality in London Ontario With Absolutely No Disclosure, Posted May 7, 2025.
Cyclist Collision Data For Canada Do Not Exist, Posted May 18, 2025.
Cyclist Observations in London Ontario For First Six Months of 2025, Posted July 3, 2025.
Years of Training Required to Know How to Kill a Cyclist, Posted July 7, 2025.
Ontario Law Removing Toronto Cycling Lanes Found Arbitrary And Against Cyclists’ Charter Rights, Posted August 7, 2025.
Many Involved In Suppressing Information About Cyclist Safety, Posted August 13, 2025.
“Cargo” Biking With No Brakes?, Posted August 18, 2025.
Observed Cyclist Helmet Use In London Ontario, Posted September 16, 2025.
Yes You Have Your Freedom – But Choose It Carefully, Posted September 19, 2025.
What Is More Important – Observing Cyclists, E-Scooters, Or Both?, Posted October 5, 2025.
Returning to the issue of darkness, visibility and roadways like Hamilton Road, another cyclist observation is shown in the three photos below, taken on November 27, 2025. The cyclist is travelling eastbound in the eastbound lane of Hamilton Road and the lighting conditions are twilight.
The presence of some yellow-coloured cargo at the back of the bike provides some assistance in his being detected. However cyclists do not understand that the colour of any garment, or cargo, provides only a limited improvement in visibility. A proper retro-reflective material is necessary to be seen in night-time conditions.
Observations like these help to create an understanding of how cyclists can be involved in collisions in conditions of degrading visibility. It is useful to document how often such scenarios occur, what kind of cyclist characteristics exist, what interactions with traffic take place and what actions are taken by the cyclist.
These observations can be discussed amongst drivers of motor vehicles and with cyclists. However that cannot occur when entities operate to prevent that discussion.
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