Oscar Clarke, who lives on Ditchling Road in Brighton, left his house at 10am on Sunday, June 15 to drive to Lewes to see his father for a “long-planned family celebration”.
The 30-year-old was unaware that it was the day of the London to Brighton bike ride because he had seen “absolutely no public information” about the event.
He said: “Usually there would be a swathe of signage for a few weeks in advance, warning of road closures and diversion routes.
“We’ve even had leaflets through the door in the past, as we live so close to the route itself. This year, nothing.”
Now in its 49th year, the bike ride is the British Heart Foundation’s biggest fundraising event.
Mr Clarke’s father has had a “very tough year” so Oscar had arranged a day of celebration for him.
Upon leaving home, Oscar immediately encountered traffic on the one-way street near his home and found the left turn into Lewes Road was closed, with all traffic being routed to the city centre.
He said: “The wardens would only wave and say to follow the traffic, unable to advise me on a suitable route or tell me which roads were closed further down.
“Unable to do anything but crawl along, I eventually found small roads to try and make my way northbound.”
Oscar then discovered that Lewes Road was closed and could not join the A27.
“Impossibly frustrated, and becoming late, I pleaded with the wardens at the Hollingbury A27 junction to radio for advice on how I should best navigate my necessary route”, he said.
“They wouldn’t help, and insisted I move on, following the unsigned ‘diversion’ back down Ditchling Road. This put me back in the traffic, eventually crawling back to my front door.
“90 minutes wasted, I parked up outside my house and phoned my sister in tears that I wouldn’t be able to make it.”
Finding “unexpected time on my hands and injustice in my heart”, Oscar made a plaque and headed to the nearest wardens to “protest the chaotic organisation of the event”.
He said his requests for the organisers’ contact information was “categorically denied”.
Oscar said that at the pelican crossing, located near the Phoenix Arts Centre, cyclists of the event were “barrelling through the red light, narrowly missing prams, elderly people, dogs and all pedestrians correctly using the green man signal”.
He said: “I escalated my protest by stepping out at every green man, blocking the way for cyclists, and stepping back when they had the right to proceed.
“Three cyclists ran over my feet while I was correctly using the crossing, almost all of them swore at me.”
Soon a manager arrived who later called the police, who attended.
“They reminded the manager that pedestrians always have a right of way when the green man signal indicates it, and cyclists must stop at a red light”, Oscar said.
“He argued that it was a special event. I said that closing the crossing would have been the safe thing to do, if anything, but for the organisers not to take any action to prevent their participants injuring members of the public was outrageous.”
The carpenter and furniture maker said it “grieves” him to think that others missed the opportunity to see their fathers “because of shoddy city event planning”.
He said: “I am a huge advocate of the event, and of cycling in general. I respect the participants for their charitable and green fundraising for an important cause.
“I have completed the race several times myself over the last decade. However, the organisation of this year’s event has been shocking,
“The risk to pedestrians due to shoddy management is really upsetting and shows no respect towards Brighton as a host city.”
Anna McCaughley, Head of Events at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We’re very sorry for any distress and inconvenience caused. We partner with an experienced events company to ensure the smooth and safe running of the event, and to minimise disruption to residents.
“As part of this, we engage heavily with each of the local authorities and their highway teams across the footprint of the event, and work collaboratively on the plan for road closures, diversions and re-openings including the communications plan to provide as much notice as possible to all local residents and businesses. As per 2024, a resident letter was physically dropped from May 19th – May 22nd to thousands of residents and businesses.
“This letter gives a summary of the event and has a QR code to allow the resident to scan and be directed to our community guide. The community guide, attached has a full breakdown of event information, covering road closures, locations, and timings.
“A second letter drop happened in key areas across the footprint, most notably Smallfield in Surrey and Coldean Lane, Brighton. We have a detailed summary report of the roads which received both letters, detailing from London all the way through to Brighton.
“We also employ 234 paid stewards, 14 safety motorbikes, 20 paid route team managers, and have police support from London, Surrey and Sussex across the 54 miles who help control traffic, flow, and the safety of cyclists, road users and the public.
“Our traffic management supplier installs Advance Warning Signage 2-3 weeks prior to the event following comprehensive plan for all areas of the route, with information with regards to closures and diversions.
“Now in its 48th year the BHF’s London to Brighton bike ride is the charity’s flagship event and is vital of raising funds and awareness of cardiovascular disease, which affects over 24,000 people in Brighton and Hove alone. This year this iconic event saw 14,000 people raise over £1.6 million to help the BHF fund more groundbreaking research into new treatments and cures for cardiovascular diseases.”
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