A poll carried out for BBC London on cycling in the capital has found that one in five cyclists has stopped riding to work recently. The survey linked the change in individuals' travel habits to the deaths of six cyclists in a two-week period in November.

The poll asked the views of 1,070 adults, a quarter of whom said they were cyclists, and found that:

- 20% of cyclists said they had stopped cycling to work

- 63% said they cycled on pavements to avoid dangerous roads and junctions

- 30% said they have changed their route to work

- 68% disagreed that London's roads are safe to cycle on.

The mayor's cycling commissioner for London, Andrew Gilligan, cautioned that the "tiny" size of the BBC poll meant that the true proportion of cyclists put off by safety concerns could be "less than half" that suggested by the survey. He added that the news was nonetheless a cause for concern, drawing attention to ongoing investment in road infrastructure aimed at improving conditions for cycling in London.

Transport for London (TfL) has said it is spending £1bn on improvements and that cycling in the capital is not getting more dangerous. The number of cyclists in the capital has almost trebled in the past decade, while cyclist deaths have fallen in relative terms over the same period. According to TfL statistics there were 68 cyclist deaths in the five years from 2008 to 2012, falling from 82 fatalities between 2003-2007.

The recent spate of deaths has raised the profile of cycling safety in the media. Last week it was widely reported that Metropolitan police had been given monthly targets for fining cyclists. This was quickly denied by Chief Superintendent Glyn Jones, who claimed there had been a genuine misinterpretation of his instructions.

Meanwhile, a Select Committee inquiry into the cyclists' deaths has been lambasted by British Cycling's Policy Adviser Chris Boardman. In a statement issued today, Boardman said:

"The MPs that sit on the transport select committee should be embarrassed by their performance yesterday in an inquiry that was meant to be about why six people died riding bicycles on London's roads in the space of two weeks.

"In front of them sat experts from campaigning bodies, transport research and the police - all ready to get into a proper discussion - and yet the MPs demonstrated that they didn't even know the most basic of facts. Evidence and statistics were bypassed in favour of opinions and anecdotes on sideline topics.

"Such a clear demonstration of lack of research and understanding at this level of seniority would, in any other business, be classed as negligent.

"This was an opportunity to discuss how we can make our roads fit for people to get around by bicycle, improving our nation's health, the environment and cutting emissions. This will deliver benefits for everyone, not just cyclists, and to do it we need to transform infrastructure, tackle dangerous junctions and encourage people to use bikes to get around.

"I'd like to see a proper, fruitful evidence session, rather than opinion-based discussion, on how to protect and encourage cycling as a mode of transport. To that end I am going to write to the MPs on the committee asking them to meet with British Cycling representatives to get to work discussing the real issues that can lead to the transformation of not just cycling, but the environments that we live in."

The Committee will sit for a second hearing tomorrow, with the government's new cycling minister, Robert Goodwill, set to give evidence.

On Friday, more than 1,000 cyclists took part in a mass "die in" outside TfL headquarters to draw attention to the issue of cyclist safety on London's roads and call for urgent improvements to infrastructure.

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