Campaigners and friends of a cyclist killed in an early morning road collision are due to hold a vigil in his memory.
Gary McMahon (58) died last month as a result of injuries sustained in a collision with a lorry in north Belfast.
The Belfast Cycling Campaign is to hold a vigil on Saturday, which will seek to highlight the dangers facing cyclists along key routes in the city.
The campaigners will be joined by relatives and friends of Mr McMahon at the event, which will see participants cycle from Writer’s Square at 3pm.
Their route will end at 3.30pm in Henry Place, close to where the fatal collision took place.
Megan Hoyt, who has been involved with organising the vigil, told The Irish News that campaigners felt it was important to draw attention to the dangers facing cyclists.
She said: “We thought it would be important to cycle to the place itself, highlighting just how dangerous that route is.
“Cyclists will be gathering for a moment of reflection and a moment of anger.”
Ms Hoyt added that those who want to take part but not cycle are advised to arrive at Henry Place around 3.30pm.
The demonstration comes amid growing debates over congestion in Belfast city centre and its travel infrastructure.
Ms Hoyt said she believed that Mr McMahon’s death underlined how dangerous certain routes in the city are to cyclists.
“There is a feeling in the cycling community that this can’t be glossed over,” she said.
“I myself live in north Belfast - my partner and I cycle to work. We both avoid the junction, as it’s simply too dangerous.
“Although we didn’t know Gary personally, this really hit home for us. It was scary.”
Under the north’s first climate law, which was passed in 2022, the Department for Infrastructure is legally-bound to commit 10% of its budget towards active travel.
But campaigners say that a long-term failure to invest in travel infrastructure is holding back the region.
Ms Hoyt argues that Belfast is being “left behind” by a failure to invest in active travel and public transport infrastructure.
“We simply haven’t invested in active travel and we’re being left behind because of it.
“You can really see the difference between cities that have invested in better public transportation and those that haven’t.
“Belfast has to decide: what kind of a city does it want to be?”
Andrew McClean, Cycling UK’s Northern Ireland lead, said the vigil was an important moment for the community to come together and pay their respects to Mr McMahon and his family.
“It’s also a moment to call for change – change that’s supported by both the community and campaign groups, who all want to see our roads made safer," he said.
“Working with the Belfast Cycle Campaign, we’ve consistently called for safer cycle routes in Northern Ireland for decades, with little to no action being taken.
“We can’t delay work on this a day longer.”