TWO cyclists are calling for urgent safety improvements at a busy York junction after being knocked off their bikes in similar accidents.

Trina Warriner and Ed Johnson were both cycling out of town along Fulford Road when they were struck by vehicles emerging from Cemetery Road.

In both cases, they say the drivers were looking over their shoulders to see if anything was coming along Fulford Road and failed to see them as they cycled in front of them.

Both cyclists survived without severe injury, but say they could easily have been killed. And they say changes are needed before another cyclist is injured or killed.

Trina, of Kilburn Road, said her bike was struck from behind by a van as she cycled past the Cemetery Road junction recently.

"He hadn't seen me and was pushing me along," she said.

"I just thought: 'I'm going to be crushed.' Then my bike went and I fell to the ground. I suffered severe bruising to my right leg and cuts and grazes to my hands."

She said the van driver had been shaking just like she was afterwards. "He said he just hadn't seen me."

She said she did not blame the driver, but felt the junction was highly dangerous. It was also hazardous for pedestrians to cross Cemetery Road, and she suggested traffic lights and a pelican crossing were needed.

Mr Johnson said he was still suffering from a sore shoulder after his accident last winter.

He said he was hit from the side by a pick-up truck and was thrown through the air, banging his head and shoulder. He said was angry about a subsequent decision not to prosecute the driver.

He wanted changes at the junction, beginning with the introduction of a Stop sign on Cemetery Road rather than Give Way.

He also suggested City of York Council should consider making the Fulford Road-Fishergate-Cemetery Road circuit a large one-way system.

A consultants' report for City of York Council a couple of years ago recommended traffic lights and a pelican crossing at the junction.

But a council spokeswoman said that aspects of the consultants' recommendations had proved unpopular when put out to consultation, and the council was reassessing the options.

"We are having to reconsider where to go in relation to the difficulties identified by the consultants," added a colleague.

Updated: 12:10 Tuesday, July 10, 2001