Ponsonby Road black spot for riders

Anna Bracewell-Worrall says Ponsonby Rd needs a bike lane. Photo / Nick Reed

Crashing off her bike after being hit by a car door on Auckland's busy Ponsonby Rd has put Anna Bracewell-Worrall off cycling to work.

Although she hopes to get back in the saddle over summer, seeing another injured cyclist being comforted last week at the spot where she crashed six months ago was a bitter pill.

The news director at radio station 95bFM was in a bus passing the crash site at the intersection with Richmond Rd when she saw a man in shock on the footpath with a towel draped over his shoulders, surrounded by passers-by and a crumpled bike.

"I had one of those moments when you can almost feel your brain pulsate against your scalp," she wrote in a guest blog for Cycle Action Auckland. From the bus, it was impossible to tell what had happened, but all I could think was: that cannot have happened right there, again."

Ms Bracewell-Worrall, 26, told the Herald she would like cyclists to be protected by a bike lane on Ponsonby Rd, such as the one Auckland Transport has just completed in the city on Beach Rd.

"I would totally bike in to work if there was one - it's just the fear of being 'doored' that's stopping me."

Ms Bracewell-Worrall's crash left her with multiple injuries, including a broken hand and finger, suspected fractured ribs, serious dental damage and a bruise which persists down the length of her thigh.

Cycle Action chairwoman Barbara Cuthbert said in a memo to Auckland Transport and the Waitemata Local Board that Ponsonby Rd was the only part of the city where she feared to bike at night in case of becoming "road kill".