This week's CW highlights the problems of cycling in London.
Ken Livingstone appears to think that three days of Le Tour will inspire thousands to take to a bicycle. He has set a "target" 400% increase of cyclisits in London by 2026. (Methinks the Kengestion charge will go up.. pity this cash is not used to .. er.. surface these broken roads down there
)
Quote:
can it be true that London with its badly cut-up potholed roads is becoming cycling friendly? If you've seen the TV commericals promoting cycling in London.. you might believe it.
I gather this focuses on a network of cycle lanes and route guides.. which have mixed reactions from the London cyclists with some feeling safer and others still saying "them cars are too fast innit!"
(I wish the so-called educated or "edukayshunned"
troll would talk proper
)
CW's Keith Bingham wrote:
But in reality .. the illusion that London is a "cycling city" lasts as long as it takes to pedal from Blackfriars Bridge from the south to north bank.
Peter Hendy (TfL transport commissioner) flagged Blackfriars Bridge as a top cyclign amenity. Keith Bingham asked him if London .. in promoting cycling on the back of Le Tour in July - would be putting his money where his mouth is and launching a showpiece of cycling development.
To which Mr Hendy replied that the priority is to complete London's 900km London Cycle Network which ducks and dives down back streets
Actually I think that could be more
fun to ride
... but they want to take over the roads completely
32 million cyclists jostling for position on Britain's roads
I fear more than "stinkfingers and a bit of
swearing will figure in road rage.
(Certainly if the on-line attitudes by some feature in their daily commuting lives
CW wrote:
As far as eye-catching schemes go.. Blackfriars Bridge is as good as it gets and won a London Cycling Campaign Award last year. Sadly it took the death of a cyclist on this bridge to fast track this improvement. (The is a photo of a nice wide cycle lane and ample lanes for traffic - and it's a dual carriageway too
They engineered out a denagerous left hand filter which was a "nightmare to cyclists wishing to carry straight on.
But once off the bridge.. the lane narrows to the normal one metre wide affair and cyclists are then exposed to fast traffic on the Embankment.
The engineers think they "know it all"
and either ignore cycling design guidelines and produce appallingly awful cycling facilities
We all know of daft cycle lanes
but we have here a call for more and better lanes on the one hand and some bloke on acf purporting to be from the CTC and claiming to do "big rides" not wanting cycle lanes at all...and apparently wants no cars just bikes.
What is needed are decent and meaningful lanes for cyclists (not a daub of pastel paints
) and Keith Bingham's piece certainly reads that he wants wide lanes which segregate cyclists from the traffic.. which is radically different from the C+ posters points of views on this rather thorny subject.
CW wrote:
The engineers have got TfL over a bollard.
TfL is only in charge of 5% of London's roads. The rest are under the control of the 32 London Boroughs. Barnet has taken out bus lanes .. Westminster does very little for cyclists.. and Ealing (which has a vibrant policy) is being hit with a row over funding with the TfL
Cycle parking facilities are abysmal at major stations too. Network Rail said it was keen to provide cycle parking facilities as it recognised the benefits of promoting integrated cycling/train travelling modes .. but it was all hot air. Network Rail has done nothing.. with Finsbury Park being the only exception
Businesses are also failing to provide facilities for parking bicycles.
An envisaged 1.5 million bicycle journeys per day in London alone .. with the best will in the world - it takes up rather a lot of space.. which we do not have. Perhaps the cyclists of the future will still have to use the Park and Rides to avoid bicycle congestion in the City Centres!
I know how much space our bikes take up in our garage
(I have a rather large garage.. I think I bought the house based on the size of its garage
as my cars and bicycles need to be tucked up in bed after all
in their own room with all their associated "toys"
I think I spent too much time with the Swiss rascals as a lad
)
Quote:
There has been a downside to the congestion charge. Cyclists complain that fewer cars has led to
traffic speeding up They did not widen the cycle lanes
But.. they won't whilst the CTC "renta mouthpiece" on a cycling forum keep blathering on that they do not want them
but the piece asks why UK lags behind mainland Europe on providing safe havens (as in
segregated cycle lanes Quote:
Per Tom Bogdanowicz of the LCC:
"The TfL are good at paperwork and not doing. They should be giving cycling the same priority as they gave the buses
Public transport should get priority actually. Not everyone wants to ride a bike and not everyone wants to drive a car .. and some people may not even be fit enough to ride anyway.. or just do not like the sensation of riding. Some folk just don't and we have to cater for these people's need to get from A to B in any case. So the priority towards funding a workable and efficient public transport system which can match the rest of Europe in terms of convenience and price has to be a big priority
Forcing people to ride bicycles is not the way forward nor is ramming cycling down people's throats as the "only green alternative". It is not as green as people are being led to believe if you take manufacture and retail into account.
(not to mention that Bristol University research into the farting effects of intense lentil consumption
) There are then some opportunity and other costs to the planet on that basis
It is not chucking cold water on a cycling iniatiative or being "anti cycling" as indeed - people should be encouraged to try it and be smitten. But any campaign - including an anti or even pro speed camera one - needs to keep a grip on reality and the effects on real people
Keith Bingham asked the LCC campaigns manager what he would like the Mayor of London to do for cyclists as a way of promoting cycling/
Mr Bogdanowicz wrote:
Bring in a blanket 20 mph speed limit in London
But then if this were brought in ... then perhaps it must be enforced rigidly for the 1.5 million extra cyclists who will flock out in lycra as a result of all this
After all.. there was rather a lot of commotion over police enforcing a 20 mph limit for cyclists as well as drivers through a London Park not so long ago.
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