Cycle campaigning

Does anyone have a high level simple summary of cycling/collision stats in London? I.e. proportion of journeys done by bike, proportion of collisions cyclists are involved in, and liability in a collision. I know the original data is available on TfL and stats19, but would like an easy summary for people who don't like digging down through lines of data.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/drivers-to-blame-for-two-thirds-of-bicycle-collisions-in-westminster-8602166.html

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/15/cycling-bike-accidents-study

Cheers. It's a shame that Peter Walker's article doesn't give the proportion of journeys made by people on bikes in London, and neither does the DfT report he mentions. Anyone know?

Dunno what the latest count is, they covered Bank junction a while ago

The City says that approximately 18,000 pedestrians an hour traverse some part of the junction during the morning peak, along with 4,500 people aboard 220 buses, 1,600 people in 1,430 motor vehicles, and 1,600 cyclists - up from just 700 in 2010.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2015/nov/20/london-bank-junction-to-be-transformed-for-cyclists-buses-and-pedestrians

Cyclists will outnumber car drivers entering central London in rush hour in the next few years, according to figures from Transport for London (TfL).
The number of car drivers fell from 137,000 in 2000 to 64,000 in 2014, while those of cyclists trebled from 12,000 to 36,000 over the same period.
TfL says the shift away from private cars to public transport and walking and cycling is "a feat unprecedented in any major city".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35475318

Risk is probably best worked out per mile traveled rather than with absolute numbers. In other words the number of collisions may have risen, the rate has declined so each rider is less at risk.

Be careful about such data. It's usually about what's happening in zone 1 and 2 and within the congestion zone. Other data on cycling in London seems to show it's something largely done by the under 35s who all seem to live in Hackney.

There's little change in zones 3,4 & 5.

Bit more recent:

Although cyclists make up 22 percent of all traffic at Highbury Corner roundabout in the morning rush-hour, there are currently limited cycle facilities there.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/highbury-corner-roundabout

Cheers! I've responded.

There are two problems I've always had there.
One is that it is inevitable that drivers from Canonbury Road will fail to give way to most traffic and certainly cycles. But there is plenty of space to make sure of an escape route.
The second is the exit on to Upper Street. It's a pinch point after the junction which because the road flares out to being quite wide gives drivers the impression that there is space to accelerate into. Again it's not that hard to find a line that holds them off for that extra moment but that won't be possible for cyclists using the new bike lane.
I mentioned this in my response:

I believe many of the changes will be beneficial to all users.

I have a specific concern over the segregated cycle lane that is proposed along the southern side of Highbury Corner. I believe the point where segregation and the lane itself terminates is poorly situated for several reasons.

1. Cyclists that use this facility will be negotiating passage back into the principle traffic lane immediately prior to a point of conflict where Upper Street narrows.
   
2. The traffic that cyclists will need to negotiate with will be approaching them from behind.
   
3. The segregation places cyclists in an area where they will be in the periphery of the vision of drivers prior to rejoining the main carriageway
   
4. Drivers will be accelerating away from the junction at the point where the two streams encounter the narrowness of Upper Street and cyclists rejoin the main carriageway.
   
   

The narrowness of the road at Upper Street immediately after the junction poses problems even to confident cyclists under the current layout. The proposed changes do not address the problems posed by this 'pinch point' but introduce further complexity to the safe passage of cyclists on to Upper Street.

I didn't mention that the proposed changes pull the same trick as the new Oval layout. i.e. segregation and provision ends at a bus stop. Maybe someone else could mention that?

Went to see Andrew Gilligan chat to the LCC Policy Forum Monday. Seems pretty concerned that all of the momentum that has been built up in the last 3 years will be lost after the election, irrespective of who gets in, as both principal candidates are only hearing the 'anti' side, and the 'pro' side (a majority in most surveys) aren't making themselves heard.

Londoners on Bikes are back, and trying to get the 'Pro' side heard again, but it's tough, a lot of us who did it last time have extra responsibilities (Kids, new businesses, etc) that we didn't have last time. If anyone can come along to the Monday evening sessions at 6:45 at the Southbank Centre, or to one of our flyering sessions, or help with social media or anything, that would be great!

Stop showering cyclists

J just noticed one big issues with the new tiny Cs6 and other similar project; the lane is littered with dirt.

Are the council gonna clean it as regularly as they would to the privilege many?

I wrote this, which is sort of aimed at a typical forumenger:

https://buffalobillbikeblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/boris-new-bike-lanes-are-not-for-me/

It's quite long, so here's the last 3 paras:

"Because I now get it. I get that if I want to see a civilised, cycling city in my lifetime, ordinary people, people who would otherwise drive to the shops, or to the school with the kids, or get the bus or the train to work, need to feel safe on their bikes on the road, which they do not now. They need to feel that there is a safe space in which to cycle. Training alone will not do it. I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard friends & acquaintances say something like, I’d like to ride, but I just don’t feel safe, or, I used to ride but stopped after I was (nearly) knocked off by a bus / lorry / car.

Under Boris’ leadership, Andrew Gilligan and his team have made a great start. I know that all of the roadworks have been a pain, although there have been one or two upsides: we all immensely enjoyed Nigel Lawson’s assertion “that [the cycle lane construction program] has done more damage, and is doing more damage, to London than almost anything since the Blitz”. But it’s only a start.

If we aren’t careful, this summer will mark the high-water mark of cycling advocacy in London. At TfL the bus is king, and all this cycle-lane stuff has been, in their view, a bit of a distraction, and a bit of a waste of money, but, hey, now the box marked ‘cycling’ has been ticked, they’ll be able to get back to the real world of buses and trains. Also, cuts to funding are looming, and that will mean it is likely to get a lot harder to get any money spent on cycling, never mind increasing it.

Cycling in London has momentum. After several years of flat-lining, modal share has started to nose up again in the last couple of years. The new lanes will surely accelerate the upward trend. But the job’s only just begun. And if we don’t carry on pushing, the vocal but statistically small anti-cycling caucus will get the airtime and the audience, and cycling will be pushed back to the margins from where it is now, virtually centre-stage in London politics."

Really well put, and I grudgingly have to agree. Yes I want more people cycling and if infrastructure facilitates this it's great. I'd just like other road users to understand that I am not obliged to use it and that some of it is dangerous and poorly designed.

Lots of work there.

How about a left turn legal at a red light?

I don't know if this is a re-post but this is a pretty shocking watch because it shows how little progress had been made up until 2013, and also that we were only 10 years behind the Dutch & Danish in 1984

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmR5t2RELns

The kind of road-users that want you out of 'their' carriage-way, and into the bike lane are likely to be the same kind of people that shouted at Klaus Bondam (former deputy Mayor for Transport of CPH and current chief of the Danish Cycling Union) & I to get off the road when he was here 2 years ago. Presence of infra, decent or not, will not make a jot of difference to these knuckle-draggers.

Ok, so here's what I'm going to do. Do you think I should make it a forum event?

http://www.londonersonbikes.org/billbuffalo/queen_street_place_by_the_bicycle_traffic_lights

We run a Doctor Bike Friday evenings at Queen St... Friday evenings, Greeting commuters, fixing their bikes

Yeah seen, are you doing it Good Friday or the Thursday before?

Will need to check on Monday. will let you know

Would be happy to pool resources, although I am not the best at helpful mechanical advice.

Where do I send my contribution?

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article4722048.ece

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So, this is what we're up against in the north.

A letter writer to the Yorkshire Evening Post argues that 20mph speed limits are good news for paedophiles....

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