Cycle Highways? Cycle Super Highway

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/163400m-bike-plan-for-london/2008/02/09/1202234227146.html

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/independent/2008/02/kens-revolution.html

yeah sounds exciting - just heard about them on the Beeb but can't find much on it yet.

I just read an article about this on the Guardian website:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/09/transport.world1

At first sight, it looks awesome. Can you imagine ahvign 4 times as many cyclists on the roads? That starts to make cars look like second class citizens. Imagine if all cycling in London becomes like the Australia night ride, owning the road :-)

And, yes, it would mean a lot more numpty cyclists, but what the hell, who cares?

Go on Ken !

Sounds good in many ways but I am very anti separated cycling lanes. Motorist come to expect them and think that is the only place for a bike to be it does not encourage cohesion and mutual respect on the road / sharing the road bla bla bla you all have herd the arguments before. YOu can see this from the AA's comments in Mashtons link.

TheBrick(Tommy) Sounds good in many ways but I am very anti separated cycling lanes. Motorist come to expect them and think that is the only place for a bike to be it does not encourage cohesion and mutual respect on the road / sharing the road bla bla bla you all have herd the arguments before. YOu can see this from the AA's comments in Mashtons link.

I don't disagree particularly, but to get to the state of somewhere like Copenhagan I'd imagine we'll have to go through something that's not going to be particularly tasteful to everyone. If they can link in a number of spokes taking people into the centre which increases cycling 400% then all those cycles have to go somewhere when they get to london / before they get to the spoke. The sheer extra numbers alone should start a change in drivers attitude.

Just like the congestion zone. Unpopular, not perfect, but a step in the right direction...

I agree with you Tommy, segregation is not a good thing. Especially so if it is enforced. I wo0uld fight that very strongly.

But, I think that getting people onto bikes in London, via segregated routes that are perceived as safe is a starting point to get more people cycling in general. I imagine that people who currently do not use a bike at all would begin to, on these 'highways'. Once they remember that cycling is fun, easy and not as dangerous as they might have thought then they may venture onto the roads.

Once people graduate past the 'magic' 18mph, then we can all rule the roads together :-)

*Geoff Dossetter, from the Freight Transport Association, also welcomed the scheme but he warned against giving too much space to cyclists.

He added: "The other concern we have had in the past is the behavior of cyclists. If this is to go ahead I think part of it should be an education campaign for cyclists so that they obey the rules of the road." *

Agree with TheBrick on this one...

mashton

Once people graduate past the 'magic' 18mph, then we can all rule the roads together :-)

No, I alone shall rule the roads. There is room for one only at the top!

King Tommy!

TheBrick(Tommy) [quote]mashton

Once people graduate past the 'magic' 18mph, then we can all rule the roads together :-)

No, I alone shall rule the roads. There is room for one only at the top!

King Tommy![/quote]
king tommy, WTF!!!??!?

I rode into the West End later than usual today (8.30am, not 7am) and was surprised at the volume of cycle traffic for this time of year. Maybe just a blip coz of the warm weather over the weekend, but spring is in the air......bike sales will rocket and newbs will multiply. Makes for an 'interesting' ride.

I think people shouldn't jump red lights its naughty and should always wear a helmet, even is it is on the back of their head like a bonnet on those girls from little house on the prairie. Oh yeah and I think we should have mandatory 'twat' lanes for twats.

Cycle highways already exist. They're called roads, but unfortunately they're always blocked by halfwits in cars.
I suppose this idea is welcome in that it is a step toward integration of cycling as a serious form of transport, but I can't help seeing private motor transport as being the major problem that needs sorting out, not bicycles.

i'd rather have my own bit of road/path/pavement and not have to share with cars. much more pleasant.

i would rather not be cramed in behind 100 mtb comuters with 23 gears who only use the one you only ever need to go up a mountain.

chris crash i would rather not be cramed in behind 100 mtb comuters with 23 gears who only use the one you only ever need to go up a mountain.

let them use the highways, and we can stick to the roads? those highways should free up some space, but as you say, drivers could start getting used to bikes being somewhere else than where they're driving

are drivers ever looking out for bikes? no. i just dont want tickets for not being in the bike lane, wich will be 1 more dagerous, 2 less well kept, and 3 slower then the road.

and 6000 more numpty bikes for fat tourists to wobble around on, stopping to take pictures of each other in front of a quainte-olde-englishe-phonebox or something.

6000!

Ye gods - it'll be madness.

Someone just posted this on my work message board!! please god no!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Rider-safety/

Yeah - there was some trial and apparently letting motorbikes into buslanes made it safer for bikes & motorbikes. Because they were busier, peds stopped stepping into them without looking or some such nonsense.

So now they are planning to let bikes use them all. (Not that it seems to stop them anyway...)

It was just on the news..
6000 bikes based on the Paris system
Dedicated roads for bikes
£400 million budget over 10 years.

Claims that it is a headline grabber for the upcoming election, like 4x4 owners getting a £25 congestion charge.
Councils don't know about scheme so how can it go ahead? LCC wants consultation.

I'd rather the budget was spent on integrating the roads for all, educating drivers to share the road with us and punishing the fuck out of them when they don't.

the movement towards segregation for cycles in the UK is a big, fat cock up the arse of sense. How typical of a government to blow money on a lead pig.

Dome anyone?

I'd rather the money was spent providing cyclists like me with light-weight surface-to-surface missiles with the new Twat Targeting system.

I sense much anger in you, young Skywalker...

You're right.. I'll just settle for lightweight sledgehammers and suitable bike-mounts. The rest can go to the orphanage.

hippy lightweight sledgehammers