You are reading a single comment by @Oliver Schick and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Oliver Schick
That's an interesting question. There's evidence that denser urban traffic generates lower crash rates than less dense traffic (in which average speeds tend to be higher). To me, it's not so much a question of absolute numbers of trips, but of trip distances and the spread of origins and destinations.
The modal share of driving in Central and to some extent Inner London is actually quite low, but as much of that traffic originates in Outer London, average trip distances tend to be quite long (as for most trips in London). The longer distances driven go some way towards explaining the impression that motor traffic is much more dominant than it actually is.
London has also been congested (at least) since Roman times, so hoping for a significant change is perhaps a little too much. :)
I personally hope that London's city development will stop over-emphasising the centre only and even out activity, as it's the degree of separation of workplace, residence, and other destinations that needs changing. Oh well, work of generations.