Cycle campaigning

Spain at risk of getting it hopelessly wrong:

http://road.cc/content/news/77554-spain-set-make-bike-helmets-compulsory-amid-law-reform-designed-push-cyclists

doh.
they may come good
http://www.ecf.com/news/11803/

In other interesting news, the Chief Executive at Wandsworth Council posted this in his internal blog:

Is the car still king?

by Martin, Paul
on 04/03/2013 17:24

Examining Wandsworth's 2011 Census results (http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/census) is a fascinating business.

In many ways, the trend in 2001 remains in tact ten years later. Most notably, Wandsworth is the highest local authority nationally for the proportion of its population aged 30-44. 30.6% are in this age range. And Wandsworth is the second highest authority nationally for the proportion of its population aged 25-29 - 15.4% are in this category. Maybe that's why being in Wandsworth makes me feel so old - compared to most of our population, I am. A friend tells me that in a bid to appear better looking, at parties his tactic is to avoid standing next to the most attractive person in the room. Living in Wandsworth is tough for those in the minority older population.

There are some interesting new features in the 2011 census results. Amongst these is an apparent sharp decline in car usage - there is a striking decline in the proportion of Wandsworth people who report travelling to work by car - down from 20% to 13%. Similarly, car ownership has fallen since the last census 10 years before - in almost every part of Wandsworth. This reverses the earlier trend between 1991 and 2001, which had seen car ownership levels rise.

What does this mean for policy makers at the Town Hall?

How far is this a product of improved public transport over the last decade? Is it a question of choice, or is the affordability of car ownership becoming more of a problem with rising rents and house prices? Is this a temporary blip, or a long term trend?

And have we factored in this change sufficiently in our own policies? Do we adequately balance the needs of the pedestrian and cyclist with those of the motorist? Have we made sufficient progress in initiatives like car clubs, being 'bike friendly', running cycle safety programmes? Is there more we can do?

I asked before I posted it to here, and got permission. I do have to point out that this is written by him in a totally personal capacity, not in his role as Chief Exec.

I thought that it was really interesting that the trend that was pulled out was the drop in car useage. However, what more do we need to do as a Council? Obviously things like segregated cycle paths would be ideal, but is there anything that we can do that comes into the fast and cheap wins side of this scale that I can suggest?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/onbj08a8h30nnyh/costspeed.JPG?m

That's useful between the ranks of clued up.
Problem is that local authorities might now have legions.of.active travel promotors trying to spend lstf cash, but every council is actually run by a bunch of.clueless old white men, who stop any change.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/capital-s-cycling-czar-unveils-ambitious-plan-to-get-london-cycling/014484

"the enviable east Londoners on their fixed-gear bikes"

Lots of campaigners will be smiling into their cornflakes this morning, whilst some will no doubt be concocting their "it's good, but still not good enough" arguments.

"it's good, but still not good enough" arguments.

So they've not banned car driving in greater London?
... poor show

^ That's only thanks to the efforts of those behind last years successful "drive to work day" :P

Indeed: Those drive to work day people have gone quiet. Bet they'll have something to say about this Vision for Cycling in London and for all the road space they'll be taking away from drivers. The Westway FFS!

interesting stuff, interesting times were living through.

This is great. A really thought-provoking way of reframing our ingrained, societal attitudes about modes of transport. Described here as

...a list of privileges that drivers often take for granted. The list is essentially disadvantages that cyclists have, but presented as privileges of drivers instead of disadvantages of cyclists [that]...highlights privileges that drivers enjoy in order to help illustrate what might otherwise be invisible. Kristin [the author] explains that the intention is not to scold drivers:
[INDENT]“Remember when you read this: If you have privilege in a situation, that doesn’t make you evil. It doesn’t mean that you have no problems and your life is perfect. Hell, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t un-privileged in another way! What it means is that you have a greater chance than a non-privileged person of being an asshole under this specific set of circumstances, and thus you have a greater responsibility to act in such a way as to not be an asshole. That’s really about it.”
[/INDENT] Here is Kristin’s list:

The Driver Privilege Checklist

[]If I am hurt or killed while driving, unless I am intoxicated or grossly negligent, I will not be blamed for my decision to drive.
[]If I live in North America, my driving is subsidized by my local, regional, and federal government, who provide roads and infrastructure. This subsidy is far beyond that given to any other form of daily transportation.
[]Learning to drive is a rite of passage, seen as a normal and necessary step towards adulthood, whereas other forms of transport are seen as childish or impractical.
[]If I choose to transport my children in a car, I will not be called a bad parent or berated for doing so.
[]If my child is injured or killed while in my car, I will not be blamed for their death unless I was intoxicated or otherwise grossly negligent.
[]If while driving I injure or kill another person, whether they are another driver, a passenger, a pedestrian, or a cyclist, unless I am intoxicated or otherwise grossly negligent this will be seen nothing more than a regrettable accident.
[]Large areas of the city, suburb, or rural area I live in are built and laid out with driving in mind to the exclusion of other forms of transportation, and may be totally inaccessible to non-drivers.
[]While travelling I do not have to experience cold, heat, rain, or snow for more than a few moments unless I choose to.
[]I can complain to friends, family, and aquaintances about minor accidents and other annoyances without being told that I should stop driving.
[]It is easier for me than it is for non-drivers to buy many staple goods, such as groceries, as they are often sold in car-centric locations which are difficult to access by other means of transport. I also have the advantage of more easily buying in bulk.
[]Unless I am very extravagant, the money I spend on purchasing and running my car is not seen as wasted, as a car is seen as a necessity. And the most obvious:
[]While in transit, I am protected by a 2-tonne metal machine which is faster, stronger, and more durable than anything else I encounter on the road besides larger cars and trucks. If I am in a collision with a pedestrian or a cyclist, even if I am not at fault, I am much more likely to escape without serious injury or death.
[*]If I make a mistake while driving, am in an accident, or cause injury to myself or others, this will not be held against all drivers or considered proof that driving is inherently dangerous or irresponsible.

Why do so many people ride bikes in Hackney? Here is the view of a local councillor who recognises the input from Hackney cycling campaigners.
http://cycleandwalkhackney.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/cycling-and-walking-in-hackney.html

Nice one Oliver Schick, Charlie_lcc, hoxtonhopper etc

Really enjoyed reading that. I think a lot of people take for granted how easy Hackney is to navigate by bike and don't realise the work and infrastructure that has gone into achieving that...until they have to ride somewhere else!

not bad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB9d-c-M7D0&feature=youtu.be

good that - is that on TV in Eire?

Today is the last chance to get your vote in for the
London Cycling Awards 2013

You can vote for the:
Best Brand
Best Cycling Champion
Best Cycling Communication
Best Product
Best Retailer

Job opportunity: - LCC Activism Coordinator post

Following the success of our Love London, Go Dutch campaign, we seek a `people-person' with bags of energy to help develop our grassroots work. Offering flair, capacity-development and coordination skills s/he will enhance our team at an exciting time for cycling in London.
Full time, £30,455 p.a. + 6% pension contribution
http://lcc.org.uk/pages/current-vacancies
Please circulate this job ad.

Today is the last chance to get your vote in for the
London Cycling Awards 2013

You can vote for the:
Best Brand
Best Cycling Champion
Best Cycling Communication
Best Product
Best Retailer
It would be great if Brixton Cycles could get more votes than the big operators who just push for volume sales.

**BSM and AA Driving School to introduce cycle awareness module
**
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/bsm-and-aa-driving-school-to-introduce-cycle-awareness-module/014868

A big thanks to Edmund King, the president of AA - who is a cyclist himself. This move surely will save lives. Hopefully others will follow this example.

A very welcome move, though I'm not always sure the instructors themselves are particularly tolerant of cyclists, I've had a couple of close encounters with instructors driving alone and learners being instructed.

http://theconversation.com/the-dream-of-the-car-is-over-15450 worth a read.

LCC have put out a call for a protest ride this Friday over the poor cycling conditions in the Aldgate area where a woman was killed on Friday.

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/join-the-london-cycling-campaign-protest-ride-this-friday-calling-for-clear-space-for-cycling-on-our-streets

Until the Mayor and Transport for London accept that on London's busiest roads clear space for cycling must be allocated, then cycling fatalities such as these will continue to happen regularly and cycling growth will be stifled.

having looked at quite a few articles and comments on this, my mind keeps brain-flashing to me: "#LondonCycleNetwork - #LondonCycleNetwork - #LondonCycleNetwork"; usually in batches of three, and then periodically afterwards as i'm yet to express these thoughts anywhere..

more cash for promoting and improving the traffic-free London Cycle Network routes is surely sensible?! there is only so much road space to share out between the motorised and the unmotorised..

(improvements being to prioritise the LCN bicycle flow over motorised traffic when the LCN meets roads - e.g. via a special sort of raised zebra crossing especially for cyclists?!)

there is only so much road space to share out between the motorised and the unmotorised..

but hey - you guys are right - some of these junctions are in areas that we cyclists need to use and do use - in Central London!!! - some are terrible and in need of improvement - so totally behind this momentum,

is there a city anywhere that has successfully banned any large HGVs from entering the city centre - in favour of depos and smaller delivery vehicles?!

Yep - Paris for example, they're severely restricted rather, i.e. not allowed in rush hours.

For some reason, HGV over 18 tonnes are banned in Central London overnight only, where there's a lots less cyclists riding at that time of night.

It would have been much more beneficial if they were to be banned in rush hours rather where I think (may need citation on this) the majority of collision happened, like CS7 became a dangerous route due to all kind of traffic being shoehorned into one tiny road during rush hour, especially when my g/f witnesses a HGV being ridden recklessly narrowingly missing cyclists until it collided with one in Stockwell (non-fatal thankfully).

edit - more information.

Not only that but also a lots safer for pedestrian too if they were banned during rush hour.