Holborn protest ride - Tuesday 16 July

Following the death in Holborn this morning of a cycling commuter, LCC has called for a protest ride tomorrow evening. This will be the second mass cycling protest in as many weeks. The first followed the death of a French student on a Boris Bike by Aldgate tube station.

Tomorrow's protest ride will set off from Russell Square at 18:30, with the route almost certainly taking in Southampton Row, Theobalds Road, Proctor Street, High Holborn, Kingsway, Remnant Street and Lincoln's Inn Fields. The details will be decided in the morning, but the route outlined here is that which I recce'd this evening. I shall be leading the ride tomorrow.

For this ride, which could attract upwards of 1,000 riders, we need experienced marshals. There will be police support, but the organisation and execution of the protest is up to us. If you are able and willing to help, please email or call Lu Everett at the LCC office (lu@lcc.org.uk; 020 7234 9310 x209). There will be a recce for marshals at 17:30, with the assembly point being the south end of Russell Square.

A4-sized posters, to pin to your bike or yourself, are available on the LCC website...

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/lcc-organises-second-protest-ride-after-third-cyclist-killed-in-three-weeks-on-street-without-dedicated-space-for-cycling/

Leaflets with details about the event will also be available for download in the morning.

Francis

bump

In.

With such short notice this needs to get bumped and tweeted and generally spread quickly.

In too. We need to get as many people on this as last Friday's (1,500!). There is a feeder ride from East London, departing at 6pm from the Blue Wheel roundabout on Leonard Street.

In.

This needs to be bigger than last Friday's ride; spread the word on your social media channels. Show up.

One of the Mayor's reps last night said we had to "avoid a knee-jerk reaction". By my calculation yesterday's cycle fatality is the 65th since Boris came to power. Am sick of words, it's time for action from the Mayor and TfL.

http://ibikelondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/65-london-cyclists-dead-in-5-years-why.html

Will be there tonight.

PS There were some very fine looking LFGSS jerseys at Friday's ride. Would be good to see some more tonight :)

There will be at least one Ladeez LFGSS jersey reppin'!

In + MEC.

See you there.

In

In and 'tweeted'

I'll be there in LFGSS colours as well.

In, will be meeting the Mile End road feeder 17.30

Can't attend but have tweeted. Make it a good one!

in

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23323353

Last sentence would be funny, if the current events were not so tragic.

My bruised self and bruised bicycle will be there. Tempting as it is to go drink beer in a pub garden this is more important.

Why redesign the streets? Just ban the bloody trucks.

Personally i think this is more about lorries than street design, and we should be saying 'ban rush hour lorries' rather than 'safe space', but i'll be there because it's overwhelmingly clear that something needs to happen and Boris needs to pull his finger out.

http://road.cc/content/news/75482-construction-firms-london-lack-awareness-risk-lorries-pose-cyclists-says-trl

http://buffalobillbikeblog.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/time-for-a-london-lorry-ban/

1: HSE [the Health & Safety Executive] should extend the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) to include on-road collisions

2: Adherence to a nationally recognised standard on work- related road safety (such as the ISO39001 standard on road traffic safety management) should be promoted

3: HSE should include off-site safety in the Construction Phase Plan (mandatory under the CDM [Construction Design & Management] regulations)

4: Existing channels should be utilised more effectively to raise awareness of road risk within the construction industry

5: CLP [Construction Logistic Plan] guidance should be updated by TfL and its use promoted throughout London

6: Vehicle manufacturers should work to improve vehicle and mirror design

7: A wider review of the blind spots in different construction vehicle types should be conducted

8: Principal contractors and clients should use more realistic delivery time slots

9: CLPs must include the definition of safer routes to construction sites

10: Further research should be conducted to understand the effects of pay per load contracts

11: The vehicle type ‘construction vehicle’ should be included in Stats19

12: Recommendations 1 to 11 need to be addressed by stakeholders from across the industry, working with relevant regulatory bodies when necessary.

I think points 1 and 3 of TRL's recommendations are particularly important as ways to drive change. Struggling to turn those points into snappy slogan though. Anyone?

things need to change, see you all this evening..

I'll be joining this tonight. Hopefully there's a large turnout.

I had to ride past the scene this morning. Heartwarming that many people seem to be placing flowers in memory, even passersby unrelated to the rider. Even if the traffic seemed not to notice at all.

I think they key to getting some action taken is momentum, keep these flash rides up and visible. Don't let it slip out of the general consciousness.

I joined the LCC today and I'll be there for the ride this evening.

Struggling to turn those points into snappy slogan though. Anyone?

Rush hour, not CRUSH hour

Cities for Cycling, not Lorries for London.

Why redesign the streets? Just ban the bloody trucks.

The Holborn gyratory forces cyclists into detours and is a dinosaur from a bygone age of transport planning. It needs to be returned to two-way operation.

London has been lucky in that it wasn't turned into as much of a motor-centric city as other cities worldwide, but there is still a great need for a lot of street redesign.