The Central London grid

AKA 'Changing the culture of cycling in London'

We have Superhighways
We have quietways
Now we'll have a central London Grid
To find out more, see www.tfl.gov.uk/cyclinggrid or email grid@tfl.gov.uk.

no work

it's the login screen of an outlook webapp

Yep my bad
Info available from TfL weblink above
Soz

Damn those bastards are proposing to turn my carefully selected quiet commute into some sort of cycling-free-for-all
Fuck that

I can't say I'm the biggest fan of that odious blonde fascist's foreword, but the ideas inside are pretty good.

You've met skydancer?

Forgive my cynicism, but unless Boris/TfL are actually planning to physically do something to those roads, how are they going to be any different to how they are now? I mean, does telling people "Back streets exist!" actually count as an achievement?

Speed limits are pretty meaningless without enforcement, and I've lost count of the number of times I've encountered HGVs on roads which are way too small for them (Drury Lane jct with Shaftesbury Ave for e.g.) The Mayor should be restricting more of the 'quietways' to through traffic (as per Hackney), installing good quality protected lanes on A-roads, and generally kicking councils like Westminster and K&C into shape.

Forgive my cynicism, but unless Boris/TfL are actually planning to physically do something to those roads, how are they going to be any different to how they are now? I mean, does telling people "Back streets exist!" actually count as an achievement?

Speed limits are pretty meaningless without enforcement, and I've lost count of the number of times I've encountered HGVs on roads which are way too small for them (Drury Lane jct with Shaftesbury Ave for e.g.) The Mayor should be restricting more of the 'quietways' to through traffic (as per Hackney), installing good quality protected lanes on A-roads, and generally kicking councils like Westminster and K&C into shape.

That was really my impression as well. New cycling contraflows are a good idea, but it would really help these if the parked cars were moved over to create a proper, protected contraflow lane.

The one picture on the page is the segregated lane on Royal College Street which sucks and I'm not sure at all why it's necessary (the contraflow maybe but it's no problem at all to ride on a parallel road imo)... so high hopes for these plans then, I imagine they'll be great.

TfL are really pleased with the 'armadillos' on Royal College Street. Their view is that this light segregation means riders can easily move out of the bike bit onto the road. It is also easily tweaked and can be widened etc since it is not made of stone.

Fair play with tweaking it, not so sure about moving in and out, and of course I've got grief from drivers angry that I'm not using the cycle lane plenty of times (I don't ride in it at the north end where it was extended because I turn right and I think it leaves too little space to get in position).

Considering that it's a wide and not particularly busy road, and the whole thing with the cycle lane cutting between bus stops and the buses, it just seems to me like some paint on the road would actually be a perfectly fine idea here.

swamp thing ( the Grid) - YouTube

Tron Legacy The Grid - YouTube

yeah I actually only clicked this thread because I thought the london grid sounded like something cool from the future

TfL are really pleased with the 'armadillos' on Royal College Street. Their view is that this light segregation means riders can easily move out of the bike bit onto the road. It is also easily tweaked and can be widened etc since it is not made of stone.

I think it's more than just the ability to "tweak". Rapid prototyping, which can be reversed or abandoned is increasingly seen as a really valuable tool in designing just about anything. It's really difficult to predict how people will respond to a design (especially in a highly interconnected system like London streets). So being able to just do it cheaply and quickly with a bit of paint and/or some moveable planters is a hugely valuable thing.

Considering that it's a wide and not particularly busy road...

Which begs the question why do anything on Royal College Street apart from perhaps a little road calming...

(Please feel free to hijack this thread if you need something much more Sci-fi-futuristic)

I like royal college street, it has the feeling of hassle free riding. And importantly politically it maintained a lot of the parking I think? Little to nothing will happen where parking needs to be removed...

I wanna see evidence trucks and vans dont juat drive over theae armadillos
Wont sombody think of the armadillos?

Press release from he GLA

60 miles of central London grid it seems, de-lyrafication seems to be the the aim

“The Central London Grid will, I hope, de-Lycrafy the bicycle, reduce the testosterone levels of cycling..."

Not figured out how to embed this vid but in any thread including tunes by The Grid this deserves pride of place. Feel free to fix it.
The Grid Rollercoaster - YouTube

Roller coaster, The Grid
Features the repeated lines, "Let's Ride, Let's Ride...."

erm, well that went smoother than anticipated!

so what is this grid going to be? As said above, if it's just a sign-posted bunch of roads then nothing will change. If they do make substantial improvements this will be great for people who already ride in town, but won't entice new riders.

To get more people on bikes we need 'proper' cycling superhighways, that is direct routes people will feel and be safe and where bikes have priority at all junctions.

I doubt any real changes will happen. We don't have the commitment in government to make a real difference. There just aren't enough votes in prioritising walking and cycling

Different colour paint?

depends on the sponsor, maybe:-

red – Coca Cola
red & yellow – Shell oil
grey – Nestle
white – Apple
blue & black – BMW
yellow – Livestrong
pantone blue – General Lucifur

any more for any more?