Railings removed

We dont have any barriers in NYC at all and I dont think we have any more accidents than you guys do. I think part of the problem is that the old streets in London are way to narrow to accommodate the amount of traffic (cars, bikes, peds etc.) that they are subjected to. Cars, trucks and people are way to close together to be truly safe and avoid each other.

also a cultural difference too between London and New York especially how peds/drivers behave.

And I think I'm the only person who sticks to 30mph in London!

Not down the hill through Greenwich Park I don't... ;-)

also a cultural difference too between London and New York especially how peds/drivers behave.

Yeah, peds cross here wherever they feel like it and often step into the road before even looking. Often right under my front wheel cos the don't hear the bike coming.

We dont have any barriers in NYC at all and I dont think we have any more accidents than you guys do. I think part of the problem is that the old streets in London are way to narrow to accommodate the amount of traffic (cars, bikes, peds etc.) that they are subjected to. Cars, trucks and people are way to close together to be truly safe and avoid each other.

this really nice guy called david (rides a surly steamroller, beard and glasses, been dressed in black hoodie the times i've seen him) told me that if i ever get the chance i should ride in NYC as its so easy to ride around?

Doubt it, it's quite different to London, while the layout is clearer, the traffic pattern is different, expect a lots of unnecessary honking from motorised vehicles, actually it's more of a free for all.

Doubt it, it's quite different to London, while the layout is clearer, the traffic pattern is different, expect a lots of unnecessary honking from motorised vehicles, actually it's more of a free for all.

Don't doubt it, I am from NYC and although it's still an intense place to ride, the streets are considerably wider so cyclists have a lot more wiggle room to get out of trouble. Also as aggressive as New Yorkers may seem, there is a very different relationship between motorists and cyclists there as opposed to here. In NYC there is a lot more respect in general from both sides. In NYC I rarely feel the total distain for cyclists that I feel from many motorists here in London. People in NYC actually wait for you or wave you through tight situations in many cases. In London I feel like everyone is in a desperate race for the finish line and no one is going to get in their way.

So yes in my long experience of NYC and 5 years of London and the UK. NYC is a hell of a lot easier to ride in than London.

It's somewhat very peaceful now Wimbledon had it's railing removed (apart from some on the bridge further up).

I notice drivers are a little bit slower when they're on this section of road, as were the peds being a bit more wary, although there's still peds crossing the road randomly, netherless the outcome is defintely better and I do actually feel quite comfortably safe cycling down that road.

Best change in Wimbledon defintely.

Brilliant stuff, Ed. Yes, that is the intention of railing removal. I hope it works as well in other areas and for other people. In an environment like that, it is of course the intention to have pedestrians cross more freely. It's a town centre. Just needs more cycle parking now. :)

Kingsland Road E8 - Kingsland Bridge over Regant's Canal
These railings scheduled for removal:
/attachments/19400

1 Attachment

Those defintely need removing, I remember when I cycle down there, vehicles doesn't slow down that much as they should over bridge, once the railing removed, hopefully they should.

Very good. I'm more and more pleased with this policy.

pretty much all the railings have gone in my neighbourhood and commute via euston.. on fast sections of road or ped crossings the zigzag herding is a nonsense now and only good for blind / partially sighted i guess unless TfL plan to rebuild them too..

so peds cross when and where they fricking like even on a red man.. it is pissing me right off, and no doubt lead to an increase in road traffic accidents..

quite the opposite in fact

there has been a general push on this recently, to lessen street furniture ( signs / railings / markings ) all of which is leading to more eye contact between paedo's and cars thus reducing the amount of injuries sustained by walkengers

LCC is also getting involved with this type of action with their Going Dutch campaign

it's all the rage on the continent

the lack of railings also gives you a way out in case of any large vehicle squishing you against a kerb / railing before it was a barrier / trap

i personally am happy to see the clutter removed from our streets

try telling the commuters pouring out of euston station at rush hour.. they cross everywhere except at the zebra crossing or traffic lights

try steering around them

or shouting at them

pretty much all the railings have gone in my neighbourhood and commute via euston.. on fast sections of road or ped crossings the zigzag herding is a nonsense now and only good for blind / partially sighted i guess unless TfL plan to rebuild them too..

so peds cross when and where they fricking like even on a red man.. it is pissing me right off, and no doubt lead to an increase in road traffic accidents..

Removing railings is a good idea. Peds always crossed where they wanted anyway, including walking along railings with no way back onto the footpath.

the lack of railings also gives you a way out in case of any large vehicle squishing you against a kerb / railing before it was a barrier / trap

If the railings were longer when that Jag driver drove up onto the footpath to try and run me down I might not be here today.

Of course, if I was allowed to own a personal rocket launcher I would've fixed the problem driver in the first instance.

i'll add blades to my rear wheel
ben hur style
i'll just mow them down..
good for shredding car tyres too.. ;-)

there has been a general push on this recently, to lessen street furniture ( signs / railings / markings )

It does seem to have accelerated, but the push against street clutter has actually been going on for years.

The original borough to adopt a policy of removing guard rail was Hackney, about four years ago, following a study they commissioned which recommended this. This was subsequently adopted by TfL and some other boroughs as the evidence base was there. The LCC supports such removal, as well as less street clutter generally, but also advocates that cycle parking stands be brought in where guard railing has been removed. We also often support more comprehensive shared-space initiatives inspired by the work of the late Hans Monderman, a Dutch traffic engineer.

Southwark Cyclists has long pushed for the removal of railings some of which have contributed to collisions causing cyclists' deaths. Provided adequate stands are installed (and many are going in now) this can only be a good thing.

Just made me wonder if anyone had developed an air horn for bicycles.

I would happily sacrifice the aesthetics of my own bike and fit such a device. The pleasure one would obtain from scaring the shit out of every dumb cunt who thinks it's clever too step out without looking would make it very worth while indeed.

http://www.airzound.co.uk/

The youtube vids don't exactly sell it.

I had one on my road bike, it's pretty damn loud, much louder than those videos make it seem.

I stopped using it though, didn't solve any problems for me.