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Time is running out for London's everyday and ordinary cyclists to show that they expect better of Transport for London and more from their Mayor when it comes to creating conditions which encourage walking and cycling. It's now just a few weeks until the diggers are planned to roll across Blackfriars to widen the lanes for traffic, rip out the 20mph signs and introduce a 1960's planner's dream of a motorway-style junction; and this where bicycles outnumber private motor vehicles at peak times and where already the most space is given over to traffic.
Where Blackfriars leads, other schemes are bound to follow. The pursuit of "network assurance" (ie smoothing traffic flow) is not only a Mayoral policy, it intentionally serves to discriminate against those who are on buses, bikes and on foot in order to ensure those in cars aren't delayed. I don't want anyone who has to drive to be any more delayed than is necessary, but neither do I want them to be accommodated to the detriment of my safety and comfort. As I wrote previously;
"It is 'network assurance' which stops Oxford Street from becoming the pedestrian paradise it ought to be, and it is because of 'network assurance' why the Cycle Superhighways disappear under parked cars or evaporate entirely at busy, dangerous junctions. It is also why Parliament Square remains a hideous roundabout instead of the fascinating World Heritage Site it ought to be. God forbid creating streets for people - for all people - might create a jam. Don't even TRY to cross the road in Henly Corner for fear you'll be run down by the fast moving cars which simply MUST be given priority.
Of course, Transport for London are keen to be seen as pro-cycling. Indeed, they're always encouraging Tube users to 'catch up with the bicycle'. But let there be no doubt that their incentive for doing this is to alleviate over-crowding on the railways, as oppose to aiming to create a true cycling city. Once you are off their trains and on your bike on their streets it's each to their own; you'll have to take to the roads in spite of the prevalent conditions, not because of them.
And that is why TfL have been busy trying to increase the speed limit and strip out the cycle lanes on Blackfriars. Their 1960s-style obsession with accommodating motorised traffic at all costs is to the detriment of all others. It's why you don't see kids riding to school across Blackfriars in the morning, and why cycling's modal share in London remains pitifully low. "
And so Blackfriars has become a 'watershed' battleground for everyone who wants a better city in which to live and move. The London Cycling Campaign is mounting a photo petition asking everyone who wants a safer more equitable city to show the Mayor their faces and join the many 100s like those in the photograph above (click on the picture to see it enlarged and see the wide range of people who believe that Blackfriars must be kept 20mph and re-designed for the 21st Century). Time is running out to add your voice, so don't delay - take your photo today and email it to blackfriars-photo@lcc.org.uk
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Where Blackfriars leads, other schemes are bound to follow. The pursuit of "network assurance" (ie smoothing traffic flow) is not only a Mayoral policy, it intentionally serves to discriminate against those who are on buses, bikes and on foot in order to ensure those in cars aren't delayed. I don't want anyone who has to drive to be any more delayed than is necessary, but neither do I want them to be accommodated to the detriment of my safety and comfort. As I wrote previously;
"It is 'network assurance' which stops Oxford Street from becoming the pedestrian paradise it ought to be, and it is because of 'network assurance' why the Cycle Superhighways disappear under parked cars or evaporate entirely at busy, dangerous junctions. It is also why Parliament Square remains a hideous roundabout instead of the fascinating World Heritage Site it ought to be. God forbid creating streets for people - for all people - might create a jam. Don't even TRY to cross the road in Henly Corner for fear you'll be run down by the fast moving cars which simply MUST be given priority.
Of course, Transport for London are keen to be seen as pro-cycling. Indeed, they're always encouraging Tube users to 'catch up with the bicycle'. But let there be no doubt that their incentive for doing this is to alleviate over-crowding on the railways, as oppose to aiming to create a true cycling city. Once you are off their trains and on your bike on their streets it's each to their own; you'll have to take to the roads in spite of the prevalent conditions, not because of them.
And that is why TfL have been busy trying to increase the speed limit and strip out the cycle lanes on Blackfriars. Their 1960s-style obsession with accommodating motorised traffic at all costs is to the detriment of all others. It's why you don't see kids riding to school across Blackfriars in the morning, and why cycling's modal share in London remains pitifully low. "
And so Blackfriars has become a 'watershed' battleground for everyone who wants a better city in which to live and move. The London Cycling Campaign is mounting a photo petition asking everyone who wants a safer more equitable city to show the Mayor their faces and join the many 100s like those in the photograph above (click on the picture to see it enlarged and see the wide range of people who believe that Blackfriars must be kept 20mph and re-designed for the 21st Century). Time is running out to add your voice, so don't delay - take your photo today and email it to blackfriars-photo@lcc.org.uk
Share |
4 comments:
Done! Please don't judge me for putting a helmet on my son. My wife doesn't believe that cycling is dangerous, she just thinks I'm incredibly clumsy.
Now you can do a blog post for the cycling embassy :-)
It is a worthy cause. I wish you all the best!
Peace :)
I love the pic of the pooch on the front of the Brompton! Very stylish dog.
@lofidelity And very lovely your little boy looks astride Old Dutch too!
@Chandra Thanks very much for your positive support, it's appreciated
@Sam I agree, that's a great photo and one very cool dog. I wish I had one to go on my bike!
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