tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post651729636070939531..comments2024-03-18T08:51:07.314+00:00Comments on i b i k e l o n d o n: An invitation to Boris Johnson; " Elephant and Castle is perfectly maneagable by bike"ibikelondonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06978714126105951294noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-32595103440134795992011-11-19T19:46:57.609+00:002011-11-19T19:46:57.609+00:00This site is very helpfull in tour world.I think i...This site is very helpfull in tour world.I think it will reflact as like as sun shine. <a href="http://www.goldentriangletoursofindia.com" rel="nofollow">Golden triangle india</a> is same as like this site. It called every one for visite very atractive place of India.golden triangle tour Indiahttp://www.goldentriangletoursofindia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-82618591244334309232011-11-13T15:55:56.888+00:002011-11-13T15:55:56.888+00:00Elephant and Castle is a dangerous spot for cyclis...Elephant and Castle is a dangerous spot for cyclists. Its not so much the lanes but the speed of which the cars a travelling. You just have to concentrate the whole time and don't always believe you have right of way even if you do by the law. Cars, trucks and buses are big and heavy and if they don't stop they kill you.<br /><br />The thing that gets me about cycling in London is the lack of common sense showed by cyclist to there surroundings. I know this is a generalisation but the amount of cyclists taking risks when they don't need to is unbelievable. I know cycling gets the adrenaline up so naturally more aggression comes up in the riding style, but these are public spaces and have to be shared by everyone. That means yes, as cyclist we should wait at green men, not run up the insides of trucks if there is a possibility they could be turning left (even if they are not indicating) and maybe its not a good idea to have music in your ears while cycling. I know other members of the public do stupid things, but unfortunately we can't change that, we can only be aware that these things might happen and we can't always blame somebody else.<br /><br />An example is once I was getting off the bus near tottenham court road. The bus stop near the crown pub which is a bus lane and cycling lane only. The bus had stopped at a funny angle but we were at the bus stop. The driver opened the door and I proceeded to get out. At that moment a gentleman on a Brompton (spelling?) hit is brakes stopped and proceeded to shout at me for not looking where I was going. At this point I explained to him that this was a bus stop and I shouldn't have to look while getting off the bus. Imagine if a mother and pram were getting off first and he had collected them. This is what I mean about paying attention while cycling. Cyclists don't always have right of way.<br /><br />It will be impossible to change london into a completely cycle safe city simply because there is no room, but if everyone using the roads shows more common sense and courtesy to one another I think it would be made safer for everyone. Don't get me wrong I'd love to see more cycle lanes etc, but realistically this won't be happening in a rush. <br /><br />Safe cycling. <br />TxxxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-38480375170243095612011-11-11T10:00:35.058+00:002011-11-11T10:00:35.058+00:00All good points by Jack at the top.
However, ther...All good points by Jack at the top.<br /><br />However, there's another comparison to be made. The most dangerous junction in the whole of the Netherlands has resulted in 14 injury incidents in three years. This isn't 14 incidents involving cyclists, but of all modes.<br /><br />That's for a junction on a road with over 14000 cyclists per day as many people on foot and by car.<br /><br />This is a far cry from Elephant and Castle injuring 89 cyclists (are there figures for other road users here too ?) in two years.<br /><br />However, this is as bad as it gets. It is considered to be be a problem and it's going to be changed.<br /><br />I've a blog post lined up about it tomorrow.David Hembrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-41841391118024476712011-11-10T13:16:58.340+00:002011-11-10T13:16:58.340+00:00Boris's meaning is perfectly clear: he doesn&#...Boris's meaning is perfectly clear: he doesn't think TfL is responsible for providing a safe cycle network.<br /><br />What grieves him is that TfL are being blamed (unjustly in his eyes) for their failure to do just this.ibikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00430951745179465660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-30115633139568187162011-11-10T12:40:14.517+00:002011-11-10T12:40:14.517+00:00@Anonymous I agree completely! I don't think ...@Anonymous I agree completely! I don't think these spaces work for people who need to drive, or for people on buses and public transport and they're lethal for people on bikes and by foot. We really need these spaces to be improved.ibikelondonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06978714126105951294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-62435880798461269732011-11-10T12:36:52.521+00:002011-11-10T12:36:52.521+00:00The problem with lots of the blackspots is that ev...The problem with lots of the blackspots is that even for drivers they're pretty hard to negotiate. Too many lane changes required to get where you want, several lanes of traffic to manage simultaneously. I've ridden around E&C once and will never do it again because it goes from stressful in a car to lunacy on a bike in rush hour.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-19430877782969114222011-11-10T11:30:43.284+00:002011-11-10T11:30:43.284+00:00Thanks Jack for your comments, and indeed your sup...Thanks Jack for your comments, and indeed your support. Looking forward to catching up on Saturday.<br /><br />You're right about the verb to grieve, of course, though why he should be upset when TfL are criticised for their lack of action at known dangerous junctions is just as scandalous, of course.<br /><br />You're quite right, too, about the most dangerous junctions - you'll note that Parliament Square and Old Street aren't on there most probably because cyclists avoid them at all costs.<br /><br />With regards to cycling becoming more dangerous per km cycled, check out this post by cyclists in the city which shows some very worrying stats:<br />http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/2011/11/cycle-casualties-in-london-increasing.htmlibikelondonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06978714126105951294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7129037502516609710.post-32918013983823584602011-11-10T09:36:40.650+00:002011-11-10T09:36:40.650+00:00Couple of points. One pootling, the other more imp...Couple of points. One pootling, the other more important. <br /><br />Pootling first. Significant difference between transitive and intransitive verbs 'to grieve'. Boris doesn't grieve for TfL. He his grieved by the way TfL has been blamed for crashes involving cyclists. Not helpful to misrepresent him in an otherwise good piece of comment.<br /><br />More important. The most dangerous roads (or junctions) are not necessarily those with the highest absolute casualty figures. <br /><br />The The Netherlands sees 60 per cent more cyclists killed on its roads than the UK, even though it's a much smaller country. But the Netherlands is safer for cyclists. It has a lower casualty <b>rate</b> - numbers killed per km cycled, or per journey, whatever your measure of choice.<br /><br />Likewise, there are junctions in London that are more dangerous but have fewer casualties than the ten you've picked. This is because few cyclists dare ride on them. At the very least your top 10 list should be normalised for cycle traffic, i.e. the junctions with the highest rate of cyclist casualties per cyclist who rides through the junction. <br /><br />I realise the stats may not be sufficient to do this. And I know it makes sense from a media point of view to talk about the 'top ten danger blackspots', but it really plays into the hands of those who say that their top priority is to reduce the number of cyclists killed on British or London streets. <br /> <br />Personally, I would like to see the number of cycling deaths in the UK rise to the levels of the Netherlands. This would almost certainly be what would happen if we ever manage to increase cycling to Dutch levels.<br /><br />Well worth reading Bob Davis's Death on the Streets about this.<br /><br />See you on the ride on Saturday, and keep up the outstanding campaigning work, TV star.Jack Thurstonhttp://www.thebikeshow.netnoreply@blogger.com