Cycle safety

The Mayor of London and Transport for London launched their cycle safety action plan last week.  Tragically, two London cyclists were killed by lorries in two separate shocking collisions within 24 hours of the launch of the plan.  My heart goes out to the family and friends of Muhammad “Haris” Ahmed, 21 years old, and Shivon Watson, 28 years old.  Muhammad and Shivon are the second and third cyclists to die in collisions with lorries in London so far this year, after University professor David Vilaseca-Perez, 46, was run down by a skip lorry near his home on the South Bank. 

There will be more (much more) about the relationship between trucks and cyclists on this blog over the forthcoming weeks, but in the interim I would ask that you reflect on the tragic nature of these lost lives, and, if you're a cyclist read my previous article about sharing the road with large vehicles, the main theme of my advice being this:  no matter how much of a rush you are in keep the hell away from large vehicles, and never, ever, travel down their inside - even if it is to get to Advanced Stop Line bike at the front of traffic lights.

- - -

Moving on, and to address the Cycle Safety Action Plan more fully:

After close proximity collisions, the largest source of deaths and serious injuries for cyclists (17%) comes, perhaps surprisingly, from OTHER vehicles disobeying junction controls.  To clarify, that means that 17% of cyclists killed or seriously injured have been hit as a consequence of other vehicles jumping red lights or not giving way at stop signs.  By contrast, cyclists jumping red lights into the path of oncoming traffic represent just 5% of casualties (1 fatality and 22 seriously injured.)  Unfortunately the statistics are not detailed enough to reveal whether the cyclist jumped the red light as a consequence of just 'being in a rush' or to put distance between themselves and other traffic (for example HGVs), or whether there was an ASL box at the junction they jumped and whether or not this was occupied by other vehicles. 

To me, the solution to this issue is clear; design junctions with ASLs with approach lanes from the CENTRE (not left) of the road, and ensure that ASLs, stop lines and junction controls are enforced for ALL road users.  Sadly, with the Met's road safety funding being cut by £10million by our Mayor I don't see this happening any time soon.  (It's worth remembering that this is the same 'cycling Mayor' who moved to scrap the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit, the only Police department with Health & Safety Executive powers which could take dangerous or illegal trucks off of London's roads.  After much campaigning by the friends and families of cyclists who had been previously killed by trucks, and by cycling campaign groups, the Met moved to retain the unit itself and absorb the gap left in it's funding after the withdrawal of cash from TfL and the Mayor.)

The cycle safety plan has many other points and action plans, and is generally a much stronger document than the draft which was widely consulted on last year.  Plus points include boosting training provision for cyclists to coincide with the launch of the cycle hire and cycle superhighway schemes, and continuing to support London boroughs to fund cycle training for residents.  (Incidentally, for those who didn't know, all London boroughs now offer cycle training for free or at a highly reduced rate.  Even if you consider yourself an 'advanced' cyclist, if you've never taken your quota of free lessons I strongly recomend you do.)  Other positives include working with the London Criminal Justice Board to review cycling casualty stats with a view to strengthening criminal justice arrangements for dealing with such cases, and trialling 'trixi' concave mirrors at traffic lights to aid large vehicle drivers to be able to see down the left hand side of their vehicles and to check that there are no cyclists trapped down there before they move off.

Sadly, for all of the good in the plan, there is one key problem that greatly concerns me: there is no timetable within it for the implementation of any of the measures outlined.  Call me a cynic, but I'm sure that politicians have expressed intentions before, but without a firm timetable for delivery there is no guarantee that they will actually do any of the things listed.

Lastly, in the light of the deaths at the beginning of the week my thanks to those of you who wrote / emailed and Tweeted the Mayor and asked him to acknowledge them.  Eventually he did so, describing them as 'tragedies' and encouraged his 70,000 twitter followers to watch the new cycle safety video and to watch out for cyclists.  A small step, but let's hope that they do.

WANTED: Twenty seven thousand bike parking spaces

Much was made of the revelation last week that the new ‘Shard of Glass’ skyscraper at London Bridge will provide just 250 cycle parking spaces for it’s 6,500 inhabitants. What will ultimately become the tallest building in Britain falls short when it comes to cycle-friendly credentials. Sadly, in our car-centric capital city, it’s not alone.

The City of London planning officer will admit in a meeting today that there is existing unmet demand for some TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND cycle parking spaces within the City. That is not projected demand; not figures dreamt up to predict what demand for cycle parking might one day be; but demand as it stands NOW.

To me this says two things loud and clear:

One: There are an awful lot of cyclists on Inner London’s roads now and clearly a lot of people are cycling into the City to work. This is a good thing.

Two: The City (and, to be fair, Westminster Council too) are totally unprepared for the volume of cyclists apparent on our roads, and have been caught napping. This is a sad thing.

The planning paper notes that a number of major City businesses (particularly in the financial quarter) report that more than 10% of their workforce are already cycling to work, and the City sees no reason why this would not be the case with the majority of businesses. If the City has a workforce of some 374,000 people, 10% equals some 37,000 pedal-powered office workers.

At present, there are just 834 on-street cycle parking racks in the City, providing parking for 1,668 cycles, and approximately 100 cycle parking spaces in the City’s off-street public car parks.

The Bicycle PlantLock beautifies the traditional bike stand and adds a touch of greenery to the urban landscape (this one seen near Bobbin Bicycles in Islington. Available to purchase here.)

Having acknowledged that they have been caught unawares by the volume of cyclists present, and must do more to provide for them, the planning agenda goes on to be more encouraging:

“A 10% modal share is very significantly below the existing cycling modal share of some English cities (such as Cambridge with 25% cycle journeys to work) and of some overseas cities in countries such as the Netherlands that are not greatly dissimilar to England culturally or geographically (such as a 38% cycling modal share in Amsterdam). It would therefore seem appropriate to treat a 10% modal share as the absolute minimum that the City should be aiming to provide for.”

(Someone should tell Mayor of London Boris Johnson about this and ask him to revise his rather wet aims for just 5% modal share by bike by 2026 – wakey wakey Mr Mayor!)

Cycle parking is more serious an issue than at first it seems: being able to secure your bike once you’ve reached your destination is a serious consideration for most cyclists, and with cycle theft at record levels in London, cycle security could in fact be a stronger deterrent to would-be cyclists than even the road environment and perceived safety in traffic, as London Cycling Campaign communications office Mike Cavenett explains:

"Bike theft is cited as the most common reason for people giving up cycling. In 2008 there were over 17,000 bikes reported stolen in London. It must be tackled more seriously by the police. The costs to Londoners and to the city are phenomenal."

Over-subscribed bicycle parking in the Borough of Hackney.

The City of London, just like the City of Westminster, proclaims to love uncluttered streets. As a consequence they don’t love street parking for bicycles. They’ve never been fans of Sheffield stands or worse still; bikes parked at random locked to any convenient railing. Indeed, it took a House of Lords decision to stop Westminster from chomping through locks and throwing away the bikes without telling the owner in a fit of ‘clean street’-loving, ‘railing-liberating’ bicycle removal. Strangely, they have a less than vigorous approach when it comes to revenue-spinning automobile parking and the various signage, parking metres and street clutter that come with it...

And so it is no surprise that the key strategy being proposed in today’s planning meeting to deal with the City of London’s famine of cycle parking is to provide off-street secure bicycle parking bays in council-run car parks. Indeed, they have already allocated £25,000 towards providing off-street cycle parking this year.

This is great; secure cycle parking is a fantastic thing, especially as cycle theft is such a blight on London. But it is no ‘cure all’ and cannot be the only strategy adopted.

Off-street cycle parking isn’t always immediately obvious to the passing cyclist (and signage is usually pretty poor), and it’s not of any use to visiting cyclists calling into buildings for brief meetings or just passing through.

In order for cycle provision to truly succeed there needs to be a tapestry of cycle parking available:

Large, secure off-street cycle parking, in a well-signed, well-lit and convenient place (there’s no point putting push bike parking on the top deck of a multi-story car park for instance!)

Clusters of Sheffield stands making up mini bicycle hubs – such as the 150 or so stands in groups of 20 around the perimeters of Berkeley Square in Westminster.

Smaller groups of stands at the end of most roads, or in every public space.

And individual cycle parking facilities along streets and outside individual business premesis, such as the innovative and easy to install Cyclehoop. Products like this can help give a formality to the perceived blight of ad-hoc bicycle parking as well as help to improve bike security. Furthermore it's designed and based here in London; supporting a newly-established business like Cyclehoop is the sort of thing that local Councils ought to be doing!

The Cyclehoop is fixed to existing street furniture such as lamp posts and sign posts. (http://www.cyclehoop.com/)

Two last points about cycle parking; having somewhere to store your bicycle is a matter of convenience (and as we’ve discussed here before being able to access your bicycle conveniently is a key to encouraging cycling) but it will never stop determined thieves. Consequently, cycle theft MUST be taken seriously by the Police. Indeed, the City of London has its' own exclusive Police force: we need to ensure that they are fully au fait with just how important reducing cycle theft is and they must be seen to be proactive in dealing with the issue. (I’d encourage them to start at Brick Lane market...)

And we need to get over this idea of a bicycle locked on the street being an aesthetic inconvenience – it’s just the product of lots of people using a smart means of transport. Of course if I left a ten by eight foot box of my stuff in the street that WOULD be selfish, but somehow bikes chained to railings are not okay whilst private cars parked in our gridlocked street are...?

You go figure it out, I’m off to oil my U-lock.

City of London Council: good on you, but you've got some catching up to do!

City's cyclists should have their say (and Mayor Boris should listen)

Mayor of London Boris Johnson held a meeting last Friday with representatives of some of the UK’s biggest cycling manufacturers and retailers. Aiming to brainstorm ways to encourage more cycling in London - with a specific focus on fixing the issues of safety and security – sadly, the Mayor is misguided if he thinks he is inviting the right people to City Hall...

Whilst high level cycling industry big-wigs undoubtedly have a passion for bikes and all that goes with them, it’s questionable how focussed they are on the real issues at hand. Representatives of big corporations are ultimately, no matter how well intentioned, going to be driven by their bottom line and profit margins.

Increasing bike security? As cyclists we all know the answer to this is better and more frequent cycle parking, given the same kind of street patrols and CCTV as vehicle parking, and the Metropolitan Police making at least a token start at taking cycle theft seriously. The industry, I suspect, will recommend we buy bigger, and stronger locks – maybe even two, or three per bike (which is now becoming the standard in London)

Getting more people on bikes? As regular readers here will know, I firmly believe that we need to take the ‘other’ out of cycling and rehabilitate it as an everyday and ordinary activity in people’s lives again. If you want mass cycling rates, the masses need to be able to associate with cycling. I’d probably start with the inequality in cycling rates between men and women and be asking why aren’t more women cycling? On this point I am inclined to agree with BikeBiz Editor Carlton Reid: “Not all cycling women want to be Audrey Hepburn with a basket-on-the-front, pearlised-pink Dutch bike. But there’s no escaping that this sector is the one that produces the best photographs for promoting cycling to a mainstream audience. Forget helmets, Lycra and speed; non-cyclists find all that a big turn-off”.  Promoting the public face of cycling as mainstream?  That's not something the bicycle industry has been doing, as I’ve previously discussed.

And, as we've otherwise discussed here, if the Mayor really wants to see cycling levels explode across London, he could do a lot worse by not scrapping the only Police department entirely dedicated to reigning in errant HGVs - the cause of the majority of fatal incidents in London.  Perhaps he could focus on a truly original cycle safety action plan instead of the current limp offering City Hall is presently putting forward.  I've said it before and I'll say it again; aiming for cycling to be just 5% modal share of all traffic by 2026 is less like a velorution and more like a wet Wednesay matinee of Les Miserables.

2010 does stand to be a record year for cycling in London. Transport for London, under the stewardship of Mayor Johnson, will launch 6000 new bikes onto our streets with the launch of the Zone 1 bike hire scheme. The first two of 12 ‘cycle superhighways’ (essentially existing cycle lanes re-painted and re-branded to raise their awareness) will open to the general public. The cycling budget for the next five years is a fairly hefty £110 million pounds. The potential for a political backlash from the Mayor’s outer-London car-dependant voting block is massive if these schemes are seen to fail. As such, you’d think he’d be inviting representatives from the cities of Copenhagen, Groningen or Amsterdam to his cycling summit, rather than a self-publicising ex-promoter of a pedal car race from Dorset.  (No, dear readers, I kid you not.)

I’m sure the people from our various bike manufacturers are lovely people, and that they believe their hearts are in the right place, but I don't believe they have the day-in day-out first hand experience of cycling in our capital city that the city’s cyclists do. Bike shops traditionally do not make much money on the bikes they sell – the profit margin lies in the sporting cyclist’s favourite mantra; “Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize.” London’s cyclists know, however, that no amount of whiz-bang gadgets or sweat-whicking clothing are going to get more people on two wheels – only strong clear infrastructure and safe roads for all will do that. Perhaps with their help the city can avoid installing nightmarish cycle lanes such as this, or remember to include cyclists in all of their transport projects in the future, unlike here.

It’s great that the Mayor and his people are seeking out industry opinion, but if they want to know how to really make 2010 London’s cycling year they could start with talking to our city’s cycling groups, dare I say it, it’s cycling bloggers, and - shock-horror-gasp! – even the city’s cyclists themselves.

Is this the worse cycle lane in London?

You'll often hear the argument from other cyclists that we should "be grateful for any cycling provision we get" or that cycle lanes that have been campaigned for have been "hard earnt", as if this means we should be silent in accepting them if they are second rate, or worse still dangerous.


Unfortunately, there are many cycle lanes here in central London that are so second rate as to actually pose a danger to cyclists.  Defensive cycling means cycling at least three feet out from the curb, away from the gutters full of dirt and debris, away from the doors of parked cars that might open at any moment, away from the potholes and drains and, most importantly, out in the lane where you can maintain a straight predictable course (instead of weaving back and forth between gaps in parked cars) and where you can be seen by other road users. 

If you kept within the boundaries of this cycle lane that I snapped on Lambeth Bridge near the Palace of Westminster you would be riding less than half a metre from the curb side - the useable part of the lane (ie the bit not covered in half an inch of raised slippery-when-wet paint or in the gutters) is so narrow you'd be so busy focussing on trying to balance and maintain a straight line within the confines of the lane that you probably wouldn't even notice the lorry ahead of you turning left without signalling....


Cycles lanes like this decrease the road space available to cyclists and, because drivers seem to perceive the painted boundaries of such lanes as some kind of 'magic barrier' are likely to get much closer when passing - this was demonstrated by a report by the Warrington Cycle Campaign  which showed the differences between overtaking space given by vehicles to cyclists on the road and cyclists in designated cycle lanes:

And when cyclists are wise enough to protect themselves by choosing not to use poorly designed cycling infrastructure, they are accused by motor users of not 'getting out of the way' and using the lanes provided (at great expense no doubt!).  This only increases the animosity sometimes evident between cyclists and other road users.

Regardless of the statistical truth, cycling is perceived as being a dangerous activity in central London.  Whilst more and more people are realising how easy, safe and convenient cycling really is, and the numbers of cyclists are growing year on year, we are a long way off from 'convincing the masses' to get astride their bikes.  If there is to be a shift-change towards achieving mass cycling rates (such as in the Netherlands or Denmark where certain urban areas are currently working towards achieving 50% of modal share of journeys by bicycle) there needs to be perceptibly safe and well-designed cycling infrastructure provided.  Our present Mayor is exceptional at marketing cycling in a positive and encouraging way that makes cycling out to be everyday and ordinary, which is great, but the marketing spin has to be backed up with well maintained, well designed and good quality infrastructure to boot.  If you don't think your Mum or Gran would feel safe using the facility provided (such as the Lambeth Bridge cycle lane) then it isn't good enough, and if you don't think your Mum and your Gran would feel safe cycling in the traffic there either then something else, a third way in terms of cycling facilities, needs to be found for London...

Post Script:

Of course not all cycling facilities in London are as bad as the one above, and some do provide safe passage or well constructed contra-flows against one way systems or across dangerous gyratorys.  But they need to be maintained and patrolled (like double yellow lines) to ensure that people don't abuse the facilities and park in them.  Over at MyBikeLane you can view and report incidents of vehicles encroaching on our space.  I am sure that most London cyclists will be more than familiar with having to cycle round one of their worst perpetrators:

 

"Cyclists Are A Menace", and 500 lovely visitors!

Courtesy of the lovely people at the CTC, the better half and I are off to a debate hosted by right-of-centre political mag The Spectator in London on Monday evening.  The debate has attracted some fairly heavy-hitting commentators including Andrew Neil, former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Baroness Sharples and Andrew Gilligan, an infamous journalist here in the UK and a daily cyclist.  The Spectator has always been seen as a testing ground for Conservative Party policy and politicians - indeed our present Mayor, Conservative Boris Johnson is just one of the magazine's former editors, so it'll be interesting to see whether our probable next Government loves us cyclists or, beneath a veneer of cycling publicity, can't actually wait to get us off the roads.  I'll be live blogging the whole debate via my Twitter feed (Follow here: markbikeslondon) from 6PM on Monday evening - so tune in to find out.

In other news, it's just two months since i b i k e l o n d o n  took to the blogosphere and started giving you the news and views on ordinary and everyday cycling in London.  In that brief time I've had over 500 visitors from 31 different countries, including places as far afield and exotic as Serbia, Malaysia, Peru and, erm, Cornwall to name just a few.  A huge response to start off and totally unexpected so a big thank you to everyone for tuning in, for your comments and responses and for your time - do spread the word about the blog and keep coming back - I have big plans and intend to be here for a long while yet!

Mark

Cycle parking in central London stations (and what you can do about it)

Network Rail recently announced they've doubled the capacity of cycle parking in Liverpool Street station, from 116 spaces to 233, using a double-decker racking system.

They're to be commended for increasing capacity to attempt to catch up with demand, and as Robin Gisby (director of operations and customer services at Network Rail) explains they are addressing cyclist's concerns about safety and capacity head on:

"The new double-decker racks are safe, secure and simple to use giving more people the cleaner, greener option of cycling to and from Liverpool Street."  The spaces are covered, easily visible and monitored with CCTV and, more encouragingly still, it seems Network Rail are not stopping there either:

"...[we] will continue to explore ways to increase the provision of cycle racks at stations across the Capital and beyond.”

This is all great, but I can't help but think this is a drop in the ocean when you consider the potential here.  Liverpool Street is London's third largest rail terminus, with some 123 million visitors a year according to Wikipedia.  Network Rail should not be stopping at just 223 spaces if they really want to help to encourage London's so-called cycling revolution.

Consider the small Dutch town of Assen (population 65 000) which has 2,300 cycle parking spaces at it's local train station, of which 754 are guarded indoor spaces.  That's one space for ever 28 residents at the train station alone, according to David Hembrow's excellent cycling blog 'A view from the cycle path'  Oh, and they're about to increase capacity there to keep up with demand...

London's major stations, by comparison, have just 2860 cycle parking spots between them so says London's Evening Standard newspaper.  And a city-wide population of 8 million people.  Some fairly substantial stations, such as the Vauxhall hub, City Thameslink, Blackfriars, Cannon Street, Fenchurch Street and Charing Cross provide no on-site cycle parking whatsoever.

The Mayor of London's efforts to push cycling as a viable means of transport are, of course, a good thing.  But I'm afraid if we are really going to have a cycling revolution in our city (as oppose to just a small increase in cycling levels) the money needs to spent, and the space put aside, to build the infrastructure that will make cycling in London everyday and ordinary.

Still, we are all able to do our bit.  Network Rail is to invest some £3.25 billion into their stations over the next few years, £2 bilion of which will be on stations here in our capital. And guess what?  They'd like to know what you would like them to spend the money on.  And you could win £2000 in doing so.  Hmmm, where to start?  Showers or cycle repair stations?  How about some of those wheel troughs for getting bikes up and down station underpasses?  Or maybe even just secure mass cycle parking at every station?Decisions decisions... Add your voice here.

Baby steps for Boris & his Draft Cycle Safety Action Plan

Time is running out for you to have your say on Transport for London's draft cycle safety action plan.

Safety is a big concern for all cyclists, and most importantly for those who'd like to cycle but are just too afraid. The new draft makes some excellent observations that are right on point; "The Mayor wants to transform London into a cycling city but this must be supported by new safety initiatives to ensure that casualty rates do not rise as a consequence." However, other areas leave a lot to be desired.

Most tellingly of all, of the 7 key proposals put forward by the draft, 3 are in direct relation to taking action on HGVs on our city's roads. This despite the fact that Boris Johnson is planning to close the Metropolitan Police Commercial Vehicle Inspection Unit which checks over lorries for safety defects and encourages safer driving.

Inevitably, the draft also focuses strongly on the London Cycle Hire Scheme which is due to launch here in the summer of 2010 and the so-called Cycling Superhighways, the first two of which will also launch next year. The hire scheme will, apparently, be accompanied by a video encouraging responsible and safe use and a 'code of conduct' for users.

There are lots of co-operative and voluntary projects between various cycling stakeholders proposed, and some cheap but very effective ideas such as the introduction of concave mirrors at traffic lights to allow high-sided vehicles to see into their own blind spots and see any cyclists stuck down their sides.

It also mandates for the continuation of free cycle training for adults across London, which is an excellent project, and spots some encouraging trends such as the 107% increase in numbers of cyclists between 2000 and 2008.

Perhaps most sadly, the draft has a pitiful target of 5% mode share of journeys by bicycle by 2026, which is less like a velorution and more like a wet Wednesday matinee of Les Miserables. (Copenhagen is currently working towards 50%)

If Boris really is as passionate about cycling in the city as he makes out to be I’d expect this draft to have lots of proposals (at least proposals, even if they aren’t followed through!) on advance traffic lights sequences for cyclists, upgrades of existing cycle lane infrastructure to segregated cycle ways, stricter penalties for infringing motorists and much more that seems to be sadly lacking from the draft in it’s current form.

If Boris really is as passionate about cycling in the city as he makes out to be, I’d expect him to be thinking big, not small as he currently is.

For those wanting to comment on the draft, you have till just the 11th of December to write in person and can do so here.

101 reasons to love cycling in London #8 - you too can be a hero!

News just in from the BBC that our cycling Mayor, bumbling Boris Johnson, is in fact a 'knight on a shining bicycle' and chased off a group of chavs about to attack a poor defenceless damsel with an iron bar.  Apparently he snatched the bar and cycled after them.  Good for him I say!  Would he have noticed the kerfuffle or heard the cries for help had he been gliding past in a limo?  I doubt it.  See?  Cyclists are heros! ;-)  Just another reason to love cycling in London!

Johnson saves woman from 'oiks'

London mayor Boris Johnson has rescued a woman who was being attacked by an armed group of young girls, chasing them down the road on his bicycle.

Franny Armstrong called for help as she was surrounded and pushed by the girls, one of whom had an iron bar, in Camden, north London, on Monday night.
The mayor, who was cycling past, stopped and chased the girls down the street, calling them: "Oiks".
Ms Armstrong said: "He was my knight on a shining bicycle."

Film-maker and climate change activist Ms Armstrong was walking home when she was approached by the group of hoodie-wearing girls.

She said: "I was texting on my phone so didn't notice the girls until they pushed me against the car, quite hard.

"I noticed that one had an iron bar in her hand - it was very frightening."

“ He picked up the iron bar, called after the girls and cycled after them ”

Ms Armstrong called out for help from the nearest cyclist, who turned out to be Mr Johnson.
"He said to the girls: 'What do you think you are doing?'
"He picked up the iron bar, called after the girls and cycled after them."
She said the mayor returned a few minutes later and walked her home.
Ms Armstrong directed the film Age of Stupid and is the founder of the 10:10 campaign, which aims to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
She admitted that she did not agree with Mr Johnson's politics and had voted for rival Ken Livingstone in the 2008 mayoral election.

But Ms Armstrong added: "If you find yourself down a dark alleyway and in trouble I think Boris would be of more use than Ken."

A spokeswoman for Mr Johnson confirmed that the incident took place but said the mayor would not comment further on the matter.

What did Skyride achieve?

This is a video I put together of the Mayor of London's Skyride which took place back on Sunday 20th September and was the final in a series of mass participation bike rides across the UK throughout the summer.  Put on between British Cycling, the Mayor's office and Sky Broadcasting it attracted some 65000 participants to it's 15km course which is a huge number of cyclists.

Driven by a considerably larger budget than previous similar annual events (formerly 'FreeWheel') and with publicity on Sky television, in the London papers and with leaflets handed out at tube stations in the run up to the event, I think it's fair to say that the event attracted a good cross-section of Londoners, with many families taking their children along on their bikes to experience cycling in central London without the perceived risk of other road users - a Critical Mass for the chattering classes if you like!

Reviewing the pictures and making the video I've been reflecting on how much I enjoyed the day (personal highlights were meeting Sir Chris Hoy, and better still - Sponge Bob Square Pants!) - but one thing has been bugging me - why can't cycling be like this in London eery day?  By that, I don't mean that automobiles should be banned (although there are certainly a lot of areas in central London where they should be) but why isn't there this density of riders every day?

I think the fear of danger associated with cycling plays a big deal in this - there were a lot of Mums and Dads on the ride; the very people who've had it put to them that they are safer in their cars than they are cycling or walking to get where they want to be - the more they get in their cars, the less safe it is in the road.  But of course we all know that statistically you are safer on the road on a bike than in a car, and that the more who cycle the safer it becomes.  I'm not sure how sucesful events like Skyride are in helping to migrate people from cars to bicycles, but hopefully - simply through sheer volume of numbers - it can help to portray cycling as being something everyday and ordinary, which is definately a good start.

Cyclists condemn mayor's decision to disband police lorry safety unit

I don't like to talk about cycling in terms of death and danger, essentially because it's safer than walking down the street & I don't like to perpetuate the 'cycling is a dangerous activity' myth, as oppose to promoting it as being ordinary and everyday.  But, in this instance, I think this story is worth highlighting and shows how our 'cycling Mayor' has made a terrible mistake of a decision.  Story lifted straight from the pages of our friends over at the London Cycling Campaign - all credit to them.

Cyclists condemn mayor's decision to disband police lorry safety unit

The mayor Boris Johnson has been strongly criticised for his decision to disband a specialist lorry safety unit run by the Metropolitan Police force.

The decision to axe the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit (CVEU) comes in a year when 8 of the 10 cyclists fatalities in London have involved collisions with lorries.

70% of the vehicles checked by the unit since 2005 have been found to be defective, and it is the only such unit in the country.

LCC cycling development officer Charlie Lloyd said, "It's difficult to believe that our cycling mayor is disbanding the only police unit in the country that has the power to properly investigate unsafe lorry operators, and bring them up to standards set by Health and Safety law.

Eight of ten 2009 cyclist fatalities involve HGVs
Despite the high proportion of cyclist fatalities involving HGVs, the mayor has claimed that the voluntary scheme for haulage companies, the Freight Operators Recognition Scheme (FORS), provides adequate protection for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

Lloyd said, "The mayor sings the praises of the Freight Operators Recognition Scheme, but there's a significant minority of operators who will never consider joining. It's for these people that the police need expert powers to pursue them until they comply with the law."

Mayor "badly informed" on cyclist/HGV safety
Jenny Jones, London Assembly Member for the Green Party, said, "Not enough is being done to stop cyclists and others from going under the wheels of HGVs in London. What little has been done has mostly been carried out by the police officers in this unit.

"The mayor is badly informed if he thinks that the small back-street haulage firms and businesses will sign up to his voluntary scheme."

Boris Johnson said, "The three sergeants and nine constables [of the CVEU] are being directed to other jobs as part of savings in the police budget.

"That's only happening because we're confident that the freight operators, through the FORS, will implement safety measures."

What is the Commercial Vehicle Education Unit?

Since 2005 the CVEU has completed over 3000 roadside checks of freight vehicles, finding fault in over 70% of cases. The unit has also visited over 400 companies to examine procedures, agree action plans, and issue improvement notices under the Health and Safety Act.

The unit costs Transport for London less than £1 million per year. The funding goes to the Metropolitan Police Service under a  parterneship agreement with the Transport for London Freight Unit.

The combined budget for the police and transport in London in 2009-10 is over £11 billion. 

Out of town: Paris, and the velibe scheme

I was recently in Paris and was keen to see how the much discussed Paris Velibe bike hire scheme had changed the City of Lights.  And to check out the cyclists of Paris to see what they were riding, what they were wearing and how many of them were there.


The thing that struck me first, as I crossed town in an electric taxi (Come on London, keep up!) was just how much more traffic there is in central Paris, and how much more noticeable the congestion is - the concept of congestion charging isn't popular in France and it wasn't till I visited Paris, as a comparable city to London, that I noticed that perhaps as a consequence of the congestion charge the traffic situation in London isn't nearly as bad for cyclists as the popular media would have you believe. (Or maybe that it's not as bad as it could be.)  Clear cycling signage helped the bikes to navigate through town and avoid the worst of the busiest streets.

It wasn't long before I saw someone peddling by on a hire bike - you can spot them a mile off because they're a distinctive metallic green colour.  "Crumbs" I thought "that bike looks heavy", but whizzed past me they did so clearly appearences can be deceptive.  What's more, the bikes are striking for their 'all in one' design - they have half-tyre mud guards, integrated bright dynamo lights, a solid looking wire mesh front basket, with a lock and a kickstand.  Everything you need for a city bike, and a millon miles away from that prevalent image of cycling that I think we have here in the UK of bikes being something sporty, hyper-masculine and the reserve of fit bods in lycra (or worse, not so fit bods in lycra!)  Now whilst I'm a big fan of sports cycling, peddling your bike through a city is a totally diferent matter, and it seems to me that Paris have designed a good looking, robust bike that's fit for the job. 

The hire stations, which you see every 300 metres or so were busy with bikes coming and going and seemed easy to use too, so long as you're armed with a credit card.

I took the shots below on the Pont au Double near Notre Dame of some ordinary Parisians peddling about their daily business - and don't they look fabulous in their long coats and heels? 

As you can see all of the cycle stands in the city (placed on former car parking spaces) were busy too - always a sign of a strong bicycle culture.  It's been widely noted that ordinary Parisians trying out the Velibe scheme remembered how much they used to love their bikes, and the velorution followed naturally - I hope the same will be the case in London next year when Boris Johnson launches our very own cycle hire scheme.  The increase in bicycle share of total trips in Paris leapt from 1% to 2.5% in 2007 - more than doubled - there was a 46% increase in bicycle trips in the third quarter of 2007 following the introduction of the Velibe scheme ('Velibe' incidentally, is a made up word combining the French for bicycle 'velo' and that key stone of the French constitution 'liberte' - I think it's a rather fitting word - we are yet to find out what London will call it's scheme when it launches next summer).  The statistics speak for themselves.

I finished my 'cycle study' along the Seine on the segregated cycle pathway that runs between the Louvre gardens (Jardin des Tuileries) and the Voie Georges Pompidou - it's a crying shame that London doesn't have a similar dedicated cycle path alongside the Thames on the Victoria Embankment, and it's high-time we had one.

Paris to London cycle path plan unveiled

The Mayors of London and Paris, and the heads of the respective intervening counties have come together to unveil a planned cycle route between the two cities, crossing 'La Manche' by ferry between Newhaven and Dieppe.  Planned for completion by 2012 (will the French Olympic cycle team come to the new Velodrome in Stratford on their bikes perhaps?!) the 218 mile 'Green Avenue' will utilise roads, existing cycle paths, and stretches of a disused train line.


"We want to symbolically link the Tower of London to the Eiffel Tower with an alternative mode of transport to the car that crosses landscapes of great quality," said Didier Marie, head of France's Seine-Maritime department.

The press have been headlining about a 'London to Paris' cycle route, but I like to think of it as being the other way, in the hope that some of those chic everyday Parisian cyclists will wheel over here and bring some of their own estimable cycling style with them to the streets of London.


Of course, this is not a direct route and seems to meander through Redhill in Surrey via Seine Maritime in France before finally swinging into Paris, but it would certainly make for a nice holiday.  And, checking out the video I can almost smell the countryside!  I just hope that by the time the scheme is complete those visiting Parisians aren't so horrified by the state of inner city London's cycling infrastructure that they turn round and cycle back again as fast as they can.

Website

http://www.francobritishcycleplan.org/

Video on Green.tv

http://www.green.tv/avenue_verte 

Cycle Show parking & the bikes of the London Cycle Hire Scheme?

The cycle show kicks off today at Earls Court in London and will be stuffed to the gills, I'm sure, with bike goodies and cycling accessories for you to spend your well-earned cash on, should you so wish.  I won't be making it this year as I have visitors from overseas and my diary is somewhat overstretched at the moment, but I'm interested to hear what anyone who goes along thinks of it.


Most interestingly, they are having to create a special 'bike park' for the expected volume of cyclists turning up on their bikes having somewhere to lock up their bikes securely.  I find it sad indeed that such a facility doesn't exist already for a big exhibition space in central London such as Earls Court - a bike rack for a week isn't much of a bike rack in my opinion - I'd like to be able to cycle to ALL events there, not just cycling related ones.  In my opinion, new provision needs to be made in planning law that all new developments (whether residential, commercial or a space like the exhibition centre) must have a certain percentage of cycling infrastructure built in - be that bike racks, bike lanes or showers in offices.  Hey presto, the velorution would build itself, but I don't see it happening for some time yet, alas...


Anyway, getting to the point... Transport for London have been boasting that visitors to the show will be able to view and try out the bikes which will be used to launch the Mayor of London's bike hire scheme next year.  Well, you saw it here first folks.  The scheme (which is yet to have a name - any suggestions anyone?) was contracted out to SERCO (the peeps who run that most bicycle unfriendly mode of public transport, the DLR, amongst other things) and BIXI, the people behind the cycle hire scheme in Montreal, Canada.  Therefore, it's probably fair to suggest that for reasons of economic convenience we'll all be riding BIXI bikes next year, which are built in Canada and look something like this:

I, for one, can't wait to try them out - though I'm not a fan of the 'basket' on the front - how are you supposed to keep anything in it?!

http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/

http://montreal.bixi.com/home/home-bixi