From the old Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign website:
In Waltham Forest, Car-Free Day takes place on Saturday rather than on Sunday as elsewhere. The borough's Cycling Officer, Gina Harkell explains this is because it has "more impact on cars. Sunday is a quiet day and much easier to close roads on, but is obviously less effective."
But that was the old days. This year, like last year, Waltham Forest’s car free day will be on a Sunday! Well, the council wouldn’t want to upset drivers, obviously. What's more, Waltham Forest’s car free day this Sunday has been cleverly timed to clash with
London's biggest free cycling event this weekend. Olympic gold medal winners will be among an estimated 50,000 cyclists at the Sky Sports London Freewheel on Sunday when some of the City's most famous roads are closed to motorists. Participants will cycle past landmarks such as the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.
One thing does surprise me though. Sky Sports London Freewheel is free but participants must register in advance. Why should anyone have to register in order to cycle through central London? Does this mean unregistered cyclists who turn up will be turned away by surly stewards?
Footnote.
Last year I posted a couple of comments about the local car free day here and here. The council took my criticisms to heart, and as you can see from the photograph below (taken this week, in that delightful section under the Lea Bridge Road bridge) there has been an enormous improvement in the condition of the prize-winning Orient Way cycle lane.
