Down memory lane: the London Cycle Network Design Manual

The development of the London Cycle Network is an important step towards an integrated transport policy for London. A modal share of 10% of trips by cycle is London’s target by 2012, in line with the National Cycling Strategy of quadrupling cycle use by then.This should greatly assist with the problems of pollution and road congestion that presently exist.

However

In designing specific cycle schemes the needs of other road users should always be considered

In other words, failure was embedded in the scheme from the very beginning, because there was a tacit acknowledgement that nothing must be done that would in any way challenge the hegemony of private car use.

And remember, this was a vehicular cycling project. It failed to recognise the concept of ‘subjective safety’, displayed no interest in acknowledging why cycling is a deeply unpopular travel mode in London, and showed no interest whatsoever in learning from successful cycling cultures in cities outside the UK. But even at the level of vehicular cycling it was doomed to fail through the simple absurdity of putting car parking before convenient cycling.

(Below) The London Cycle Network, with unlimited free car parking in the cycle lane. Leyton Green Road (B159)