Cycle Superhighway 7 – one of many planned for the capital as part of London Mayor Boris Johnson’s ‘cycle revolution’ – has come under fire from national cyclist organisation CTC.
The Superhighway in question is due to open on July 19th, but one section of the route currently leads cyclists into a bank of parking spaces.
The section is close to the front door of CTC campaigns and policy manager Roger Geffen.
He said: "In Copenhagen, cyclists are made to feel gloriously welcome on the city's streets, with wide areas of blue paint to give you clear priority through even the busiest of junctions.
Geffen recently returned from Velo-City, staged at Copenhagen where 37 per cent of residents cycle to work. The city aims to increase that amount to 50 per cent by 2015 and recently closed Norrebrogade – a main road linking to the inner city Norrebro district – to private cars. Cycle use increased from 30,000 cyclists per day to 36,000 due to the measure.
Copenhagen didn’t get to where it is today by cyclists writing letters or sending out press releases:
During the activism of the 1970's and 1980's there were massive rides by citizens demanding safe infrastructure.
Any chance of the CTC and the LCC organising a mass demo to seize one of the six lanes of the Euston Road car superhighway for cycling? After all, cyclists who did this could claim to be acting lawfully to reduce air pollution on a road which exceeds EU safety limits. Increasingly, all kinds of campaigners successfully use the "lawful excuse" defence – committing an offence to prevent a more serious crime – as a tactic in their campaigns.
Everybody could bring along some blue chalk and colour in one lane of this filthy, toxic, car-choked six lane nightmare which doesn’t even have a poxy cycle lane.
(Sorry, silly idea. Far too radical for London’s supine cycling fraternity.)
Showing posts with label car free day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car free day. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Sunday, 13 September 2009
The great Leytonstone Car Free Day fraud
Car Free Day is an example of how the world could be if we got rid of our cars, or reduced our car usage and walked or cycled instead. Waltham Forest’s Car Free Day on Sunday 20 September, is to raise awareness of the health and environmental benefits of healthy living and sustainable transport, by leaving the car behind.
Says the local authority which is responsible for the scenes portrayed on this blog.
In reality The London Borough of Waltham Forest promotes increased car ownership, use and dependency at a practical level, while simultaneously generating a froth of Green rhetoric and empty initiatives. ‘Car Free Day’ is every bit as bogus as ‘The Green Fair’.
Apart from its basic neglect of the walking and cycling environment, the Council continues to convert pavements for legalised pavement parking, thereby accommodating those residents who choose to buy larger vehicles such as 4X4s, and who choose to accumulate three or four cars in a single household even though they have no off-street parking space. The Council’s insolence in urging people to take up cycling is spectacular, when two years after I first drew attention to the problem, it has dismally failed to replace even a small number of missing cycle stands.
And this is hilarious:
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."
Actually, in Waltham Forest ‘Car Free Day’ was switched to Sundays years ago, in order not to inconvenience motorists.
And what does ‘Car Free Day’ do for cycling?
The Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign is thrilled by stuff like this:
Car Free Day in Walthamstow in 2002 and Leytonstone in 2003/4/5 included a demonstration of unusual recumbent bikes and a cycle obstacle course attracting over 100 participants.
Car Free Day in Walthamstow in 2002 was held in Orford Road, at the heart of Walthamstow Village. Seven years later there is still not a single cycle stand anywhere in the neighbourhood – not outside pubs, restaurants, post offices, shops. Nowhere. A perfect example of why wasting tens of thousands of pounds on spurious Green events has become a substitute for encouraging cycling through the development of an attractive infrastructure.
And if you leave your car at home and decide to cycle locally through this Sustrans-approved route at the junction of the A104 and A406, this is what’s on offer (photos taken on Thursday). You begin the route here, at these faded markings.
(Below) 'Shared use' Waltham Forest style. Pedestrians on the left, cyclists on the right. This photograph is taken in the exact centre of the route. The Corporation of London is responsible for cutting back this vegetation. It doesn't bother. This obstruction happens every summer, year after year, to the complete indifference of the council.
On, into a rat-infested labyrinth of subways, with blind corners and a crumbling surface. A circuitous route designed to avoid slowing down motor vehicles by providing cyclists and pedestrians with a crossing over the A104. Vehicle flow is a much greater priority than those other two transport modes. So pedestrians and cyclists are sent underground.
Says the local authority which is responsible for the scenes portrayed on this blog.
In reality The London Borough of Waltham Forest promotes increased car ownership, use and dependency at a practical level, while simultaneously generating a froth of Green rhetoric and empty initiatives. ‘Car Free Day’ is every bit as bogus as ‘The Green Fair’.
Apart from its basic neglect of the walking and cycling environment, the Council continues to convert pavements for legalised pavement parking, thereby accommodating those residents who choose to buy larger vehicles such as 4X4s, and who choose to accumulate three or four cars in a single household even though they have no off-street parking space. The Council’s insolence in urging people to take up cycling is spectacular, when two years after I first drew attention to the problem, it has dismally failed to replace even a small number of missing cycle stands.
And this is hilarious:
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."
Actually, in Waltham Forest ‘Car Free Day’ was switched to Sundays years ago, in order not to inconvenience motorists.
And what does ‘Car Free Day’ do for cycling?
The Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign is thrilled by stuff like this:
Car Free Day in Walthamstow in 2002 and Leytonstone in 2003/4/5 included a demonstration of unusual recumbent bikes and a cycle obstacle course attracting over 100 participants.
Car Free Day in Walthamstow in 2002 was held in Orford Road, at the heart of Walthamstow Village. Seven years later there is still not a single cycle stand anywhere in the neighbourhood – not outside pubs, restaurants, post offices, shops. Nowhere. A perfect example of why wasting tens of thousands of pounds on spurious Green events has become a substitute for encouraging cycling through the development of an attractive infrastructure.
And if you leave your car at home and decide to cycle locally through this Sustrans-approved route at the junction of the A104 and A406, this is what’s on offer (photos taken on Thursday). You begin the route here, at these faded markings.
(Below) 'Shared use' Waltham Forest style. Pedestrians on the left, cyclists on the right. This photograph is taken in the exact centre of the route. The Corporation of London is responsible for cutting back this vegetation. It doesn't bother. This obstruction happens every summer, year after year, to the complete indifference of the council.
On, into a rat-infested labyrinth of subways, with blind corners and a crumbling surface. A circuitous route designed to avoid slowing down motor vehicles by providing cyclists and pedestrians with a crossing over the A104. Vehicle flow is a much greater priority than those other two transport modes. So pedestrians and cyclists are sent underground.
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Car free day at Oxford Circus
Oxford Circus, December 6.
As you can see, car free day on Oxford Street and Regent Street was a complete flop. The takings in the shops must have been significantly down on this day.
Thank goodness every other day of the year returns Oxford Circus to car drivers. And the plan to replace Oxford Street’s diesel buses with an electric tram has been abandoned.
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Just fancy that!
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.
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
The 'Car Free Day' cycling brochure (2)
Ah, yes, cutting edge Orient Way. The photograph below is a bit symbolic of something, wouldn't you say? I think the word we're looking for here is neglect.
Though to be fair, pedestrians get equal treatment with cyclists:
The design here (below) is particularly impressive. The walkway is not simply obscured by ivy but an advertising board has been placed across it, put there with the permission of the Council. As pedestrians step round past the board they run the risk of meeting a cyclist head on. Brilliant.
And what woman cyclist on her own wouldn't want to descend into this jungle of darkness? Who needs to watch horror movies when you can experience acute nervous anxiety on Orient Way, wondering what lurks round the corner in this lonely location out of sight of anyone?
Finally, if you survive Orient Way, you can emerge on to Ruckholt Road (below), hoping that none of the speeding drivers coming up behind you will crash into you as you leave the off-road cycle lane and enter a totally unprotected cycle lane in the road.
Happy cycling!
Monday, 24 September 2007
The 'Car Free Day' cycling brochure (1)
I went to the Council's 'Car Free Day' on Sunday - and all I got was this lousy cycling brochure...
Okay, so 'Car Free Day' blocks off two streets in Leytonstone on a Sunday afternoon between 12 noon and 7 pm. There are lots of stalls and entertainments and the crowds flock to it. Local campaign groups get the chance to promote their campaigns. Nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day 'Car Free Day' is just Greenwash because the London Borough of Waltham Forest pursues policies which encourage increased car ownership and use, besides shamefully neglecting the infrastructure used by cyclists and pedestrians. (More on this last aspect tomorrow.)
This part of the cycling brochure made me smile mirthlessly:
The staged photo in the brochure shows a cyclist heading towards Hackney down Lea Bridge Road. The reality is a little different on other parts of this route.
The section on the left of this shared route is for pedestrians and in the photo below you can see at a glance that the London Borough of Waltham Forest is passionate about protecting the interests of blind and partially-sighted pedestrians. (This photo was taken in June 2006, long before I ever thought of setting up this blog. And fifteenth months later the obstructive and unlawful sign, prominently displayed on one of the Borough's major routes, is still there.)
If you look very carefully you'll see that in the opposite carriageway there's a cyclist approaching who prefers to ignore the cycle lane and instead is using the carriageway. The later photos will show why.
Below: a commercial sign is illegally positioned across the cycle lane. It is there day after day, week after week, month after month. No one in this crap Council cares.
Approaching Orient Way the cycle lane shrinks to an impossibly slender section (with occasional obstructive clutter, as shown). What narrows it are blocks of wood. These are not temporary roadworks - these blocks have been here for years. They are put there to deter HGVs from parking on the bridge. The same blocks can be found on bridges over railway lines around the Borough. Apparently these bridges require strengthening and no one will take responsibility. The Council says it's Network Rail's job, and they say it is a local authority responsibility. In the meantime only cyclists and pedestrians are inconvenienced, so obviously there is no urgency at all. I expect these bridges will finally only get strengthened when one of them collapses and kills people.
Okay, so 'Car Free Day' blocks off two streets in Leytonstone on a Sunday afternoon between 12 noon and 7 pm. There are lots of stalls and entertainments and the crowds flock to it. Local campaign groups get the chance to promote their campaigns. Nothing wrong with that. But at the end of the day 'Car Free Day' is just Greenwash because the London Borough of Waltham Forest pursues policies which encourage increased car ownership and use, besides shamefully neglecting the infrastructure used by cyclists and pedestrians. (More on this last aspect tomorrow.)
This part of the cycling brochure made me smile mirthlessly:
The staged photo in the brochure shows a cyclist heading towards Hackney down Lea Bridge Road. The reality is a little different on other parts of this route.
The section on the left of this shared route is for pedestrians and in the photo below you can see at a glance that the London Borough of Waltham Forest is passionate about protecting the interests of blind and partially-sighted pedestrians. (This photo was taken in June 2006, long before I ever thought of setting up this blog. And fifteenth months later the obstructive and unlawful sign, prominently displayed on one of the Borough's major routes, is still there.)
If you look very carefully you'll see that in the opposite carriageway there's a cyclist approaching who prefers to ignore the cycle lane and instead is using the carriageway. The later photos will show why.
Below: a commercial sign is illegally positioned across the cycle lane. It is there day after day, week after week, month after month. No one in this crap Council cares.
Approaching Orient Way the cycle lane shrinks to an impossibly slender section (with occasional obstructive clutter, as shown). What narrows it are blocks of wood. These are not temporary roadworks - these blocks have been here for years. They are put there to deter HGVs from parking on the bridge. The same blocks can be found on bridges over railway lines around the Borough. Apparently these bridges require strengthening and no one will take responsibility. The Council says it's Network Rail's job, and they say it is a local authority responsibility. In the meantime only cyclists and pedestrians are inconvenienced, so obviously there is no urgency at all. I expect these bridges will finally only get strengthened when one of them collapses and kills people.
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