From On the Level
You would think Sustrans would be very eager to engage and work with cycle path advocates who are keen to work to improve the NCN. Yet each time I’ve tried to volunteer with Sustrans, I have been met with indifference at best and at worst, naiveté, ignorance, laziness and incompetence.
Saturday 6 December 2008
Assemble 10.30 am Lincolns Inn Fields for a mass bike ride around Central London joining up with the National Climate March at Grosvenor Square.
There will be three stops on the route:
• Outside Greenergy, 198 High Holborn – for an agrofuels protest organised by Biofuelswatch
• Outside E.On 100 Pall Mall – for a speaker on NO NEW COAL
• Outside the Department of Transport – for a speaker on sustainable transport
All welcome.
Decorate your bikes. Bring whistles. Bring music.
Web site
Motorbikes to be allowed in bus lanes, says Boris
But Tom Bogdanowicz of the London Cycling Campaign said that TfL's first report was "wrong".
He told the Standard: "LCC advises against making any snap judgement on putting motorbikes in bus lanes based on what TfL has said. TfL says the data showed potential 'dis-benefits' to pedestrians and cyclists. Many cyclists find bus lanes a refuge from high-speed and unpredictable motor vehicles."
The Bristol to Bath Railway path was the very first Sustrans path. It is now in danger of being turned into an express bus route. The destruction of such an important cycle route would set a precedent which would make it easier for other cycle routes to be destroyed.
A campaign is now up and running - web site is http://www.railwaypath.org
Sign the petition via http://www.railwaypath.org/petition
Tags sustrans
This road has recently been reworked to include these "interesting" new facilties for cyclists. Head west along the A232 from Croydon to Sutton and suddenly your cycle lane gets rather complicated:
What better way to improve facilities than to suddenly switch to bi-directional cycle traffic; confined between the pavement and bollards? And lets make a bottleneck and cross-over junction at the end for the contra-flow traffic. Its certainly not wide enough for cyclists to pass each other without straying out of the lane.
And lets add a little obstacle to keep it interesting:
Lets hope the pedestrians at that bus shelter are looking both ways ... both ways. Oh, and whats that bollard doing in the middle of the lane?
And of course, for symmetrical beauty we ought to end the bi-directional facility as it began; and be unceremonially dumped on the pavement:
Oh but look, you can always choose to go straight on:
Not exactly clearly marked is it?
Satellite Image
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cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, sutton
An eagle-eyed constituent took a photo of this 55ft cycle lane. Not sure if Ken Livingstone had this in mind to encourage more cycling. The lane also seems to end just in time to bring cyclists back amongst the traffic on a blind bend.
Ask your MP to sign up and urge the government to fix the Highway Code.
An Early Day Motion has been tabled in parliament that reads:
EDM 1433
That the alterations in the provisions of the Highway Code proposed to be made by the Secretary of State for Transport, dated 28th March 2007, a copy of which was laid before this House on 28th March, be not made.
The EDM has been tabled by Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats.
This action has been taken specifically to encourage the Government to address the problems created by the new rules that will require cyclists to use cycle facilities 'wherever possible'. Although initiated by the LibDems, it is very important that this EDM gains cross-party support and signatures from as many MPs as possible. All cyclists are urged to persuade their MPs to sign EDM 1433 as a matter of urgency.
Find your MP’s contact details at: http://www.writetothem.com/
Particularly if you are writing to a Labour MP , it is worth mentioning that the cycling organisations are still in dialogue with officials and hope that the Government may yet agree to revise the Highway Code – hence they may be paving the way for a “good news” announcement from the Minister.
For MPs of all parties, please also ask them to speak to their party colleagues in the Lords to ask them also to “pray against” the Highway Code. For procedural reasons, the Code is far more likely to be challenged effectively in the Lords than in the Commons.
How will the draft Highway Code hurt cyclists? See:
http://www.cyclenetwork.org.uk/latest/doc/hcode_cyclists.pdf
send a copy to your MP.
This is a national campaign, full details are at:
http://www.cyclenetwork.org.uk/latest/latest.html#hcedm
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cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, highway code
