i b i k e l o n d o n

January blues banished with a bit of winter cycle chic

2012-01-25T08:30:00.002Z

It might be grey, cold and miserable outside, but if you're riding through winter you won't have failed to notice how many other riders are joining you and sticking with cycling throughout these cold months. This time last year the roads were just reappearing after a month under snow and it was bitterly cold. This year's winter has been petulantly mild, and whilst we might have the odd wet day thrown in (with a bit of wind for good measure!) it seems to me that the unseasonably warm weather we've been having has been keeping people on bikes for longer.

At Broadway Market in Hackney, recently, I was sharing the streets with these wonderful other riders...

..so, the person next to you at the traffic lights may be a seasoned all-year-round cycling old hand, or they might just be starting out their life on two wheels. Either way, why not give them a cheery wave and ride through winter together?

What better way to beat the January blues than a bike ride in style?

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Successful city spaces; a place for play

2012-01-23T11:24:00.001Z

If you visit Trafalgar Square today you'll encounter an enormous golden "sun" more powerful than 60,000 light bulbs, filling the square with light and cheering everyone up on what is an otherwise fairly grey January day. The "sun" will "rise" and "set" as it traverses the square during its single day of life; it's an installation commissioned by Tropicana Orange Juice and created by public art collective Greyworld. The work of Greyworld focuses on 'Playing in the City'; I like their work a lot because of the sense of fun and carefree interaction it invites from members of the public, and the way in which their work actively encourages the habitation of public space for fun and for play instead of just for purpose. Previous works of theirs include road side railings tuned to play 'The Girl from Ipanema' should a child, or adult, happen to run a stick along them, and park benches on wheels with a life of their own which rolled around a square in Cambridge; chasing the sun, automatically hiding beneath trees when it rains and coming towards you if beckoned them with a whistle.

Photo from London Cyclist - 216 days till the Paralympic Opening Ceremony!

Successful city spaces should not just be a place of purpose; London especially suffers from the affliction of the majority of its public space merely being a corridor through which to get from A to B. But city spaces should not just be space for adults in which to play, either. The sign of a safe and successful city is not just a space in which adults are happy to linger, and play, but one in which children are too.

We go to great lengths to create parks and playgrounds to provide space for children to play in, and yet do these more formalised, designated places for play actually constrain children? Do they do enough to stimulate and challenge children as well as make them feel a part of the community in which they are playing? Jane Jacobs, in The Death and Life of Great American Cities, argued that parks and play grounds were boring for children and offered limited stimulation to a child with a healthy sense of their own surroundings. Local streets, she believed, were a much more successful space for children's play and indeed for growing up - they could be observed by adults to check their behaviour, and in turn the children could observe the adults to see life going on around themselves and feel engaged as a part of it. But in order for streets to feel like somewhere that parents will allow their children to roam freely, must there be constraints on other kinds of movement? Should streets be closed, such as on play days or for street parties (see my previous post on the excellent work by Playing Out), or should traffic on each street where children live be suitably tamed to allow space for people and successful sharing of the space between the buildings?

In his book Life Between Buildings, Jan Gehl argues that "something happens because something happens because something happens". That is to say, a group of children building ramps and obstacles for their bikes in the street, and playing outside their homes, might lead to older neighbours sitting outside on a bench to watch. The old folk are more inclined to stay because there is something to see and keep them entertained. Neighbours might look out their window to watch their own kids, and see another parent to catch up and have a chat with and so step outside. Drivers passing through the neighbourhood, seeing that they are observed and guests in a space which is not just for cars, drive appropriately. The opposite is also true; if there's no one outside there's nothing to see. If there's nothing to see, and no one else to play with then kids would rather stay indoors and watch TV or play on the internet because the outside has become boring, unstimulating, a place without people. A place without people is unobserved and anything can happen within it; cars can speed by unimpeded, thus in turn creating an even less pleasant environment for play. And so kids playing on their bikes in the street create a special spiral of positive consequences. Children not playing outside creates the opposite. Suddenly, simple games and infant past times become very important to the liveability of our city indeed.

As a child my bicycle was my passport to freedom. Learning to ride a bike was a revelation. My "catchment zone" expanded in size by three - whereas previously I could walk to the end of my street in 15 minutes (about the length of time I was prepared to toddle in any direction), with my bike I could get to the end of my street, the park beyond and my friend's house beyond that in the same amount of time. Bucolic summers were spent exploring the entire neighbourhood on two wheels, drowning in jugs of orange squash served by various friend's mothers and taking my bike to the edge of the town where the countryside began; the borderlines where dares were set and competitions were held. As I grew older the horizons expanded still further; out beyond the urban edgelands and borderlines and in to the country proper where hedgerows weighed heavy with sticky Blackberries and the kestrels flew and the grass grew long in the woods. I worry that across the UK there must be thousands of children growing up in similar suburban surroundings who are missing out on a childhood outdoors and on two wheels. The CTC frets that since the 1970s there's been a continued and downward trend in young people using a bicycle. The situation is especially bad for young females.

And if things are bad out in the green and gardened suburbs, they're even worse here in the heart of the big city. You won't see kids riding the Elephant and Castle roundabout unaccompanied, and dare I say it it seems increasingly apparent to me that what few children you do see living and growing up in London's Zone 1 and inner Zone 2 are the sort being chaperoned around Hyde Park's Serpentine by their nannies, with 4x4'd butlers standing by to whisk them back to Knightsbridge. For a multitude of reasons there are less and less children in our streets, and this makes our city a poorer place for it.

On the 7th February, Tim Gill will be arguing that this needs to change in the next Street Talk from the Movement for Livable London. Tim is the author of the 2007 book No Fear; Growing up in a risk averse environment and blogs at the always fascinating Rethinking Childhood. He'll be arguing that children are like returning salmon coming back to recently polluted waters; an indicator species for the liveability and success of our streets and indeed wider cities.

Join us from 6PM (talk commences at 7PM) in the upstairs bar at the Yorkshire Grey pub on Feb 7th, and as always you can follow and contribute via the hashtag #streettalks, or listen again to previous talks online.

The Greyworld "sun" will shine throughout today, Monday 23rd January 2012 in Trafalgar Square and will 'set' a few hours after darkness, allowing plenty of time throughout the day to interact with this unique piece, and have some fun in one of our most famous city spaces.

Would you let you children play freely and cycle unsupervised on the streets where you live? If not, what is wrong with the roads around your home and what could be done to improve them?

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Footballers do it on two wheels...

2012-01-18T14:41:00.000Z

I was out with the Better Half for a bike ride around Hackney Marshes recently and grabbed these shots. Footballers do it on two wheels..

For those unfamiliar with the Marshes they're a huge, almost traffic-free space of public land in East London, bordering the 2012 Olympic Park. It's criss-crossed with cycling trails and very popular with riders of all backgrounds and abilities. Despite purportedly having the most goal posts in one place in the entire world, sadly this great public resource will be off-limits for much of this year whilst the Marshes host a temporary coach park for visitors to the Games.

Still, whether you're commuting to work, or pedalling down to kick about practise, you're better off by bike!

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Another small success: where the City of London leads, Transport for London should follow

2012-01-17T08:30:00.001Z

Some of you may remember, about a year ago, my encouraging a lot of you to write to the City of London regarding their Draft Local Implementation Plan. It was the first joint-measure where myself and Danny from Cyclists in the City teamed up and, well, we haven't stopped since to be honest!

And now it seems we have a success in the City. After many, many of you wrote to the City to tell them that their plans weren't bold enough and that if they wanted to get serious about 10% of all people travelling to or through the Square Mile, they had to get serious about road danger reduction and making cyclists feel safe, secure and welcome.

City of London Cycle Style event, 2010. More of the same on our streets, please!

Last Friday, the City announced that TfL have signed off on the revised Draft plan. The City has now committed to thinking seriously about inviting cycling and making small steps towards making the Square Mile a nicer place to ride a bike. The revised LIP now includes these points:

(1) More ambitious road traffic casualty targets to reduce the number of persons killed or seriously injured to 50% below the 2004–2008 average by 2020 and the total number of persons injured to 30% below the 2004–2008 average by 2020.

(2) A commitment to provide continuous high-quality conditions for cycling on several routes through the City, including both the London Cycle Network (LCN) routes on City Corporation streets and several north–south and east–west quieter back-street routes through the City.

(3) A proposal to formally investigate the desirability of a 20 mph speed limit or a 20 mph zone covering the whole of the City, with a preference for a speed limit or zone that incorporates the Transport for London road network (red routes)

And there are more encouraging words from the LIP - it talks about walking and cycling throughout, and recognises that they can (and should!) be key ways for people to make their way around. "Standards that were possibly acceptable when cycling was a minority activity, such as narrow cycle lanes, shallow or non-existent advanced stop lines and minimal levels of employee and visitor cycle parking provision will not be adequate. Cycling will continue to increase in popularity and become an even more important City mode of travel."Bold words in the political world, and words that Transport for London's Chair, Boris Johnson, could do with reminding himself of.

The City of London politicians and planning department should be applauded for listening to all those (all 108 of you!) who took the time to write and to get involved in the LIP process, and those of you who were involved should feel very proud indeed - you've hopefully helped the City to take a step towards making itself a better place.

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It's nice when we get results, no? Onwards and upwards!

A cautious welcome to change at Bow roundabout

2012-01-12T09:38:00.001Z

Two people were killed in quick succession late last year riding their bikes on the Mayor's Cycle Superhighway (CS2) at Bow roundabout in East London.

There was justifiable anger amongst the cycling community at these deaths, and outrage that their recommendations to make Bow safe for all road users had been systematically ignored by Transport for London, as had the recommendations of their own engineering consultants, Jacobs.

Perhaps this put TfL over a bit of a legal barrel, or perhaps we are really starting to get through to the people in charge of our streets, but true to their word TfL have acted and have promised they will now change the road layout at Bow.

From Transport for London: "Cycling groups and the local authorities are being asked for their views on plans to allow cyclists an ‘early start’ on green lights to get them around the roundabout ahead of other traffic. Another proposal is to reduce the flyover from two traffic lanes to one in both directions to allow the creation of dedicated cycle lanes.

The vigil at Bow roundabout organised by local cycling activists in memory of Brian Dorling and Svetlana Tereschenko.

"Transport for London also proposes to install new dedicated cycle lanes on the east and westbound approaches of the roundabout, allowing cyclists to approach the advance stop lines at the junctions without the need to filter through traffic. Advanced Stop Lines would also be made deeper on both approaches to the roundabout to ensure that cyclists have a clear visible space in front of any traffic."

"Leon Daniels, Managing Director of Surface Transport at TfL, said:

“Our engineers have worked extremely hard over recent weeks to develop proposals designed to improve the safety of what is a key roundabout for cyclists. Many cyclists use the junction and we are committed to ensuring that they can negotiate it as safely as possible. We are now discussing potential improvements with key stakeholders and we remain absolutely focused on delivering improvements at the roundabout before the 2012 Games. We also continue to explore the potential for longer term improvements in the area.”

Bow roundabout from above; this is a place where people live and work, not just a transport corridor.

I'm especially pleased that Mr Daniels is keeping his eye on the long game with Bow, as despite these welcome changes the area will still be appalling for pedestrians. TfL state in their press release that they still cannot find a solution to create safe pedestrian crossings without causing traffic delays. However, I am cautiously optimistic and welcoming of this latest development from the Mayor's transport authority. 12 months ago their standard response would have been that the key to all cyclist's safety is better driver awareness and more cycle and HGV training. Whilst these two pillars are worthy in themselves, myself and Danny from Cyclists in the City as well as the LCC have been pushing and pushing and pushing - at Blackfriars, at King's Cross, at Bow - to explain that the very layout and design of our roads is a contributory factor to creating both statistical and subjective safety. In that sense, today's news from TfL feels like a small "win" though of course it's tragic that people had to die here before calls to rectify the layout of this junction were taken seriously.

TfL have also committed to review all 375 junctions on the Cycle Superhighways and over 140 major junctions on the TfL Road Network (TLRN red routes) so I'll be keeping a close eye on developments and hope that this is the start of a real and genuine improvement for people on bikes all across London.

For all those of you who have campaigned for change at Bow, written to the Mayor (and over 2500 of you did!), picketed and attended vigils, well done; you should feel proud for getting involved in how our city is run and for helping to enact positive change.

TfL have moved quickly like this before; after two deaths on Blackfriars Bridge back in 2004 they remodelled the road rapidly to create the cycle lanes that exist there now and promised that cyclist's needs would be incorporated in future designs. To an extent that all went very quiet and off the radar with time, especially since the arrival of the current Mayor at the helm. I cautiously and optimistically welcome today's news from TfL, but let us all remain vigilant to ensure this doesn't happen again and that all future cycle facilities and roads where people are to be encouraged to ride are fit for use.

The proposals for Bow aren't perfect but they are a small step in the right direction, and with proper consultation with cycling groups and local stakeholders hopefully a workable, safe and inviting solution can be found.

The full details from TfL can be found here.
The London Cycling Campaign have more details on their website here, with further thoughts from Danny at Cyclists in the City over here.

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Street Talks 9: Share the damn road! Creating successful shared space streets

2012-01-04T08:30:00.004Z

January brings with it a new season of the increasingly popular "Street Talks" from the Movement for Liveable London. Kicking off the new year, next Tuesday's talk will explore a very hot topic currently in UK street design; shared space.

Seen by some as the key to creating more lively, liveable and indeed loveable streets, whilst almost guaranteed to get others in to a near state of apoplexy, no other type of street design currently being fitted across the UK has such a polarising effect. Removing curb stones, levelling the road surface and literally creating a shared space (as oppose to spaces for all forms of traffic which are separated by function), the largest shared space project in the UK to date is the recently completed Exhibition Road in Kensington. Six years in the planning and many millions of pounds in the delivery, to some it's at the forefront of a brave new world of street as places whilst for others it's a lot of pretty cobbles for people to park their cars on and an expensively inhospitable environment. (For further reading on Exhibition Road, and the meaning of "shared space" check out this irreverent Guardian article "A farewell to pavements")

The completed southern section of Exhibition Road. Picture via RIBA blog.

Will shared space really reclaim the public realm back from the motor car? Are the aesthetic benefits greater than more tangible benefits for walkers and cyclists? And what of universal access issues; can the vision impaired navigate such spaces successfully and will impatient London motorists have the courtesy to find out? Is it simply the case (as in Exhibition Road) of acknowledging that anything is better than what was there before and having to wait and see?

Perhaps the key to successful new street design - whether shared or separated - lies in answering that most difficult of questions; how do we reduce the volume of motorised vehicles wishing to use it?

January's Street Talk will be delivered by Stuart Reid, Director of Sustainable Transport and Communities at MVA Consultancy. Stuart is a prominent figure in the field of sustainable transport, with a particular interest in walking and cycling. He has contributed to the development of national policy and key guidance for planning, process and design.

Upstairs at The Yorkshire Grey, 2 Theobalds Road, WC1X 8PN at 7pm (upstairs bar and restaurant open from 6pm) next Tuesday 10th January.

Remember, if you can't be there in person on the night you can follow Street Talks on Twitter via @liveablelondon and on the hash tag #streettalks

To hear of future events sign up the mailing list, and to listen again to all previous talks jump on over to the excellent Movement for Liveable London website.

See you there!

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Cycle helmet laws? On your bike, W.I!

2011-12-22T15:55:00.001Z

If you close your eyes and picture the Women's Institute you'll come up with one of two images; old ladies singing "Jerusalem", making jam and stripping off for calendars, or of one of the UK's largest, most effective and powerful campaigning groups which brings local communities together and has a powerful national voice.

I rather like the WI. My local branch, in Hackney, is famously quite fierce and does some incredible work in the local community. Nationally they work to support local Libraries, legal aid for women, African education projects and bring to bear their not insignificant weight on a whole host of worthy issues.

The WI are currently deciding what to adopt as their campaigns for 2012, and the pro-helmet brain injury charity "Headway" have managed to table a resolution calling for Mandatory Helmet Laws, which has been short-listed.

Does she look like a law breaker to you?

If this is passed the WI will be obligated to lobby our national Government to introduce a national helmet law. Those of you who are well versed in cycle advocacy will already know that it would be disastrous for our fragile state of cycling levels as it is. In Australia, where helmet compulsion has been law since the 1990s, bike riding levels dropped by a third, obesity levels grew and grew (don't believe the Speedo adverts, I've lived in Oz, there's an awful lot of fatness around) and national head injury rates remained the same. That is to say, the introduction of a mandatory helmet law has been worse for public health than allowing informed adults the right to choose.

Now, I'm not saying that helmets are bad. If I was mountain biking on some crazy alpine dirt track at speed and leaping off rocks I'd definitely wear a helmet. If I was training at the velodrome on a brake-less bike, cycling round and round at many miles an hour I'd definitely wear a helmet.

A question of choice...

But out on the streets, where I choose a route that takes me down quiet back streets, where I ride a very sensible bike with excellent brakes, and go at a safe pace I don't want to always have to wear a helmet. And as an adult who is aware that there is no academic consensus as to whether small polystyrene hats designed to only mitigate against impacts brought about from cycling up to 12mph, I want the choice as to whether I should be able to wear a helmet or not.

Resolution 6 currently being considered by the WI is very very poorly thought out, but here's the thing... More men than women ride here in the UK, more adults than older people and more singles than families. The WI are exactly the sort of people who should be looking at the state of cycling in the UK and thinking "Where did we go wrong?". Their members are exactly the sort of people I would love to see having the confidence and the ability to ride every day - that's the sort of thing that keeps me campaigning. So I'm really happy to see the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain, in collaboration with ibikelondon and the website This Big City, Cyclists in the City of London on this issue; we've written a letter to the WI members asking them to reject the mandatory helmet law motion and encouraging them instead to think about campaigning for the sorts of streets we'd all like to see where equality, safety and access for all are the norm, instead of some far off pipe dream envied from across the North Sea. The full text of our letter is below and we'd love it if you'd join us in signing too and supporting it.

Just click here and add your name!

"Dear Womens Institute"

We are writing to you today with regards to the 2012 proposed resolution (6) which the Women's Institute is current considering regarding bicycle helmet compulsion.

We at the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain welcome the fact that the Women’s Institute is taking an interest in the safety of cyclists. Far too many bicycle riders, young and old, are killed and injured on the UK's roads every year. Many more will never even contemplate something so simple as riding a bicycle - or have tried and given up - through being too scared to mix with heavy and fast traffic on Britain's main roads. We do not believe that the way to remedy this situation, and to increase cyclist's safety, is through compulsory helmet laws.

As is stated in the summary of your resolution in the pros and cons, the focus of the resolution as it stands is currently very narrow and is likely to put people off cycling; something we have already seen happen in Australia and New Zealand. Both countries adopted compulsory bicycle helmet laws in the 1990s and both now see almost a third less cyclists on their roads. Recent research published by the Health Promotion Journal of Australia found that 1 in 5 adults would start cycling, or cycle more, if such laws weren’t in place. In 2008, the New Zealand Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven publicly acknowledged that such laws are putting people off cycling. Urban cycle hire schemes in Melbourne and Brisbane have struggled to find an audience, with Aukland’s equivalent folding after failing to cover its costs. This whilst equivalent schemes in Paris, Barcelona, Montreal, Toronto, Washington DC, Mexico City and London (to name but a few) have seen huge success with hardly any accidents. London’s accident rate is a minute 0.002%. It can be argued that the consequence of a compulsory helmet law is a greater risk to public health than making cycling safer in other ways.

With less people engaging in everyday exercise like cycling, as in Australia and New Zealand, the risk of obesity and the many associated health problems increases. Even if cycle helmets protect against head injuries - and it is imperative that the Women's Institute is made aware that there is no conclusive evidence or academic consensus that they do - compulsory cycle helmet laws bring with them their own negative health repercussions. Obesity cost the NHS an estimated £4.2 billion pounds in England alone in 2007, with the NHS themselves expecting a £50 billion annual cost by 2050 should current trends continue. Any motion which encourages easy, everyday exercise like cycling should be applauded, but there is not one single example of a compulsory helmet law increasing rates of cycling.

We at the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain believe in prevention rather than cure. Cycle helmets do not prevent accidents from occurring the first place and we believe it is more effective to reduce cyclist's exposure to danger rather than try and mitigate against being exposed to it.

Whilst there are opportunities to improve training for cyclists and drivers, too often it is the design of our roads, particularly our junctions, which bring bikes into conflict with larger, heavier vehicles. Many of the high-profile deaths of cyclists, particularly in London, have been women riders who were wearing a helmet, and who were experienced - neither factors which saved them when they got hit by an HGV. We believe that safe areas for people to walk and cycle should be created, particularly in populated areas where people live and go to school or work or the shops. At present approximately 75% of all regular cyclists in the UK are men; we believe that focusing on creating attractive and safe conditions for riding a bicycle have a much larger possibility of enacting positive change within society - most especially for women and families - with all the wider benefits that increased riding will bring (less congestion, less pollution, fitter population etc)

Mandating helmet use for those who are comfortable cycling in our present road conditions, whilst not considering those who would like to cycle but are too afraid is not the way forwards for a safe, successful and equitable society.

A lot of us are able to remember that when we were children, our bikes were our passports to freedom and independence. There is no reason why this cannot be the case for current generations. There are cities and countries who already achieve safe mass cycling rates; we should look to their successful examples rather than countries, like Australia, where mandatory helmet laws have been disastrous. In the Netherlands, children are still free to go to school unaccompanied, on their bikes, on average from the age of eight. That is because their roads and towns are designed to make cycling safe for all ages, from children with stabilisers all the way up to grandparents and great grandparents. The result is civilised streets and happy children. In a 2007 UNICEF study, the Netherlands came top for safest roads and child wellbeing.

The UK came 21st.

Whilst levels of cycling dropped by almost a third in Australia, obesity increased dramatically. Australia now has the fastest growing obesity rates of any developed country, with 1 in 2 people overweight. Additionally, since introducing mandatory cycle helmet laws, neither Australia nor New Zealand has seen a reduction in head injuries beyond the general trend for the population at large.

Traffic safety in the Netherlands is the best in Europe, and obesity is among the lowest of any developed country in the world. We believe that with pragmatic problem solving at the root cause, and hopefully a bit of imagination, the UK could achieve the same.

The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain is a newly formed organisation campaigning for just that. We'd be thrilled to have the WI on our side on this. Your resolution shows that you've the interests of cyclists and their safety at heart but we hope that you'll be able to think wider than just helmets and training to infrastructure based on the Netherlands model that has had proven success giving freedom of movement and empowerment to all. We'd be delighted to give you more information, or come and talk to your groups in person about the wider issues at stake. Above all, we would be honoured for you to join us in a proper cycling revolution

This letter is from the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain. It comes to you with the support of the campaigning group Cyclists in the City of London and the websites This Big City and ibikelondon. The undersigned call on the Women's Institute to reject Resolution 6 calling for compulsory helmet laws and to focus instead on creating conditions in which all members of society will feel safe and comfortable riding a bicycle

The undersigned call on the Women's Institute to reject Resolution 6 calling for compulsory helmet laws and to focus instead on creating conditions in which all members of society will feel safe and comfortable riding a bicycle:"

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King's Cross Christmas Vigil; thank you all for coming

2011-12-20T23:27:00.000Z

On a cold December night, just a few days short of Christmas, 100s of cyclists, pedestrians, bereaved friends and family and concerned Londoners gathered in King's Cross to remember the 16 cyclists and countless pedestrians who have been killed on London's roads, and the countless number of people who have been hurt or seriously injured.

We were there not just to reflect on what has been a terrible year for fatalities, but to demand change. Too often dangerous junctions have been ignored, and recommendations to make roads safer shunned in case it might "disrupt motorised traffic". The human toll of such conditions are no longer acceptable. I spoke with a lady, her grief all too evident, whose husband had been killed on his motorcycle earlier this year. Mrs Dorling, the wife of Brian Dorling who was recently killed at Bow roundabout paused to light a candle. Each of these "fatality statistics" has a human, tragic story.

Pedestrian campaigner Caroline Russel told us a story about her friend's father who was killed whilst cycling on his bicycle in King's Cross 14 years ago. Nothing has been done about the accident blackspot since.

London Cycling Campaign put out the call to bring us all together at King's Cross, and thanks must go to them for their efforts in helping to make the event a success. Thanks must also go to Assembly Members Jenny Jones (Green), and Caroline Pidgeon (Lib Dem) who attended and have been doing excellent work on cycle safety all year.

Meanwhile, Transport for London must be hoping that the safe streets issue will go away over time; that if they obfuscate and delay enough their opposition will evaporate through weariness. I believe tonight showed clearly that Londoners of all backgrounds care very much about safe streets for all, equality of access throughout our city and subjective as well as statistically safe cycling for all. Tonight saw cycle campaigners, pedestrian campaigners and road danger reduction campaigners coming together and speaking as one. The opposition to "smoothing the traffic flow" to the detriment of other road users is not going to fade away; it's just getting started.

Thank you to all who came tonight, who helped to rally numbers, guide the crowds, who spoke and who I may have thrust a candle or a flyer into the hands of! Merry Christmas to all of you, and here's to a safe and prosperous 2012.

May they rest in peace; cyclists who have lost their lives in London in 2011:

Ellie Carey, 22

Svitlana Tereschenko, 34

Brian Dorling, 58

Deep Lee, 24

Sam Harding, 25

Johannah Bailey, 49

Paul McGreal, 44

Michael Evans, 62

Thomas Stone, 13

Naoko Miyazaki, 35

Gavin Taylor, 40

Paula Jurek, 20

David Poblet, 20

Tom Barrett, 44

Daniel Cox, 28

Gary Mason, 48

RoadPeace is the national charity for road crash victims, offering support and guidance to the recently bereaved and campaigning for safer streets based on on the principles of road danger reduction. To make a Christmas donation to support their independantly funded work, click here.

All photos on this post used with permission and thanks from London Cyclist blog.

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Kings Cross Christmas vigil; 16 deaths too many

2011-12-16T09:40:00.000Z

16 people have lost their lives riding to work, cycling to college, or going to collect their kids by bicycle in London this year. 16 families are feeling the loss of a brother, a mother, a daughter or a son this Christmas. 16 groups of friends still pull up a spare chair at the pub. 16 everyday and ordinary Londoners are gone - never to return - simply because their choice of personal transport is seen as being "inevitably" dangerous.

Exposure to the sources of road danger can be reduced by safe, equal and well-designed roads. This is evident in the Netherlands - here in London we are at least twice as likely to die on our roads than our Dutch counterparts. (Pucher, 2008)

Young and old alike have protested for equality and safety; hundreds joined the "Tour du Danger"

And yet, despite Transport for London enticing new cyclists on to their roads with glossy advertising campaigns, increased cycle training, copiously splashed blue paint and a PR machine in over-drive, 2011 really has been the year that cyclists took to the streets in protest in London at unfair, unequal and down right dangerous road design. The message has been clear; training and PR might be enough to encourage new riders on to the road, but it is not enough to keep them safe.

Rallies were held at Blackfriars Bridge, over and over again, culminating in over 2500 Londoners protesting on the bridge. The Tour du Danger - originally planned as a fact-finding mission between a few friends - saw over 500 people cycling the 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists in London. Vigils have been held at Bow roundabout, Kings Cross, on Tower Bridge Road - places where people, often young women, have lost their lives whilst cycling; all at junctions where prior warnings about the safety of these spaces have been ignored outright by Transport for London.

Thousands have protested on Blackfriars Bridge throughout the year, including London Assembly members of all political persuasions.

TfL is a closed and undemocratic organisation. They are not used to receiving this level of scrutiny and anger about their plans (which might explain why cycling and walking on so many of our main roads is such a deeply unpleasant experience!) All of this scrutiny has them rattled - a number of their most senior figures have told me so personally - not, of course, because they want to make changes for the better but out of concern at the prospect of their PR record being blemished. They and the Mayor have announced a safety review of Bow, the cycle superhighways and major junctions under their care and have then quietly postponed it, in the hope that cyclists will quietly wait (indefinitely?) for the results, which might come out... well, hmmm, some time close to the next Mayoral election perhaps? Come the new year the annual cycling fatalities metre resets and, in news-speak at least, this year's fatalities become next year's fish and chip paper. TfL are hoping a Christmas break and the new year will help to quell the tide of anger which is rearing up against them and that cyclists will simply go away.

Meanwhile, where they do want to be seen to do something their plans are woefully inadequate. They've promised some alterations at the junction on Tower Bridge Road where Ellie Carey was killed, by 2014 at the earliest. In King's Cross where Min Joo Lee was killed by a tipper lorry they've promised to squeeze in an ASL before the Olympics but had the tenacity to tell Ms Lee's bereaved boyfriend - to his face - that they would not counter installing a safe cycle lane here at this most terrifying of junctions "because it would cause considerable cueus".

The ghost bike for fashion student Min Joo Lee (Deep Lee) who was killed in a collission with a truck earlier this year near King's Cross station.

It's essential that we continue to build momentum and ensure that this issue stays at the very top of the radar. In the New Year the London Cycling Campaign will be launching their biggest ever election project with their "Go Dutch" campaign, calling on all Mayoral candidates to promise safe space for cycling on main roads as a priority.

Until then we must not let TfL think that cyclists - and the very real issue of them being killed on our streets - can be easily dismissed.

Next Tuesday, the 20th of December, London Cycling Campaign, supported by me, Danny from Cyclists in the City, the road crash victim's charity Road Peace, and Living Streets, will be holding a Christmas vigil to mark the 16 who have died on bikes in 2011, the many more who have been killed on foot and the countless people who have suffered life-changing injuries. A large candle-lit memorial will be illuminated as we are joined by friends and family of Brian Dorling, Min Joo Lee, and others as we reflect on an awful year and ask for the Mayor to step up to his responsibilities; to abandon his policy of "smoothing traffic flow", to review the most dangerous junctions as a matter of urgency and to truly make the cycle superhighways super, instead of the lethal compromise they are in their current form.

Meet outside King's Cross station, one of London's most dangerous junctions and the site of the recent death of student Min Joo Lee, from 6PM for a static protest. By foot or by bicycle, everyone is welcome. Bring candles, warm clothes, and messages for the Mayor. See the LCC website for further details.

I hope you can join us for this last protest of 2011, what has been an equally inspiring and heart-breaking year for London cyclists.

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Friends and family organise vigil for Ellie Carey

2011-12-10T21:51:00.000Z

22 year old Guernsey woman Ellie Carey became the 16th cyclist to die in London after a collision with a lorry on Tower Bridge Road on the 2nd of December.

Her family have been incredibly brave in sharing publicly how the death of their daughter has affected them, talking with the press - whilst our city politicians played at being children - to try to ensure her death will not be in vain.

Ms Carey's father, Allistair told the Evening Standard that he had met with Deputy Chair of TfL Daniel Moylan "I said to him: 'In your position as deputy chairman, I want you to see what the human agony is rather than just the mere statistics."

He went on to describe Ellie, the youngest of his four children, as a “marvellous girl” who wanted to do aid work in Africa and around the world. From the island of Guernsey, she had moved to London to study and was reading International Development at London Metropolitan University.

Meanwhile, talking to the London Cycling Campaign, Ellie's brother, Peter, described his sister: "While we cannot change the past, the future is unwritten, and we hope the tragic deaths of 16 cyclists in London this year will result in action being taken in making improvements in safety for cyclists.

"Rather than just the promise of another 'review', action needs to be taken. And if Transport for London and the Mayor have ignored recommendations to improve the safety of junctions, they must explain why."

Moving words from a family who must currently be going through an unimaginably difficult time.

Wanting to show support for the family, and to raise awareness of the dangerous junction at which Ms Carey was killed, friends and cycle activists are organising a vigil for Ms Carey for this Wednesday the 14th December at 6PM in Bermondsey Square (map)

As we try to continue to put pressure on our city leaders and authorities to take road danger and these needless deaths seriously, I hope as many of you as possible will be able to stop by the vigil to show your support.

Further to Wednesday's events, please mark the evening of Tuesday December 20th in your diaries and try to keep it free. Further details will soon be forthcoming but once again Danny from Cyclists in the City blog, the London Cycling Campaign and myself will be calling on you for your support. We're planning an event which will reflect on the needless deaths of 16 of our fellow cyclists here in London and plan to mark the end of what has been a remarkable year of anger and protest amongst us. Stay tuned.

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If you like Street Talks, you'll love Urbanized by Gary Hustwit

2011-12-09T08:30:00.001Z

We celebrated the Street Talks Christmas Party earlier this week and many of you turned out to share ideas, meet with one another and hear from an eclectic and inspiring group of speakers. As always you can watch again all of the previous presentations to date.

If you like Street Talks, or indeed if you're interested in how our streets and the space between buildings are designed, built and managed you'll love Urbanized, a new film from director Gary Hustwit. From the bike lanes of New York to the slums of India, from the modernist madness that make up the street plan of Brasilia, to our own fair London; the film provides a flying review of the best - and worst - in urban thinking from around the world.

Stunning photography and a deftly woven narrative will keep you engaged, whilst one to one insight with the likes of Jan Gehl on the bike lanes of Copenhagen, and former Mayor of Bogota Enrique Penalosa on his cycling revolution will have you wishing we could do more of their kind of work over here.

I was lucky enough to attend the UK premiere of Urbanized with the director (Gary Hustwit of Helvetica fame) a short while ago and was inspired by the message he explained he was trying to impart with the film; "Get involved in the choices made about your city, otherwise someone else will make those choices for you."

It's my favourite documentary film of the year (but then, as a bike blogger who spends too much time thinking about all these issues perhaps I was bound to say that!) and I'd encourage you to go. If you like Street Talks, you'll love Urbanized.

Urbanized is screening at the Barbican Cinema from the 16th to the 23rd of December only. Tickets are one pound cheaper if purchased online; full details can be found here.

Whilst I strongly recommend catching this movie on the big screen purely to fully enjoy its arresting visuals, for those of you outside of London, Urbanized is currently available to watch on demand on a pay per view basis on the film's website.

Go see!

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Tory AMs and Boris smack cycling safety in the face.. again

2011-12-07T14:29:00.000Z

Further to this morning's blog post asking where the promised cycle safety review from Transport for London is, there's been more depressing, pathetic news from City Hall...

Briefing BBC transport correspondent Tom Edwards, TfL confirmed that they have no date as yet for when they will publish their much vaunted "review" of cyclist's safety, the Cycle Superhighways and most importantly Bow junction. They'd originally promised that the report on Bow would be delivered within one week. Labour AM John Biggs has described the inaction by TfL - of which Boris Johnson is Chair - as a "broken promise".

Meanwhile a motion tabled by Green AM Jenny Jones and Labour's Val Shawcross calling on the Mayor to address cyclist's concerns was scotched after Tory AMs walked out of the Assembly making the meeting inquorate. A valuable opportunity to ensure that everything possible is being done by TfL to keep everyone on its roads safe has been lost because of a childish, unprofessional petty squabble.

Astonishingly, this is the second time this year that the Tory AMs (plus Richard Barnbrook, BNP) have pulled this stunt to the detriment of cyclist's safety; they pulled the same mean, cheap, pathetic trick earlier in the year when the London Assembly were due to debate cyclist's concerns over Blackfriars Bridge.

Jenny Jones said:

"The Tory walkout before we could take the cycling motion was perhaps partly based on embarrassment at the Mayor's poor safety record. He has consistently ignored cycling campaigners' advice on how to make junctions safe, leaving cyclists vulnerable to the faster traffic. This is playing with people's lives, not delivering good government for London."

As a bike blogger I'm not interested in party politics and don't especially care if the best ideas for improving cycling and walking in London come from Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems or the Greens.

Tell it to the bereaved...

What I do care very strongly about is the fact that 2011 has been the most fatal year for cyclists in London for a very long time (Ellie Carey became the 16th rider to die on our roads this year earlier this week)

Everyday and ordinary Londoners on bikes feel that they have to fight their way to work just to stay safe and stay alive. Hundreds of ordinary citizens have felt engaged enough to write to the Mayor, to join protests (and protests, and protests) whilst all around them a sense of spin, inaction and deception from TfL pervades the debate. And a bunch of grown men, each earning a handsome salary to do their jobs, feels it appropriate to play cheap party politics with people's lives because of some pathetic inter-party squabble.

They should feel ashamed of themselves, but frankly I'd rather they explained their actions to faces of the mourning families of Ellie Carey, Brian Dorling, Svitlana Tereschenko, Min Joo Lee and all those others who have lost their lives or been seriously injured on our roads this year.

The job of the London Assembly is to hold the Mayor - and via him Transport for London - to account. These Conservative AMs should set aside their petty squabbles and damn well get on with it, or quit. The choice is clear and for once I'd like to see some urgent action on the matter.

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After the Tour Du Danger, where is our cycle safety review?

2011-12-07T08:30:00.003Z

It's now two and a half weeks since Transport for London hoped to soothe anger within the London cycling community by announcing a review of our most dangerous junctions, the cycle superhighway schemes, and Bow roundabout, where two cyclists have recently been killed in quick succession.

Cyclists, family members and local politicians hold vigil at Bow roundabout

Since then an all too familiar scenario has been played out on the Tower Bridge Road in South London; another female cyclist has lost her life on our roads after a collision with a lorry at a junction which campaigners have previously identified as being dangerous. Eleanor Carey, 22, from the island of Guernsey is the 16th London cyclist to be killed this year; six more than in 2010 and double the amount killed in 2008.

The initial announcement regarding the review of Bow roundabout stated that the issue was a matter of urgent priority for TfL and that they would report back to the Mayor within one week. This has not happened. Yet London Cycling Campaign and indeed TfL's own consultants have published designs for safe cycling infrastructure at this notorious roundabout on which work could start immediately. The LCC's Mike Cavenett explained ""The Mayor has failed to get a grip of this situation, and cyclist lives are still at risk. This isn't an issue that's going to go away seeing as this is the major route between central London and the Olympics." Assembly Member John Biggs (in whose constituency the Bow roundabout lays) described the lack of action by Boris and TfL as a "broken promise".

As Chair of TfL Boris Johnson must get to grips with both the seriousness of the situation and indeed the level of anger felt towards him and his seeming reluctance to act. A motion will be tabled today at the London Assembly by members Jenny Jones and Val Shawcross stating the following:

This Assembly deeply regrets the deaths of cyclists on London's road network and wishes to express its condolences for the loss felt by their relatives and friends.

We are concerned that some cyclist deaths and injuries could have been avoided if the road network designs for the locations where these deaths and injuries occurred had been safer.

We therefore call on the Mayor and Transport for London to:

produce a list of the 10 most dangerous locations for cyclists on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) and all locations in London where a cyclist has died in the last three years;

report on any proposals that were put forward by cycling and road safety groups as part of official consultation processes for redesigning roads at those locations; and provide the reasons why such proposals were rejected.

Riders of every kind on the Tour du Danger. Londoners shouldn't have to fight just to feel safe getting to work or dropping the kids off at school by bike.

Boris and Transport for London can't keep on encouraging as many people to consider cycling with their savvy marketing, whilst simultaneously ignoring their safety. We've already seen 500+ cyclists take to the roads to highlight the most dangerous junctions on our Tour du Danger. Many hundreds of you have joined with the LCC in emailing the Mayor to demand action. How many more need to start to shout before those who control our roads start to take notice?

The days of this year are rapidly passing and the cycling death toll is growing. The time for action, not words, from Transport for London is now.

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Street Talks Christmas Party!

2011-12-05T13:42:00.001Z

There's just enough time for me to remind you that it's the Street Talks Christmas Party at Look Mum No Hands tomorrow night.

For our special Christmas event we're at a different venue (the bicycle cafe and bar Look Mum No Hands instead of our usual haunt at the Yorkshire Grey) and we'll be presenting a different format too. Instead of hearing from one speaker on one subject we'll be hearing several speakers who each have just 7.5 minutes to present their compelling vision for a better and more liveable London. Call it a Street Talks Christmas Wish List, if you like...

Photo from SpinOffStuff via Flickr.

James Upsher, freshly returned from a sojourn to Copenhagen, will talk on "Everything is wrong with how we build cycle paths" using his first hand experience of the new designs for the Elephant and Castle as a launch pad for his ideas. Charlie Holland will be making the link between road danger reduction, people friendly public spaces and drinking water fountains, whilst photographer Mimi Mollica will talk about the importance of smiling all the way through your day. We will also hear about guerilla urbanism, streets for play, the case for 20mph, urban wild flower meadows and a wish for TfL to follow more ethical guidance... Santa will have his work cut out working on this wish list!

The evening is sure to raise lots of interesting debate, and as always there will be the chance to discuss some of the exciting new ideas raised, to mingle with your peers and to have a drink or two (did I mention that the food at LMNH is excellent, and that their cakes are even better?) There's ample bike parking on site too! And as it's Christmas we will also be collecting money for Road Peace on the night.

And we will also be looking back on the year and some of the presenters we've heard from at the previous eight Street Talks. Don't forget you can "Listen Again" to all of the previous presentations on the Movement for Liveable London website.

I look forward to seeing some of you there!

The Street Talks Christmas Party is at Look Mum No Hands, 49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX with the first talk starting at 7PM on the 6th of December.

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Tally ho! It's the Tweed Run!

2011-11-28T08:30:00.003Z

On Saturday I joined 300 or so finely attired folk for a metropolitan bicycle ride with a little bit of style - it's the Rugby Ralph Lauren Tweed Run!

My video of the day which hopefully encapsulates the sense of fun we all had. I unwittingly shot a number of celebrities who were participating, not to mention some well known cycling scenesters.. see if you can spot them!

We set off from the new flagship Rugby store in Covent Garden where tourists stopped agog at the spectacle unfolding in front of them, before winding our way past some of London's most famous landmarks and through some of our most beautiful streets.

The ubiquitous tea stop took place in Chelsea (fanciest portable toilets EVER!) before a loop via south London to the finishing party at a private member's club near Buckingham Palace. Prizes were awarded to Best Dressed Riders, Best Vintage bicycle and the Doff of the Cap Award for most gentlemanly conduct on the ride. One luck raffle ticket holder walked off with a brand new Pashley Club Man to the envy of every one else, before we danced the night away to a swing band.

I might start dressing like this every day!

As always an incredible time was had by all, money was raised for the charity World Bicycle Relief and thanks must go to the organisers, sponsors and volunteer marshalls for holding such a successful day. Stay tuned to the Tweed Run website for details of the 2012 ride! Tally ho!

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From Amsterdam to London; exploring bicycle networks with This Big City blog

2011-11-24T08:30:00.001Z

Over at This Big City blog author Joe Peach has been doing an amazing job of examining the role of bicycle networks in sustainable communities. From the perfect density of the city of Amsterdam to the stalled attempts by our own fair London, his writing explores the good and bad of attempts to build cycling infrastructure and the benefits it can bring.

There's always plenty of food for thought on This Big City but the current run of articles on bicycle networks are worth sharing here; each post is perfect lunch time reading and anything that gets us discussing the role of the humble bicycle in our cities gets a big tick in my books!

So, make yourself a cup of tea, draw up your chair and enjoy the following posts:

One: Urban Bicycle Networks and Sustainable Communities

Two: What makes a Sustainable Community?

Three: Do Urban Bicycle Networks get more people cycling?

Four: Local Economic Implications of Bicycle Networks

Five: Urban Bicycle Networks and an Improved Sense of Place

Six: Environmental Sustainability; 3 reasons why bicycles are great for cities

Seven: Transport opportunities for all - the potential of bicycle networks

Eight: Sustainable Communities and Amsterdam's Bicycle Network

Nine: How Amsterdam's urban form created the ideal cycling city

Ten: Amsterdam - no magic pill but still a world-beater

Eleven: How London tried (and failed) to become a cycling city

Twelve: Mixed success as London rethinks its bicycle networks

Thirteen: London's bicycle network; good for commuters bad for communities

And if all that reading doesn't sate your appetite, This Big City's bicycle network series continues till November 27th so there's more to come. Enjoy!

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Pip pip! Win tickets to Saturday's London Tweed Run!

2011-11-22T22:16:00.000Z

The lovely people over at the Tweed Run have teamed up with those well-dressed folk at Rugby by Ralph Lauren, London to host a very special edition Winter Tweed Run this Saturday.

The Tweed Run 2011 from ibikelondon on Vimeo.

With just 250 places available tickets have been as rare as hen's teeth, but we've got a pair of tickets to give away right here at ibikelondon!

The ride sets off from Covent Garden on Saturday morning and will take in a sartorial tour of the capital's most famous sites, and will of course rest for the ubiquitous tea stop along the way. You're guaranteed a very friendly and welcoming crowd and indeed the atmosphere along the route is truly unique. As I observed on the 2010 ride "London felt like the most friendly city in the world; tourists gawked and took photos as we passed, people cheered and applauded, children watched wide-eyed as the spectacle rolled on; even London’s famous drivers were (largely) hospitable. Everyone taking part enthused what an incredible event it was; indeed even those I saw fixing punctures at the very start of the race did so with smiles on their faces."

Not sure what to wear? The Rugby London website has some superb sartorial style and deportment tips, and there's a chance to win an absolutely gorgeous very limited edition hand built Pashley Tweed Run bike. The videos on how the bike was built are a must see for any bike porn fan!

If you've got the kit and are ready to ride (and proper standards of attire really are expected you know) and you want to be in with a chance to win a ticket for you plus a chum or a loved one to participate all you need do is like this post on the ibikelondon Facebook page. Your name will go in a hat and a winner will be drawn at 18.30 on Wednesday 23rd November. You've got just 20 hours to enter, so you best hurry along!

Good luck, and see you on the ride on Saturday! What ho!

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A victory of sorts; review ordered of Cycle Superhighway junctions and Bow

2011-11-20T11:04:00.000Z

Just a few short weeks ago, the chair of Transport for London Boris Johnson was arguing that he believed danger reduction on the roads under his care was best achieved with education and awareness campaigns and that junctions like the Elephant and Castle were fine for cyclists "so long as they kept their wits about them".

The family of Brian Dorling, local politicians and cyclists gathered at Bow roundabout on Friday for a candle lit vigil in honour of the two cyclists killed there recently and calling for urgent action here.

Following the recent deaths of two cyclists killed at Bow roundabout, and intense pressure from cycling campaigns and activists the Mayor's Director of Environment and Cycling Kulveer Ranger has announced "Work is beginning on how London gears up to move to the next level of cycling infrastructure and continuing to improve safety for cyclists.

"This includes a commitment from TfL to review all major schemes planned on TfL roads as well as to review all the junctions on the existing cycle superhighways.
"That work will include an assessment of Bow Roundabout, which TfL have been asked to report back to the mayor on as a matter of urgency"

As a pragmatist I welcome this review; I believe it is significant that TfL have been forced to move to acknowledging that there could be a role in the actual design of roads to play in cyclist safety, as oppose to just awareness and education. As an organisation I'm not sure that Transport for London listens easily or is used to having to take on board the concerns of communities and road users, so this news is a break through of sorts.

The review of Bow roundabout is due at the end of this week. I'm glad that this is being treated as an urgent priority as clearly this junction is inherently dangerous. However, any review of this junction or others must have teeth. London's cyclists will not easily be fobbed off with a "talking shop". TfL will not be allowed to "review" London's most dangerous junctions and then do nothing.

And whilst I welcome seeing some action at Transport for London, very serious questions remain about their previous conduct:

Why did they ignore the advice of the LCC and their own consultants at Bow which stated clearly what needed to be done to make this junction safe if cyclists were to be invited here?

Why did TfL ignore the report they commissioned about King's Cross which stated clearly that casualties were "inevitable" if something wasn't done to improve safety there?

Why, at Blackfriars and on the cycle superhighways, has the "smooth flow of traffic" been put above the safety and direct progress of cyclists?

TfL and the Mayor must explain what has happened here, and what steps are being taken to ensure this doesn't happen again.

These are serious questions, and indeed with two deaths in quick succession at Bow this is a very serious issue.

Whilst I welcome TfL re-framing the debate to acknowledge that their very road designs have a large role to play in creating conditions which invite cyclists and which keep them safe, I (and Cyclists in the City, and the London Cycling Campaign) will be keeping a very keen eye on their actions to ensure that this is more than just talk and that we see real progress, starting urgently and immediately with action at Bow.

Thank you to everyone who has been taking the time to email the Mayor, come on the Tour du Danger and indeed help spread the word about the message coming from this blog and others. You've all helped to bring about some progress at TfL on this issue, and I know you will all be watching closely too. Together we can keep up the pressure to help to make London a better cycling city for all.

Photographs from the London Cycling Campaign website, provided by photographer Ben Broomfield

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Vigil at Bow roundabout - TONIGHT

2011-11-18T09:30:00.000Z

"..these Superhighways are central to the cycling revolution I'm determined to bring about. No longer will pedal power have to dance and dodge around petrol power - on these routes the bicycle will dominate and that will be clear to all others using them. That should transform the experience of cycling - boosting safety and confidence of everyone using the routes and reinforcing my view that the bike is the best way to travel in this wonderful city of ours."

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London

"During a 2010 inspection ride, prior to the implementation of the Cycle Superhighway that connects with this junction, we warned TfL in the starkest terms of the dangers of left-turning vehicles, high traffic volumes and speeds, and the absence of provision for cyclists.
And when we saw the woefully inadequate design for the Superhighway in February, we wrote to senior Transport for London management to warn them expressly that this roundabout posed a continued and real danger.
We are appalled at this latest, preventable death and are fearful of what may happen when large numbers of cyclists have to tackle this junction on their way to and from the Olympics.
We cannot understand how this junction can form part of what is one of the Mayor’s flagship cycling projects.”

Dr Ashok Sinha, Chief Executive, London Cycling Campaign.

May Brian Dorling, 54, and the as yet unnamed 34 year old female cyclist recently killed on this junction rest in peace.

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Win a copy of The Urban Biking Handbook!

2011-11-16T08:30:00.003Z

As the nights draw in and it gets colder outside, my mind turns to armchair-based cycling adventures, and cold nights spent fettling the bike indoors as opposed to being out in the sunshine putting in the summer miles.

The Urban Biking Handbook by Charles Haines is a comprehensive guide to cycling in the city, with a specific focus on building, rebuilding, tinkering, recycling and repairing your bike. Ever wondered how to swap out your handlebars? This book shows you how. Want to plan a summer cycling tour? It's all in here. Want to build one of those insane looking tall bikes from second hand frames??! Check! If there aren't any ideas in the book that tweak your interest, the beautiful photographs that generously illustrate it will inspire you to want to go for a ride.

Whilst decidedly North American in it's layout and design (is a chapter on setting up a co-operative "bicycle education space" really necessary?), the book is a great introduction to those wanting to learn the nuts and bolts of their bicycles inside and out. Refreshingly, it's focussed less on buying 'stuff' to improve your cycling experience, and more on getting to know your bike really well and adjusting it yourself to meet your needs.

The chapter encouraging a car-lite lifestyle is full of useful tips on how to use your bike more and your car less, and the tips on how to ride safely in the city are invaluable to any cyclist.

With a copy of your own you'll want to spend all winter indoors tinkering with your bike and getting your ride ready for spring!

And here at ibikelondon we have a brand new copy of the Urban Biking Handbook to give away to one lucky reader! All you need to do is hop on over to the ibikelondon Facebook page, click "Like" and tell us about your winter riding plans - whether that's simply keeping up your commute to work or touring through the snow, tell us your stories!

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We did it! The Tour du Danger

2011-11-13T22:42:00.000Z

A huge THANK YOU to so many of you who came and supported the Tour du Danger on Saturday - a bicycle ride around London's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists.

Many hundreds of you came; young riders, old riders, carbon riding roadies, folding bike riders, Dutch bike cruising chicisters; it was a true cross section of everyday and ordinary Londoners on two wheels.

Emotions ran high and our focus was renewed following the terrible news that another cyclist had been killed on the Bow roundabout on Friday night, less than 3 weeks after the tragic death there of Brian Dorling on Cycle Superhighway Two. We rode with their friends and family at the forefront of our thoughts, in the knowledge that no less than 15 cyclists have been killed on London's road so far this year.

This week, Mayor of London Boris Johnson had said that he felt that dangerous junctions, such as the Elephant and Castle were "perfectly manageable if you keep your wits about you." Our key message was to reject that assumption and to reject it firmly. As I explained at the start of the ride;

"The reason we're here today - and the reason why I hope you've all come is - because none of us should have to fight to make our way to work. None of us should feel afraid taking our children to school, whether that's by foot or by bicycle. Designing public spaces which exclude people on the basis of their ability - that is to say those of us who aren't able to cycle like Mark Cavendish around the Elephant and Castle roundabout - is designing in danger, and designing in inequality. Personally, I find that unacceptable. This week, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said he thought the Elephant and Castle roundabout was perfectly negotiable by bike so long as you kept your wits about you. I do not believe that the 89 cyclists who have been killed or seriously injured in the past 2 years on this junction did not keep their wits about them. I believe that these places are inherently dangerous, and it is negligent in the extreme not to act and ensure that these urban spaces are remedied as urgently as possible."

London has made great gains in catering for it's cycling population in recent years. There are many more cyclists on the road in inner London than before; cycle training is widely available, we have the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, improved cycle parking and improved cycle routes. But on Saturday's ride I sensed that people felt the design and management of our streets was not keeping up. That despite all these new and diverse cyclists on our roads, they were still being expected to mix it up with HGVs, buses and fast moving cars on roads like the Bow roundabout, and that this was increasing cyclist's exposure to road danger.

Transport for London's agenda of "smoothing the traffic flow" has meant warnings about dangerous junctions and poor road design have gone unheard or been ignored. At King's Cross where fashion student Min Joo Lee was knocked from her bike and killed by an HGV, TfL were in receipt of a report which described casualties as being "inevitable" at the site. London Cycling Campaign had made protestations about locating the CS2 on Bow roundabout back in February 2011. Local Assembly Member John Biggs had raised the issue of pedestrian safety here and the lack of crossings. In both instances TfL had ignored these warnings and gone on with their poorly designed and implemented scheme instead. Cyclist fatalities in Camden and Clapham (Paula Jurek and Johannah Bailey respectively) were also preceded by warnings that the junctions where the crashes took place were dangerous to vulnerable road users. The proposed re-design of the northern junction of Blackfriars Bridge - the location of a summer of cycling protests - included taking away cycle lanes, increasing the speed limit and increasing the lanes for motorised traffic from two to three - all this on a bridge where cyclists out number motorised traffic at peak times.

We were pleased to have MP for Southwark and Bermondsey Simon Hughes on the ride with us, and Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon too. We received messages of support from AMs Jenny Jones and John Biggs and others, but it's important to point out that the fairness and equality of our public realm should not be a party political issue. As Danny from Cyclists in the City explains: "The dangers that cyclists face on London's roads are not confined to Bow roundabout, to Elephant and Castle or to Kings Cross. They are about the way that Transport for London looks at London streets and about how it designs them in totality. They are about the culture of aggression on London's streets that impact all of us - drivers, cyclists or pedestrians. The problems are systemic. Transport for London truly believes that some advanced stop lines and blue paint is all it takes to make a street safe for people to cycle there. I'm sorry to say it so strongly but these are complete gimmicks. Just look at the insanely dangerous scheme that Transport for London proposes for the new Cycle Super Highway between Victoria and Peckham. It is repeating the designs that have killed people again and again at Kings Cross, at Bow and at Elephant. And it's not good enough."

Saturday's ride was about highlighting the fact that these junctions exist, increasing awareness amongst cyclists and other road users of just how dangerous they are, and putting Transport for London and indeed the Mayor (or indeed any future hopeful Mayors) on notice to ensure that something is done. We'll be keeping the pressure up, and of course you'll be the first to know of any developments as a result of our Tour du Danger right here at ibikelondon.

I believe we are already having an effect; Steve Norris, who is a member of the board at Transport for London and a Conservative said today on LBC radio that he believed Boris was wrong about locations such as the Elephant and Castle and that we must do more to humanise them and to make them safe for cyclists. Our voices ARE being heard, and we will go on ensuring that they continue to be so.

Very special thanks must go to Charlie Holland of Kennington People on Bikes for being our stupendous ride leader, to Charles and to Gerry for being our 'sweepers' and bringing up the rear of the ride in such a civil fashion and keeping the sometimes itinerant motorists at bay, and of course to our wonderful marshals, many of them London Cycling Campaign local group activists, who did an incredible job of keeping us moving through a busy London and keeping us all safe. Thank you all so much, I've only had positive feedback about you all!

Lastly, a big THANK YOU to all of you who sent messages of support and attended. As promised on the day, we will be compiling a "dodgy dossier" of our knowledge about the 10 dangerous junctions and will be submitting these to our Assembly representatives and to Transport for London. So please do share your experiences, photos and videos on Twitter using the hashtag #tourdudanger, and please do add your thoughts about your day to day experiences of these junctions to the comments below - we'd love to hear from you!

For further photos of the day please see my Flickr account here.

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Get ready to ride the Tour Du Danger

2011-11-11T14:30:00.001Z

News about the ride that Danny from Cyclists in the City and I have organised for tomorrow; our tour of TfL's Top 10 Most Dangerous Junctions for Cyclists in London, or 'tour du danger', has been spreading fast.

We've received messages of support from London Assembly Members Jenny Jones, John Biggs and Val Shawcros.

There's been press coverage on BBC London television news (see here), London's Evening Standard newspaper (here) and the Guardian (here). Local London papers have been excellent, as have online outlets Going Going Bike, Londonist and the always excellent Road.CC. Even the business press has been having a look at the issue from an economic point of view. There's more press coverage to come, too.

Word has been spreading across the internet and Twitter and Facebook meaning we're now expecting a reasonably substantial turn out at tomorrow Tour. Oh, and have you seen the weather forecast?

It's expected to be a little foggy in the morning, so don't forget your bike lights!

If you're bringing your bike on public transport, don't forget to check in advance for planned closures - much of the network is closed for maintenance tomorrow and buses will be on diversion due to the Lord Mayor's show in the city (for road closures there, see here)

Don't forget your spare inner tube, puncture repair kit and bike pump. Bring something to drink to keep you hydrated, some warm and / or waterproof clothing, and some chocolate for our tea stop half way round the ride. And make sure you know how to get home safely from Look Mum No Hands where we will be ending our ride (probably around 1PM).

Don't be concerned if you're not sure about coming by yourself. There will be plenty of others like you! Just look at the Twitter hashtag #tourdudanger to see who is coming along, and know that you are going to be in friendly, like-minded company. Why not help spread the word using your own twitter or facebook profile? Maybe some of your friends will want to come along too?

The aim of the ride isn't to be militant, to disrupt other people's journeys or to take over the streets for the hell of it. This isn't Critical Mass. There is a serious message here in that in order for more people to be cycling they need to feel subjectively and statistically safe. Where very serious warnings about the design of a road are issued they must be heard. No road casualty should ever be "inevitable".

We're really excited about the ride tomorrow, and know that a lot of you are too. I hope you'll join us at St Mark's Church at 10.30AM prompt tomorrow to join with many, many other London cyclists who want to see TfL really tackle the source of danger on our roads and ensure that warnings don't go unheard about the most dangerous junctions in London.

I'm ready to ride, are you?

Big thanks to all our lovely volunteer marshals, and London Cycling Campaign, for all the support and assistance they've given us. Please do remember to give them a big smile and ring of your bell when you see them tomorrow.

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An invitation to Boris Johnson; " Elephant and Castle is perfectly maneagable by bike"

2011-11-10T08:30:00.001Z

Yesterday saw a low point in the debate around keeping cyclists safe in London.

After months of sustained campaigning around the issue of junction and street design by blogs like this one, local residents, concerned cyclists and the London Cycling Campaign, yesterday's Mayor's Question Time was shocking to say the least.

When asked why Transport for London have systematically neglected to act on advice given to them about dangerous junctions, and whether cyclists are truly safe on TfL managed roads, our "cycling Mayor" had this to say for himself:

"Elephant & Castle ..is fine. If you keep your wits about you, Elephant & Castle is perfectly negotiable. "

To be clear, there have been 89 cycling casualties on the Elephant roundabout in the last two years. It is a major barier to walking and cycling and there have been numerous warnings about how dangerous the junction it is. It is the the "most dangerous" on our list of the 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists in London. Transport for London recently rejected a proposal to turn the roundabout in to a pedestrian peninsula because it would slow down traffic too much.

"It realy worries me when I read about cycling accidents. And it grieves me sometimes to see the way that TfL are blamed.", said Johnson.

Did you get that? Boris Johnson grieves when Transport for London are in the firing line; this is the authority who ignored a 2008 report at King's Cross which claimed the junction made traffic "very agressive" at this location and that "casualties were inevitable". Min Joo Lee, a 24 year old cyclist died here last month. TfL have still done nothing to make this terrifying junction safer.

And there's more...

Over at Bow roundabout where Brian Dorling was killed by a tipper truck last month, London Assembly member John Biggs has been pushing for years to slow the junction down and make it safer by introducing pedestrian crossings (of which there are none at the moment, incidentally) He was rebuked by TfL because the solution would "slow down traffic too much". Concerns raised by the London Cycling Campaign about the inherent danger of Bow roundabout when CS2 was being planned have been ignored.

The London Cycling Campaign explains of other examples; "Cyclist fatalities in Camden and Clapham (Paula Jurek and Johannah Bailey respectively) were also preceded by warnings that the junctions where the crashes took place were dangerous to vulnerable road users"

Their CEO, Dr Asho Sinha elaborates: "“Does the Mayor really not believe in redesigning bad junctions?

“If that’s the case, why commission recent junction improvements at Piccadilly, New Cross Gate [Kender Street], Mansion House, Elephant & Castle [southern roundabout] and Whitechapel [Cambridge Heath]?
None of these works were done to speed traffic flow; quite the opposite, returning one-way streets to two-way and taking out roundabouts are measures we welcome to reduce speeds and increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians - part of the long journey towards creating a more liveable London.
This asks the serious question as to why the Mayor thinks it is a good idea to improve junctions at some places, but not at London’s 10 most dangerous locations?
Is the answer that traffic speed is more important to the Mayor than the safety of vulnerable road users?”

Lambeth Bridge - one of TfL's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists, and not somewhere you would usually see Mums and kids on bikes (unless they were protesting about crappy roads, that is)

I'm angry, and I know a lot of you are too. Time and again readers have been contacting me to ask how and why Boris just doesn't "get it", and why he doesn't believe that designing safe and sensible street junctions can only be a good thing.

Sadly, I just don't understand his logic either.

So I lay down an open invitation to Mayor Johnson; Boris, join us for our ride of your transport authority's 10 Most Dangerous Junctions for Cyclists this Saturday and come and see for yourself just why these urban spaces don't work and just why they need to be urgently reviewed.
There may be many 100s of us on the ride, Mayor Johnson, and not all of them will be happy with you, but I think it would be so valuable for you to hear - straight from the horse's mouth - exactly why they are expecting you, as our cycling Mayor, to do better, and to share their everyday and first hand experiences of these awful urban spaces with you themselves. I hope you can make it.

The "Tour du Danger" of TfL's 10 Most Dangerous Junctions for Bicycles takes place on Saturday (Nov 12th) at 10.30AM from St Mark's Church, The Oval.

Be there, spread the word and bring your friends!

Click here for a copy of the route.

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We're all set! The tour of TfL's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists; 12th November

2011-11-04T08:30:00.002Z

Since Danny from Cyclists in the City blog and I first announced our intention to ride to Transport for London's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists we've been overwhelmed by the response. Not only have lots of you said that you will be there on the day but people have come forward to volunteer as marshals, to help plan the route, to take photos on the day and to carry a puncture repair kit (and know how to use it), just in case. It's all been a little overwhelming!

No room for safe space for bicycles on the Elephant and Castle...

The idea stemmed from a presentation that Transport for London made to the GLA about the changes currently being implemented on the northern junction of Blackfriars Bridge. Their designs - they argued - were not atypical of many other London junctions which they believed "worked well for cyclists". 2,500 cyclists who use these junctions every day clearly believed otherwise when they took to the bridge in protest.

TfL recently revealed which are London's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists; measured by volume of cyclists killed or seriously injured. The initial idea of our "top 10" ride was to see these places for ourselves, to record them, look at conditions on the ground and to experience what it feels like to be a vulnerable road user in these locations which supposedly "work well for cyclists".

Would you ride around Hyde Park corner on a bakfiets full of kids?

But people who have been living locally to some of these junctions and campaigning to have them changed for many years got in touch with us; over and over again they'd been told that making these dangerous, unpleasant corners of London more people friendly was just not possible because it would disrupt the "smooth flow of traffic". Some money has been spent on little cycling signs, or a splash of paint here or there, but nothing has been done to reduce the exposure to the source of danger. It's become clear that Transport for London has been putting vehicle journey times over and above the safety of pedestrians and cyclists all across London. It's not just Blackfriars, it's not just the Elephant and Castle, it's our entire city.

Danny, from Cyclists in the City, said: "It's abhorrent that in the 21st century we have junctions which are so poorly designed and aimed solely at squeezing as many vehicles through as possible; that casualties at these sites are almost seen as inevitable. Transport for London can't keep on encouraging people to walk and to cycle without addressing the serious issue of safety around these junctions first - it's completely irresponsible. These junctions are a hangover of 1960's style urban design; today they don't work for people who need to drive in central London, they don't work for people who use public transport and they are downright lethal for people on foot or on bike"

Parliament Square;, nice Abbey, nice Palaces of Democracy, nice bit of grass in the middle of six lanes of traffic with no pedestrian crossing to get to it..

This ride isn't a protest, though it's clear that there is a lot of anger amongst people on bikes with Transport for London and their inability to listen to people's safety concerns. It's not a race either; whether you're a fast cyclist or slow, young or old, you're all more than welcome. You'll meet other London cyclists, hear how people have been working together to change our streets for the better, and you'll even get to see some famous London landmarks along the way.

Waterloo. There's a reason why this junction is named after a famous battle you know...

We'll take photos of each junction and record the experience of riding these locations; we'll rate each junction for safety, comfort, air quality and cycle facilities and pass our findings directly to Transport for London - that way the next time the terrible and the inevitable happens at one of these junctions TfL can't say they weren't warned.

We'll be providing ride marshals who will be easily identifiable on the day who will lead the ride and help us through junctions safely; all you have to do is show up ready to pedal. We're now expecting over 100 people to come on a ride which was originally planned as a small tour by a group of friends. If you want to see safer streets for cycling too, we'd love to welcome you too.

Vauxhall Cross. There are no words to describe it. Just shocking.

Ride details:

Meet at St Mark's Church, The Oval, Kennington, SE11 4PW at 10.30AM for a prompt departure.

Click here for a map of the route.

You'll see we will double back and forth across the city and the river Thames in order to visit all of the dangerous junctions. The ride takes place at the same time as the Lord Mayor's Show meaning much of the City will be closed; as such it is not possible to cross Blackfriars Bridge to visit Bank junction (one of the 10 on the list), but we will visit King's Cross where young cyclist Min Joo Lee was recently killed.

We'll be stopping for a little tea break on Hyde Park Corner roundabout around 12.15 (bring some refreshments to keep yourself going!) and will end at Look Mum No Hands! bicycle cafe on Old Street (map)for coffee an hour or two after that. We're praying for good weather, but pack your lights and your waterproofs just in case.

If you have further questions don't hesitate to get in touch via cyclistsinthecity@gmail.com

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Street Talks 7; how do we sustain suburbia?

2011-10-28T08:30:00.001+01:00

I had an idyllic suburban upbringing on the edge of the wide open countryside of sunny South Gloucestershire. Hot summer days were spent riding for miles on the edge of the Cotswolds, before coming home to a nice house, with a nice garden, a shed, a garage and quiet, suburban safety. The most violent thing I experienced growing up in our commuter belt small town was a heron stealing my gold fish from the garden pond.

There were lots of these where I grew up.

But I was a rebellious kind of kid. I liked taking the bus to Bristol (an hour away) without telling my parents, thinking the regional capital - and myself - to be terribly cosmopolitan. I'd drink coffees by the harbour and watch the people go by and listen to Suburbia by the Pet Shop Boys on my Sony Walkman tape cassette player as the city life buzzed around me, and begin to resent having to go home to the crushing quiet of my idyllic child home.

I wanted to live in a city then, and I've been lucky enough to live in large towns and cities ever since. But I'm acutely aware that there are many people who'd chose the peace and quiet of suburbia over the grime and noise of the city any day. Plenty of people like their three bedroom homes and garages big enough for three cars...

Can we ever make suburbia truly sustainable for all?

Suburbia is in itself a relatively new concept; it's only since the means of being able to travel longer distances quickly that it has even become a possibility. The first suburbs grew up around commuter rail routes, and later along fast roads which could speed you to centres of employment. After the war, as personal wealth grew and cars got faster and cheaper, our suburbs were built quickly and cheaply. But does the model work? With such a reliance on the car, and not nearly as many transport options as city centres and such larger distances between destinations (thus discouraging cycling and walking) can we ever create a sustainable suburbia?

November's Street Talks is next Tuesday the 2nd, upstairs at the Yorkshire Grey pub with Richard Hebditch and Richard Bourn from the Campaign for Better Transport. With all candidates in next year's Mayoral race looking to secure valuable outer London votes, they'll be talking on how outer London is different, what can be done to encourage change in travel patterns and what those 2012 vote chasers will need to do to set out a convincing vision for sustainable travel in suburban London.

The bar is open for food and drinks from around 6, for beer, dinner and networking with the talk taking place at 7PM.

Missed a previous Street Talk? You can listen again to all previous presentations, including last month's by Oliver Schulze from Gehl Architects here.

You can follow the Movement for Liveable London on Twitter, and live tweet during the talk using the hashtag #streettalks

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A ghost bike for Deep Lee (Min Joo Lee) at King's Cross

2011-10-26T22:13:00.000+01:00

Deep Lee (Min Joo Lee), a 24 year old female fashion student at Central St Martin's College, was knocked from her bicycle in a collision with a heavy goods vehicle at the junction with Euston Road, York Way and Pentonville Road on the 3rd of October 2011. She was the fourth cyclist to die on these roads in five years, and the 13th cyclist to die in London so far this year.

I could write and tell you how we struggled to hear the gentle words of Deep's friends over the constant roar of traffic. I could write and tell you how a bus, jumping the red light, got stuck in the junction forcing hundreds of pedestrians to pass around it and walk in to the road itself as traffic thundered past where we stood to remember.

I could write and tell you about the continual stream of cement mixers, one after another, which raced to York Way and how one, so incensed by the traffic blew his horn and even climbed from his cab in to the road to shout about what a rush he was in.

I could write and tell you how, in the short time we stood at this terrible junction, a Chelsea pensioner - finely regaled and bent double with age - had to be escorted across the road as he was not able to cross in the all too short 'Green Man' phase safely.

But I won't. Seeing the ghost bike being installed, the distress of Deep's friends and loved ones, and the concern and frustration of local residents, other cyclists and passers-by really brought home to me what happens when "another statistic" is added to the all too long list of fatalities on London's roads.

May you rest in peace, Deep Lee. May all those passing through here go safely, and pause to think of you a while as they do so.

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Join me for a ride; a bicycle tour of London's top 10 most dangerous junctions

2011-10-24T08:30:00.002+01:00

When 2,500 London cyclists took to Blackfriars Bridge two weeks ago it must have come as quite a shock to Transport for London. From the start they haven't been able to articulate that they truly understood why so many people were upset with their plans. Indeed, in a recent presentation to the London Assembly representatives from TfL said they thought that Blackfriars was not atypical of other major London junctions "which work well for cyclists". Clearly, these same representatives haven't tried to cycle round the Elephant and Castle with a cargo bike full of kids recently, or tried to cross Parliament Square without having to dress up like Mark Cavendish and match his cadence; to be clear, none of these junctions "work well for cyclists."

Why did 2500 London cyclists take to the streets on Blackfriars Bridge?

In a recent Mayoral question and answer session, TfL revealed their 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists, where the most collisions and cyclist's fatalities have taken place. Right there at the top of the list is the Elephant and Castle - possibly London's most notorious gyratory and certainly one of it's most deeply unpleasant. An "ambitious" scheme to replace the double roundabout with a pedestrian peninsula, creating a new large public square, safer and more direct crossing points for people on foot, escalator access to the Underground station and space for play and more trees was rejected by Transport for London because it would "slow down traffic too much".

And we are seeing the same excuse over and over again, all across London where improvements are desperately needed. Why? Because TfL interpret their obligations under the Transport Management Act in a very strange way indeed. In their draft Operating Strategy TfL make it clear how they measure "keeping traffic moving";

The key measure for smoothing traffic flow set out in the MTS is journey time reliability .(p14)

And how is this measured?

Journey time reliability scope includes all classes of light good vehicles, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV’s) and cars. (p14 – footnote 2)

To be clear, this means pedestrians aren't counted. Cyclists aren't counted. Even people on buses don't count. If the primary measure for managing our streets is the pursuit of moving as many cars, vans and trucks through the space as possible it is no surprise that our streets are designed with this in mind. Everything else is an after thought; it doesn't matter if your Cycle Superhighway disappears beneath parked cars, or if your safe route to school evaporates in a melee of speeding traffic at the most dangerous junction; you just don't count.

And yet London desperately needs it's cyclists. Figures which are now a few years old show there are half a million journeys by bike every day in our city. If we all gave up tomorrow and went each by car instead we'd create a traffic jam 2240km long. The potential environmental, social and economic benefits of creating conditions for many more people to feel comfortable cycling can not be underestimated. Dare I say it, it might even make driving in the city better for those who actually really need to.

The latest plans for the 'new' Elephant and Castle; does this look like a 21st century city space to you?

But Transport for London are doing all they can to create conditions which discourage going by foot and going by car. Now that the Elephant and Castle pedestrian peninsula has seemingly been canned, the latest proposal is a multi-lane roundabout where people on bikes will have to cross eight lanes of fast moving traffic to get from one side to the other. Hardly the sign of a 21st Century Cycling city. And the conditions currently being created at Blackfriars Bridge are, by now, well known - despite cyclists making up the majority of traffic on the bridge at peak times.

Over in King's Cross, the killer junction where student Min Joo Lee was recently crushed to death by an HGV, TfL plan to "improve" the road with some tactile paving and a couple of dashes of paint and Advanced Stop Line. Nothing that's going to slow down the traffic or increase safety for the most vulnerable road users; nothing that will stop another death (Ms Lee was the 4th female cyclist in 5 years to be killed by trucks on this stretch of road). When a vulnerable road user's death is described as "inevitable" in a report to TfL, there is something very seriously wrong with our roads indeed. (So deeply was this report buried at TfL that it took Freedom of Information requests by a concerned local citizen for it even to resurface.)

As citizens and as cyclists we have every right to feel very concerned. These kind of issues can only be resolved if people who give a damn keep talking to each other and keep plugging away at the injustice of the entire situation.

So, on Saturday 12th November, Cyclists in the City blog and I invite you to join us for a gentle ride around London's 10 most dangerous junctions for cyclists.

Along the way we'll meet local people campaigning to help improve their local area, or have the junctions removed. We'll hear about some of the sad deaths that have passed, and hopefully we will feel resolved to help improve the situation. If you ride through these spaces we'll be glad to hear your experiences.

Streets for people?

It's not a protest, though I'm sure there will be anger and many other emotions on the day. You'll meet other like minded cyclists and residents and see first hand what needs to be done.

The ride will be gently paced and no one will look down on you if you prefer to get off and push some of the more hairy sections of the route. It's not an especially long ride, and we'll be stopping for coffee along the way. You participate entirely at your own risk, though of course the need for me to write that says in itself how entirely messed up our streets have become.

As we go around each junction we'll mark them out of 10 for subjective safety, air quality, noise level, quality of cycling facilities etc. I'll compile these in to a report and send them to our friends in the Palestra building.

Maybe, if we keep on plugging away at the issue, they'll start to listen.

Meet at 10.30AM on the steps of St Mark's Church, The Oval, Kennington, SE11 4PW, on Saturday 12th November. (Home of a fantastic organic food market and coffee stall!)

The route will take in the following Top 10 Most dangerous junctions:

1. St. George's Road/London Road/ Elephant & Castle Junction Southwark

2. Clapham Road/ Kennington Park Road/ Camberwell Road Junction
3. Strand/Northumberland Avenue/Whitehall Junction
4. Waterloo Road/ Stamford St/ York Road Junction
5. Mansion House St/Princes St/ Threadneedle St
6. Elephant & Castle/Newington Butts Roundabout
7. Hyde Park Corner Westminster
8. Millbank/Lambeth Bridge Junction
9. Clerkenwell Road/Farringdon Road Junction (via Kings Cross)
10. Albert Embankment/Kennington Lane/ Wandsworth Road Junction

I'm going to invite the bright and good of the top brass at TfL, as well as our own cycling Mayor, Boris Johnson, to join us for the ride and see for themselves how much further their own visions for a "world class cycling city" must go. Do you think they'll join us? Will you?

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Riding a bike. GQ magazine style.

2011-10-20T08:30:00.000+01:00

I've just sat down with the November issue of GQ magazine, which includes a quarterly style supplement full of gorgeous things for the man about town to lust after. So you can imagine how pleased I was to see the following photos in amongst the pea coats and must-have Autumn shoes.

The pictures form part of a spread of clothes available at House of Fraser (must remember to ask if they've got any bike parking at their Oxford Street store), and the photo shoot took place in Berlin. I think our stylishly dressed friend in the photographs is riding an old Mifa bike, who are a German manufacturer who nowadays seem to specialise in lumpy frames from the Far East. I especially like the wing nut hub release on the front wheel - you don't see many of them in London, for obvious reasons.

It's easy to dismiss pictures like this as just another on trend fashion shoot, but my heart warms just a little when I see images of everyday and ordinary cyclists in the mainstream press. Anything that gets the message out that you don't have to dress like Lance Armstrong to ride a bike is a good thing in my books. (Of course you can if you want to, it's just there's a lot of people out there who don't yet realise you don't have to, so prevalent still is the sporting imagery within the marketing of bicycles)

Here at i b i k e l o n d o n we've written plenty about cycling's image and PR problem before, on chicken shops, curry and cycling and on the Top Shop girls who ride again. Whilst you lot ponder over those old posts, I'm off to book me some cheap air fares to Germany... I hear the cycling facilities there aren't half bad, either.

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Hackney's bicycle only road

2011-10-18T08:30:00.001+01:00

Just a short pedal up the road from where I live is Goldsmith's Row, in the borough of Hackney. This used to be home to a well-used but controversial segregated contraflow cycle track - it was wide and comfortable to ride, but cut directly across the pedestrian entrance to the popular Hackney City Farm. The path had to go to avoid a direct collision between cyclists and children coming out of the farm. But Hackney did something very interesting... rather than wrip out the track and lose a popular traffic-free cycling route, they just closed the road to traffic and created the borough's first bicycle-only road. Cyclists and pedestrians benefit from more space and local residents no longer have to endure the road being used as a cut through.

If an old cycle facility has passed its sell by date, or if the design isn't quite working the way it should that's no excuse to wrip it out and hope for the best. By constantly upgrading and improving old facilities we can build on existing cycling levels and invite more and more people to cycle.

And as you can see from these photos, Goldsmith's Row is now a relaxing haven for Hackney's two-wheeled residents!

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Cyclists turn out in their 1000s to say "Give us streets for people!"

2011-10-12T23:12:00.000+01:00

The rallying call had gone out via blogs, via Twitter, via the London Cycling Campaign. The word had spread like wildfire; via posters, newspapers, internet forums and good old word of mouth. And London's cycling community responded to the call; over 2500 of you gathered to protest on the bridge and demand safe routes for cycling.

(1) The politicians line up for the ride (2) What do we want? (3) The starting line up stretched half way back to Waterloo

We were led by representatives from all four main political parties; 2012 Mayoral hopefuls Brian Paddick (Lib Dems) and Jenny Jones (Green Party) were there, as was Andrew Boff (Conservatives), Val Shawcross (Labour) and Caroline Pidgeon (Lib Dems). All on bikes, and all parties agreeing that London's everyday and ordinary cyclists shouldn't have to fight to make their way home safely from work every night just because of their choice of transport. They'd already united to pass a motion at the London Assembly demanding that Transport for London reconsider their plans; but democracy had gone unheard.

Brian Paddick and Caroline Pidgeon

There were representatives from the CTC, Living Streets, Sustrans and the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain all coming together in one coherent voice to show that Transport for London's plans for Blackfriars Bridge truly are unnaceptable.

And of course there were the wonderful cyclists of London - not political campaigners or professional cycle advocates - just ordinary people who get about on foot and by bike who know that the bicycle could be key to unlocking London's potential, if only the conditions were right. A woman scurrying home in a sharp suit and high heels shouted "I've ridden a bike since I was 5. I'd be with you tonight if I wasn't so terrified of this bloody bridge!"

There were dogs in baskets and kids in bakfiets. Old people, young people, and people from all across the city. My phone was in meltdown as messages were coming in from Scotland, from the Netherlands from Argentina(!!) that cyclists around the world were watching and sending their support. Having been blogging furiously since the subject since it all began back in February it was an overwhelming evening.

Thank you, London pedestrians and London cyclists, for showing that you care and for coming on the flashride. It's up to Mayor Boris now to wrestle some control back from the tyranny of TfL and their lunatic road designs. Come on Boris, the message was clear; give us streets for people now!

Personal thanks to LCC for their excellent campaign work on this issue, to Cyclists in the City for the constant inspiration. Thanks to the volunteer marshalls and the Police who kept the slightly miffed traffic at bay. And thank you, of course, for your support and for coming!

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Be the change; why your help is needed on Blackrfriars Bridge

2011-10-11T08:30:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow cyclists and pedestrians from all over London will take to Blackfriars Bridge to ensure their voices are heard and to push for a safer bridge for everyone.

No one takes to the streets to protest lightly, but we've tried petitioning, lobbying, having motions passed at the London Assembly, picketing and pestering. But when all other democratic options have been exhausted sometimes you have to break an egg to make an omelette. There will be politicians and Assembly Members from all of the political parties, and the Police will be supervising what will be a well-marshalled protest ride (no kettling here, thanks!)

The diggers and bulldozers are standing by, and fresh new paint is already appearing on the bridge. Before long, if Transport for London have their way the north junction of Blackfriars Bridge will have a faster speed limit (up from 20mph to 30mph), narrow sub-standard cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings removed and move space allocated to cars. And all this on a bridge where bicycles make up the majority of traffic at peak times! London Cycling Campaign have done an excellent job of showing what this junction should look like instead of what TfL has planned, with space and priority for pedestrians, safe and comfortable wide space for cyclists and space for public transport and cars. As Mike Cavenett of the LCC explains over on the Guardian bike blog; "At the London Cycling Campaign, we're frustrated because the £550m Blackfriars development has shamefully neglected the safety of cyclists, even though we make up one-third of peak-time road users. We think the tens of thousands of pedestrians who will soon use the station daily have got a raw deal too, as the prioritisation of motorists has subsumed the needs of everyone else...

..The kerbed bike lanes we've used are wide enough for overtaking, meaning everyone gets to work on time, and confident cyclists can ride with motor traffic if they choose. Significantly, cyclists and motor vehicles always turn in separate streams, eliminating danger.

A pleasing by-product of our double-T design is that it creates a wonderfully open and accessible pedestrian space outside the Unilever building (750m2 we calculate), which could accommodate cafés, parkland, sculptures, or other people-friendly spaces that make urban life so interesting.

It's saddening to look at the inaccessible triangle of despair that TfL has so optimistically landscaped in its "visionary" pictures. Who'd want to have a picnic there?"

If this sounds like the sort of London you want to cycle through, walk about and live in, rather than the soot-filled roaring traffic chasm that Blackfriars Bridge is about to become it's time for you to be the difference..

5 ways to be the change; help with a final push in the Battle for Blackriars:

1. Talk to your friends, family and colleagues!

You may have been following the Blackfriars saga intently since it all kicked off back in February, but chances are your friends and colleagues might not even know what is going on. Explain to them how unfair and dangerous TfL's plans are. Explain that despite lobbying and campaigning the wishes of walkers and cyclists are being ignored. Then ask them to come with you after work on Wednesday. (the demo starts by a pub - what more convincing could they need?!)

2. Tag the bikes in your office!
Why not download these handy little handle bar flyers here and stick them on the bikes in your office, or to the bikes on the rack outside in your lunch break? It only takes 5 minutes!

3. Share! Share! Share!
See that excellent article over at the Guardian Bike Blog plugging the flashride and showing London Cycling Campaign's designs for the junction? Tweet about it to your followers, stick it on your Facebook. E-mail it to everyone you know saying that you hope one day your cycle home will be as nice as this!

4. Tweet tweet!
Some people will be nervous about coming to the flash ride by themselves, perhaps wary that they may not know anyone there, or might even be alone. Use Twitter to reassure them! Tweet "I'll be at Blackfriars Bridge tomorrow night! http://bit.ly/n9BRt5 " Eventually so many of us will be doing this that those who are nervous are bound to know someone else. What's more it will help to encourage others to come along too!

5. Actually come to the flashride!

I know it sounds obvious, but some of you will probably be thinking that the fact that this is going to be a big ride is somehow a 'given'. Trust me, it's not - getting people to dedicate some of their free time on a windy bridge on a cold October night is not easy. Be the change, make sure you are there!

See you on the bridge!

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Blackfriars Bridge cycling charge! from ibikelondon on Vimeo.

Cycling for everyone; a history lesson from the Netherlands

2011-10-09T16:57:00.000+01:00

Transport yourself, if you will, to the Netherlands in the 1970s...

Following the post-war prosperity of the 50s and 60s, the country found itself suddenly racked by multiple crises..

Oil crisis..
Dollar crisis...
Environmental crisis....

Cycling For Everyone from Dutch Cycling Embassy on Vimeo.

Indeed as this must-watch video from the Dutch Cycling Embassy explains, despite the price of fuel going up and up, more cyclists and pedestrians were being hurt on the roads than ever before. The flow of motor traffic was prioritised whilst concerned mothers brought their children in from the streets. Congestion grew, air pollution worsened. Cycling became something uncomfortable, defensive, dangerous. Does all this sound familiar, fellow Londoners?

The tipping point came in the Netherlands with the "Stop the Child Murder" campaign. (Pictured above) Families took to the streets to tell their Government that enough was enough and that streets which presented inequality were no kind of streets at all. (See my previous post, "Boris! Give us streets for people!")

The Netherlands Government listened and the automobile was tamed. Not eradicated, or pushed out as some anti-cycling nods would have you believe, but restrained, balanced and put within context. Now, the Netherlands has the highest cycling rates in the world, the happiest children, cleaner air, a fitter population and best of all the bicycle has become a genuine transport option for most of the population. Who wouldn't want that in their own country?

Meanwhile, here in the UK we have somehow grown accustomed to death on our streets. Every time another cyclist is crushed beneath the wheels of an HGV, or an elderly lady crossing the road is killed by a speeding van we seem to shrug it off as being inevitable collateral damage that is somehow an acceptable trade off in return for squeezing as many vehicles through our streets as possible.

I'm not prepared to accept that macabre 'inevitability' any more. I truly do believe that there is another way (you only have to watch the video to see that it works).

We have to start somewhere, and London needs an event to act as a catalyst and to act as a tipping point in it's quest for more equitable streets.

I don't even cycle on Blackfriars Bridge on a regular basis, but I know the problem here is typical of much of London. Simply put, the ongoing battle for Blackfriars Bridge comes down to this; space for motorised traffic is being put above the needs of people on foot and people on bikes to the extent that conditions will actually become more dangerous for the most vulnerable simply to expedite the journey of the minority.

If streets are designed for motorised traffic, with all other transport modes half-heartedly clipped on as an after thought then the fact that as pedestrians and cyclists we all too often have stressful rides home, near-misses, aggression, incidents and death is inevitable. Which is why so many people are terrified of riding a bike; not of the actual act of riding itself, but of riding in the current conditions our roads present. We need to highlight why what is now inevitable is NOT acceptable.

That's why I'll be at Blackfriars Bridge this Wednesday October 12th to support the London Cycling Campaign's flashride. Meet at Dogget's pub at 5.45PM on the south side of the bridge and let's tell TfL to give us streets for people once and for all! Over 500 people have already pledged to attend, as have a number of politicians and press - but we must have more people to really ensure that our voices are heard. Do what you can to spread the word and be there; even if you don't use Blackfriars Bridge regularly this really is about how London's roads are designed and making our city safer for cyclists.

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Coffee, cake and cruising; I just can't get enough!

2011-10-06T08:30:00.004+01:00

This Saturday I'll be taking a grand tour of west London to join the good people behind "Bike Minded" on their coffee and cake cycling cruise. Bike Minded is the brain-child of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Last week's cake and coffee cruise, photo via Lady Velo at Velo City Girl

They're the people we've written about before here and who put on the 'Like Riding a Bike' photo exhibition - here at ibikelondon we love their work and only wish every local authority was as switched on about cycling! Saturday's ride is a gentle pootle to no less than four cake shops in the borough (when you ride a bike, you're immune to calories, right?)and a joint venture organised in partnership with the ever fabulous Jools over at Velo City Girl. This weekend's ride is already sold out, but follow the website for forthcoming news about more cake and coffee cruises and a forthcoming theatrical Hallowe'en ghost tour of the borough, as well as tips on maintaining your bike and getting around town as well as fantastic interviews with local 'bike heros'.

And for you all to enjoy, Bike Minded have also brought out this cracking little video, which is so tailored to the Kensington and Chelsea market to which it hopes to appeal it's a stroke of marketing genius! I just can't get enough....

You just can't get enough from Dominic Latham-Koenig on Vimeo.

Don't forget, dear readers, the 3rd Blackfriars flashride takes place next Wednesday the 12th October. It would be great to see you all there!

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Why we're all going back to Blackfriars bridge...

2011-10-04T09:32:00.000+01:00

Unless you've been living under a rock these past few months, the issue of Blackfriars Bridge can't have escaped your attention. Thousands have signed petitions, added their photos to a picture wall, and demonstrated on the bridge itself to tell Transport for London that their designs and plans for the bridge are dangerous, outdated and just down right wrong.

The diggers are in place on the bridge, and TfL are pressing on with their scheme despite outcry from the public; the speed limit will increase from 20mph to 30mph, traffic lanes will grow from two to three, pedestrian crossings will be ripped out. By creating conditions which are inviting for driving, exposure to road danger will increase for people on foot and people on bikes; cyclists will be forced on to sub-standard cycle lanes (indeed which TfL initially intended to do away with all together) which their own safety audit has recommended be reviewed. Mayor of London Boris Johnson (who is Chair of TfL) has said that "more work needs to be done on cycling over Blackfriars Bridge". All of the major parties (including the Conservatives) have backed an Assembly motion calling for TfL to retain the existing 20mph speed limit and "revisit the plans for the bridge". Exhausting all democratic options, the cyclists and pedestrians of London couldn't make it clearer that they don't want these dangerous plans to go ahead...

But unelected and unaccountable Transport for London are going ahead anyway.

Currently, cyclists are the majority of traffic on the bridge at busiest times. When the new Blackfriars Station opens the streets will be full of many thousands of pedestrians every hour. The bridge should become primarily a place for people; where people on foot and people on bikes feel comfortable going about their journeys. But instead it will be a space designed solely to squeeze through as many cars as quickly as possible.

TfL know that these plans are ill-thought out and potentially dangerous; they were so sheepish about them that they only initially gave the public 5 days over a weekend to respond to a consultation on turning right on the bridge, way back in February...

First, cyclists forced Transport for London to open the entire scheme to a proper public consultation and many hundreds of you wrote in.

Then, cyclists were successful in stopping TfL's plans to rip out the cycle lanes at the north end of the bridge completely. But the remaining plans were still terrible; increased road danger, increased traffic speeds and capacity, and increased air pollution hardly make a "cycling city". 100s took to the bridge in protest in May, buying more time.

People continued to write, to lobby, to petition and campaign. We contacted our MPs and our Assembly Members. We got a unanimous motion carried at the London Assembly. There were radio interviews, and television coverage. Ordinary Londoners - not even cyclists - started to see that Blackfriars should be a people-led place.

On the second flashride - organised in just a few short days - 1000s of people took to the bridge as the building crews and diggers moved in.

Things go quiet in London over the summer; politicians take their breaks, building work slows down. The powers that be at TfL have been sitting in their ivory towers at Palestra and hoping that the "Blackfriars" issue will blow over and go quietly away.

But it won't, and we need your help to ensure it stays top of the agenda.

We've already achieved so much; forcing TfL to open up to having our voices heard, and making sure the cycle lanes stayed. But we can do so much more; ensuring that the 20mph speed limit is kept on what will be a primarily walking and cycling space, ensuring that space for motorised traffic is not enlarged, to ensure decent quality cycling infrastructure can be installed. Making sure no more people die on the bridge because of the block-headed fantasy of a second rate urban planner. First the speed limit must be maintained, secondly the designers must go back to the drawing board to create a place worthy of a true cycling city; where you don't have to be a fit young man on a road bike to safely ride here.

What happens at Blackfriars is important to London, and to all Londoners. It is the pursuit here of "smoothing the traffic flow" by TfL which is bringing about these terrible changes. It is the pursuit of the same agenda elsewhere in London which proposes running the new cycle superhighway down the middle of two lanes of fast moving traffic on Vauxhall Bridge, to rip out cycle lanes at London Bridge, it is why the good people of Elephant and Castle are being denied escalators and a new pedestrian plaza outside their train station, why a cyclist-killing junction in Camden hasn't been re-designed, it's why Oxford Street, and Parliament Square, aren't the pedestrian paradises they should be, it's why cycle "superhighways" disappear beneath parked cars, and why children don't dare cross the road at Henly Corner for fear of being mown down by lanes and lanes of traffic.

It's why, on Wednesday 12th October at 5.45PM I'm going back to Blackfriars Bridge again for Flashride 3, and it's why I'd like you to join me. Tell your friends, bring your family, enlist your colleagues. When all other democratic options have been exhausted it is going to take the biggest walking and cycling demonstration London has ever seen to tell Transport for London once and for all that they have got their plans wrong on Blackfriars Bridge.

It comes down to this; do we want to build a city in which we and our children can move safely about in the most sustainable ways, or do we want to build more streets fraught with pollution, road danger and traffic?

Many hundreds have already pledged to attend the flashride on the London Cycling Campaign's website; I'll be there too, will you?

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Street Talks 7; Gehl Architects on putting people first in public places

2011-09-29T08:30:00.003+01:00

Street Talks, the monthly liveable city "drink tank" at the Clerkenwell pub the Yorkshire Grey continue apace and just keep getting better. Previous talks have covered air quality, cycling infrastructure and traffic justice in London amongst other subjects, all focussing on how a fairer, cleaner, healthier and more pleasant future for London can be achieved by changing the way we move around our city. (Indeed, if you've missed any of the previous talks the slides and the audio are available to listen again here)

Next Tuesday, the 4th October, will perhaps be the most exciting Street Talk yet. Oliver Schulze, studio director from Gehl Architects in Copenhagen, will be talking on how to re-introduce public life in to city spaces which have come to be dominated by the motor car. Movement for Liveable London (the people behind Street Talks) describe Tuesday night's talk; "Join us for a journey from Copenhagen to the bike lanes of LA – via taco trucks, snowball fights in Times Square, surface parking lots, Starbucks and Disneyland – as we consider how to put the public back into the public realm. What needs to be done to ensure walking down the street or pausing to chat in a local square is a pleasure rather than a chore? What lessons can London learn from recent efforts to prioritise pedestrians in cities across the world, including New York and even car centric Los Angeles?"

Road space reclaimed for people in New York City. London needs more places to just sit! (via Making Cities for People)

I was lucky enough to meet Jan Gehl himself earlier this year (see my write up of my run in with Communities Secretary Eric "Rubber Nickers" Pickles under the watchful gaze of Professor Gehl here!) and there's nothing that his firm doesn't know about creating vibrant, liveable, safe and people-orientated city streets. I only wish we could get Boris Johnson and half of Transport for London along next Tuesday night!

Street Talks is free and held upstairs at the Yorkshire Grey at 7PM on Tuesday 4th October. The upstairs is open for food (excellent fish and chips), drinks and networking from 6PM. From professionals to enthusiasts, everyone is welcome and encouraged to share ideas and expertise. Come early; seats and space are on a first come first served basis and this talk is likely to be standing room only.

You can contribute to the discussion via Twitter by following @liveablelondon and using the hashtag #StreetTalks Gehl Architects blog about their work at Making Cities for People.

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City of London Cycle Style photography exhibition opens to the public

2011-09-28T08:30:00.005+01:00

Last night I attended the Lord Mayor of London's launch of the City Cycle Style photography exhibition at the Royal Exchange. This was not your usual cycling event; there were bankers and brokers, lawyers and designers and all sorts of City types furiously exchanging business cards, catching up on their Blackberries and bidding vast sums of money in the auction. But they did so for a good cause (all in aid of the Lord Mayor's charity, Bear Necessities) (His name is Michael Bear, geddit?) and did so whilst surrounded by gorgeous pictures by photographer Horst A. Friedrichs of cyclists in the city.

From snaps of Paul Smith, local celebrities and even the Mayor himself, to photos of local couriers and everyday riders - all were given the glamorous treatment and committed to celluloid. And it seemed to work; around me people were over heard talking about cycling "Why don't you ride a bike?", "Why is it so hard to ride in London?", "Wouldn't it be great if it was like Amsterdam..?" These are the seeds with which people begin to think about cycling, and perhaps start to tune in to the sort of questions raised over at the Cyclists in the City blog. Fun though last year's event format was, sometimes it's good to break out of the crowd of usual suspects who normally make up these events and bring cycling's positive message to a new audience.

And whilst some of these photos might force the chic urban cycling concept a little, anything that offers an alternative to the more prevalent Lance Armstrong look that surrounds bicycle promotion in the UK gets a tick in my books.

Donna Ida Thornton of denim boutique Donna Ida rides a 2010 Specialized Globe Carmel 3

Drag artist extraordinaire and local personality Johnny Woo rides a 3 speed Dutchie in some serious heels!

Chocolatier and local businessman Paul A Young rides a Gazelle Tour Populaire

If you weren't there last night, you haven't missed your chance to catch the fabulous photography of Mr Friedrichs. His prints will be on display in the open air to the general public 24 hours a day in the streets around the Royal Exchange until October 29th. Be sure to check it out!

This is the second cycle fashion photography exhibition I've attended so far this year, the other being mounted by the Royal Borough of Kensignton and Chelsea and which included fantastic photographs of local residents who cycle. Be sure to check out my write up of the "Like Riding a Bike" exhibition here.

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Why Leicester could be the next Copenhagen... if it wants to be

2011-09-26T08:30:00.004+01:00

Before the summer break I was invited to the city of Leicester to take part in their Ride Leicester bicycle festival. There were film screenings, workshops, presentations and a Sky Ride. We took to the streets for a fun, friendly film-themed Critical Mass which will from now on forever be remembered as the wettest bike ride in the Western World...

No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes, right? (Me, right) Spiders don't seem to mind the rain... (photos via Photofinale)

Cycle chic, soggy style.

I was highly impressed with the city. The people were welcoming and friendly, the city is diverse and vibrant, and it felt like a place on the cusp of big things. There's bags of potential, some great architecture and the city council have done a great job of pedestrianising almost all of the town centre. There are benches for people to wile away the time, beautiful paving, artists and street musicians and even fully segregated contra-flow cycle lanes. Jan Gehl would approve. London could do well to sit up and take notice.

People on foot and people on bikes allowed!

Living streets

Out in the countryside Leicester Forest Cycle Club ploughed me with home made cake and invited me to photograph their Time Trial. I received a really warm welcome and there was none of the tribal divisiveness we sometimes encounter here in the Big Smoke between different types of cyclists. As Gary Fisher once said, "Any one who rides a bicycle is a friend of mine".

As part of the festival I gave a key address on the theme of inviting cycling titled "Leicester isn't London, and London isn't Copenhagen", outlining what the three cities can learn from each other and showing that Leicester - and indeed any UK city - has the potential to be just like Copenhagen, if only the will to change is there. Trying to record in a rush a presentation given in an arts centre bar isn't the easiest of jobs so you might want to stand by your volume button, especially when the coffee machine kicks in!

As well as writing the ibikelondon blog, I speak to local councils, companies and organisations on cycling, cycling infrastructure, marketing cycling and showing how anyone can build a bike in to their daily life - if you're interested in hosting a similar event please do get in touch with me via my About Me page.

Thanks to Eric, Andy and the Ride Leicester team for inviting me to your city; I hope to make a return trip and see how you are progressing with growing your cycling culture!

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Back from a break in bike blogging

2011-09-23T23:22:00.000+01:00

My apologies, dear readers, for not letting you know I was taking most of September off from bike blogging. Even your most enthusiastic author needs a respite every now and then...

I've just returned from summer holidays on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes. And of course even when on holiday thoughts of bikes and cities are never far from one's mind.

We saw streets laid out on a human scale...

..the most amazing pavements built by hand from black and white pebbles (wouldn't one of these look nice in the middle of Regent Street?)..

...urban planning and density patterns ancient Greek style..

...and of course, even on Rhodes where the sun beats down 300 days of the year people were choosing to go by bike because it is, here and as everywhere, simply the best way to get about.

So now I'm home again; I've had to dig the bike lights out of the cupboard as Autumn approaches, but normal service will now be resumed on ibikelondon. I hope you all enjoyed a fantastic summer!

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The launch of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain

2011-09-03T23:04:00.000+01:00

They say the sun shines on the righteous, and boy did the sun shine today! A diverse group of supporters of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain gathered in Lambeth this morning in view of the Houses of Parliament to mark the official launch of the Embassy and to make their message clear; Britain must build Dutch-style cycling infrastructure if it ever wants to achieve mass cycling rates.

Pic via thirtyfivenotfive on Flickr

From the very young to the young at heart; women, families and children gathered on bikes of all shapes and sizes (including a cargo bike or two!) for an official welcome to the representative of the Dutch Embassy in London who graced us with his presence, a speech by CEoGB Chair Jim Davis, and a short ride across Lambeth Bridge (where, guess what, the brand spanking new cycle lane they've just painted in is still utter utter crap)

Cycling Embassy of Great Britain founder and Chair, Jim Davis, said:

“We’ve all seen some of the terrible cycle lanes around the UK; they cost us all money but few people are prepared to use them because they’re often dangerous and poorly conceived. No one in their right mind would let their children cycle to school on the worse of them! The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain looks to countries that are successfully building a cycling culture, and wants to use their knowledge here in the UK to ensure only high quality and safe spaces for people on bicycles are built from now on. British people are sick of paying through the nose for public transport, or fuming in traffic congestion. They’d love an alternative means of transport but aren’t prepared to consider riding a bike because they are afraid; not of the act of actually riding but of riding on the conditions the UK’s roads currently present. We need only look across the North Sea for great examples of how to design streets for people with safe – and if necessary separate – cycling infrastructure which will lead to a much higher cycling rate than we currently have.” (See here for the full press release)

I'll let the pictures do the talking but thank you all for turning out and sharing such a marvellous day.

The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain; officially launched. Now, on with the hard work....

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You're invited! The launch of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain

2011-08-30T08:30:00.001+01:00

Just a few short months ago, cycling campaigners from across the UK met for the first time around the tables of Look Mum No Hands cafe. Brought together by a shared belief that it was time for a new national cycling campaign to come on the scene and to ask - once and for all - for cycling to be treated here in the UK in the same way as it is in the Netherlands and Denmark. A new campaign driven by the ethos of "I want what they're having" when looking to our neighbours across the North Sea, and not afraid to ask for high quality separated cycling infrastructure to get us all cycling again on those terrifying urban highways which blight so many of our towns and cities.

The months have passed since that initial meeting, and members of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain have been diligently working away in the background. A website has been set up, with a forum, news, a copy of the Local Transport Plan for nearly every local authority in the country, and a vast wealth of freely accessible bicycle infrastructure design manuals, plans and guidelines. Members have given speeches, written articles for magazines and taken part in the Annual Parliamentary Bike Ride.

But now it's time for the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain to go official. That's right, dear readers, we're ready to step out in to the limelight, and you're all invited to our official launch!

This Saturday, September 3rd, join us for a photo call and opening speeches on the south side of Lambeth Bridge where we'll outline our policies, say a few words and get a snap for posterity in front of the Houses of Parliament. Then it's across the bridge on what we've dubbed "London's worst cycle lane" to Victoria Park Gardens where we'll be having a family-friendly picnic and you'll have the chance to meet Cycling Embassy members from across the country. There's a sight seeing bike ride being led by yours truly in the afternoon, and of course Sunday is the Mayor of London's Sky Ride; the perfect chance for you and your family to see the best of our capital on streets closed to traffic.

So what are you waiting for? Join us in London for the perfect family-friendly cycling weekend from 11.30AM this Saturday on the south side of Lambeth Bridge. All the details you need to know are over on the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain website, and I look forward to seeing some of you there!

Saturday 3rd September

Gather at the south side of Lambeth Bridge at 11.30AM for press call.

(Smart ‘everyday’ wear and best smiles please; you might end up in the paper!) All types of bike and riders (including children) welcome.Do bring: cameras, video recorders, waterproof coats, picnic food and drink to share, comfortable shoes, shiny bikes and your best smile.

12 midday; press call / photo opportunity
Photos with the Houses of Parliament in the background. Speech by Jim Davis, Chair and founder of Cycling Embassy of Great Britain. CEoGB declared officially ‘open for business’.

12.20 Depart for Victoria Tower Gardens for (short) cross-river bike ride on “London’s worst bike lane” across Lambeth Bridge (approx. 500 mtrs) Ride will be marshalled by CEoGB board.

12.50 onwards; celebratory picnic in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Please bring picnic food and drink to share with your new found cycling friends to celebrate the launch of the Cycling Embassy. Family-friendly and child-safe enclosed park space. Sunglasses, picnic blankets and friendly smiles the order of the day. Please note; no glass, alcohol, banners or placards permitted in the park.

Saturday afternoon; informal, optional Royal Parks infrastructure safari taking in the pelicans of St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Corner, the Serpentine, Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall and back.

Don’t bring: glass, alcohol or your favourite Lance Armstrong outfit.
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Everything's connected; post cards from Sydney

2011-08-18T08:30:00.002+01:00

When I left for London from Sydney in Australia nearly four years ago I thought it was a fantastic city in so many ways - a beautiful climate, a beautiful harbour city, and beautiful, warm, friendly people.

But there is one thing that Sydney was not, and that's a cycle-friendly city. Indeed, American cycling academic John Pucher described it only last year as "the most hostile city to cyclists in the developing world." It's true. Sydney was especially afflicted by the sort of broad and fast roads that planners loved to build in the 1960s, and the city drivers reacted accordingly - they drive fast and hard and God forbid anyone who might find themselves in their way. And if the hills of the Elizabeth Bay loop don't finish you off, the 'retro' (read ancient) number 311 bus will.

Riding the "suicide cage" on Sydney Harbour Bridge, pic via Freedom Cyclist

But there's a certain sense of change in the air Down Under...

After years of Australia being in the grip of sports cycling image branding, the approach to the image of bike riding is changing. People are re-discovering the joys of sit up and beg bikes and a more relaxed and everyday style of riding again. The always appropriately attired Saskia at Sydney Cycle Chic is doing a great job of showing you don't have to dress like Lance Armstrong to get around town, whilst artist, blogger and film maker Mike Rubbo is doing a great job of promoting the virtues of upright bikes at his aptly-named website Sit Up Cycle. Mike is convinced that more people need to be reminded of the joys of riding a safe, comfortable upright bike if a true cycling culture is to emerge in Australia; that there's nothing wrong with sporty bikes or riding fast, but that a mono culture is no kind of culture at all. His recent exhibition at the Tap Gallery in Surrey Hills of sketches and lino prints of upright cyclists was a big success. I'm a big fan of his art work and was thrilled to receive the below beautiful print in the post today. I love how the scratched background reminds me of the Australian bush, and the dynamic between the lady on the bike with the big bum and the gent on the bike to the left fascinates me.

Thanks Mike!

And of course, there's Sue. L'nfant terrible of the Australian bike blogging world, the charming, vociferous and wildly coiffured Sue Abbott of Freedom Cyclist blog has been in and out of Court of late contesting her convictions for - quelle horreur - riding a push bike without a helmet in a country where the cycling scene is ravaged by its ridiculous and ineffectual mandatory bicycle helmet law.

And slowly and surely its not just a few itinerant bloggers who are making noises about the possibilities for bikes either; the authorities are starting to chime in too. The independent Mayor, Clover Moore and the City of Sydney are currently building a 200km network of separated bike lanes across the city. In a city so firmly wedded to its cars this is no small undertaking, but they're persevering none the less. And it seems to be working; cyclists in the CBD during the AM peak went up 60% in just one year between March 2010 and March 2011 There may not be Amsterdam-style epic volumes of cyclists using the cycleways just yet, but the city will sure be glad they built them in 5, 10 and 20 years time. And if you're going to spend money on cycling infrastructure it might as well be the sort that cyclists of all ages and styles can use, no? (I'm looking at you, Transport for London)

And now the City of Sydney have released these fantastic short films celebrating the city's cyclists and cycleways. They're great; they advertise the new infrastructure which is just waiting to be explored as well as demonstrating that anyone - fast or slow - can ride a bike to get from A to B. There's handsome young dad Anthony zipping in to work, older riders Les and Judy ("At our stage in life we've worked out what we like doing, and now we are doing it."), single speed chicista Kitiyia and beach mum Caroline re-discovering the simple joys of getting around on two wheels again. Here in London we've had a similar raft of great promotional films, and I'm convinced these kind of aspirational adverts really do work. It's just here in London its, well, a shame about the rest of it. Blackfriars Bridge, anyone?

We at ibikelondon approve; Australia may be late drawing up a chair to the cycling revolution table but we're slowly looking forward to riding a bike again when we eventually move back. ibikesydney here we come!

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Come, and Ride Leicester!

2011-08-16T08:30:00.001+01:00

I'll be escaping London and making my way to Leicester for the August long weekend to take part in the Ride Leicester Bike Festival.

On Friday (the 26th) I'll be joining with Leicester's everyday and ordinary cyclists for a Critical Mass ride around the pedestrianised city centre. I'm really looking forward to exploring the city's cycling scene a bit more and meeting some of the people who ride.

And on the evening of Saturday the 27th I'll be speaking at the Phoenix Arts Centre at 6.30PM. There's great food and drink, great company and I'll be giving a talk about inviting cycling and building Leicester's bicycle culture, exploring why Leicester isn't London and London isn't Copenhagen, the three cities' differences and what they can each learn from one another. Earlier in the year the city played host to the Building Cycling Cultures Conference, headed up by Dr David Horton. It's got a large pedestrianised centre where bicycles are welcome, two national cycle routes passing through the city or close by, beautiful riverside and canal trails and a brand new guarded bike parking hub in the centre. What's more it's own City Council research suggests that traffic density has reached capacity - average speeds are not much higher than in London - in short, I'll be exploring how the city could be on the cusp of embracing its own cycling revolution. Aptly enough, I'm followed by stand up comedy in the Phoenix cafe bar so there should be some good laughs one way or another!

Fun for all ages on the Leicester SkyRide! (photo via MichaelH on Flickr)

On Sunday morning thousands of people from across Leicester and the surrounding area will take to 5km of safe streets closed to all other traffic for the Leicester SkyRide. Part of a national program of cycling events taking place all over the country it promises to be a fun, family-friendly environment and a great way to see the city.

So if you're in the area, are interested in bikes, or even if you're just thinking of starting to ride, do come along. It's sure to be a fun two-wheeled weekend!

For further information and any questions, please see the Ride Leicester Facebook page.

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London riots; the dark side of the bicycle

2011-08-09T11:49:00.001+01:00

Here at i b i k e l o n d o n we are always extolling the virtues of the humble bicycle; how you can beat traffic, zip through back lanes where cars can't go, whizz through parks and get from A to B in a flash of gears and be at your destination before a London driver has barely even set off. Sadly, the looters who took over large parts of our city on Monday also know this and used the bicycle's inherent flexibility to devastating effect.

As looters and thugs in my neighbourhood threw stones and bottles on the Bethnal Green Road, hooded bike riders were zipping up and down my street scouting out police-free locations. As the riot cops arrived, it was the bikes that led the way to new scenes of disturbance, seeking locations in advance for the rioters to then follow on foot. As re-enforcements arrived on the main road, a kid on a BMX clad in a black track suit with his face covered called out "I've just been to Whitechapel, it's safe, let's go there now!" The shouts of "Whitechapel! Whitechapel! Whitechapel!" came back, and the young men were off, scurrying down local lanes and dissipating down dark passageways before the police, who aren't from round here, had even got their A to Zs out.

BBC footage from Hackney yesterday afternoon.

As fires were lit and news cameras were focused on the big flare ups on Hackney's Mare Street or down in Croydon, there was plenty going on in the back lanes and alleyways away from the media glare. Reports of people being violently mugged for their bikes along the busy cycle route through London Fields park were all over Twitter. Over in Islington, popular independent and local bike shop MiCycle was attacked; looters poured in and raced out with bikes.

Looting MiCycle; footage via London Cyclist

***

Update, 10/08/11:

The Daily Telegraph's Andrew Gilligan was robbed of his bicycle whilst riding home from Tottenham through Hackney on Monday night. You can read his full report here. He writes; "It was one of those microseconds when you know exactly what is about to happen, without the slightest chance of stopping it.

The big black boy rode his bike straight at me, crashing me off my own and leaving us both tangled up on the ground. Then four more of them were racing towards me, clawing at my legs to get them off my bike, kicking me in the head as I tried to hold on. Two minutes later, it was all over. Ten minutes later, no doubt, it was being used to loot a newsagent’s.

Bleeding a little, I thought I might as well call 999. It was a recorded message. After four and a half minutes, a tired man answered. “There’s nothing we can do,” he said. “You know what’s going on. We have to give priority to saving people’s lives. I suggest you just go home.”

Micycle in Islington is now open for business again, reports GoingGoingBike, who contacted their mechanic Julian Sabetian; "We’ve had lots of concern from customers and locals alike, so the support has been palpable and very welcome.”
“I think that the redeeming factor’s just being the local community and their support. A few people have deliberately come to make small purchases [to show support]. Other shops have swung by or phoned, it’s nice for potential competitors to show their concern.”

There have been further reports of bike shops being raided and looted across London, including Evans Cycles in Chalk Farm and Clapham, and Geoffrey Butler in South Croydon. BikeBiz online is keeping a tally, and also has advice from insurance firms for traders who may have been affected.

***

Down in Brixton, the BBC's Podraic O'Brien reported; "I'm standing outside Halfords on the other side of the road and they've just smashed through the door of Halfords. They're taking bikes out the front entrance." Guardian journalist Peter Walker live-tweeted similar occurrences at the Halfords store in Catford. "Trouble spreading again in #catford - gang breaking down door of Halfords by station. Full view of main road. No police." Later, as the police moved on to other hot spots, the trouble returned; "Bizarre. Police have now abandoned Halfords in #catford and, guess what... the looters are back."

If you see streets as a network - channels of movement and routes for communication - there's no better way of operating it than by bike. Sadly, as last night has shown, those who are taking part in this mindless looting and violence are all too aware of it. Bikes can be used to pass messages, weapons and drugs quickly and easily between flashpoints. Untraceable and too quick to catch, whether we like it or not the humble bicycle is at the forefront of events.

The Money Shop on Bethnal Green Road this morning

What can you do to stay safe?

Avoid unlit or sparsely populated cycle routes; especially those through parks such as London Fields or along canals.
Keep up to date of where trouble is flaring up; consider changing your route home if necessary.
Consider teaming up with friends or colleagues to cycle home together or in small groups.
Avoid cycling through or near large groups of youths. Turn around and go back the way you came if you have to.
If someone offers you a brand new bike for sale in the street or at a market, do not buy it, you could be paying for stolen goods.
Exercise caution and common sense on websites like eBay and GumTree
Ensure you have a record of the frame number and particulars of your own bike. Consider using a security website like BikeRegister and ensure your bike is always kept secure with at least two good locks.
Support your local bike retailer, especially if they've been the victims of looting or theft.

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Bike Minded in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

2011-08-04T08:30:00.002+01:00

Here at ibikelondon we're big fans of some of the work the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea does in promoting riding a bike as a means of getting about. This is the borough that staged the excellent "Like Riding a Bike" exhibition last year, mounted the "Road Hug" safety campaign, and invited, um, me, to speak at their annual cycling forum this year on 'Inviting Cycling'. The Council Chambers even have their very own Boris Bike docking station; if that's not sending out a pro-bike message then I don't know what is.

The Borough is continuing its fantastic work with the launch of their most recent project. The "Bike Minded" website will become a central point of reference for cyclists in the area and those who would like to ride a bike. They can find out where their nearest bike shop is, learn about how to access cycle training, find out about the best routes through the borough and read interviews with other movers and shakers in the cycling world.

What I really like about this project is the non-preachy approach that Bike Minded takes. There's no stern lectures about red light jumping or wearing a helmet, no insistence that you *must* get dressed up in order to go for a ride. It just accepts that all kinds of cycling are valid and sends out the message that wherever you ride in the Borough you are officially welcome. With over 8000 people on bikes in this one Borough alone, it's nice to know the powers that be care.

The website is easy to use and full of funky graphics and positive images of everyday and ordinary cyclists. It also offers aspiring cyclists the chance to ride some brand new very beautiful bikes - including a Moulton - to see if they like it. I could only dream of riding a bike like that when I first started out!

And to prove that cycling in London doesn't just have to be all about getting to work, they've produced a downloadable App which will take you on a guided bike tour of the Blue Plaques of Kensington and Chelsea; find out where Oscar Wilde used to hang out and Mark Twain's old haunts.

If every London borough was as switched on and bike facing as this, we'd really be starting to get somewhere!

The BikeMinded website is here, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

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The night we swooped on Blackfriars Bridge...

2011-07-30T17:51:00.002+01:00

You came in your many hundreds... old cyclists, young cyclists, people on road bikes, upright town bikes, people with dogs and kids in trailers or on cargo bikes. Lycra clad or cycle chic, two wheels or even three, there must have been close to a thousand angry Londoners on Blackfriars Bridge on Friday night telling Transport for London that their designs - and their excuses- just aren't good enough any more. You arrived via Twitter, via Facebook, by email, by press coverage, by good old fashioned word of mouth. London Cycling Campaign, the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain, Living Streets, and various itinerant bloggers like myself were all united in spreading the word, and the important thing is you all heard the message and were there.

As I stood with the BBC camera crew ready for my highly uncomfortable minute in the media glare, I couldn't help but feel extraordinarily proud of all the people who'd come along to make their voices heard. I've never seen a bike protest in London that big before, and it just goes to show the strength of feeling amongst everyday and ordinary people that plans like those of TfL just aren't acceptable anymore.

Look, Mum, I'm on the telly!

Pictures and videos speak a thousand words, so I'll let them do the talking, but all I wanted to say really was a very, very BIG "Thank You". Thank you, London cyclists, you've started the ball rolling with a bang in putting on to the agenda the fact that we need to designing streets for people and putting safety and sustainability first.

ITV London news covered the protest live, too. That's us, on our bikes, filling the entire bridge.

The trick now is to keep up the pressure. Some cyclists are going back on Monday morning to ride together across the bridge again, in the hope of raising awareness. There's already mutterings of a massive, pedestrian and cycling rally in September calling for people-led places to be put first. The important thing is, we must keep the pressure on. On Friday night it may have felt as though we were winning the battle, but we certainly haven't won the war. Suggestions, as always, are most welcome.

Thank you,

Mark

Video by smsm1986 on Youtube

Photo 1 & 2 via Zefrog on Flickr Dino photo unknown

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Tonight's the night for Blackfriars Bridge

2011-07-29T10:24:00.000+01:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, the furore over Blackfriars Bridge has been coming to a head this week after months of sustained campaigning by concerned cyclists.

The Mayor of London (and Chair of Transport for London) has described the new designs for the northern junction of the bridge as having "more work needed to be done". His cycling champion and Conservative Assembly Member Andrew Boff has said of the existing conditions "I am staggered that so many cyclists use Blackfriars Bridge, if it was on my commuting route I wouldn’t because it is too dangerous." He, along with all political parties at the London Assembly, have signed a motion calling on TfL to urgently review their dangerous and poorly designed plans as a matter of urgency and to consider reviewing retaining the 20mph speed limit.

Even Transport for London's own safety audit of the scheme has concerns about the width of the cycle lanes which will form part of the junction; teetering along on a narrow cycle lane on a Boris Bike next to 3 lanes of fast moving traffic is hardly an ideal cycling environment.

And yet tonight Transport for London - who are unelected and unaccountable - intend to go ahead with their plans. The Huffington Post no less has asked if Boris Johnson is losing control of the city and his transport behemoth.

This morning on BBC London Radio Breakfast Show, Ben Plowden (Head of Better Routes at TfL) argued with me that their plans are essential to accommodate the many thousands of pedestrians who will use the new Blackfriars train station. This is a fallacy. Quite how pedestrians are supposed to benefit from increased traffic speed limits, increased lanes of cars and increased exposure to road danger is beyond me. If TfL were really concerned about pedestrians they wouldn't be expecting them to wait at crossings to traverse four to six lanes of fast moving traffic.

And as we've always said, it's not just about Blackfriars; this junction is indicative of the kind of thing happening all across London. In the Elephant and Castle in south London the hideous '60s-style roundabout will remain because turning it into a pedestrian square with escalator access to the new Tube station there will 'hold up traffic'. Parliament Square remains a marooned dust bowl of a traffic island because making it a people-friendly environment will 'hold up traffic'.

TfL are irrationally obsessed with the smoothing traffic flow agenda, to the detriment of all other road users. Not only are their plans uninviting and uncomfortable they are also unsafe. In the first decade of this new century we should not be designing our cities purely to squeeze as much traffic through as possible despite the consequences, but should be designing our cities for people.

After months of campaigning and having exhausted all democratic channels, tonight is the night for Blackfriars Bridge. I hope you will come by foot, come by bike, bring your friends and bring your voices and join us for a go slow 'flashride'. London's press will be there too. If we want a safe city where cycling is for all now is the time to shout about it.

Blackfriars Bridge flashride; assemble outside the Doggett's Pub at 6PM on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge.

See you there!

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The last stand in the battle for Blackfriars: take action!

2011-07-27T22:37:00.001+01:00

** UPDATE: 28/7/11 12.28 **

In order to accumulate as much clout as possible, and to ensure all our cycling voices are heard coherently, bike bloggers, the London Cycling Campaign and others have agreed to consolidate the various rides being planned in to one. A go slow 'flashride' will take place on Blackfriars Bridge at 6PM on FRIDAY. Meet outside the Doggett's Pub on the south side of the bridge just before 6PM. This will then loop in with Critical Mass which sets off from beneath Waterloo just before 7PM - probably for an even bigger return to Blackfriars. BE AT THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION! Any possibly action on Monday morning is now under review as TfL have revealed they now expected their works to take 3 months, as oppose to be being largely completed by the end of the weekend. Please help spread the word.

** **

It's been rumbling on for months... letters have been written, petitions signed, rallies held and motions tabled. Despite all our protestations and the unanimous backing by all the parties at the London Assembly of a motion calling for an urgent review of the plans for Blackfriars, Transport for London intend to go ahead with their treacherous and terrifying junction plans anyway this Friday night.

Over 2000 people have signed London Cycling Campaign's petition, 100s have added their photos to show they don't want this dangerous design implemented. Mayor of London Boris Johnson (who is Chair of TfL) has said that "more work needs to be done on cycling over Blackfriars Bridge", TfL's own safety audit recommends that proper two metre wide cycle lanes are implemented, all of the major parties (including the Conservatives) have backed an Assembly motion calling for TfL to seriously consider retaining the existing 20mph speed limit currently in place in the junction and "We also urge the Mayor to revisit the plans for the bridge with particular attention to cyclists making right turns when exiting the bridge at either end." You couldn't try harder to get a point across...

But Transport for London - the undemocratic, unelected, unaccountable kings of spin and of moving the goal posts - are going ahead with their plans all the same. The speed limit will be increased from 20mph to 30mph, cycle lanes will be squeezed and shoved to one side, carriageways for cars will increase from two lanes to three. In all effect, they are hell-bent on creating a 1960s-style urban motorway, completely to the detriment of all other road users...

Blackfriars Bridge cycling charge! from ibikelondon on Vimeo.

And all this in our so-called "cycling city" on a bridge where two cyclists have previously died as a direct consequence of TfL's design interventions and on a bridge where cyclists make up the majority of road users at peak time, despite being the most vulnerable. TfL had the gall to write, in their press release heralding the arrival of the works "The current and previous road layouts would simply not be able to handle the extra pedestrians that will need to negotiate the space around and across the junction adjacent to the new station entrance. The new design accommodates the huge increase in demand from pedestrians whilst improving facilities for the estimated six per cent of people who travel through the junction by bicycle." Dressing up the designs at Blackfriars as "improvements for pedestrians" is laughable. It's not pedestrians who will benefit from the increase in road space for motorised traffic from two lanes to three. It's not pedestrians who will benefit from the increased road danger and poor air quality brought about by increasing the speed limit from the existing 20mph to 30mph. And I don't know where TfL got the idea that bicycles make up 6% of traffic on the bridge - their statistics are scratchy at the best of times, and indeed the entire scheme appears to be based on out of date data which didn't reflect that cyclists now in fact make up the majority of road traffic on the bridge at peak times. Frankly, I am shocked and astonished at the cheek of it all.

Indeed, according to a tweet by Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones TfL may well try to go ahead with their original plans from last May after all with no cycle lanes whatsoever. Could this really be true? Nothing surprises me anymore I am afraid.

At the end of our tether? You bet we are. We've exhausted every single democratic channel available to us. We've fought long and hard engaging with politicians to get consensus from all sides. We've taken the time to ask people on the bridge to sign petitions. We've drummed up media support. We've organised 'flashrides', talked to journalists, even gone walkabout on the bridge with TfL representatives, and yet despite all this Transport for London has decided to pursue its own deadly agenda all the same. Remind me again who runs London?

And the reason it's been dubbed "the battle for Blackfriars" is because what happens here will happen elsewhere in our fair city. Already there are ludicrous plans to run a new cycle superhighway down the middle of two lanes of fast moving traffic on Vauxhall Bridge, and to rip out cycle lanes at London Bridge and force cyclists to push their bikes through the station instead. Let it be known, and known widely: Transport for London only encourage cycling in London to alleviate their chronic over-crowding on the Tube. Once you are up on their roads it is each to their own. Things are getting worse, not better, which is why the many thousands of you everyday and ordinary people on bikes are being forced to make a stand.

London Cycling Campaign, Cyclists in the City blog, Cycle of Futility and many others are calling on all London cyclists to join Critical Mass this Friday from 6PM (it meets beneath Waterloo Bridge outside the BFI) Be there and be prompt. For those who don't want to join the mass, or want to kick things off earlier meet outside the Doggett's Pub on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge ready to start a 'go slow' flashride across the Bridge. Those on the Critical Mass will soon join you.

But here's the rub... Transport for London are expecting us. They know the strength of feeling about Blackfriars. They'll be waiting for us to do our protest ride on Friday night. Then the paint trucks and bulldozers will roll in regardless, the junction will be laid out to their hair-brained designs over a solid weekend of working, and come Monday morning their work will be done. They'll be expecting us to go away quietly and for their plans to appear, fully formed and unremarked, to "smooth traffic flow" and will assume they've won. The papers and the news media will have long forgotten Friday night by Monday morning and that will be that. Which is why - and I know it's a big ask dear readers - we have to be ready to do it all again when the time comes. Friday night needs to be HUGE but we must not be afraid to mobilise when nescesary. By Monday morning the new junction will be almost finished, TfL will have assumed they've won, and it will be up to us to say that we don't accept it, that we don't think it's over and that we won't stop until cyclists - all those bankers, designers, clerks, nurses, teachers and Mums with kids - riding across the bridge are kept safe and Transport for London start to really sit up and pay attention.

By acting against the Mayor - their own Chair - and against the London Assembly, and against the many thousands of you who have written, Tweeted, blogged, protested and petitioned, Transport for London are slapping the face of democracy, crushing the broken bones of road safety and giving you all the finger in their desperate pursuit of a 'smoothing traffic flow' agenda. Dramatic though it may sound, it really is up to you and I now to shout as loud as we can to say enough is enough.

I hope you will join me. Tell your friends, bring your families and let's all ride together.

Friday night action:

Meet outside Doggett's Pub on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge at 6PM PROMPT for a go-slow 'flashride' across the Bridge. This will then connect with Critical Mass at Waterloo which departs around 7PM.

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y o u b i k e l o n d o n; Max from Kingston

2011-07-15T08:30:00.002+01:00

Name / age?
Max, and I'm 27
Where do you live / ride to?
I actually live out near Kingston, but I'm a cycling instructor so I ride pretty much everywhere.
What do you ride?
Sometimes this bike, sometimes a steel framed touring hybrid thing I have, it depends.

How often?
Pretty much every day, with the job, rain or shine, I'm a bit of a glutton for punishment.
Helmet or no helmet?
Helmet. Quite a lot of instructors don't wear them, but I do, I don't see what harm wearing a helmet can do and I know a few people who have suffered when they haven't been wearing one.
What's your primary reason for riding a bike?
Because it's fast and because it's fun.
What's your least favourite aspect of cycling in London?
Probably not knowing whether my bike is going to be there when I get back or not. I tend to ride the Brompton more because the other bike I have is quite rare, and if that gets nicked I'd be very upset.
What's your most favourite aspect of cycling in London?
It's the impromptu races you have with other cyclists!
What do you never leave the house without when riding your bike?
My cycling gloves, because the few times I have crashed they've been a really good hand-saver.
How many locks do you carry, and have you ever had a bicycle stolen?
Yes I have had a bicycle stolen, but it's generally because I haven't actually locked it - although this was never in London. So touch wood I've not had a bike stolen in London, and I usually carry one lock.
What advice would you give to an aspiring cyclists thinking of riding for the first time?
Take your time, think, be observant and don't go rushing in to it. I would always say to people give it a go, start on a quiet street and build up to busier ones, but I think if your road sense isn't that good or if you aren't very confident do go for lessons, they'll help you understand what is happening on the road and build your confidence.
Lastly, if you were Mayor of London for the day what would you do to improve the lot of the London cyclist?
That's a very good question! I'd probably offer free cycling tuition to everyone for one day so that people who hate cyclists - certain car drivers - can find out what it is actually like on the road on a bike for themselves and see for themselves how it feels. It's all about co-operation at the end of the day.

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Get ready to vote on LCC's 2012 Mayoral policy

2011-07-11T08:30:00.001+01:00

Come July 2012 we will all be voting for a new Mayor of London. Will Boris Johnson be returned for a second term, or will seasoned hand Ken Livingstone be swept back in to power? And what of the Green's Jenny Jones and the as yet un-named Liberal Democrat candidate?

Over at London Cycling Campaign they are already gearing up for the 2012 election and want all of its members to get involved. Following their Web 2.0 Blackfriars Bridge photo petition (which you can still contribute to, here), they are turning to the internet again to find out what their members - all 12,000 of them - want the LCC to lobby the prospective Mayoral candidates for.

I really welcome this change in tact at the cycling campaign - it was only last October that I was seriously questioning whether the LCC were pro-cycle lanes or not, so mysterious and dogmatically vehicular and based on endurace, as oppose to invitation, did their campaigning stance appear to be. Since then they seem to be improving significantly; their new Chief Executive Ashok Sinha has come on board, they moved quickly on the Blackfriars Bridge issue, they weren't afraid to help organise the Blackfriars 'flashride' at very short notice, and they've even made their position on the great segregation debate clear... In the latest issue of London Cyclist magazine Dr Sinha writes "Quite correctly our policy is that segregated cycle tracks are the right solution in select circumstances. But because so much of our work focuses on individual junctions, cycle training for kids, funding levels etc, we rarely mention the S-word in practice. This is of course false, and it's perfectly possible to be clearer in expressing ourselves without abjuring our belief that a complex mix of solutions is needed London-wide. So, for example, let's state right now that places like Stratford High Street, the Victoria Embankment, Lambeth Palace Road and several other 'urban motorways' are (at least in part) prime candidates for segregated facilities, as part of a wider package of measures."

I've always agreed that we need things like cycle training, cycle parking standards and all the rest of it, but that asking for those alone without significant segregation on the key busiest routes was never going to achieve much; Dr Sinha's statement is the clearest and most explicit explanation of the LCC's position on segregated cycle facilities to date; and I for one welcome it.

Theobald's Road, Clerkenwell. Not exactly idyllic conditions for cycling in London by all

And now, the LCC is keen to ensure that it reflects the campaigning priorities of all of its members, and not just those who are slogging away on it's campaign committees. In preparation for the 2012 election, they want to know exactly what their members want them to be pushing the prospective Mayoral candidates for. Every paid up member is being sent an email from online vote register DemoChoice (do check your spam inbox for a note saying "You are invited to vote in a DemoChoice Poll", that's where mine ended up). Members are being given the following options, one of which they must chose for the LCC to push for:

Start Right: getting 100,000 children cycling regularly to school
Love thy Neighbourhood: double the number of local journeys made by bike

Go Dutch: clear space for cycling on main roads in every borough

Unwind: replace the 10 worst gyratories with cycle-friendly junctions

Now, I think 100,000 kids cycling to school would be a marvellous thing, but we all know how politicians love to sign up to targets to get elected and then later quietly drop them. And besides, how will we convince 200,000 parents that letting their little darlings cycle in current conditions is a good idea anyway?

Unwinding gyratories is indeed an urgent priority, however I don't like to think of this as being just a "bike only" issue; work to rid London of it's 1960's legacy of 4 lane roundabouts and labrynthian one way systems should be a joint effort by cyclists, pedestrians, bus users, local residents, local businesses and others.

More journeys in local neighbourhoods would be a wonderful thing, but here's the rub: if you want lots of people to use bikes a lot more they'll need to be able to make journeys between neighbourhoods (as oppose to just pootling in circles) and to do that, more often than not, they'll have to use those big scary roads where segregation is so important if we want the majority of people to feel safe and comfortable enough to be invited to cycle.

Copenhagen's own 'cycle superhighways', safe, direct, comfortable and accessible by all.

And so, for me at least, there can only be one choice worth really voting for out of all of these; high quality, Dutch-style seperated infrastructure on the big and terrifying roads will help unblock gyratories, encourage more journeys between A and B, have a spill-over effect of more journeys on the quiter roads within neighbourhoods and indeed create conditions which might actually convince parents to let their children ride to school. Nearly every single old fashioned and ill-informed myth about proper cycle tracks has been blown out of the water by the rise of the internet (hat tip to Manchester Cycling amongst many many many others), and we only need look over the North Sea to see that it works. And of course it was the Dutch who first came up with 20mph zones and shared space and all those other little interventions for the smaller roads to ensure a seemlessly comfortable door to door journey.

I'm voting "Go Dutch" as I believe that this is the only option that can bring about mass cycling in London, and that it is an intervention that is sorely overdue, but whatever you believe do ensure you have your say and vote!

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y o u b i k e l o n d o n; Juliet from Archway

2011-07-08T08:30:00.007+01:00

Name / age?
I'm Juliet, and 23 years old
Where do you live / ride to?
I live in Archway and I'm not working at the moment so I'm able to ride all over the place, where I like, I'm spending a lot of time in Hackney at the moment, I'm organising the Tour de Dalston.
What do you ride?
A single speed Fuji, freewheel not fixed.
How often?
Every day, rain or shine. I was riding in the rain a few months ago and came off on a pot hole, I didn't see it, went straight through, so riding in the rain is a bit um...

Helmet or no helmet?
No helmet.
What's your primary reason for cycling?
Freedom!
What's your least favourite aspect of cycling in London?
I'd say van drivers, they just seem to be the most agressive drivers on the road, revving their engines at the traffic lights.
What's your most favourite aspect of cycling in London?
Meeting other people and other cyclists is great.
When you are out riding what do you never leave home without?
My bank card. It's easy I keep it in my Oyster holder just in case something catches my eye.
How many locks do you carry and have your ever had a bicycle stolen?
Just one, and yes, I have had a bicycle stolen. It was on Clerkenwell Road, I left it there, went back in the evening and it was gone. It was terrible, I was so upset. I was lucky in that I had insurance, so got the Fuji.
So you'd reccomend insurance?
I would, absolutely, yes.
What advice would you give to an aspiring cyclist thinking of riding for the very first time?
I would say go for it, but go with someone else who is an experienced cyclist, don't just go it alone, and it's more fun that way too.
If you were Mayor of London for the day, what would you do to improve the lot of the London cyclist?
I'd add more cycle lanes, and I'd make the 1st of every month car free day here. How about it?

The Tour de Dalston was a family bike ride through London's East End in June - despite the shocking weather a fun time was had by all. Let's hope for a return of this cracking two wheeled event next year!

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