London - any hope?

[Claudia]

Up until a few months ago i was a cycle commuter in London for years. I now cycle for pleasure on the roads and lanes of Kent and i read recently that 17 cyclists have been killed or seriously injured this year on the roads in Kent. That's a lot more than London considering the amount of people in London.

I do agree it's a dreadful state of affairs and any death or serious injury to any person is awful but i do wish people would stop knocking London.

In all the years i cycled there i admit i had a few near misses but then i have had those here in the lanes of Kent too. In London traffic any driver of a motorised vehicle has got to look out for cyclists obeying the rules of the road plus the idiots that don't plus the thousands of pedestrians good and bad alike and other drivers. As a driver in London myself it is not easy.

I have only been a member on here since the Summer but i have lost count of the number of threads knocking London and it's driver attitude to cyclists. It's a huge city not built for cyclists and there has been a cycling explosion in the last few years. It is going to take time and one cannot expect it to just suddenly change drivers attitudes and it's infrastructure overnight. Most drivers in London don't even live there.London is lucky it has a very driven mayor who is pro cyclists and in the last few years has done massive amounts to help change things which is continuing.

It doesn't help when cyclists start massive generalisation against all lorry driver or all car drivers. It's not the all that's the problem it's the few. Cyclists that do this do not help the cause and just alienate cyclists as a group and i do resent that. I am a driver and a cyclist and drive and ride according to the rules of the road and as safely as i can.


Rant over.

Well, the reason why I go on about London is because it is where I live and plan to ride my bike. I wouldn't know about Kent or other places as I don't live or ride there and then again, all or most of what media report is about London.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Sorry to hear you're feeling bullied off the roads, that's terrible.

In truth, I too have been freaked out off the bike and onto the overground (at a cost of £43 a week!

I was going to cycle this week, but I work in Spitalfields and was really scared by that woman having to have a car lifted off her. I know that side road well and have often nearly been knocked down several times, as apparently indicators are like, sooooooooo passé.

Where do you live? Maybe we would get an armour plated tandem?

 

[Claudia]

Sorry to hear you're feeling bullied off the roads, that's terrible.

In truth, I too have been freaked out off the bike and onto the overground (at a cost of £43 a week!

I was going to cycle this week, but I work in Spitalfields and was really scared by that woman having to have a car lifted off her. I know that side road well and have often nearly been knocked down several times, as apparently indicators are like, sooooooooo passé.

Where do you live? Maybe we would get an armour plated tandem?

I live in North London - Turnpike Lane and work in Kings Cross (I can already imagine everyone rolling their eyes and thinking "what?! That's the easiest route ever!") but my bf lives in Northwest London - Golders Green so I'd often be cycling from here too. And it was on this route I had my first (and last, this far!) accident, in Hampstead. Where do you live?

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Beckenham.... Might have to buy a flying armour plated tandem.

 

[Claudia]

Beckenham.... Might have to buy a flying armour plated tandem.

If it is any cheaper than the overground, go for it! Lol

 

[MissTillyFlop]

I COULD but where would the fun be in that?

 

[Claudia]

...

 

[vickster]

What rag are you reading?!

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Might be easier to get the thing airborne?

Tsk, details!

 

[srw]

...

Yet another columnist numpty who doesn't understand risk and statistics. The number of cyclist KSI on London's roads has remained roughly constant and very low for years now. That means that cycling is very safe. Any KSI is one too many, and the more we can do to reduce the number the better, but that doesn't detract from the main point. It's safe.

 

[downfader]

Creating space is no real problem, even temporary structures ABOVE busy roads are easily built. London and places need to become serious about cycling and what it can give them. London would come to a standstill if every rider took to their car.

There is another demonstration on the 29th and reading on twitter even some of the older, more seasoned riders are going to join it (I would too but live too far away). I think it will soon be time for a national ride in the same way King marched on Washington.

 

[downfader]

Yet another columnist numpty who doesn't understand risk and statistics. The number of cyclist KSI on London's roads has remained roughly constant and very low for years now. That means that cycling is very safe. Any KSI is one too many, and the more we can do to reduce the number the better, but that doesn't detract from the main point. It's safe.

Not really good enough though is it. We're three times more dangerous for cycling than the Netherlands, AND these deaths were preventable. It technically hasnt remained constant - the increase in riding hasnt kept it at a level rate, the KSI rate is about 2-3 times out of proportion with the "growth" in cycling

 

[srw]

Not really good enough though is it. We're three times more dangerous for cycling than the Netherlands, AND these deaths were preventable. It technically hasnt remained constant - the increase in riding hasnt kept it at a level rate, the KSI rate is about 2-3 times out of proportion with the "growth" in cycling

The NUMBER of KSI has remained constant, despite the growth in cycling. The RATE has improved. We're three times more dangerous than the Netherlands, but that's like saying that it's three times more dangerous to climb stairs than it is to do the ironing. Both are very safe.

No it's not good enough, but the way to get it better is to get out there and get riding, and to ensure that Boris stops making bizarre victim-blaming assertions and stops his fetish with encouraging the free flow of motorised private transport.

 

[downfader]

The NUMBER of KSI has remained constant, despite the growth in cycling. The RATE has improved. We're three times more dangerous than the Netherlands, but that's like saying that it's three times more dangerous to climb stairs than it is to do the ironing. Both are very safe.

No it's not good enough, but the way to get it better is to get out there and get riding, and to ensure that Boris stops making bizarre victim-blaming assertions and stops his fetish with encouraging the free flow of motorised private transport.

But how do you get people riding when many are scared away, as in the OP? Rates of cycling only improve for short times then they dip, we've had this constant ebb and flow since the 1970s. Riding alone does not encourage new riders

 

[srw]

But how do you get people riding when many are scared away, as in the OP? Rates of cycling only improve for short times then they dip, we've had this constant ebb and flow since the 1970s.

Two methods:
(a) Show them it's safe. Repeat the correct statistics until everyone around you is bored. The correct statistics are that rates of cycling all over the country, especially in London, have been rising for the last 10 years and more. That's not a constant ebb and flow. The correct statistics are that despite this enormous increase in cycling the number of serious incidents has been very small and stable.
(b) Show them it's safe. Cycle everywhere as a normal part of getting around the city, without making a fuss about it. If they ask you, point out it's safe and you rarely feel threatened if you follow some basic rules, especially around HGVs and buses. Point out that there's safety in numbers.

Riding alone does not encourage new riders

That's where I think you're wrong. It does. If you normalise something it encourages others. It takes time, but all the micro-nudges add up. I regularly get comments at meetings along the lines of "that's a good idea, I should do it - it would be quicker than taxis". If only one or two of those people eventually get around to doing the same as me the multiplier effect will translate very quickly into a long-term sustainable increase.

The other thing you can do, of course, is campaign against Boris and his ludicrous messages. Cities are for people, not for trucks or cars.