London Assembly Transport Committee's review of cycle schemes

[Ravenbait]

Nope. Parallax is used to determine the distance to stars, planets, and so on. Having one eye is not necessary to do this. Quite obviously.

Comprehension fail.

Having one eye makes it necessary to do this as there is a lack of stereo vision to do the job. Trust me. I do know what I'm talking about.

No, I wasn't doing that at all.

So what did this mean?

What a strangely one-eyed view of this discussion you seem to have.

What does "one-eyed" mean in this context?

Sam

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

Having one eye makes it necessary to do this as there is a lack of stereo vision to do the job. Trust me. I do know what I'm talking about.

I understand you. Apologies. (I do usually know what I'm talking about as well, although that may not be obvious when I misread someone else's post.)

What does "one-eyed" mean in this context?

I was under the impression that "one-eyed" was a fairly common expression - I have found an example here, for instance - that does not necessarily carry with it implications about the actual ability of one-eyed people to perceive the world. If you feel it does I will happily withdraw it and replace it with "partial" or "partisan".

 

[Ravenbait]

I was under the impression that "one-eyed" was a fairly common expression - I have found an example here, for instance - that does not necessarily carry with it implications about the actual ability of one-eyed people to perceive the world. If you feel it does I will happily withdraw it and replace it with "partial" or "partisan".

It's genuinely not one I've heard before. Don't worry about it, though, I have thicker skin than that .

From the article to which you've linked it would seem that users of the phrase think that having two eyes is like seeing through 3D glasses: look through just the one and everything is green (or red, depending on which one).

How quaint.

Sam

 

[stowie]

I'm pleased - but do bear in mind that the benefits of the Stratford contraflow can only be truly appreciated at one in the morning in the company of loons. Click the link below. Give it a try.....

Went around Stratford yesterday, and the traffic was so stationary that I didn't bother with the contraflow. There are roadworks in the contraflow as well at the moment, so getting past stationary buses was trickier than it should be. It appears that the intention is to dig up the whole of Stratford before the Olympics.

The rides look excellent. I would like to do the Southend run, but am away on the date. However work commitments change so may be able to do the March one. I will add the ride to my list of New Year resolutions!

 

[sheddy]

A 2010 Dutch Cycle survey here - http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/7/1/89 (stolen from CTC Cycleclips)

Reasons for not cycling - 'living too far from work', 'sweating', 'too time-consuming'. No mention of - danger, safety, fear, frightened

And 'a large proportion of the cyclists thought nothing could be improved'

 

[jonesy]

A 2010 Dutch Cycle survey here - http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/7/1/89 (stolen from CTC Cycleclips)

Reasons for not cycling - 'living too far from work', 'sweating', 'too time-consuming'. No mention of - danger, safety, fear, frightened

And 'a large proportion of the cyclists thought nothing could be improved'

Yes, this is the paper that got mentioned in the Cambridge travel survey thread about travel distances. It is worth noting:

" The majority (71%) lived no more than eight kilometers from work. The average single trip distance to work was 6.0 kilometers (median 5 km). Women cycled significantly fewer kilometers (5.3 km) to work than men (6.3 km)."

 

[stowie]

Yes, this is the paper that got mentioned in the Cambridge travel survey thread about travel distances. It is worth noting:

" The majority (71%) lived no more than eight kilometers from work. The average single trip distance to work was 6.0 kilometers (median 5 km). Women cycled significantly fewer kilometers (5.3 km) to work than men (6.3 km)."

What is the average distance in the UK? Last time I read this statistic it was that the average commute in the UK was 8.7 miles - still within cycling range for many.

Even if work commuting may be more difficult, the average car journey in the UK still indicates that many journeys could be made without resorting to the car.

 

[jonesy]

What is the average distance in the UK? Last time I read this statistic it was that the average commute in the UK was 8.7 miles - still within cycling range for many.

Even if work commuting may be more difficult, the average car journey in the UK still indicates that many journeys could be made without resorting to the car.

Yes, but the point is that when you look at places with high levels of cycling, the average cycle commute is much shorter than that. We really do have to be realistic about the sort of distances people are going to cycle in large numbers. Forget 8.7 miles, that's for people who are quite keen. You can largely forget 5 miles (80% of cycle trips in the UK are below 5 miles, and that is for all cycle trips, not just commuting. Basically, mass cycling is for places with lots of trips in the 1 to 3 mile range; yes we still need to encourage the 3 to 5 mile and above trips, the more out on bikes the merrier, but they aren't going to create a critical mass.

 

[stowie]

Yes, but the point is that when you look at places with high levels of cycling, the average cycle commute is much shorter than that. We really do have to be realistic about the sort of distances people are going to cycle in large numbers. Forget 8.7 miles, that's for people who are quite keen. You can largely forget 5 miles (80% of cycle trips in the UK are below 5 miles, and that is for all cycle trips, not just commuting. Basically, mass cycling is for places with lots of trips in the 1 to 3 mile range; yes we still need to encourage the 3 to 5 mile and above trips, the more out on bikes the merrier, but they aren't going to create a critical mass.

I am sure there are many trips in London within this range - isn't the average car journey something incredible like a couple of miles or something? And this is without thinking that maybe great cycle parking facilities at suburban train and tube stations may encourage people to cycle the typically shortish distance to get to the station?

UK journey distances may be somewhat longer than somewhere which has had high cycling rates for a long time - but the journey distances are in part due to the town planning that went on with only the car in mind. And I think there are enough short journeys that could use a cycle even now.

I think a lot of it is a mindset. It certainly was with me - I used to drive round the corner to do my shopping even though it took longer than even walking. It was simply habit.

 

[dellzeqq]

there are many trips in London within that range, but, sadly, planners have encouraged car based shopping and allowed high streets to decay. Most Italian cities have thriving local economies that are within walking distance of people's dwellings. We have Tesco stores with 350 car spaces.

And that's the problem. It's not just about the design of streets, it's about urban form (sorry, but you hopefully know what I'm on about). Tax large car parks out of existence and you've got yourself a cycling city.

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

there are many trips in London within that range, but, sadly, planners have encouraged car based shopping and allowed high streets to decay. Most Italian cities have thriving local economies that are within walking distance of people's dwellings. We have Tesco stores with 350 car spaces.

And that's the problem. It's not just about the design of streets, it's about urban form (sorry, but you hopefully know what I'm on about). Tax large car parks out of existence and you've got yourself a cycling city.

Exactly. We're up against a legacy of 30 to 40 years of dreadful urban planning. That inertia is going to be hard to overcome.

 

[dellzeqq]

Exactly. We're up against a legacy of 30 to 40 years of dreadful urban planning. That inertia is going to be hard to overcome.

if you involve yourself with the local planning process you can be part of the overcoming

 

[GrumpyGregry]

if you involve yourself with the local planning process you can be part of the overcoming

we like to think the Horsham Cycling Forum is part of our local overcoming. WheelyGoodFun is most welcome to join in.

 

[style over speed]

Just cycled along the superhighway from Colliers Wood to Balham this evening, its more like a carpark there are at least 60 cars parked on the blue bits. Not another cyclist to be seen unsurprisingly.

Did discover a considerable stretch of wide cycle path along the A217 towards Morden which could do with resurfacing but apart from a couple of poor junctions was pretty decent.

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

we like to think the Horsham Cycling Forum is part of our local overcoming. WheelyGoodFun is most welcome to join in.

Thanks Greg. I've just sent you an email.