Tag Archives: cycling

White City Opportunity Area Framework – Space For Cycling?

WCOAPF_boundary_june2013_tcm21-181437

The White City Opportunity Area Framework is currently in a second phase of consultation, it covers the area above. Comments are to be made by Friday 2nd August 2013, you can email them to whitecityOAPFconsultation@lbhf.gov.uk, ensure that you note which sections you are responding to in your comments.

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The Route Masters need a new map

Last week I watched the BBC’s ‘The Route Masters’, a series which has attempted to profile the roads side of Transport for London (TfL) in similar style to that given to their Tube cousins last year. It took until episode five before we finally reached an episode on ‘The Future’ which covered cycling. So, what kind of approach are the BBC taking to talking about cycling? And how much of this is a reflection of the institutional TfL view of it?

EyeTVSnapshot[189]

First mention of cycling comes from Michelle Dix of TfL – “we want to encourage people to use public transport, or of course cycle”

EyeTVSnapshot[190]

And of course we get a motorist chatting back from behind the wheel – “how to get people out of their cars, I don’t know whether you can.” We then see some enforcement of yellow box junctions via CCTV and police catching drivers using waste ground beside a dual carriageway to escape a jam via a backstreet. “Drivers are not the only ones who are breaking the rules to speed up their journeys”, says the strangely sober voiceover and off we go to the cyclists section.

EyeTVSnapshot[91]

We start with an aerial shot of cyclists negotiating a multi lane gyratory, this is legal.

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A step change, hopefully without a dismount

Today saw the unveiling of the London Mayor’s (revamped) Vision For Cycling In London. Launched by one Andrew Gilligan (yes, that one) freshly appointed as the Mayor’s £38k a year two day a week cycling commissioner.

The main item being focussed upon in the Evening Standard is the proposed ‘Crossrail for the bike’, a fifteen mile route from Hillingdon to Barking designed to be continuous and largely segregated. In particular people are focussing on the proposed change of use of a lane on the Westway from cars to cycles, it appears my blog was ahead of the curve on this!

Just imagine it, take all the money you’d spend on something like Crossrail (£12bn+?) and for maybe £1bn we could have a suspended cycleway running east to west

My Kinda Westway, February 2008

It might be tight in London, but that shouldn’t mean we can’t find the space for a single dedicated East-West route for bikes. And if we really can’t, why not take the vision of Crossrail into another mode and make something elevated or tunnelled if we must. Cyclists aren’t going to go away.

Lucky Seven, February 2012

This was idle talk five years ago, it was hopeful talk one year ago – it’s a heavily promoted part of a plan today. However, we are not talking about an entirely elevated route such as that mooted as the Skycycle or that I first mentioned. Instead this would reuse an existing part of the Westway which has seen a reduction in motorised traffic and hence space is available for reuse. Continue reading