Monthly Archives: July 2011

Protest ride today on Blackfriars Bridge

Posted on July 29, 2011 by

Incredibly, it seems that Transport for London are entirely disregarding the welter of criticisms their plans for ‘improving’ Blackfriars Bridge have received over the last few months, and are simply pressing ahead, regardless, with their preferred scheme. This evening. In … Continue reading →

Posted in 20 mph limits, Cycling policy, London, Road safety, Transport for London | 3 Comments

Longer lorries coming to Britain’s roads?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by

There’s an interesting article in the current issue of Private Eye (Eye 1292) about the government’s apparent willingness to allow longer articulated trucks onto our roads. It asks the rather pointed question Why is a Tory-led government considering letting even … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Just how motor vehicle-centric is Transport for London?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by

Very, seems to be the answer, given that they seem to think pedestrians are just like cars. How so? On pages 25-27 of their Network Operating Strategy document (draft), Transport for London describe how they have conducted ‘Signal timing reviews’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Boris Johnson, Car dependence, Transport for London | 2 Comments

The delusion of ‘shared space’ as an urban transport panacea

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

Exhibition Road – a vision of paradise Our urban planners seem to be collectively labouring under a rather strange delusion; a delusion that removing pavements and tarmac road surfaces and replacing them with an expanse of granite blocks will automatically … Continue reading →

Posted in Department for Transport, London, Shared Space, Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Making the motor vehicle seem sensible

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

A few months ago, I was wandering around The Science Museum in London, and I encountered this startling vision of the future – It’s the Toyota ‘i-Unit’. According to Toyota – The “i-unit” is a form of “personal mobility” that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Are some motoring fines so low they actually encourage law-breaking?

Posted on July 10, 2011 by

If you manage to get caught travelling at anything up to 50 mph in a 30 mph area by a speed camera, you will, most typically, receive a fixed penalty of £60. However, if you decide to make your number … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous driving, Road safety, The judiciary | 1 Comment

Doing the Metropolitan Police’s job for them

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

I write this post in the interests of tracking down the clearly violent individual shown in the video above. Although the police were easily able to locate the registered keeper of the car involved, it seems that – by an … Continue reading →

Posted in Assault, Metropolitan Police | 8 Comments

Cyclists – Don’t be here, and don’t be there. Just don’t be.*

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

Only 1-2% of trips in London are made by bicycle. In a perverse way, I can find a great deal of hope in those numbers, because it tells me that a large number of people want to cycle, despite the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

A friendly warning from Thames Materials

Posted on July 6, 2011 by

“Cyclists - Beware of passing this vehicle on the inside” Presumably because the driver could be drunk, using his mobile phone, and have 20 previous convictions for driving while disqualified? Putz, of Barnet, North London, was previously jailed for six months … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous driving, London, Road safety | 3 Comments

Michael Isherwood – another cyclist death, another scandalous sentence

Posted on July 5, 2011 by

Let us imagine the case of a train driver who fell asleep at the controls of his train. Let us further imagine, as a result of being asleep, he fails to stop at a red signal, causing an accident which … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous driving, Road safety, The judiciary | 2 Comments