Monthly Archives: August 2011

‘Gridlock Nation’ – a review

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Kwasi Kwarteng is one of the bright young things of the Conservative Party. Back in 1995, he managed to win University Challenge ‘supposedly singlehandedly’ (Private Eye 1282) while a King’s Scholar at Trinity College Cambridge. Armed with a double first, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book review, Car dependence, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Exceptional hardship

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

A hat tip is due to cyclegaz, who runs the blog Don’t Phone and Drive, for bringing this to my attention. He writes that Reuben Hazell, who plays for Shrewsbury Town FC, was caught driving whilst using his mobile phone. … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Dangerous driving, Driving ban, The judiciary | 8 Comments

LCC’s curious image choice

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

The London Cycling Campaign members have voted to ‘Go Dutch‘ as their campaigning strategy for the London 2012 Mayoral elections, this option winning an outright majority of the votes. What I find rather interesting, in retrospect, are the images that … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling policy, Infrastructure, LCC, London, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

“Where will your bike take you?”

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

It’s nearly time for the “Mayor of London’s Sky Ride.” Which also means it is, habitually, time for Boris to cavort around with Kelly Brook on a nice safe patch of grass just outside the London Assembly. Nice horn, Boris. … Continue reading →

Posted in Boris Johnson, Cycling policy, Helmets, Infrastructure, London, Road safety | 2 Comments

How to access an eco-development

Posted on August 23, 2011 by

Intrigued by this comment What I want to know is why cycle lanes are not being designed into every new development? We have a massive “Eco” development near us – Upton, Northampton – and there is not one cycle lane … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Cycling policy, Infrastructure, Town planning, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

The extraordinary claims of an anti-infrastructuralist

Posted on August 21, 2011 by

The homepage of an organization that apparently considers cycle lanes and tracks to be ‘irrelevant.’ Last week, on the website Cyclechat, a contributor by name of Tommi posted a large list of academic papers that showed – or purported to show – … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling policy, Europe, Infrastructure, The Netherlands, Uncategorized | 82 Comments

A tale of two bridges, and two cities

Posted on August 20, 2011 by

London is allegedly undergoing a cycling revolution – an apparent sea-change which has seen a proliferation of pointless paint across the capital, the emergence of a bike hire scheme, the occasional mass cycling event when roads are closed to traffic, and… … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Europe, Infrastructure, Road safety, Transport for London, Transport policy | 4 Comments

How to “tame the traffic” on a shared space street

Posted on August 18, 2011 by

In a post on shared space back in July, I noted how the high-minded concepts of these kinds of schemes are eroded by a failure to address the vexed issue of motor traffic flow. The streets can’t truly be ‘shared’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Horsham, Shared Space, Town planning | 1 Comment

Children using bikes in Horsham

Posted on August 17, 2011 by

Why cycling in Horsham is going nowhere, in a single picture. Helmets? Check. Flourescent bibs? Check. Going nowhere near the road? Check. These children quite plainly like riding their bikes. They are, unfortunately, examples of the very small minority of British children who … Continue reading →

Posted in Horsham, Road safety | 6 Comments

A week of carnage on local Sussex roads

Posted on August 15, 2011 by

Some recent road safety news from around Horsham. On Friday 5th August – Man arrested following RTC in Ringmer A 56-year-old man from West Sussex has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving following a two vehicle collision on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Dangerous driving, Road safety, Uncategorized | 2 Comments