Author Archives: aseasyasriding

A letter from Zohra

I recently chanced upon this amazing letter, written to the British Medical Journal, almost exactly 13 years ago. Why do school children cycle on the continent, but not in the UK? Dear Editor, I have been reading the responses to … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure, Cycling policy, The Netherlands, John Franklin, Cyclecraft, 20 mph limits, Subjective safety | 21 Comments

The sound of silence

I’m in the midst of reading the fascinating Noise – A Human History of Sound and Listening, by David Hendy. Towards the end of the book, in a discussion of our recent ‘search for silence’ – how silence is increasingly … Continue reading

Posted in Car dependence, London, noise, Pedestrianisation, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Town planning | 12 Comments

Accessibility versus amenity – how the bicycle can solve the dilemma

Yesterday I gave a brief presentation at a Town Centre Opportunities event in London; the theme of the conference was on revitalising urban space and keeping ‘The High Street’ thriving. I was invited to talk in a supposedly provocative capacity, … Continue reading

Posted in Car dependence, Cycling Embassy Of Great Britain, Department for Transport, Infrastructure, Parking, Pedestrianisation, Subjective safety, Sustrans, The Netherlands, Town planning, Transport policy | 14 Comments

The AGM of the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain

Just over two years ago, around 40 people gathered in a cafe in central London. The meeting, which had arisen organically and informally out of discussion on a number of blogs, involved the founding the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain. … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Gilligan, Cycling Embassy Of Great Britain, Cyclists' Touring Club, Go Dutch, Hierarchy of Provision, Infrastructure, LCC, London, Subjective safety, The Times' Cities Safe for Cycling campaign, Transport for London | 6 Comments

Westminster’s cycling strategy – how bad is it?

There was a flutter of excitement at the Cycle City Expo in Birmingham last Friday when Andrew Gilligan mentioned that the important (in many senses) London borough of Westminster would shortly publish a very ambitious cycling strategy, and not just … Continue reading

Posted in 20 mph limits, Andrew Gilligan, Boris Johnson, Car dependence, Cycling policy, Infrastructure, London, Subjective safety, Transport for London | 27 Comments

We don’t need ‘innovative’ solutions – just copy what works

We saw yesterday what Transport for London have been asking the Transport Research Laboratory to test for them. It is an almost exact copy of a conventional Dutch roundabout with perimeter cycle tracks. They have even copied across the Dutch … Continue reading

Posted in Absurd transport solutions, Andrew Gilligan, Infrastructure, Safety, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Transport for London | 21 Comments

Bollards

After writing recently about gryatories and one-way systems – and how they can actually be beneficial for cycling, if applied judiciously – I thought I’d turn my attention to another piece of much-maligned urban infrastructure, the humble bollard. Frequently impugned … Continue reading

Posted in Bollards, Cycling policy, Infrastructure, London, Permeability, Subjective safety, The Netherlands | 5 Comments

Who is dying while riding a bike?

Some interesting statistics have just been released by the Dutch statistics bureau – their road deaths for 2012 [Translated here - thanks to Mark Wagenbuur]. I’ve presented here in chart form the age range of those dying while riding a bike … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure, Road safety, Subjective safety, The Netherlands | 9 Comments

Conflict between lorries and bicycles

To add to the distressing news of the death of the climatologist Kat Giles on Victoria Street two weeks ago, a young man on a Boris Bike was seriously injured in London last Friday in what seem to be very … Continue reading

Posted in Go Dutch, Infrastructure, Junction Review, London, Road safety, Subjective safety, Transport for London | 15 Comments