Monthly Archives: September 2014

On being hit by a car. Or, why ‘mutual respect’ is incoherent.

Today marks the third anniversary of the last time I was hit by a motor vehicle. It wasn’t the worst collision I’ve suffered, but it sticks in the memory, partly because it is the most recent, but also because – … Continue reading

Posted in mutual respect | 25 Comments

Why is the Evening Standard’s transport correspondent presenting the Superhighway proposals in the worst possible light?

A short piece on the Evening Standard’s reporting of the Superhighway proposals. The first article in the Standard came on the 11th September, entitled Business leaders in revolt over Boris Johnson’s cycle superhighway plans, quoting an (unnamed) business leader describing the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 20 Comments

Selective attention to danger

The local cycling forum in Horsham are banging their heads against something of a brick wall, attempting to get contraflow cycling on a short (residential) street that has one-way flow. This is Barrington Road. There’s a bit of background here, but essentially … Continue reading

Posted in Horsham, Infrastructure, London, Safety | 14 Comments

Cycling is only as discriminatory as we make it

The Birmingham Post has published an excellent response to the claims from Councillor Deirdre Alden that cycling is in some way discriminatory. It’s worth reading in full, despite the headline about ‘sport’, which presumably has been added by a sub-editor. At … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Exempting people cycling from signals, and how that can benefit people walking

By way of a follow-up to last week’s post about reducing the need to stop at traffic lights while cycling, I thought I’d take a look at exemptions to signals – how they work in the Netherlands, and how they … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

The City of London needs to think again about its response to the Superhighway proposals

I wouldn’t mind so much if the arguments being presented against the new Superhighway proposals in London were actually considered, and credible. But they’re not. In many cases, they’re ridiculous. Let’s examine the recent City of London response, which sadly is pretty much nonsense, from … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Light touch

I wrote a piece last month about the appropriate long-term response to people breaking the law while cycling – in short, it’s to fix the street they’re cycling on, so they’re not breaking the law anymore. For instance – if … Continue reading

Posted in The Netherlands, Traffic lights | 11 Comments

The E-W and N-S Superhighways – major change, that needs to be supported

So the big story this week is obviously the launch of the consultations on two new ‘Superhighway’ routes in London. One running from Elephant & Castle towards Kings Cross; the other from the Westway to Tower Hill. Undeniably, there are … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

‘Setting back’ cycling – why have the Transport Research Laboratory got junction design so wrong?

So the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) have published their findings into the safety of cycle track design at junctions – or, more specifically, Trials of segregation set-back at side roads [pdf], to give the report (PPR703) its full title. This report … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 58 Comments

It’s not 1934

Last year I wrote a long piece about (British) ideological opposition to cycle tracks alongside roads; opposition flowing from the notion that such provision represents a ‘surrender’ of the road network. People making this argument claim a variety of things. They … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 24 Comments