please empty your brain below
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Actually, I'd say the benefit is more about moving away from our hitherto car-centric fixated view of city planning and towards the pedestrian and cyclist. I'm a little concerned about the impact this might have on public transport in the short and medium term, though. But, it is very very interesting that it is happening. Ten years ago - even five years ago - it would have been inconceivable.
Cycling is just something ordinary people do to travel from A to B, with minimal impact. The sooner it becomes an ordinary, unexceptional thing to be doing (which has started) the better our cities will become and the less there will be a requiremnet for "cyclist" provision almost as if a cyclist is a different animal.
Ham | 10.02.15 - 7:42 a.m. | #
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... sorry, do I understand from this that after the cycle lane is put in the footpath will be narrower and there will be fewer bus-stops? That is outrageous (especially the bus stops)! It is important to have as many bus stops as possible for people who can't walk far, or vulnerable people (i.e. women and girls) who need to get of at stops at night as close to home as possible. I 'get' that cyclists have needs too, but modifications at the expense of pedestrians and public transport users are outrageous!
Antipodean | 10.02.15 - 8:46 a.m. | #
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If you can bear to watch the webcast of the TfL board meeting that approved it on Wednesday 4th February you can understand that this scheme is massive, expensive and really will have a dramatic effect. You also get some idea of the tensions between board members when approving it.
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/mayor/webcasts
Pedantic of Purley | 10.02.15 - 8:50 a.m. | #
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At least Newham have been doing their bit to ease the strain on the poor old A11. The end of the Greenway that connects to Stratford High Street is now closed for the rest of the year while Thames Water repair the channelsea bridge. Necessary work, but no diversion signage for abandoned pedestrians and cyclists, and they've unnecessarily closed it from Manor Road, rather than Canning Road on the grounds of 'safety', making the route complicated, longer and containing awful lot of stairs.
Jammy | Homepage | 10.02.15 - 8:52 a.m. | #
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Hopefully we'll end up with a facility that you yourself want to use. The whole point of this stuff is that you don't have to feel like an urban warrior to get on a bike and go somewhere. If people see that they're getting something that is useful to them then they're less likely to grumble about the inconvenience of getting it.
Jammy | Homepage | 10.02.15 - 8:56 a.m. | #
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No gain without pain!
@Antipodean ".......modifications at the expense of pedestrians and public transport users are outrageous" - Agreed!
| 10.02.15 - 9:49 a.m. | #
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@ Antipodean - there is also the high probability of severe traffic disruption across a wide area on inner east and south London as TfL progress several schemes. We not only have CS2 being modified but works at Aldgate, Elephant and Castle, Vauxhall, Victoria, Oval plus the N-S and E-W cycle superhighways. Many of these works will overlap because of the political imperative of May 2016 and Boris being able to declare these new facilities open. The fact that millions of bus passengers will likely see their bus services collapse in the short term is neither here nor there. I have also been unable to find a fully comprehensive analysis from TfL as to the likely cumulative impact of these cycle schemes on *all* bus services that will be affected by these highway changes. TfL have published some sample estimates for a limited number of routes but given many bus routes will encounter several of these schemes the end result could be much slower bus services, fewer bus stops and much worse interchange between bus routes at certain key locations. This is despite TfL trying to add in some extra bus priority in some locations to try to minimise the impact of bus journey times.
PC | 10.02.15 - 12:12 p.m. | #
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You can be guaranteed that after all that, they'll still just ride on the pavement or pile their bikes onto packed rush hour trains.
Simon | 10.02.15 - 4:22 p.m. | #
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Too true. Those "urban warriors" on their bikes should behave in a proper manner to those if us who use the pavements to get about.
Anthony Finerty | Homepage | 10.02.15 - 5:04 p.m. | #
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@ PC - I don't live in London, but I got the general picture and I commiserate with you!
@ Simon and Anthony - Yes, this happens in my city too. Cyclists feel free to ride on the road and on the footpath - whatever suits them at the time - and when they ride on paths many are completely disrespectful of pedestrians, treating us as obstacles in their way (and, in fact, displaying many of the same behaviours they accuse drivers of).
I hope that any public transport users group there has spoken out against the proposed disruptions and their detrimental effect on pedestrians and bus users.
Antipodean | 11.02.15 - 1:48 a.m. | #
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Anyone running a sweepstake on how long it will overrun?
Dave | 11.02.15 - 5:45 a.m. | #
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*sigh* It didn't take long for the sweeping comments about 'cyclists' to come out, did it?
It shouldn't bear repeating but it obviously, and sadly, does:
- Not all car drivers drive dangerously, though a small minority do;
- Not all pedestrians walk into roads and cycle paths, causing danger to cyclists and themselves, though a small minority do; and
- Not all cyclists ride through red lights, cycle on pavements, [insert tired generalisation here].
Love,
A cyclist, pedestrian, car driver and bus and train passenger
BeefQueen | 11.02.15 - 11:57 p.m. | #
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