Why Isn't Cycling Normal in London? - video

[mark a.]

This is brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gohSeOYheXg

It's funny and informative, as Jay's videos usually are. You can stop once you get to the advert at the end. Hopefully there will be a follow-on video or two.

[Vorpal]

I love Jay's video's. That seems to be part of 'Unfinished London'? There are some other good videos in that series, though, it does sound like this one is the first part of one about cycling infrastructure.

[mjr]

I didn't notice anything glaringly wrong, but of course some of the interpretation is debatable. You'll find some quite heated debates of it on these forums!

It's probably debatable partly because Boris contradicted himself so often and because TfL have been basically silent on certain points: like have they ever admitted that some of the junction designs on CS2 arising from some pretty dodgy paid-for evidence from TRL were basically clusterfark cyclist-mashers, for example? I know they don't build many like them now but the awful dump-cyclists-into-the-gutter-across-side-road-junctions layout (officially called "Reintegration ahead of junction" maybe because it can integrate cyclists into cars as bonnet ornaments) remains an option in the London Cycling Design Standards (section 5.3.4 if you want to look it up), although it now says the TRL report has "not been corroborated in on-street trialling, and so caution is recommended in applying these recommendations."

But hey, it's a short documentary on youtube - it doesn't have to justify its claims fully and because it's so debatable, I'd be surprised if anyone can conclusively disprove any of them.

[Username]

Cycling isnt normal in London because the bicycle shops there only sell cheese, which they have also ran out of.

[Slowroad]

Thanks - really interesting video! Think some of his others will be good too.

[Igobybike]

As a London cyclist, I would have said cycling is 'normal' in London - well, perhaps not quite as normal as in Cambridge perhaps, for example, but considering its size I'm pretty sure it's a lot more normal than in many other UK cities. Certainly a lot more normal than in Birmingham, for example

[mercalia]

I have just been reading the LLC "London Cyclist" magazine for London and there is an interesting article about Luddite Westminster council trying to thwart improving cycling in that borough which would impact car useage ( and their very nice income from parking charges) even if it means doing nothing to decrease pollution. When Oxford st is closed off to cars they also want to exclude cycles, while not supplying an alternative route that is used by 5000 cyclists each day. Seems like Chelsea and Wandsworth not much better. Seems like Westminster have been trying to stop the closing of the Regents Park gates to traffic even though they have no jurisdiction over it.

[mark a.]

Part 2 is now up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DNNIB_PdaA

It's also very good.

[mjr]

Part 2 is now up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DNNIB_PdaA

It's also very good.

I don't think it's as good as Part 1, sadly. In order:

• Have the Regents Park, Chiswick and Tower Bridge to Greenwich projects actually been cancelled? I thought they were still in development or consultation and there was recent upbeat news on the Regents Park one. I've no idea about Old Street - didn't even know that one was even considered even though it would be the most useful to me of the four.
• Quietways - fair criticism. The Kensington gap and the Royal Parks - points nicely made.
• Mini Holland - hahahaha
• Road Tax and unhelpful media - fair points.
• Claiming helmet-pushers are non-cyclists and claiming most cycling deaths happen by people cycling up the left side of lorries - I'm pretty sure both of these are untrue and the left side of lorries one is a particularly obnoxious victim-blaming legend.
• Cycling superhighways taking space from cars - debatable but probably true in London.
• Making fun of the Skycycle and the Underline - fair points.
• Stevenage being empty because motoring is too easy - debatable.
• Space-efficiency as the main benefit of cycling, rather than non-polluting - OK but a bit wrong to imply electric cars solve pollution entirely.
• Objecting to the name superhighways - debatable.
• Ending with an off-screen crash - *yawn*

[MikeF]

Just what has Khan achieved for cycling whilst he's been in office?

[Sweep]

Give in.

Not sure khan has achieved anything really. Always comes across as a smoothish middle manager to me mostly uttering platitudes.

[mercalia]

Give in.

Not sure khan has achieved anything really. Always comes across as a smoothish middle manager to me mostly uttering platitudes.

well he wants to increase the super pollution exclusion zone to include every where in the north/south curcular roads -