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Dominic introduced Jon, referring to his role as president of CCC. 
Jon described himself as a “jobbing cyclist” – his cycling enables him to do his job. He uses his cycle every day, wherever he has lived (e.g. Washington and Rome) and on holidays too. He doesn’t go in for CTC-type touring except for one charity ride in Italy of 1000 miles in 10 days, of which he remembers little!
Jon said It’s the only mechanism in London for efficient work. e.g. he got to a meeting earlier that day in 9 minutes, but the other people were all late (alternative means of travel are inefficient). He referred to safety in numbers in London with cycling up 91% since 2000 and a 33% fall in cycle casualties since 1994-8. Suggested we read the CTC paper. CTC safety in Numbers
Jon said his life is a case study on Journalism and Cycling – he wouldn’t have reached the heights he has without a cycle. He started work as a youth worker in Camden, but found it too taxing emotionally and started to write about it. This led to work at LBC talking to callers who were too mad to go on air. But it was mostly mad people who called, so LBC went bankrupt.
As a reporter in 1974 at the time of the IRA bombs, Jon would cycle off to the source of a bang, passing lines of hacks in taxis, arriving before the police had put up the yellow tape. It was before mobiles arrived, so he used a walkie-talkie radio, broadcasting from a moving cycle, telling the police they were on the air when they tried to move him on. People didn’t realise the advantage to be gained from the cycle.
Then came the job at ITN. When John Major resigned from the Tory party, Jon set off at 5.30pm for Downing Street, fixed his bike to the railings, knocked on the door and was let in to do an interview, borrowing a camera crew. He rushed back for 7pm news with a few minutes to spare – he recommends ice cubes behind the ears for cooling off.
Turning left on red
The whole issue of signals requires an overhaul – they’ve been in use for 60-70 years, with no change. How about all-amber flashing signal ouside rush hour? Signals are a menace, bike boxes help, but are a temptation to move forward. Jon sited the turn from Tottenham Court Road into Howland Street where cyclists have a special left filter – why not do the same elsewhere?
Jon joined CTC to publicise cycling – they have 60,000 members and huge potential, individualists with drive – “cogists”. Sustrans also has potential, but is eclectic. Jon feels that CTC neglects “jobbing cyclists’. On Jon’s commute, 10 years ago, he met 6-10 cyclists, now 50-60 in a 3 mile run. On the two-way tracks in Bloomsbury, there is no sense of community, cyclists are still a dog-eat-dog, primeval stage. Cyclists should be friends, it would be good to be more like Denmark – there’s a lack of community here.
We need a profound cultural change – there’s been very little real action against the place of the private car. Jon proposed a private-car-free zone between Euston Road, the river, Aldgate and Park Lane – just allowing residents to come in to park. The C-charge proved there are no votes in cars. Jon uses motorbike taxis e.g. to go to Canary Wharf but wouldn’t drive on.
Questions
The members enjoyed and agreed with Jon’s discussions, and he in turn listened and responded informatively 
The following attempts to give a flavour of the discussion
- cyclists go on all green? need to consider pedestrians e.g. could have filters and shared use
- permeability? agrees one-way streets are a menace to cyclists e.g contraflow from Kings Cross on Grays Inn Road would be useful
- why have cyclists a terrible imag? people are justified in hating cyclists, they jump red lights, go on the footway; practicalities haven’t caught up with culture; there will be warfare until a major change takes place; there are good interactions in Holland
- responsibility – when will we have the system where motorists are assumed responsible for collisions with cyclists (see Holland for example) ? CTC says we kill very few pedestrians but annoy a lot. Cycling should be part of the national curriculum. But safer routes to schools has been a failure and the school run is a problem
- Bike Bus? getting the kids organised is a problem;
- Hampstead Heath as barrier to cycling to schools? Jon suggested asking for paths to be available just in school commuting times.
- P2Ws in Bus Lanes Jon doesn’t like motorbikes except when taxis and in general likes riding in bus lanes.
- Bikes and trains: Jon never books his bike on a train, but always manages to get it on. But access to trains and stations should be improved radically. The photo on the right shows Jon discussing the madness of the failure of train companies to permit cycles conveniently.
- Saving the car industry? No, let it go bust
- What should LCC do? Jon says peer influence is important e.g. in his office– get managers cycling and outlaw benefits for cars
Jon recommends battery-less lights – dynamos that run from moving magnets fastened on the wheels. Battery less lights
We estimate that at least 50 people came. Apparently the poster campaign by Roland Stahel brought in about 30 percent, the others mainly having got the information through the newsgroup or the monthly news update.
Photos by Lionel Shapiro
