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David Arditti’s Vole O’Speed blog was renowned for astute cycling infrastructure observations. His Love London Go Dutch campaign, was selected by LCC from proposals by four candidates.
He makes his pitch in the video linked in the blog.
Thursday, 28 July 2016
“Five years ago today the video below was issued by LCC as part of a consultation exercise with its members to find out what their preferred campaign might be for the 2012 London Mayoral election.
In it, I argued that the key first step towards mass cycling is the provision of high-quality segregated cycle tracks on main roads.
The overwhelming support this concept gained from the membership led directly to the Love London, Go Dutch campaign, the commitments secured from Boris Johnson, his Mayor’s Vision for Cycling, and the system of quality segregated cycle tracks we now see starting to be developed on the main roads of London, so conspicuously enabling all-abilities, ‘8 to 80’ cycling in places where this had not been dreamed of before. So I am proud of this.”
The video was filmed on Camden’s Torrington Place, years later to receive, ‘both sides segregation’ – more recently upgraded with wider-tracks and more robust kerbs.
In this 2016 blog, David notes that The Quietway element of The Mayor’s Vision (closing rat-runs) – was far tougher to achieve than “carving space for cycling out of main roads by physical segregation”
“We’ve seen that again and again, in Lambeth, Camden, Hackney … progressive proposals from boroughs for area-wide traffic reduction in residential districts have been defeated by opponents.”
The consensus that main roads should allow protected space for cycling was not reflected in the need for calmed neighbourhoods; but the 2012 campaign was to influence the Mayor–who only controlled the major roads.
“So it made sense for the campaign to be calling for stuff that he could bring about directly.
The point about the main road treatments is they really do generate new users, they get people out of their cars and off the buses and tubes, and start to build up the mass of influence we need to get the other, more difficult changes through.”
David’s idea was to generate a mass cycling culture via the “huge propaganda power of the cycle track carved in granite out of what was previously space ruled by motors … immediately comprehended in a way that filtered permeability just isn’t.”
The proof of all this seems amply demonstrated by what we see on the roads of Central London today.
Mind you, I never expected to see the scene that was videoed by Wayne David last Saturday at the Embankment, site of the East-West Cycle Superhighway, the route for which I first suggested to Andrew Gilligan, the future Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner, in 2012.
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Some questions to ponder upon in response to the above, and indeed, to the Camden and wider news items posted so far.
(Regular format hopefully restored next month!)
++ Have we seen too much demonisation of people riding bicycles? (The commissioner elected after Andrew Gilligan had to be seen to represent cycling and walking).
++ How have the UKGov, and London boroughs’ inability, to attain default Dutch-style through-traffic-free neighbourhoods (or Woonerfs, or ‘Home zones’) reflected the permission, implicitly granted for a strand of UK cultural toxic-masculine aggression to be expressed against fellow citizens via their motor vehicles?
++ Does the UK media have too much power in perpetuating and maintaining this normalisation of road violence?
++ Does place-making create sufficient demand for people to spend time in their neighbourhoods, whilst out-of-borough-rat-running remains a serious issue?
++ Should the Mayor of London be granted powers – such as those granted to assist with the Oxford Street pedestrianisation (which is primarily to facilitate shopping rather than the enablement of people cycling) to facilitate a default swathe of LTNs?
++ Should the UKGov be doing the same?
++ Why is London, the world’s largest metropolis, the only capital city required to fund its public transport system from revenue received rather than central government?
++ Is it time that LCC embarked on a “Love London Go Dutch Mk II” campaign? … given the Dutch blueprint for transformation, is the only one available? – (Used across the globe to reclaim space ravaged by motor traffic – most notably, along with huge ambition, by cities in China).
You can write to your elected decision-makers here.
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