Mark Sutton 30 November, 2020
This article comes courtesy of electricbikereport.com contributor Richard Peace, who in today’s long read explores the often fraught issue of rights access for bike and e-Bike riders in the countryside.
The Lost Miles
What did the Romans ever do for us? So goes the famous refrain in Monty Python’s Life of Brian film, quoted a million times since. As it happened they pioneered good quality roads throughout much of the country and began a long history of laying down horse (and often cart) friendly rights of way in the pre-motor vehicle era, that could help provide a 21st century revolution in access for those on two wheels.
Petition –– Direct TfL to take control of arterial roads in Kensington and Chelsea – change.org
RBKC controls key east-west routes linking west London to the city centre, including Holland Park Avenue and Kensington High Street. These roads have a high potential for cycling, but conditions are currently too dangerous for many people to consider cycling along them.
RBKC has just announced that it intends to remove a temporary cycle lane which had been installed on Kensington High Street, on the grounds that it harms local business, yet it has produced no evidence to support this claim and the decision appears to be based on political pressure, not facts. In its 7 weeks of existence, the bike lane saw a tripling of people cycling along the High Street, along with reduced traffic congestion – a clear demonstration of demand for safe cycling routes and of their efficiency in moving people across London.
Encouragement | As Easy As Riding A Bike
Posted on December 1, 2020
Annual bike sales to run at more than double new car registrations by 2030 – Cycle Industry News
Mark Sutton 2 December, 2020
Annual bike sales will run at more than double new car registrations by 2030, according to new forecasts by a trio of European cycling organisations.
The trend analysis of 30 European countries by CONEBI, CIE and the ECF illustrates that based on the current trajectory 10 million more bikes are expected to sell per year in Europe by 2030, representing a 47% rise on the 2019 tally. Once reached, the 30 million bikes sold annually will run at more than double the number of passenger cars registered per year in the EU.
Four in 10 Londoners say they are cycling more since COVID-19 outbreak | road.cc
Almost all are doing so to avoid public transport or driving, according to survey from Halfords
Four in 10 Londoners (39 per cent) say they are cycling more since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey from Halfords – and almost all (87 per cent) are doing so either to avoid the risk of infection while using public transport or to avoid adding to air pollution and traffic congestion while driving, or both.
A new cycling underpass in Utrecht | Bicycle Dutch
Utrecht opened a new cycling underpass in the canal route through the city on the rainy morning of 1 December 2020. The underpass replaces the only remaining at-grade intersection in a main cycle route next to a canal. According to the Utrecht chapter of the Fietsersbond (Cyclists’ Union) it remains now possible to cycle from Houten – via Utrecht – alongside the canal all the way to Amsterdam, a journey of almost 40 kilometres, without seeing a single traffic signal.
Sadiq Khan set to seize control of High Street Kensington to reinstate cycle lanes being axed by council | Evening Standard
Ross Lydall1 hour ago
SADIQ KHAN today suggested he was seeking to seize control of Kensington High Street in order to reinstate cycle lanes being ripped out by the Tory council.
The Mayor said Transport for London was considering “all other options” in addition to seeking a refund of the £320,000 of public money given to Kensington and Chelsea council to install the segregated lanes on either side of the high street.
TfL can apply to convert a major road into a “red route”, thus bringing it within its strategic route network, if the borough agrees. If the borough objects, it is up to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to decide.
2016) Motorway removed to bring back the original water | Bicycle Dutch
Cyclists with Extinction Rebellion flags protest removal of cycle lane – MailOnline (Note: The article contains a series of…inaccuracies––SE)
Rory Tingle
Today dozens pro-cycling protesters from around London took part in a ‘festive joyride’ that spilled out into lanes used by drivers.
Steven Edwards, 60, a guitar teacher and Extinction Rebellion activist from Camden, North London, told MailOnline: ‘I’m here to protest about the insane ripping out of this cycle lane.
‘It needs to be extended and expanded – I can’t think of anything worse than to remove it. Cycling is beneficial in every possible way. There are big opponents though, including taxi drivers.’
David Lincoln, 53, a community nurse from Islington, called for similar routes to be installed on every major road in the capital.
“Shameful, callous and retrograde”: 200 join protest against removal of Kensington High Street cycle lanes | road.cc
Council’s scrapping of infrastructure comes as Londoners urged to keep cycling and walking as lockdown lifts
Around 200 people took to their bikes on Kensington High Street this morning in protest at the decision of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s decision to remove emergency cycle lanes there this week – a decision that the head of London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has described as “shameful, callous and retrograde.”
The protest, held in accordance with lockdown rules, came as Londoners are being urged to continue cycling and walking to ease pressure on the city’s public transport network ahead of restrictions being lifted at midnight tonight.
This morning, cycling and environmental campaigners – plus at least four dogs in bicycle baskets – joined children, parents and staff from the Fox Primary School in Kensington to protest against the removal of the lanes, which had only been installed in September.