Calling any London cyclists

BR_Gregor

London cyclist? I'm interviewing the Commissioner for Cycling in London next week, Andrew Gilligan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gilligan). Is there anything you'd like me to ask him in specific reference to cycling in the capital?

Maybe about the latest cycling superhighways? The cutting down of rad traffic injuries? Lorries v bikes and traffic at roundabouts?

If there's something you want to grill him on, list it here and I'll put it to him.
Cheers.

Man Of Lard

How about the slant on Operation Safeway - it seems entirely pointed at cyclists (ie. the victims) when the perpetrators (drivers) are not being targeted. Why is that?

There would (rightly) be an outcry if other offences were being 'tackled' this way (eg. sexual offences, mugging...)

buckmulligan

(1) Who on earth approved the new 'double traffic light' design for Bow Roundabout? I cannot stress highly enough that it is the most dangerous piece of road infrastructure that I have ever seen and I still can't fathom how or why that design was allowed to go through. Travelling in the Aldgate to Stratford direction it's particularly hazardous. I've seen three people (one of whom I was cycling with at the time and is a very experienced cyclist) come very close to a serious incident from seeing the initial green cyclist light and assuming it was safe to enter the roundabout, when in fact, the timing of the lights means that traffic is just starting to speed across and onto the A12. I honestly think it's only a matter of time before there's a serious injury or death as a direct result of that design. It's mind-boggling and extremely dangerous for people unfamiliar with it.

(2) How long is Operation Safeway planned to run for? Is it a case of waiting for there to be a couple of months without a cyclist dying and then pack it up again? I think it's a great initiative and would like to see it be carried out on a permanent basis. I think it encourages a lot more respectful behaviour on the roads around London (and let's be honest, cyclists in London are a big part of this problem) which not only makes the commute more bearable but likely safer too. I appreciate this is a Scotland Yard operation, but it strongly affects cycling in the capital, so I presume he has some kind of inside track on it.

(3) Why don't TfL Cycle Hire publish any details or plans of proposed expansion of the scheme? They made a cryptic suggestion regarding imminent expansion of the scheme's area in the recent press-releases about the Santander rebranding, but there's seemingly no details available on where/when any further expansion is due to take place.

buckmulligan

Man Of Lard wrote:

How about the slant on Operation Safeway - it seems entirely pointed at cyclists (ie. the victims) when the perpetrators (drivers) are not being targeted. Why is that?

There would (rightly) be an outcry if other offences were being 'tackled' this way (eg. sexual offences, mugging...)

Complete nonsense. In the first phase of the scheme (admittedly over 12 months ago, but I can't find more recent figures) a total of 13,818 fines were issued, with 4,085 given to cyclists. That's 30%, which IME is roughly in line with respective traffic volumes during rush hour.

At the end of the day, if you obey the law you won't get fined, with the obvious exception of a few high profile incidents.

cookeeemonster

BuckMulligan wrote:

Man Of Lard wrote:

How about the slant on Operation Safeway - it seems entirely pointed at cyclists (ie. the victims) when the perpetrators (drivers) are not being targeted. Why is that?

There would (rightly) be an outcry if other offences were being 'tackled' this way (eg. sexual offences, mugging...)

Complete nonsense. In the first phase of the scheme (admittedly over 12 months ago, but I can't find more recent figures) a total of 13,818 fines were issued, with 4,085 given to cyclists. That's 30%, which IME is roughly in line with respective traffic volumes during rush hour.

At the end of the day, if you obey the law you won't get fined, with the obvious exception of a few high profile incidents.

I'm 90% with the other guy here based on my route in. I see some staggeringly dangerous driving and rule breaking along East India dock road and commercial road Especially at the rotherihe tunnel junction - utterly notorious among everyone who has ever gone that way, even train passengers (inc the wife) who can look down at it from the platform. Between 2-6 cars are in the wrong lane and jump the red light to cut the queue at every light change, I even got rear ended couple weeks back while stationary at a red light and often I've seen the funkers rev their engines and beep their horn at 2 wheeled traffic stopped to intimidate them to move out their law breaking way.

Never any police there but 2 or 3 lots at empty ped crossings just down the road.
Also at the end of the road at aldgate they do nothing about he cars and trucks blocking the asl yet will stop a cyclist over the white line...

Not being paranoid, I've seen them stop cars too (and also witnessed them ignoring speeding red light jumping drivers) but they seem to concentrate on minor cycling offences first. I'm guessing they have targets

ugo.santalucia

My questions:

1)What is the point of a cycle lane where cars are allowed to park? Outside rush hour, virtually all cycle lanes become car parks and that includes some sections of the so called "super highways".

2) How can you call superhighway a structure that is more or less as wide as the minimum recommended for cycle lanes? What make them superhighways, the paint? How would you feel about a single lane motorway?

cookeeemonster

Good questions from Ugo and Buck.

I'll add the following:

Are there any plans to upgrade the CS3 at any point to give priority over little used side roads (especially the barking to canning town stretch) - it is a 'super' highway after all. Also it's a massive bodge from canning town to tower hill. Any chance of a proper route here? One that doesn't disappear under parked cars and which doesn't force you into conflict with pedestrians and other cyclists?

veronese68

Slightly more local to me, but still under his remit. Kingston got a load of funding for the Mini Holland thing but seem to have downgraded their plans from the original proposal. Will boroughs be made to stick to the original plans that got them the funding?
It would probably be worth posting this in the Commuting Chat section of the forum, it's rather more London-centric.

BR_Gregor

Thanks, guys. Will ask all these and let you know what he says. Will be for a BikeRadar commuting article.

Cheers,
Gregor

rick_chasey

yeah please.

With regard to the cycling superhighway proposals, have they taken into account that, unlike vehicular traffic, there are significant speed differences between users, and so necessary space needs to be created for passing?

Though in principal segregation makes a lot of sense, if the segregated cycle section cannot handle cyclists side by side heading both ways, the faster cyclists will continue to use the vehicular road infrastructure, especially given they have similar speeds to motorvehicles in a lot of central London. I can't imagine that ending in a civil way.

This is particularly pertinent in London where (anecdotally from what I see at the traffic lights every day) a significant proportion of cyclists are of the fast-lycra kind, who will follow the path of least traffic resistance.

rower63

And further to Rick's point, what will be done to prevent drivers from assuming that and (mis)behaving as if the new segregations are actually for motorists' convenience, to get cyclists out of their way, and becoming even more aggressive in their "punishment overtakes* " of those who choose to stay on the roads?


*acknowledgement to Rhodrich for coining this term, on Strava.

Zerotails99

BuckMulligan wrote:

(1) Who on earth approved the new 'double traffic light' design for Bow Roundabout? I cannot stress highly enough that it is the most dangerous piece of road infrastructure that I have ever seen and I still can't fathom how or why that design was allowed to go through. Travelling in the Aldgate to Stratford direction it's particularly hazardous. I've seen three people (one of whom I was cycling with at the time and is a very experienced cyclist) come very close to a serious incident from seeing the initial green cyclist light and assuming it was safe to enter the roundabout, when in fact, the timing of the lights means that traffic is just starting to speed across and onto the A12. I honestly think it's only a matter of time before there's a serious injury or death as a direct result of that design. It's mind-boggling and extremely dangerous for people unfamiliar with it

There has already been a fatality or maybe two. The cyclist took the blame as he/she unwittingly jumped the red light. I also see cyclists jumping that light very often and nearly getting themselves knocked out by left turning vehicles. The cycle traffic light is not very obvious to the untrained person.

buckmulligan

Zerotails99 wrote:

There has already been a fatality or maybe two. The cyclist took the blame as he/she unwittingly jumped the red light. I also see cyclists jumping that light very often and nearly getting themselves knocked out by left turning vehicles. The cycle traffic light is not very obvious to the untrained person.

Are you referring to this case:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/d ... 50220.html

As far as I can tell, that incident happened Nov 2013 and the advance start cycle lights that I was referring to weren't installed until late Jan 2014.

cookeeemonster

BuckMulligan wrote:

Zerotails99 wrote:

There has already been a fatality or maybe two. The cyclist took the blame as he/she unwittingly jumped the red light. I also see cyclists jumping that light very often and nearly getting themselves knocked out by left turning vehicles. The cycle traffic light is not very obvious to the untrained person.

Are you referring to this case:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/d ... 50220.html

As far as I can tell, that incident happened Nov 2013 and the advance start cycle lights that I was referring to weren't installed until late Jan 2014.

There was a great video on twitter a few weeks back about that roundabout...a guy set his camera up for 10 minutes in the rush hour and caught dozens of red light jumping motorists...making the cycle lights utterly worthless and downright dangerous. Most people I know who go that way use the flyover itself as it's apparently safer.

Bar Shaker

FORS has been a huge success and I now feel the biggest risk to my commute across the City is pedestrians.

Can we have a campaign to get pedestrians to actually look over their shoulders, before stepping out into the road?

ugo.santalucia

Bar Shaker wrote:

FORS has been a huge success and I now feel the biggest risk to my commute across the City is pedestrians.

Can we have a campaign to get pedestrians to actually look over their shoulders, before stepping out into the road?

Or even just looking away from the smarphone for a couple of seconds a day? The number of folks crossing busy roads outside zebra crossings, whilst looking at the phone is astounding...

Yankee1

How about the alleged massive underspend on funds allocated for cycling?
http://road.cc/content/news/108328-boris-johnson-guilty-massive-underspend-budget-cycling-london-claims-green

I'd also love to see legal left-on-red for cyclists.

964cup

Are there any plans to educate motorcyclists and moped riders about ASLs, and specifically the fact that their pedal-less lazy pollution machines aren't allowed in them? Reminding drivers that stopping in the ASL is a three-pointer wouldn't hurt either.

Could TFL instruct bus operators to stop their drivers overtaking cyclists in bus lanes, only to pull in to the next bus stop immediately afterwards?

Is there any plan to do something about the road surfaces (especially in North London and the north end of the City) before we all have to move to full-suss MTBs to avoid losing all our teeth?

Will there ever be a crackdown on lightless cyclists in dark clothing and/or those with inadequate brakes? I don't want to see these people die - or see them kill a pedestrian; I don't want to be the agent of their death if I'm the driver, and I particularly don't want to get knocked off my own bike by one of these chumps ever again. I also don't want us all tarred with their brush - which usually also involves complete disregard for traffic regulations of any sort, and for the safety and convenience of anyone else in the vicinity. I recently watched some chap on a BMX with apparently no functioning brakes narrowly miss taking out a mum & pushchair - he ran a red while braking with his foot (!) and ended up swerving round them on the pavement. Makes it harder to take the moral high ground next time someone starts off with the 'bloody cyclists...;

[/rant mode]

t4tomo

I'm with the legal filter left turn on red for cyclists, madness that it's an offence.

BR_Gregor

Got some good answers from Andrew on these, guys. Many thanks. Will write them up and publish on the main site, and I'll add a link here so you know when it's up and what he said. Cheers.

BR_Gregor

This is now up on the main site, guys: http://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/gear ... ner-43881/

He answered quite a few questions and with some reasonably honest answers in some cases! I think I asked him everything but apologies if I missed yours. Grouped a few questions together as they covered the same subjects.

Hope that proves useful for you. Cheers.