Its been interesting this morning looking at Mayor Boris' launch of the Barclays Cycle Superhighway. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of anything that helps protect cyclists and encourages more people to ride in London. However, a lot of this doesn't really match up to his pronoucement that "You have got to have a powerful and visible statement on the roads that asserts to every Londoner, whether on two wheels or four, that the Capital is a cycling city."
While dedicated lanes at the Elephant and Stockwell are a good idea, its not correct to describe them as new - the cycle bypass at Elephant has been there some years for a start. Again, the 'new' route down Cable Street - again its been there for years - in fact i used it daily when I worked in Canary Wharf in 2000/2001.
Then, looking at the lanes and this video from the BBC - it strikes me as odd that they have made the lanes discretionary so that motorists have access as well, giving the cyclist no right of reply when the HGV/taxi/van decides to cut in front of them or block the approach to the lights.
In essence, this all strikes me as some of the fudge. I don't doubt that Boris is a keen cyclist but he knows that he can't risk upsetting the car loving residents of the outer boroughs who helped him win the election in 2008 by coming across as anti-car. Lets also not forget that one of the first things Boris after his election in 2008 was to cut funding to the London Cycle Network, a scheme that had been three years in development and on the cusp of full implementation.
That said, I like the blue, it stands out better than the old green we were used to and I applaud Barclays for sinking some money into this scheme. I just hope that they can put ongoing positive pressure on City Hall to see this scheme through to completion.
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