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BoJo's cycling plans, London GAF excited as me?

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Incontinentia Buttocks

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Announced earlier today, they seem like a bold move and I'm quite surprised. If they get implemented, I'll be a happy camper.

There are six key planks to the plan:

- A Crossrail for bikes from way out west to the east London
- A re-think of the Junction Review to focus on getting fewer junctions right, rather than lots of junctions half-right
- A bike grid of safe routes in central London
- A network of Quietways, to upgrade routes on borough roads
- A series of Mini-Hollands - big investments in cycling in some outer London boroughs, rather than lots of boroughs sharing small amounts of cash
- A slight re-think (in a good way) on the planned Cycle Super Highway 5
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More info here: http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/game-change-for-cycling-boris-johnson.html and here: http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Cycling Vision GLA template FINAL.pdf

Non cyclists amongst you, would these kind of segregated bike lanes and plans encourage you to get on your bike?
 
SamRambles said:
If this means I can cycle to work without the imminent threat of grisly death each day then i'm fully on board.
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The 'threat' aspect of cycling is overrated but the perception is a real hindrance to getting more people involved.

Obviously that's not to say it's danger free, having had a few scrapes myself.
 
Boris knocks it out of the park again.

...and it's for exactly this reason that he'll be the next British PM, ladies and gentlemen.
 
I'd be happy if this was implemented in cities everywhere...but where will we lock them all up?

Although I'm not sure about him, Boris Johnson could be my fave candidate for PM, purely because he's such a fuckin' maverick, unlike that corrupt tosspot by the name of David Cameron

Psychotext said:
I'm not a Londoner, but this looks pretty good in theory.
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.
 
kurtrussell said:
Boris knocks it out of the park again.

...and it's for exactly this reason that he'll be the next British PM, ladies and gentlemen.
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He has to build it yet. He's promised big on cycling before but this seems to be a genuine change of direction. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Tashbrooke said:
I'd be happy if this was implemented in cities everywhere...but where will we lock them all up?
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There's also talk of building safe cycle parks at major transport hubs.
 
Will they add lasers to traffic lights that zap cyclists who think they are too important to stop at a red light?
 
BGBW said:
Will they add lasers to traffic lights that zap cyclists who think they are too important to stop at a red light?
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Sadly, not at the moment. You'll need to wait for Nigel Farage to become the next mayor of London before you receive that much requested feature.
 
Could they do something to stock cyclists thinking they can fucking jump red lights? I have had many a cyclist think they can zoom right past me while the green man is showing and I try to cross the road.

Edit: Beaten
 
Nicktendo86 said:
Could they do something to stock cyclists thinking they can fucking jump red lights? I have had many a cyclist think they can zoom right past me while the green man is showing and I try to cross the road.

Edit: Beaten
Click to expand...

BGBW said:
Will they add lasers to traffic lights that zap cyclists who think they are too important to stop at a red light?
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Hopefully as I hate the fuckers too as they give all cyclists a bad name. Maybe they could zap cars that do it too?
 
BGBW said:
Will they add lasers to traffic lights that zap cyclists who think they are too important to stop at a red light?
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As a pedestrian in London I have had so many near-misses with cyclists it is quite frightening. I hardly ever see cars rushing through red lights, but every day I see cyclists doing it at some pace.
 
Psychotext said:
Is it? I stopped cycling on the road completely because of the complete fuckwittery I had to deal with. Maybe London is better but round my way it's scary as hell.
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It's not for the faint of heart but in 8 years of commute cycling, I've only had one serious accident involving a car (passenger getting out about ten cars back at some traffic lights, I was going up the cycle lane and got took out by the door completely and still have a lovely shoulder scar now) and the other major accident was actually caused by someone's dog running in my path from out of nowhere. Had a few close encounters too but in the grand old scheme of things it hasn't been too bad.

Drivers need to be educated (as do many cyclists) on safe road use. That's far too long term a thing which is why I love these segregated proposals by Boris. A little less persecution of cyclists by motorists would be welcome too.
 
I've had things thrown at me, people try to slap me, cars swerving towards me. Drivers near me are cunts.

That's aside from the usual things like people opening doors, cars not looking at junctions and roundabouts etc.
 
I'm happy with this. I currently don't cycle on roads because I find them terrifying, but I could be tempted to cycle to work if it were made easier and safer.
 
Not in the UK, but this looks pretty good. One of the biggest issues I have with cities' cycling programs is they usually depend on MUPs. Generally MUPs are dangerous to have road cyclists on (families walking dogs & a bicycle doing 25mph+ do not mix).
 
Jobiensis said:
Not in the UK, but this looks pretty good. One of the biggest issues I have with cities' cycling programs is they usually depend on MUPs. Generally MUPs are dangerous to have road cyclists on (families walking dogs & a bicycle doing 25mph+ do not mix).
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Thankfully the authorities in London are finally moving away from shared use paths, which are a half measure that ultimately end up satisfying no one.
 
I've driven around London and seen everyone merrily cycling along on their Barclays bikes -- I don't think their biggest threat is necessarily the road system, but the attitudes of other drivers. I've seen taxis occupy a two lane road like its three lane when there have been cyclists about... so obviously, anything that alleviates that danger is good.

Bristol is one of the finest cities in Britain for cycling IMO. They have well planned dedicated routes and paths all over the place. I don't know much about cycling in London but it'd be really good if they could make it brilliant. I really want them to improve cycling in Liverpool too. Too many dual carriageways or wasted road due to poor lane planning, and the Leeds Liverpool canal is a shithole, you'd be scared to travel along parts of it at certain times of day.

I'm a cyclist and a driver btw.

edit: I witnessed a cycle accident at Russell Square last weekend btw. Some audi driver just opened his door without looking and a girl ploughed into it at speed. He had next to no sympathy despite the onus being very much on him to check his surroundings before he opens his door...
 
Bitter tears already:

A plan for a "cycling revolution" in London has been branded "simply bonkers" by a car users group.

Roger Lawson of the Alliance of British Drivers said he objected to £913m being spent on a scheme that favours cyclists over other road users.

But the AA welcomed Boris Johnson's plan for a "Crossrail for bikes", a new cycle route more than 15 miles long.

President Edmund King said it would break down the "two tribes" attitude between drivers and cyclists.
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Full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21699623

Means Boris is on the right track if it's upsetting them.
 
Incontinentia Buttocks said:
Hopefully as I hate the fuckers too as they give all cyclists a bad name. Maybe they could zap cars that do it too?
Click to expand...

As a Dutch person I'm intrigued by Boris' plans. It's funny to see quintessential Dutch solutions projected on the London streets.

But as more people start to ride bicycles, more people will act irresponsible. I personally try to adhere to the rules but there are some places on my daily commute where I take some liberties. As do a lot of others. In cities it's even worse.

We do have a cycling exam in primary school. It would be great if this is implemented in London. It exposes children to cycling and it creates awareness to the proper rules.
 
PjotrStroganov said:
As a Dutch person I'm intrigued by Boris' plans. It's funny to see quintessential Dutch solutions projected on the London streets.

But as more people start to ride bicycles, more people will act irresponsible. I personally try to adhere to the rules but there are some places on my daily commute where I take some liberties. As do a lot of others. In cities it's even worse.

We do have a cycling exam in primary school. It would be great if this is implemented in London. It exposes children to cycling and it creates awareness to the proper rules.
Click to expand...

We have cycling proficiency tests at primary school in the UK too.
 
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