Forum Topic

Some Alternative Views of LTNs, Cycle Lanes and Ulez

Some views that put rather a different view of LTNs, cycle lanes and Ulez than the gumph regularly spewed by the likes of Campbell, Pike et al are below.  Oh, and Mr Vine gets an honorary mention.  Good Twitter sites for more of the same include our very own OneChiswick and The UK LTN Resistance - @ioisours - and also Defund the London Cycling Campaign.  Links below.  Enjoy - and no, Nora, not spam, just info.  If you don't want to read it, don't.  Where is Nora, by the way? After being over every thread like a rash for a weeks, s/he seems to have disappeared - very odd.  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/29/ltn-traffic-jams-slow-buses-tfl-london/https://southwarknews.co.uk/area/southwark/exclusive-bungled-email-shows-labour-councillor-tried-to-suppress-damning-ltn-report-claim-residents/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12052507/Twitter-suspends-Jeremy-Vine-breaking-hateful-content-rules.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubuttonhttps://order-order.com/2023/05/15/guido-investigation-is-air-pollution-on-the-london-underground-worse-than-ulez-streets/https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2023/05/cycling-suffering-slump-since-coronavirus-peak-figures-show/#.ZFlMDrhhUNA.twitterhttps://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/23519497.congestion-st-clements-worse-introduction-ltns/?ref=twtrechttps://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/23489611.ulez-close-a127-will-punish-southend-essex-mp-says/ https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/23492900.disabled-people-speak-blue-badge-ban-york-city-centre/?ref=yahoohttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/40m-for-cycling-charity-behind-low-traffic-zones-v7f9j2s89https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/05/01/sadiq-khans-ulez-turned-centre-of-london-into-ghost-town/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23516322.botley-road-closure-businesses-suffer-drop-trade/https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/05/10/the-classist-war-on-the-car/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23410179.oxford-business-owner-speaks-damaging-ltn-impact/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/sadiq-khan-ulez-expansion-women/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/13/big-brother-comes-to-fulham-with-ai-powered-cameras/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/02/sadiq-khans-ulez-is-dagger-in-the-heart-of-londons-economy/https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/22230204/sadiq-khan-ulez-plans-london-economy-half-a-billion/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/05/09/bristol-ban-cars-ltn-trial-war-on-drivers-traffic-labour/https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23499916.oxford-ltns-pollution-suffering-residents-feel-trapped/?ref=twtrehttps://www.thesun.co.uk/news/22242963/traffic-calming-measures-ltns-ulez-bike-lanes/c

Claire Moran ● 344d14 Comments

So, going by statistics or percentage points, how many serious accidents have there been on that stretch? You do like to exaggerate the bad if it suits you, then downplay anything else.

Simon Hayes ● 341d

Sam, surely when budgets are limited, resources should be directed to where risks of injury and death are highest. So far there have been no reported collision injuries of pedestrians on C9 along the stretch of the High Road from Heathfield Terrace to Chiswick Lane after  more than two years of operation. Meanwhile four pedestrians have been injured in collisions with motor vehicles, one seriously.I would hope we agree where actual real risk to pedestrian safety on the High Road lies.

Tom Pike ● 341d

"The Guardian is hardly left wing.."Perhaps if you start from a position on the political spectrum adjacent to Vladimir Putin, you would think that. Incidentally, I see he is now being referred to in some quarters as Vladolf Putler.

Richard Greenhough ● 342d

No I was not there. Can you think of anything that has happened between then and now that might have affected plans made in 2017?

Paul Campbell ● 342d

Paul - I think that you were at the same public meeting as me in the George IV when the Mayor's Cycling Tsar promised to recruit 22 (a very specific number) wardens to enforce the law on Cycleway 9. He of course has done nothing of the sort. This is not victim blaming - this measure would simply be preventing serious injury and death which I thought that we all agreed was a good idea. Clearly I was wrong.

Sam Hearn ● 342d

Defund.

David Burke ● 342d

Um cities have high density populations, more people cycle there and generate the returns and contributions to the economy that the Conservative government estimates are attributable to cycling - £36.5bn."employing wardens" - genius. Maybe we should have people with flags ushering drivers along the roads?Cycle lanes are located at junctions. See Chiswick Lane, Goldhawk Rd and Hammersmith gyratory sections of Cycleway 9 for reference. All much safer now. LTNs reduce numbers of dangerous junctions and create safer routes for cycling.

Paul Campbell ● 342d

Defend the London Cycling Campaign. LOL.Watching too many US.news reports.

David Burke ● 342d

More victim blaming

David Burke ● 342d

Safer Streets - data from the Office of National StatisticsBetween 2004 and 202152% of pedal cycle fatalities occur on rural roads. 82% of pedal cyclists killed or seriously injured were maleThe main reason contributory factor in deaths or serious injuries was "driver or rider failing to look properly"Pedal cycling has increased at a faster rate than serious injuries and deaths to cyclists (cycle traffic up by 62% and serious injuries by 27% - deaths actually fell by 17%.From this information it would be possibly to argue that preventative/protective measures should be focused on rural roads (where most deaths and serious injuries occur) and not in cities and built up areas.In addition, if measures are required in urban areas these should be concentrated on employing wardens to prosecute road users (including cyclists) who ignore road signage and"fail to look properly" and end up endangering their own lives and those of other road users.41% of fatal injuries occur within 20m of a road junction. This is surely where preventative measures should be located?     

Sam Hearn ● 342d

There are quite a few self-employed PR people fighting against safer streets in Chiswick. Not doing a great job of advertising their services on any measure.

Paul Campbell ● 342d

The Guardian is hardly left wing and these links are all boring anyway.We need some cycling sex hamster stories to spice up the war.

Basil Finnis ● 342d

And there was I thinking that there might be some nuance in this debate, maybe even some room for common ground.But I now know that I was wrong, that it's so much simnpler than all that, namely: Telegraph/Mail/Sun = GoodGuardian/Independent = Bad.Thanks for clearing that up for me. Perhaps Oxford City's Conservatives could benefit from your formidable PR skills?

Richard Cathcart ● 342d

Perhaps because some media care about the economy, business, and democracy while others such as the Guardian and the Independent want to impose their idealistic, unrealistic, foolish schemes that defy common sense and encourage business failure and threats to the safety of disabled, elderly and women?

Claire Moran ● 342d

Yep, heavily dominated by the Telegraph and the Mail. Why even The Sun managed to drag itself away from Harry and Meghan long enough to write something. (I didn't bother with the link).And I did notice that the Oxford Mail featured heavily as well. I daresay that they too need to write something controversial, in order to provoke comment and clicks.I mean, what with their local Oxford City Council's 48 members being made up as follows:32 - Labour9 - Liberal Democrats6 - Greens1 - Independenthttps://mycouncil.oxford.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=(Guess who's missing completely)By contrast for Oxfordshire as a whole, the 63 member County Council is made up as follows:21 - Conservative21 - Lib Dems14 - Labour3 - Green4 - Independents (incl one Ind.Con)https://mycouncil.oxfordshire.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=PARTY&VW=TABLE&PIC=1While for Westminster constituencies, the county's 6 MP's are:4 - Conservative1 - Labour1 - Lib DemAll of which indicates that with the local Oxford City Conservatives running on a strong pro-car and anti-LTN and cycling manifesto, that policy at least doesn't appear to have done them much good with the people who actually live there, has it?

Richard Cathcart ● 342d

Just a few right wing papers there then!  And twitter is just toxic.  I'm surprised there aren't a few lawsuits.

Philippa Bond ● 344d