dumbass LCC bike lane on Stratford High Street

[theclaud]

That's right.

I think that's what it is when, in response to any serious challenge on matters of fact or theory, the response takes the form of asserting your authority as a leader in cycling, and an attempt to stick on an anonymous contributor a long long list of names it would now be vexatious to repeat.

Has anyone used up "nobber" yet?

 

[Dan B]

They've never succeeded on the helmet front when challenged. Hi viz is more pestilential in that you can be damned both for wearing it and for not wearing it -cf hampshire police. On the other hand cases like that do make the argument for mass cycling as a legal measure- because it is plain that the jury and the police regarded cyclists as such a small minority as to be ipso facto in the wrong. We can rail against that, and good god but I do! -or we can both rail against it and do something about it. Like, by getting everyone cycling including jurors.

They've not succeded on the helmet front in the end, but they've had a damned good try at it in the cases we know about and I bet there
are an awful lot more cases where we don't because the cyclist doesn't have the time, money or patience to pursue the claim and settles for reduced damages out of court or even just gives up altogether. I agree that mass cycling would make this kind of thing less likely, but am at something of a loss to see how getting everyone cycling on seg infra will be of any help when someone attracts unwanted attention for cycling on the public road.

 

[knocksofbeggarmen]

Has anyone used up "nobber" yet?

I don't know. Will you feel mighty if you use it first?

 

[knocksofbeggarmen]

And you of course have been unfailingly polite throughout.

No I don't think so. When I've been told to f. off in some thinly veiled form, I've returned the compliment.

 

[theclaud]

I don't know. Will you feel mighty if you use it first?

It's not a mighty kinda word.

 

[knocksofbeggarmen]

And you of course have been unfailingly polite throughout.

As I say I return compliments.
On the other hand you may have noticed I did have some entirely civil interactions in the midst of all this crap. But not with those who where dishing it out with a shovel.

 

[Dan B]

No I don't think so. When I've been told to f. off in some thinly veiled form, I've returned the compliment.

Where exactly were the personal insults you were responding to in #315 and #316? They seem to be your first contributions to cyclechat between this week and January ...

 

[knocksofbeggarmen]

So quit complaining and trying to make out you are being bullied, stifled, shouted down, victimised etc. You have just failed, that's all.

I don't think I've failed. Persuading you and DZ wasn't on the agenda. Exposing DZ and others was.

 

[theclaud]

I don't think I've failed. Persuading you and DZ wasn't on the agenda. Exposing DZ and others was.

 

[knocksofbeggarmen]

Of course, well done. You can return to your mother ship now and bask in the glow of another well run campaign.

Basking is not my style. There was an honest and open minded fellow I surprisingly met in the middle of all this, and I will wonder quietly to myself what he made of the spectacle.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Bus lanes.

We should have more of them.
They are good for cycling, far better than cycle lanes and other farcilities and they are useful for buses .... Which is a good thing.
They also require a lot of space which means less space for cars ... Which is a good thing.
Cars don't tend to park in them either .... Which is a good thing.

I'm not against separate farcilities per se. We have some good ones in Abingdon and in some parts of Oxford that are well used and appreciated.
The route by the motorway out of Brighton to Crawley whilst imperfect is useful. I have no idea how many use it though or how often.
Sustrans routes are another form of abomination.

We have just had a roundabout heavily modified on our way to work supposedly to help cyclists .... It is of little benefit to to those using the cycle path, it has created much greater traffic queues which greatly impedes those like me cycling on the road, it causes extra pollution, increases journey times and resentment against cyclists.
As a co-founder of one of 2 sizeable cycle clubs in Abingdon's compact environs I know of not one cyclist that had been consulted about the design. It's a huge waste of money that has now become a political football. Only the contractors have benefitted.

I have also ridden in holland on their so-called good infrastructure. It's like the curates egg, good in parts so not much different to here then and much is equally as crap too. Ede was a perfectly good town to cycle through until the farcilities arrived which turned my commute into a miserable nightmare ... For no apparent reason than trend I guess. I can't think it had any impact on safety or encouraged anyone to start to cycle.

Overall I think there is a limited application for cycle only segregated facilities. Much more energy and effort should be put into bus lanes, cyclists priority at busy junctions, traffic calming, bollarding of back roads and residential side streets, Making nice cycle routes and increased pedestrianisation. In fact things that ultimately make everyone's life better ... If only we knew it.

So when somebody bangs the drum for segregation (the argument of the car lobby) we are right to be highly sceptical.

 

[jonesy]

Sadly the Mayor has made it harder for tfl to promote bus lanes for cyclists by letting motorbikes into them. And worse still other councils are following...

 

[subaqua]

Thanks but a simple "no, I've not considered this serious enough to tell LCC HQ" would have sufficed.

well one would have assumed that HQ would have been organising the protest and whaen i asked do you work for HQ and get a yes answer then a brush off the prevalent attitude seems to be we can do what we like , then i feel rather like trying to get you to see anything but your own point of view , it would have been a waste of my time and effort going direct to HQ

 

[mjr]

it would have been a waste of my time and effort going direct to HQ

That's not for sure but I can see that it's far more fun to have the anecdote than fix the problem.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Sadly the Mayor has made it harder for tfl to promote bus lanes for cyclists by letting motorbikes into them. And worse still other councils are following...

A silly idea. However id have been ok with scooters as I think small wheeled low speed efficient motors are another good transport solution.