More positive news

[DRM]

When I visited York last year I was surprised to see how many people were cycling at rush hour.Certainly appeared the local authorities had spent some cash marking cycle lanes.and I didn’t see any conflict between motorists and cyclists

As Roley Poley said, York & the Vale of York are flat, by comparison most of West Yorkshire is very lumpy, which can quite easily be perceived as being just too hard to commute, do a days work and then commute home again, similarly Hull is quite flat, so quite a few regularly commute by bike there too, i think geography can also be off putting for new cycle commuters, in fact when on holiday last year in the Poitou-Charentes region of France,which is also quite flat, my average speed went up by 1.5 mph despite the head winds the area is famed for.

 

[Brandane]

Blocked.

Likewise; first for many years .

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Likewise; first for many years .

Be good when the schools open again

 

[classic33]

As Roley Poley said, York & the Vale of York are flat, by comparison most of West Yorkshire is very lumpy, which can quite easily be perceived as being just too hard to commute, do a days work and then commute home again, similarly Hull is quite flat, so quite a few regularly commute by bike there too, i think geography can also be off putting for new cycle commuters, in fact when on holiday last year in the Poitou-Charentes region of France,which is also quite flat, my average speed went up by 1.5 mph despite the head winds the area is famed for.

Once you get used to it though the flatter, eastern end makes it easier.

 

[Drago]

Chris Boardman has a diplomatic streak that I greatly envy!

I heard him say yesterday that this was a great time to try out various infra, traffic-restrictions etc, during this "unusual" crisis; see how it goes, if we* don't like it, we can always wind things back once pandemic/lockdown is over.

*which I suspect is code for car-owners!

Chris Boardman who won't ride a bike on the road? I don't question his motives on that, but an ambassador for an activity in which he declines to partake makes him a bit of a straw man.

 

[matticus]

Citation? (This is totally news to me!)

 

[Dogtrousers]

Citation? (This is totally news to me!)

Assuming you're looking for info on CB not riding on roads, and assuming this is what @Drago was referring to (lots of assumption there) then this might be what you're looking for

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...a-bike-on-uk-roads-feels-too-dangerous-for-me

“The roads are statistically safe, but it doesn’t look it and it doesn’t feel it. Now I try to do more of my riding off-road, which is sad,”

I sympathise with that. I may start commuting into central London after this is over, but I do not enjoy city riding one bit. It may be statistically safe but it certainly doesn't feel it to me. No amount of denominator neglect graphics will change that feeling for me.

 

[matticus]

Assumption correct! EDIT: It definitely talks about him riding on roads, but prefers off-road. There is some VERY significant context in there:

"Boardman’s mother, Carol, was killed last year while riding her bike in Connah’s Quay, Deeside. For months afterwards, he stopped cycling and has only recently got back in the saddle."
"He said he stopped cycling for a while afterwards because he “just didn’t want the conflict”.

“I don’t want to see people behaving on a road in an aggressive way because, more than making me angry, it makes me depressed to see human beings treating each other that way. To see a human being treat someone who is vulnerable as an obstacle and give them no more thought than that. So I just avoid putting myself in that situation.”
"

 

[snorri]

Will people keep cycling in foul winter weather when the roads are full of careless and aggressive drivers again?

Yebbut there won't be "careless and aggressive" drivers anymore, they will have beeen converted to careful and law abiding cyclists, if we just keep to the plan.

 

[dodgy]

Chris Boardman who won't ride a bike on the road? I don't question his motives on that, but an ambassador for an activity in which he declines to partake makes him a bit of a straw man.

I pass him on the road (both cycling) about 3 times a week.

 

[newfhouse]

I pass him on the road (both cycling) about 3 times a week.

Chapeau.

 

[matticus]

" rogerzilla said:
Will people keep cycling in foul winter weather when the roads are full of careless and aggressive drivers again?"
Yebbut there won't be "careless and aggressive" drivers anymore, they will have beeen converted to careful and law abiding cyclists, if we just keep to the plan.

I'm going to presume that is a sarcasm emoji in this context (happy to be corrected):
The WHOLE POINT of this is to convert some drivers into cyclists. You can either buy into this, or not. Hence the thread name: "positive".

Meanwhile, I don't really see that winter weather makes a lot of difference to the "aggresive driver" count. Sure, there will be some more drivers in the winter - but they won't be a statistically significant difference in terms of danger; there are many many more significant factors. IMO the more drivers that cycle in fair weather, the less careless they will be as drivers - that's reasonable, isn't it?

 

[Dogtrousers]

Not read the whole thread so apols if already posted.

Statutory guidance for local authorities DfT 9 May

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...04-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19

Local authorities in areas with high levels of public transport use should take measures to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling, both to encourage active travel and to enable social distancing during restart

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Maybe they should just close the inside lane of the Motorways & allow cyclists & pedestrians, let face it cars don't use the 'Slow' lane.

 

[matticus]

Why the snottiness? @Phaeton made a valid point and included a link to pertinent information. I hadn't realise how big the numbers were actually.

OK, fair point - that comment was unjustified. on review, I had a "Hancock moment" and misjudged the tone. Apologies to Mr @Phaeton.

( I stand by every other comment on this thread. So far! )