TwickenhamCyclist
Guest
There seems to be a fair few intelligent criticisms of Gilligan's response to the protest getting posted under his original blog entry (not that difficult when you consider what utter rubbish he wrote in the first place)
This one seems to sum it up pretty well:
"Instead of being rude and disparaging of well over a thousand people who protested this evening, perhaps going along to see what it was all about and listen would have been more effective than mouthing off prematurely?!
Many of us who went have lost loved ones and these comments are out of order.
The demand for a ban on vehicles that are blind to those around them is NOT a demand for all lorries to be banned 24/7. Either you are being very dim or disingenuous. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you just didn't 'get it'. As the brave, bereaved mother of a girl killed by an HGV in Birmingham said, equipment that costs just a few hundred pounds would save lives. Lorry drivers, by definition, do not have to be blind to all that is around them. As the Mayor and you both say you are working on imposing charges/restrictions on lorries without safety kit in London, you must know this. Cameras, well-designed cabs, sensors, warning alerts, proper training, etc can all enable lorry drivers to be aware of what is around them. Rush hour bans are also possible, and the Olympics proved that tough restrictions can be made to work.
The idea that those of us who protested are just out to set TfL up to fail is both absurd and offensive. We just want to be safe and we don't want to see any more people dying needlessly. The demands of the Dutch Cycling Union would seem ridiculous here, but it is the persistent demands for ever better facilities that have helped bring about the cycling revolution in The Netherlands - that didn't happen by people being grateful for every crumb tossed at them. It was this type of protest in The Netherlands that inspired tonight's 'Die in'. 'Stop child murder' was a pretty harsh slogan, but it worked.
When we complain about the crackdown on cyclists, we do so, not because we are blind to the dangers, quite the contrary is true. When cyclists make up such a small percentage of traffic, cause so few deaths and serious injuries, we object to the police issuing 40% of tickets to cyclists in the recent (otherwise welcome) crackdown. We don't say it is OK for people to flout the law however they travel, and as you note above, some infringements like stopping ahead of the line can often be done because cyclists are forced to do so by drivers abusing ASLs (which the CPS also seem to have acknowledged in their decision to drop a prosecution for that very situation).
We do object to being stopped and rudely told by the police to wear helmets, which are optional, and arguably dangerous (the CTC's excellent evidence review makes that very clear). All we are saying is that people should get their priorities right - that means sorting out HGVs as the main focus for action right now.
Whilst the plans for more cycle projects are welcome, we are too used to promises not being met. CS2 was delivered by this Mayor and he has taken too long to properly respond to concerns about it. He still expresses scepticism of the Go Dutch principles, despite signing up to them. We were promised CS5 by the end of the year, where is it - is TfL just going to back down to the crazies in Westminster Council again? Where is the big vision for a city where all main roads have safe, largely segregated cycle lanes and all side roads, residential streets and town centres have 20 mph limits? Why has the Safer Junctions review web page not been updated for 9 months and why are the few upgrades delivered so rubbish? Why are cycle campaigners still being told that motor traffic cannot be delayed to make junctions safer? We see too many vague promises. As the protest organiser said this evening 'it isn't rocket science' - just do what the Dutch do instead of finding endless excuses not to.
We appreciate change takes time, but we are seeing too little, delivered too late, evidence being ignored, promises being broken and no big vision for a fully cycle-safe and pedestrian-safe city.
Like any big group of people, there are a diversity of views and campaigning styles. As London's cycling commissioner, I hope that you make more effort to understand and unite London's many different current cyclists, those who want to cycle and other road safety campaigners. We need you firmly on our side, not playing piggy in the middle or sowing division.
Don't become part of the problem and don't let defensiveness lead you to fire off half-cocked.
Boris at least had the good sense to welcome the protest. I hope you will take the chance to apologise to all those you have offended and upset and start to see the cycle campaigners as part of your army, not your opposition. Work with us, don't patronise us."
