The London Evening Standard reports on a “vigilante dog walker” who has started wearing a GoPro in Kensington Gardens, claiming that he has experienced a number of near-misses with cyclists.
Kensington Gardens has a number of shared-use paths, but Jay Miller says his two Boston Terriers have nearly been hit by bikes on pedestrian-only paths on four occasions.
“The bikes are an absolute scourge in the park,” he said. “Lots of them think they are Lance Armstrong in a Tour de France trial, speeding down through a pedestrian-only path.”
“I’ve lived near the park for four and a half years and for the entire time have felt that my dogs’ lives are in danger from cyclists, both on Santander bikes and private bikes.”
Miller, who is originally from San Francisco, has begun challenging cyclists, stockpiling footage of their reactions.
“I have accumulated footage of more than 850 illegal cyclists in more than 560 videos. Sometimes when I challenge them they are so rude, they swear at me and one lady called me a ‘fucking American’.
“I was being polite, even though I do shout sometimes as I am so angry because my dogs’ lives are at stake.
Miller says the videos will serve as evidence. “I am trying to arrange a meeting with Karen Buck, our local MP, to discuss the issue. I know police resources are strapped, but when a child or an old person gets killed by someone on a bike, it will be a hot button issue.”
Simon Richards, who leads the Royal Parks’ cycling board, said: “For everyone’s sake we want to encourage cyclists to adjust their behaviour when moving from busy roads to peaceful paths.”
A London Cycling Campaign spokesman said the solution was to install more cycle lanes on roads. He said: “Instead of cracking down on rogue cyclists, we should consider why they are cycling in Kensington Gardens in the first place — because the surrounding roads are terrifying and car-dominated. Where there are separate cycle tracks, people use them.”
Earlier this year, a number of cycle speed bumps were installed in Kensington Gardens in a bid to reduce speed. We published footage of one cyclist’s confrontation with a Royal Parks police officer who was somewhat confusingly riding up and down Mount Walk asking people to dismount while the work was underway.
41 thoughts on “Kensington Gardens dog walker has started filming the “absolute scourge of dangerous speeding cyclists””
Ha ha, watching his video
Ha ha, watching his video most of the cyclists are going at walking pace anyway……….
I know the ES abandoned real
I know the ES abandoned real journalism years ago, but I lament the lack of a media that will call out people for being the tits that they often are.
We all agree cyclists shoud take care – as should dog-walkers with their errant (and therefore at risk to themselves and walkers and cyclists) dogs – and parents with young children. But there’s nothing to complain about in the footage shared here. If you’re going to try to make a point – try harder.
Pretty reasonable to want
Pretty reasonable to want some park paths where cycling is banned to be free of bikes, especially if 4 dogs have been killed by bikes there.
grahamTDF wrote:
Pretty reasonable, if there were any evidence of risk to others, but this does not seem to exist, at least from cyclists. The story about four dogs being killed appears to be nothing but rumour and myth, whereas there is factual evidence of animals being killed by drivers.
Storm in a teacup? This story isn’t even light drizzle.
grahamTDF wrote:
Allegedly. In 2008.
4 in 1 year in one park? You would expect more incidents since then given the massive up surge in cycling in London since then and the availability of hire bikes.
However the only story I found on this was of the “celebrity protest” against these alleged deaths (the report even says two of them were unreported), so potentially there may have been two reported cases (going back a decade) plus some hearsay/gossip:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7632910.stm
And the only other incident of cyclist kills dog (from the Mail Online) was of an incident in 2016 in AUSTRALIA.
I must say that some cyclists
I must say that some cyclists show absolutely no awareness of the need for appropriate speed on shared paths. People do charge down the paths in our local park at very high speeds. Now that’s fair enough on one of the long downhills with good visibility in the morning when there are very few people about. But when there are dogs and kids around it makes sense to back off the speed.
I don’t go to the park mentioned in this item very often but I do see some real idiots in Brockwell Park and Dulwich Park, which I go to a lot.
I ride through many parks myself but when there are kids and children around or if you’re on a shared use path, you can’t go fast.
OldRidgeback wrote:
Indeed. But these aren’t shared use paths, no cycling.
“The bikes are an absolute
“The bikes are an absolute scourge in the park,” he said. “Lots of them think they are Lance Armstrong in a Tour de France trial, speeding down through a pedestrian-only path.”
Lance is banned though may face more trials
“I’ve lived near the park for four and a half years and for the entire time have felt that my dogs’ lives are in danger from cyclists, both on Santander bikes and private bikes.”
Yet you keep risking them? Monster!
“Simon Richards, who leads the Royal Parks’ cycling board, said: “For everyone’s sake we want to encourage cyclists to adjust their behaviour when moving from busy roads to peaceful paths.””
For everyone’s sake we want to encourage all users of the park to be more aware of and respectful to others…
“A London Cycling Campaign spokesman said the solution was to install more cycle lanes on roads. He said: “Instead of cracking down on rogue cyclists, we should consider why they are cycling in Kensington Gardens in the first place”
Er no, if this is the case we need to make more roads because of congestion, which we don’t. We need to change behaviours; truck drivers, mobile phone motorists, stupid pedestrians and yes rogue cyclists.
Ok, at first I thought this
Ok, at first I thought this seemed like a genuine concern, having watched the footage, I’m nearly laughing.
I TOTALLY agree that if a path is marked as pedestrian only, then that means pedestrian only and no-one should be cycling on it.
But filming people on Boris bikes cycling slower than jogging pace and posting it online claiming it’s a genuine issue..?
There are plenty of utter morons on bikes – even more so now that cities have adopted these hire bikes – I hate the things – or at least, the clueless muppets who tend to ride them with no road awareness. So I do agree that a little education is needed, but I didn’t see any Lance Armstrongs there.
I wonder what would happen if the camera was turned to the roads, how many illegal road users speeding etc etc would he find – I’m going to guess a similar amount, curious why he doesn’t consider that an issue.
I occasionally cycle through
I occasionally cycle through there when I’m taking my scenic route to work (Epsom Downs, Richmond Park, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park, St James Park). I can’t say that i’d noticed a particular problem (but you wouldn’t on a bike). I’m sure that there are people cycling on the wrong paths, but I haven’t seen much in the way of clear signage either. Still, it doesn’t take much to slow down to pass a dog safely, but we say that about cars passing cyclists and look how far that gets us.
On the other hand, the price I pay for getting to the parks is riding down Kensington High Street which is vile in every regard as a cyclist
If he feels that his pooches
If he feels that his pooches lives are in danger then surely a responsible dog owner would fit them with hi viz coats and a little hat each?
And what about when a cyclist
And what about when a cyclist is injured because the dogs are off the leash and not under control, as we find so often on shared paths. Don’t see the council’s putting up any signage to tell them to keep the dogs on a leash.
What is the dog doing on the
What is the dog doing on the path? Under law, is it deemed a pedestrian? If not, then it has no more right to be there than the cyclist.
Perhaps the old git can throw
Perhaps the old git can throw himself in front of a bike because it is not until someone gets seriously harmed/killed that the authorities in this country bother to enforce the rules.
He should film dog owners
He should film dog owners letting their dogs shit everywhere and no pick it up. Fucking American.
Back in the day, when I was a
Back in the day, when I was a youthful scofflaw, and before there were cycle paths, I had several interesting encounters cycling through Kensington Gardens. My way was barred by Sir Robin Day who ticked me off in his booming TV voice; I was pursued by the Parks Police in a Land Rover, who took a short-cut through the rough to cut me off as I sped towards the exit (they did); and in the short stretch of road leading to the car park off West Carriage Drive, a driver flung open the door of her car and a large Labrador bounded out into my path — I hit the brute amidships, flew over the bars and the bike over my head, followed by a trip to A&E.
Now I stick to the designated paths, give dogs a wide berth, and all is well.
Complete non-story judging by
Complete non-story judging by the video.
On the counter argument. Many
On the counter argument. Many dog owners are oblivious to their dogs actions when using shared use paths.
Dog mess left on the path, extending leads across the path, dogs attacking or chasing people and other dogs, weaving across the path while ignoring bike bells.
What is needed is more respect between people in general. If poked, many would retaliate with a punch rather than with a poke, or by reasoning with words.
Cars passing bikes closer
Cars passing bikes closer than 3 meters ? The police must arrest them, throw them in prison for years ! Ban them from ever driving again !
Bikes passing pedestrians in a dangerous fashion ? Hee-hee, what a silly fool ! We’ll do whatever we want, wherever we want !
n_g wrote:
Yawn.
Yay, Willo’s back!
Yay, Willo’s back!
I’m glad he’s sorted the dog
I’m glad he’s sorted the dog shit and extendable lead problems out and has found another hobby to keep himself busy on these long winter evenings.
What’s that you say?
EDIT: +1 for getting the little blighters to wear hi viz and hats, don’t forget kids that a quick shout of SMIDSY, the sun was in my eyes will avbsolve you of any responsibility.
They should put armed guards
They should put armed guards on every gate, and plain-clothes patrols throughout the park, with orders to shoot on sight any living creature in breach of any of the by-laws. It’s the only language they understand.
What on earth is going on in
What on earth is going on in this country? There are so many geniune things to get upset about but somebody getting about on two wheels instead of two feet, or four wheels, creates a bizarre angst.
I was walking to the shops today. A lady on a bicycle passed me on the narrow footway. I was a pedestrian, she was a cyclist, she was in the wrong; she should not have been cycling. I heard her bike gently rattling as it approached behind me, she passed me, she did not hit me, she probably preferred it that way, it would probably have hurt her as much as me, she carried on to the next corner and where she stopped and locker her bike. The world kept spinning, life went on.
What is the fucking problem?
I wonder if Mr Miller follows
I wonder if Mr Miller follows the Highway Code “Keep it on a short lead when walking on the pavement, road or path shared with cyclists or horse riders.”
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to stop on a shared use path because some ignorant dog owner has the mutt on a ten metre lead, almost invisible against the path, with the owner on one side and the dog on the other. Likewise dogs on shared paths not even on a lead, and running at you.
There are probably more cyclists injured by reckless dog owners than dogs injured by reckless cyclists. But it’s always the cyclists’ fault.
I understand that, thanks to
I understand that, thanks to the protests of the local Kensington council, probably in response to the howls from Kensington residents, the new Cycle Superhighway 9 will stop its eastward march into central London at Olympia when , hopefully, it is built from 2018 onwards. Stupidly, it will therefore not join the existing cycle network provision in central London.
I guess the local oligarchs and commercial *ankers that run our nation are concerned that if it is built along Kensington High Street, they’ll be limited in the space they have for their Bentleys, Rollers and S class Mercs etc.
How ironic then, that the worthy gentleman in this article will continue to be disturbed in the future by cyclists who use Kensington Garden instead of the alternative of high quality segregated cycle path. Perhaps if CS9 were to have been built all the way into the capital they would use that, and not Kensington Gardens?
Maybe someone should stop,
Maybe someone should stop, say hello and have a friendly chat? =)
I cycle and walk my dog in
I cycle and walk my dog in kensington gardens and tbh have never had an issue with cyclists. Don’t walk your dogs at rush hour and its fine, stick to paths not near the path where cycling is allowed and no problems at all. I cycle in hyde park and a bit in kensignton gardens and it is clear that kensington gardens is not designed for a TT. Most people are considerate when they cycle and have yet to see anyone on a TT bike in kensington gardens. Most people who want to do some training or whatever will go to hyde park or regents park as it proper roads so this bloke must be complaining about commuters. So adjust your habits and dont walk your dogs when you know it is going to be busy and also I have yet to see all these inconsiderate cyclists around the park, would love him to show me where they all hide. I just hope the royal parks don’t decide to add more speed bumps or anti- cycling road furniture to annoy people who ride bikes. They ruined kensington gardens and know have ruined hyde park by putting massive speed bumps on one of the mixed paths. Instead of solving the problems of cyclists going fast or the volume they just seem intent on discouraging them, evidenced by the ridicoulous speed bumps in kesington gardens.
“there is sometimes an
“there is sometimes an extremely helpful Pc on his bike”
On his bike! Surely you mean speeding dangerously and putting the poor little innocent puppies lives at risk? Won’t somebody think of the puppies!
When I cycle instead of
When I cycle instead of driving everybody ELSE will enjoy:
-better air quality and mitigation of greenhouse effect
-reducing fuel and car imports and therefore improved economy
-less chances to get involved in a fatal accident
-reducing healthcare costs due to exercise.
When somebody has a dog can please somebody explain me what do I win?
UK has been very very lucky to have solid legislation regarding private and stray dogs. If you have in another country with less developed legislation system and you have been bitten by a dog, changed lane without having time to see for oncoming traffic at high speed road due to a bunch of stray dogs popping out, walked numerous times on dogshit and lost even more numerous hours of sleep due to dog barking and being completely unable to react in a legal way, you would feel the joy. I have felt all the above mentioned (the first in my skin literally!) without enjoying a single benefit from non professional dogs like drug detecting dogs that are the 0,01% of dogs. If you find something, please tell me too.
cyclisto wrote:
I like my dog, she’s ace!
alansmurphy wrote:
I like my dog, she’s ace!— cyclisto
Ssssooommmmeeeettthhhiiinnngggg ttthhhhaaatttt iiissss gggoooddd ffffooorrr eeevvveeerrryyybbbbooodddyyy EEEELLLLSSSEEE than the owner of the living chinese burger…
If only he was allowed to
If only he was allowed to bear arms and put an end to the mindless carnage
bloody immigrants!
bloody immigrants!
Sounds to me like this
Sounds to me like this character has done a great job of collecting evidence of a need for a new cycle route in the park – there is clearly the demand! 🙂
Maybe the complainant could
Maybe the complainant could only blank out the faces of the slow cyclists. I didn’t see anybody doing anything reckless in the video, except for maybe the old dear standing chatting to he pal effectivley blocking the path.
I read this and thought “too
I read this and thought “too right, cycling on footpaths is up there with red light jumping in the how to make cyclists unpopular league”.
Then I saw the video and thought “is that it? You’ve gone out of your way to film and then bother other human beings with this?”. No dangerous manoeuvres, no speed and not one other person batting an eyelid. Like the lady said, fucking American!
And what the chuff is a ‘hot button issue’?
Good point, but at what age
Good point, but at what age does a dog gain a separate legal identity from its owner? A question our judiciary has been hesitant to answer for a number of years.
Has he tried staying home and
Has he tried staying home and reading the Daily Mail? There’s a whole world of other trivial issues to be wound up about in there.
drosco wrote:
I’m just guessing here, but judging by his published statements, he might find the DM a bit too left wing.
lol, that guy really needs to
lol, that guy really needs to get a grip. It’s the fluidity of life. My Golly.