“The mere sight of broken white lines with the words Cycle Hire Only is enough to send them into apoplexy”: Locals cry “war on cars” after car parking spaces replaced with 350 Lime e-bike bays, calling them “blight on the streets” + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Trek’s price hike (thanks to Trump tariffs), “Canyon’s version of the Cybertruck”, NIMBYs against kids’ BMX track — here’s your Easter holiday roundup
Lots of big things happening these last four days, here’s your roundup of all that went down over the Easter break…
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> Trek increases prices of “most” bike models for US customers in response to Trump tariffs
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“That excludes a lot of classic riders from the battle for success”: Mathieu van der Poel’s dad thinks organisers are making “races too difficult”
Adrie van der Poel, former classics winner and father of Mathieu van der Poel, believes race organisers are making the monuments too selective and difficult, reducing the number of riders who can realistically compete for victory.
Speaking to Bici.Pro, the 1988 Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner said: “He could win, he has every chance, but the course has a big impact. Organisers like to make their races increasingly difficult and thus reduce the number of favourites and those who can win. Lombardy is a beautiful race, but they simply make it too difficult. That excludes a lot of riders, classic riders, from the battle for success.”
Only three riders have won all five Monuments – Rik van Looy, Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck – and both Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel are on track to challenge that record. Pogačar still needs to win Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix, while Van der Poel is missing Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Il Lombardia.
Adrie thinks it will be harder for his son than for Pogačar.
“I think it’s a bit easier for Tadej than for Mathieu. The results this year in Sanremo and Roubaix show that he is also very close to the top in those two races. Without Mathieu I think he would have won them. Objectively speaking, he is the one who is really capable of winning a Grand Slam.”
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
Still, he believes that with the right preparation, Mathieu could do it.
“He only did Lombardy once, in 2020. He finished tenth. I think that, under the right circumstances, he could try. He needs to get to the right weight and maybe lose some weight, like last year for the world championships, when he was on the podium in a very tough race.
“To prepare him, it would be important to go to the Vuelta and then do some hilly races, with a lot of elevation, so that he can get used to it. It is clear that on Pogačar’s terrain it would be very difficult, but we can try.”
According to Adrie, the nature of the races needs to change too: “I am only saying that matches like the Monuments should be a battleground for everyone. They should not be made too difficult and there should be more room for the strategies of the teams.”
Similar concerns had also been raised by Van der Poel’s teammate Gianni Vermeersch in March, who said that Strade Bianche organisers were shutting out classics riders by adding more climbs and making the course longer.
“The charm of Strade Bianche was that the best grand tour riders and the best classics specialists raced against each other. But since the extra loop with Colle delle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe, the course has become too hard for that,” the former gravel world champion said.
“Purely as a race, Strade Bianche is one of my favorites, but last year the organizers made it longer. Now the race is 30 or 40 kilometers longer, mostly with climbs. That makes it more of a climbers’ race. It used to be a 50-50 split between climbers and classics riders.
“You would see riders like Cancellara, Stybar, Mathieu, and Wout — the more classics-oriented guys — at the front. But where I could still play a meaningful role before last year, it has now become really difficult for a classics rider to compete for a top result. The entire top ten now leans more toward climbers. That’s a bit of a shame because this was one of my favourite races, where I had hoped to one day achieve a great result.”
He added: “With the course changes, that ambition has shifted. I think it has become very difficult for a classics rider to get a top result here.”
Former Vuelta winner Luis Herrera under investigation for role in disappearance and murder of four Colombians
Luis ‘Lucho’ Herrera, the Colombian cycling legend and 1987 Vuelta a España winner, is under investigation in Colombia for alleged involvement in the disappearance and murder of four people in 2002.
Herrera, now 63, was the most successful Colombian cyclist of his era and widely considered one of the greatest climbers of all time. He became the first South American to win a Grand Tour and was the only one to do so until Nairo Quintana’s Giro d’Italia victory in 2014. He’s also one of the few cyclists to have claimed the mountains classification in all three Grand Tours — winning the KOM jersey five times in the Giro, Tour and Vuelta.
However, the recent shocking revelations were made public through confessions by former paramilitary members to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a transitional justice body in Colombia, reports Bicisport.
According to the testimony, Herrera allegedly asked the paramilitary group to make four people “disappear,” claiming they were guerrilla fighters. One of the protected witnesses said: “Mr. Lucho Herrera offers me something to drink and gives me two envelopes. In one there were photos of four people we had to catch—he said they were guerrilla fighters—and in the other envelope there were 40 million, and he asks us if we want to buy guns and motorcycles. Those people were near his property.”
> Vuelta winner Luis Herrera reveals he has skin cancer
The victims, identified as the Rodríguez Martínez brothers, Diuviseldo Torres, and Gonzalo Guerrero, were reportedly a peasant family living near Herrera’s property. The witness claimed the group kidnapped them, slit their throats and dismembered them with machetes. The remains were allegedly buried on or near Herrera’s land.
One witness said: “We put two of them in the truck and two in front, on the Novilleros-Aguadita road, on a farm on the side of the road, we cut their throats and then we chopped them up with a machete.”
According to the testimonies, the paramilitaries later realised the victims were not guerrillas, but civilians, and that Herrera had misled them in order to seize the victims’ land.
On April 7, the Fourth Criminal Court of the Fusagasugá Circuit opened a formal investigation into Herrera based on the testimonies. Herrera has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.
Brompton boss calls Trump tariffs "naive", suggests bike brand likely to raise US prices "between 5 and 10%"
“I missed racing like this… All or nothing until the last metre”: Evenepoel opens up on battle with Tadej Pogačar at Amstel Gold (and let’s talk about that Mattias Skjelmose win)
After deploying his trademark long-range, peloton-splitting attacks to phenomenal use, winning many a classics and stage races, Tadej Pogačar’s strategy of doing the same and blowing the competition to pieces didn’t go according to plan for once this weekend — all credit to the man who’s back racing after more than six months, Remco Evenepoel.
“I missed racing like this so much,” the Belgian said after the race. “Going all-in or nothing until the last metre.”
Golden soles for the Olympic gold medal winner at Amstel Gold
Although neither Pogačar or Evenepoel were the victors, cycling fans can find great excitement to the rest of the season, as these two seem destined to push each other on and produce great racing.
But — let’s talk about the victor! Lidl-Trek’s Mattias Skjelmose emerged victorious in the three-up sprint ahead of the world champion and the Olympic champion, the 24-year-old Danish GC rider launching his sprint at the perfect time on the final climb of Cauberg and taking his first win at a classic race.
“He paved the way for Cav, G, Wiggins and Froome”: Tributes pour in for British cycling legend Barry Hoban, who passed away on Sunday, aged 85
Barry Hoban, one of the most successful British riders of the 20th century and a key figure in the early history of British road racing in Europe, has died aged 85.
The Yorkshireman won eight stages of the Tour de France between 1967 and 1975, a British record that stood for over three decades until Mark Cavendish broke it in 2009. His first Tour stage win came in 1967, just one day after the death of his teammate Tom Simpson on Mont Ventoux — a sombre and symbolic moment that would define his early reputation as a resilient and respected rider in the peloton.
He would go on to complete the Tour de France 11 times, earning stage victories in both bunch sprints and mountainous terrain — a rare versatility in any era. Hoban also won two stages of the Vuelta a España and remains, to this day, the only British rider to have won the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem, out-sprinting the likes of Eddy Merckx and Roger De Vlaeminck in 1974.
Racing predominantly with the Mercier-BP-Hutchinson team alongside Raymond Poulidor, Hoban, who came to be known as the “Grey Fox” in the later stages of his career, built a reputation as a dependable teammate and a fierce competitor in the classics. He finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and was a regular presence at the front of European races during an era when few British riders were able to break into the continental scene.
“He had incredible knowledge of a race,” said a Mercier insider, Guy Caput. “He was far more than a sprinter. His judgment on everything that went on in a race could be relied on absolutely. He was a professional from sunrise to sunset.”
Hoban’s career helped lay the foundations for future British success in the sport. At a time when British cycling had little infrastructure abroad, he proved it was possible to win at the highest level in mainland Europe. His success has proven to be key in inspiring the next generation of British riders and is widely credited with helping shift perceptions of what was possible for British professionals.
Here’s a roundup of tributes for Hoban:
Pro cycling commentator Jez Cox said: “What a sad day, but also what an important day to celebrate what a massive impact Barry Hoban had. He paved the way for Cav, G, Wiggins and Froome. I’ll never forget my interview I did with him about his 1974 Gent-Wevelgem win for TV. What a passion for our sport. RIP Barry.”
Cycling photographer Graham Wilson wrote: “Sad news that Barry Hoban has passed away, he was a genuine legend from the glory days of old, and a hero to so many future pros. He was the first British cyclist I photographed in a Tour de France, in 1977, and I’m extremely glad to have this one image of the man in action. RIP.”
Sports writer and ITV’s Tour de France presenter Ned Boulting said: “Very sorry to hear that Barry Hoban has died. He was a very engaging man, who was always a welcoming presence, whenever we met. And he was a champion cyclist, in a pioneering age.”
Cyclist killed and 14-year-old son seriously injured after Calpe group ride hit by driver, man arrested
Former pro Thomas De Gendt enjoying Amstel Gold from the race commissaire car
.@DeGendtThomas acompanhando a @Amstelgoldrace de dentro do carro do juri. pic.twitter.com/b9HuayUO91
— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) April 22, 2025
In Memoriam: Pope Francis and his auctioned-off Dogma
In light of the end of a papal term, with Pope Francis passing away yesterday, aged 88, it’s time to once again remember the Pinarello Dogma gifted to the first pope of Latin American identity and the first from the Southern Hemisphere by none other than Egan Bernal after winning the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
The Dogma F12 came complete with a striking colour scheme based on the flag of Pope Francis’ native Argentina, as well as the papal seal, his regnal name, and his birth forenames, Jorge Mario.
The bike was put up for sale in March last year, and despite auctioneers expecting it to fetch somewhere between €25,000 and €30,000, it eventually ended up selling for just €14,000 (or £12,000), going to a bidder from France, subject to a shipping fee of €55.
Hammersmith Bridge reopens to cyclists after five years, as £3m refurbishment works finally completed
After five years of closures, diversions, and a fair bit of farce, cyclists can finally ride across Hammersmith Bridge again. The west London crossing, shut to motor traffic since 2019 and to cyclists and pedestrians at various points since then, has now reopened with a new two-way cycle lane following a £2.9 million refurbishment.
The bridge’s main carriageway is now officially open to people on bikes, as well as to pedestrians, after works that included replacing the decking and resurfacing. The project also delivered wider walkways, improving accessibility for wheelchair users and people pushing prams.
It’s a significant step forward for active travel in the capital, after years of safety issues and political wrangling over the future of the 138-year-old suspension bridge. Until now, cyclists had to dismount and walk their bikes across the footways, with the bridge’s structure deemed too unstable to allow riding.
Things took an unexpected turn last year when a group of West Ham fans, travelling to Fulham’s Craven Cottage by boat, managed to wedge their vessel under the bridge, damaging a gantry and halting stabilisation works. Hammersmith & Fulham Council used the unplanned pause to install the new cycle lane — initially intended as a 10-week trial — which has now been made permanent.
The bridge now features three central lanes: one northbound for cyclists, one southbound, and a pedestrian-only lane in between. The outer footways remain reserved for pedestrians.
There’s still no word on when, or if, the bridge will reopen to motor traffic. A government-led taskforce is considering long-term options, including keeping it permanently car-free. Proposals have ranged from toll-based reopening to outright demolition — though the latter seems to have been quietly dropped.
In the meantime, Hammersmith Bridge is finally rideable again. For now, that’s good news for cyclists — and probably also for any West Ham fans operating boats, who’ll be hoping not to add any more drama to the bridge’s saga.
"125 years of killing the buzz": Cycling fans bash UCI over pro cyclist's "ridiculous" fine for sunglass-throwing celebration
Michael Storer takes lead of Tour of the Alps after solo attack wins him second stage
Tudor Pro’s Michael Storer has soloed his way to victory and the lead of the general classification at the Tour of the Alps. The 28-year-old Australian launched his attack 11km from the finish line to finish 41 seconds ahead of the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s Paul Seixas and Team Picnic PostNL’s Romain Bardet.
Michael Storer takes Stage 2 and the GC lead at the Tour of the Alps! 👏 pic.twitter.com/O0vJj2tSLi
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) April 22, 2025
This marks the second victory of the season for Storer, who also won the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice last month.
Irish police pull cyclist over for speeding at "62km/h in a 50 zone"
> Irish police pull cyclist over for speeding at “62km/h in a 50 zone”
“The mere sight of broken white lines with the words Cycle Hire Only is enough to send them into apoplexy”: Locals cry “war on cars” after car parking spaces replaced with 350 Lime e-bike bays, calling them “blight on the streets”
Just a week on from the uproar that engulfed the aftermath of the Boat Race, after locals complained that spectators had “abandoned” hire bikes on their streets, now critics of the dockless cycle hire scheme have turned their anger towards… the installation of actual, proper parking bays for them.
A recent report from the Daily Mail has highlighted how “posh Londoners” are “furious” with the council taking away their car parking spaces to replace them with rectangles made up of broken white lines, with the words ‘Cycle Hire Only’ accompanying them at the bottom — that’s apparently enough to send the residents of Merton borough to “apoplexy”.
“Even before the e-bike bay was introduced, it was often difficult to find a spot near home, especially in the evenings or on weekends,” said Nahian Khan, a resident of densely populated Abbott Avenue, who has launched a petition calling on Merton Council to “reconsider the decision and engage in open dialogue with the affected community”.
“Many of us have spent far too long circling nearby streets or parking a good distance away,” he added. “The removal of even one space, especially without warning, has a ripple effect. It’s not just a single car space gone: it’s added stress, competition, and tension for already limited parking. For people with mobility issues, young children, or those working shifts, it makes life harder.
“Many of us depend on our cars — they’re not just a luxury, they’re essential to how we live,” he said, adding that there’s “genuine frustration” among the residents.
Meanwhile, one Oxford Avenue resident said: “It appeared recently and has taken away a valuable parking space. It’s a blight on the street.
“I’ve only seen one bike left actually in the bay – others have just been scattered on the pavement nearby.”
Liz said: “I think there is a war on cars. There should be a better way to enable bike parking than taking away a valuable car parking space.
She added: “If you’re a resident and you don’t have a drive, and you dare to leave, you come back and there’s nowhere to park. The e-bike space just makes that even harder. I think this is a significant change: it impacts people who have cars and need to park more than it benefits people who ride the bikes.
“Some of the riders are very inconsiderate, and the removal of a car parking space to put in an e-bike space has not changed their behaviour. They still leave them in stupid places, so that implies it’s not working for the majority of people who ride the bikes.”
Despite so much recent criticism (that on more than one occasion has amounted to criminal acts of violence) of Lime bikes being focused on cyclists not parking them properly, leaving them stranded on pavements and obstructing the way for pedestrians, especially endangering those with disabilities and mobility issues — you’d assume that parking bays built for them would come as good news.
However, there is a catch — according to the Mail, Merton Council hasn’t struck an agreement with rental companies operating in the borough, meaning that e-bike users are under no obligation to use the newly created spaces.
Anthony Fairclough, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Merton, accused the Labour-run council of “putting the cart before the horse” by installing the bays before negotiating with bike firms.
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The Battle of Ypres April 1915. The German infantry division advanced using das Brumptstadt Fahrarden. The slow speed kept them behind the cloud of chlorine gas as it drifted towards the Commonwealth trenches. The offensive cleaved a two mile gap in the Western Front. The use of cycles was copied by the Japanese as they invaded Singapore and Burmah. By then war technology had embraced wider low pressure tyres, carbon frames and hydration gels. The German forces decided not to incorporate cycling as part of Operation Session, as bike theft in London and the South East was rife and would have caused huge casualties. Ironically superior advancement of tyre technology led to a British victory at El Alamein. This technology played a key part in the US Marines victory at Iwo Jima.
The appropriate response to Google pissing on your cereal is not a fancy new sugar that removes the taste of urine. Stop using Google products where you can. Firefox browser and DuckDuckGo search engine have had noticeable upticks in market share by explicitly NOT pushing AI.
my thoughts exactly...I wonder how that approach is working, with motor vehicle drivers...🤔
I do not wish to diminish the personal tragedy, but one never hear calls for pedestrians or even hikers to wear clothing with integrated lightening rods.
RE Andy Burnam / Heidi Alexander - this is the best thing in many ways - set an example (even if currently it leads to lots of online name-calling). And imagine some of the political alternatives! The folks in the apparently second-placed party seem incredibly unlikely to be doing so. And even the current "new Greens" seem less interested in ... y'know, environmental things. OTOH I wish Heidi could be bolder. And I fear that like anyone ambitious enough to get to the top (exception B Johnson - well, I guess there was the Corbyn bicycle...) Burnam will be trimming his transport policy sails to fit the wind (should that be "bunker-fuel-burning engines"?)
@mattsccm Bull bars aren't banned, they just have to conform to regulations so they are deformable or have plates that allow crumple give on contact, rather than rigid steel bars that can smash into pedestrians and cyclists with no give at all, catch them and drag them under the wheels. If you think that's a problem, do one. Why should who is responsible for a collision remove the responsibility of people driving a tonne of machinery on the road from having safety features to at least mitigate some of the effects of a collision?
I'd be willing to bet that's lazy use of stock photography rather than deliberate misinformation, but the result is still the same.
@smallbeer You obviously don't realise how many bulls there are wandering around Chelsea, in and out of the china shops, that he needs to protect his Range Rover from.
I agree, it's bloody 'elf and safety overreach, can't help some people, I put some meat, sorry, neat decoration on the front of mine and the polis were round poking their noses in like that (mind you, that was a mistake...) (etc)
@mattsccm "Think also 4wd bull bars being banned for no legitimate reason." OK, now I regret engaging with you, you sad little troll.
40 thoughts on ““The mere sight of broken white lines with the words Cycle Hire Only is enough to send them into apoplexy”: Locals cry “war on cars” after car parking spaces replaced with 350 Lime e-bike bays, calling them “blight on the streets” + more on the live blog”
These people need to
These people need to understand that times are changing. We can’t have the present number of cars on the roads any more. Our cities are gridlocked and it’s perople are dying from air pollution. We need to offer alternatives, and if that means inconveniencing someone looking to park then too bad.
Agree generally – but the
Agree generally – but the argument may be nuanced (not that it matters to the antis / skeptical one whit):
– We currently struggle / fail to maintain road infra with the current rate of use.
– UK population is still increasing, I think driving is increasing also. So more congestion / crashes / road noise / pollution. And FWIW average vehicle weights are going up (causing significantly more damage).
– Driving has other costs (e.g. to health)
– Private motoring is extremely space- and energy- inefficient compared to most other modes.
– It tends to reinforce itself – suppressing demand for other modes, leading to re-engineering of built environment (centralisation of amenities – larger but fewer so on average everyone is further from them), making active travel unpleasant and less useful (as well as taking over large amounts of space)
So it is increasingly understood to have significant costs in the short and longer term – and those are increasing.
On the flip side, if we can lure / push people away from driving and increase active travel slightly, we get into a virtuous circle where that and public transport can reinforce each other. We may get nicer places. And we are better placed to avoid costly urban sprawl (where we end up supporting longer road / utility networks within low-density development which doesn’t bring much tax return etc.)
The only way to reduce
The only way to reduce congestion is to reduce the desire to drive. Lots of moaning by drivers is a sign that this is working
karlssberg wrote:
A better version?
Also, since drivers are “top of the food chain” in fact “congestion” is nature’s way of limiting their numbers / activities. (Perhaps it ought also to be “police” or “driving test” – to remove those lacking “fitness” from the driving population … but it isn’t happening).
Another phrasing: without “congestion” there needs to be some other way of making driving a less attractive option, otherwise more journeys will be driven until we get back to congestion again. (Increasing capacity or “one more lane” turns out not to be a good general fix, due to the space-inefficiency of private motoring).
If you say, “I hate bicycles
If you say, “I hate bicycles parked on the pavement!” and in the next breath say, “I hate bicycles parked in bicycle parking spots!” then what you’re really saying is, “I hate bicycles!”
Like so much of cycling, you’re always in the wrong according to drivers.
Except… could be different
Except… could be different people quoted in article. Article implied everyone in Merton hated both ebikes dumped on pavement and ebikes in a reserved space. While I wouldn’t be surprised if some Mertonians were so stupid, doesn’t mean they all are and merely adds to online rage
I’d say one of the largest
I’d say one of the largest issues with the people reacting with ‘taking even one car space is a huge issue’ in the above news is that any time any bicycle parking is added, they’ll surely also go ‘that could’ve been car parking’? Even if it’s part of a park – if it was made into bike parking they’ll be angry it wasn’t made into a parking space for them instead. My local Lidl gets complaints about bikes being locked up at the trolley stands, but when suggestions that they install Sheffield stands in a parking space are floated then the car park is too small and we need more space for cars. There’s no winning with this!
alex_velo wrote:
at my local Lidl, the car parking area is easily 2x as large as the internal shop floorspace. some of the tesco carparks might be closer to 3x.
The big problem is that there
The big problem is that there is still too much disconnect between the two forms of transport (cars/bicycles). Would they be that upset if a car bay was changed into a motorcycle bay for example? If it is being changed to a bay for bicycles could that actually help encourage a few people in the area to ditch their car and thus reduce the burden for everyone? Also, if the spaces are so “valuable”, does the council charge for people to use them?!
Irrespective of the above, the one line that amuses me most is where the person comments on people with mobility issues. They always love to trot that line out. The same people will be hooting that person when they are crossing the road too slowly due to their mobility issues.
I’d say the disconnect
I’d say the disconnect actually happens earlier than that – Its what a road is primarily for. Its a route to enable transport rather than a place to park private property that then may have negative impacts on travel. If a 2 lane road cannot enable 2 way traffic without compromise (relative to traffic density etc) because of parked vehicles, then maybe there shouldn’t be parked vehicles full stop.
And what would really help
And what would really help those less abled people who have to drive, less traffic, less cars and a better chance of finding parking spaces. But it’s always the cyclists fault…
It’s a bit meme-able
It’s a bit meme-able
The road is a public highway
The road is a public highway (unless it is private) so no one has the ‘right’ to park near their house. They talk about taking away ‘car parking space’ but the space is not the exclusive domain for people to park their private property. In theory the manager of the highway (the local authority) could allocate the space for people to grow flowers. For too long, far too long, our urban realm has been designed and managed for people to drive and park large, inefficient vehicles, for their sole use. It’s long overdue that streets were reclaimed for all of us, and especially for pedestrians and cyclists. And stop parking your fkn cars on the pavement.
Rome73 wrote:
Although it is kind of annoying if a local garage decides to extend their building, removing their on-site parking, and then fill up local streets with the vehicles queued up for them to work on… ‘Tragedy of the commons’, innit?
If anyone ever comes to
If anyone ever cycles in Cardiff city centre the Bike Lock Cafe in Windsor Place offers secure internal bike parking at a very reasonable rate with a discount for over 60s. Food’s not bad either.
https://www.thebikelock.co.uk/
“Even before the e-bike bay
“Even before the e-bike bay was introduced, it was often difficult to find a spot near home…”
Uh-huh. Clearly it’s the one bike parking bay that’s the underlying issue here then. FFS.
Quote:
A little hyperbolic, no? I’m not aware that there is a crime of ‘violence against the ebike’.
It is absolutely right that
It is absolutely right that parking space should be provided for bikes. I can understand that people want to be able to park as close as possible to their front door, and that if all else is equal that it’s easier to find somewhere to park when there are more spaces. But how come so many drivers cannot or will not grasp that more spaces for bike parking will result in a reduction in car ownership, and therefore a reduction in competition for parking spaces.
If there needs to be more bays for disabled parking – add them too. I appreciate that not everyone with mobility problems is entitled to a blue badge, but unlimited parking for everyone isn’t physically possible. I’d like to think that councils that issue parking permits could find a way to have a category for those who may not need a blue badge, but can legitimately claim they deserve priority parking – even if it’s just for a couple of months after particular operations. Having children wouldn’t count.
The point about negotiating with the hire companies to introduce a reward for parking in the dedicated spaces is fair. Even if it’s a temporary deal to raise awareness of the existence of those spaces. Not everyone needs to be motivated by the offer of a reward or threat or a penalty fee, but it will help to raise awareness and to form habits.
If people wish to to store
If people wish to to store (park) their vehicles, they should do so on their own property, not on the highway. You have a right to travel along the kings highway, no more.
Exactly. Round our way, many
Exactly. Round our way, many people have bought houses with barely space to park a small hatchback, then put a massive SUV in it to stretch across the pavement meaning twin pushchairs have to go in road. Stop the sense of right to dominate space with cars.
However… similar mentality shown by hire bike users dumping their bikes across paths and pavements, even next to a bike park area. We have an unfortunately large proportion of people who are a nasty, utterly self-absorbed.
As I’ve posted previously, in SE London, we’re now in an age when the majority of people on various forms of bikes and scooters assume they must ride randomly on footpaths, even when a safe cycle lane on both sides of a well designed road.
Absolute ignorance of Highway Code among drivers and riders
Many drivers fail to notice
Many drivers fail to notice that they have collectively been eroding the number of parking spaces available by buying bigger and bigger vehicles that take up more and more space. Anyone with a large car in a city needs to reflect on their own contribution towards the availability of parking.
Places like Merton need to bring in a Parisian style surcharge for parking larger vehicles, and possibly even restrict altogether the sale of parking permits for vehicles above a certain size unless it can be justified.
Exactly – if only a quarter
Exactly – if only a quarter of the people on the street have bought a giant SUV instead of a hatchback, they’ve removed more than one parking space. But no, the problem is bikes.
E6toSE3 wrote:
Well, until we’ve figured out why people are selfish and how to make them less so … I think a stop-gap is “increasing effort for them to cause trouble, and increasing potential negative consequences to themselves of doing so”.
So … put them on a bike, rather than a in car or on a motorbike. (I’m also not a believer that *dockless* share systems are in fact a good idea – either for encouraging social behaviour by riders or the owners / shareholders of the scheme…)
I think they shouldn’t * but … give me riders every time. Drivers who can’t drive sensibly / don’t understand the rules? They are a major risk of seriously inconvenience and possibly injuring / killing people. Not just because “far more mass / size / energy at speed”. But also because – per point above – it’s as easy to drive at 10mph + above any speed limit as below it, and I’m not aware of any drivers being killed by collisions with pedestrians.
So the direct negative consequences for them are likely not high. (Very little for parking where it inconveniences people, perhaps court for driving into people – but not always a conviction nor prison).
* Why aren’t they using them? Do the cycle lanes in fact … not feel safe? Are they very narrow? Are they filled with vehicles, signage, things that people want to store, rubbish etc.? Perhaps they’re even less convenient than cycling on the pavement – maybe they stop and start randomly (leaving a choice of pavement or busy road) etc?
chrisonabike wrote:
We’ve already done that*. We just need to sneak it into some vaccines, or something.
[* In mice]
mdavidford wrote:
Well since rats have been trained to drive, we’ve nearly squared the circle!
E6toSE3 wrote:
And I have replied previously, as a fellow Southeast London resident, your assertion is absolute nonsense. One or two idiots occasionally, definitely. The majority? Rubbish.
Quote:
Well you must be delighted that an alternative form of transport has been provided for you right on your doorstep. Leave the car parked where it is and you don’t have to worry about finding a space.
Ah, the London Borough of
Ah, the London Borough of Merton, where carefully driven SUVs crash into children whilst they are at school
Nahian Khan wrote:
… It’s worth it if it saves just one
lifeparking space![FTFY]
“they’re not just a luxury”..
“they’re not just a luxury”… but I bet many are large luxury cars.
And/or SUVs
And/or SUVs
I just read an article in
I just read an article in Private Eye which says that the Royal Parks Police may be closed down as a cost-cutting measure?
Yes it is confirmed.
Yes it is confirmed.
“If you’re a resident and you
“If you’re a resident and you don’t have a drive, and you dare to leave, you come back and there’s nowhere to park.”
So the problem is that parking capacity is insufficient at the moment. Taking away a single parking place isn’t really going to make much difference is it?
If they took away 50% of the car parking, and made the drivers use alternative transport, they might have a case, but the real problem is the overprovision of parking in the first place. If they hadn’t had somewhere to park, on public land, they’d never have bought a car.
They have hundreds of places to park, the cyclists have one, and still they complain: motornormativity. They’re whining because their privilege is being equalised, and someone else is getting a bite of the cake.
“The bridge now features
Re Hammersmith Bridge
“The bridge now features three central lanes: one northbound for cyclists, one southbound, and a pedestrian-only lane in between.”
The pictures on the BBC report don’t show this …
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly81r7m3lxo
It definitely isn’t as
It definitely isn’t as described here, there is a two-lane cycleway on the left (if you’re looking from the south side of the river) and a two-way pedestrian path on the right. Not entirely sure why the powers that be decided it was necessary to take half the former roadway for pedestrians when they already have sole use of the pavements on both sides but still, great news that we can cycle over it again!
I cycled over it twice today
I cycled over it twice today with a trailer. The surface is the best it has ever been as far back as I can remember. It is also great that there is a line of big white-painted concrete blocks separating the cyclist and pedestrian lanes so that pedestrians and their pets can’t easily accidently or otherwise wander into the cycle lanes.
Sounds good. Funnily enough I
Sounds good. Funnily enough I cycled under the bridge today as we were on a long-range Thames Path gravel ride, if I’d known it was open I would have popped up to try it!
In the picture used above,
In the picture used above, that surface is shocking.
That’s as it was before it
That’s as it was before it was closed to bikes. This BBC picture shows how it is now: