Cycling architects to consult on all London cycling facilities

Why would we look to the US rather than to the Netherlands?

Far too expensive in lives and money!

in my opinion I feel the involvement of professionals who are also keen cyclists can only assist the fundamental shift to making cities "livable"

whereas due to decades of obsession with the private motor vehicle, we have created unpleasant, heavily polluted and dangerous urban environments where multi-tonne motorised vehicles freely mix with pedestrians and cyclists

once this mindset of the motor vehicle dominating our cities is broken, huge social benefits will be enjoyed as the ability to freely walk, cycle and use efficient public transport will improve the quality of life, fitness and engagement with the environment

tonight? I took a train back into London Waterloo and then rode the 6 miles home through Covent Garden and Euston up to NW1

the journey was absolutely unpleasant with gridlocked traffic all the way from the Strand through Camden

a good number of taxis and motor vehicles making very dangerous, bullying and illegal moves: -saw a number of taxis freely driving through green pedestrian lights in Covent Garden, and ignoring pedestrians on zebra crossings and trying to intimidate cyclists and pedestrians

saw cyclists riding in the rainy dark with no lights, pedestrians stepping into the busy road without looking away from their smartphones, etc.

something needs to be done before more are killed and maimed

cities are incredibly energy efficient when designed properly, and can becomes very pleasurable places to live, shop and move about when the emphasis is not the combustion engine, and the transportation system is designed around walking, cycling and public transport rather than private motor vehicles and heavy goods vehicles

Urban streets should be designed by people who start on the outside and work their way in:
Pedestrians to be catered for adequately first
...then cyclists get allocated adequate space4cycling
...then the cars and trucks get the space that is left over in the middle (if it isn't urgently required for high quality public transport links, such as tram lines or bus rapid transit corridors.)

So not every street has space for cars, and some streets have only limited space for private motor transport.

This is the German system - simple, but as yet unfortunately applied more in theory than in practice. Things are improving as funding streams etc. are gradually brought more in line with the design principles they have at times tended to clash with.

The idea of "stronger" users yielding to more vulnerable users is a bit more problematic. The illustrated sign is a bit of a mess, but so is the concept. Cyclists have more velocity and often more mass than pedestrians and a duty of care towards them. That's only logical: cyclists shouldn't race through crowds of pedestrians and expect the pedestrians to jump out of the way. But pedestrians can't be completely absolved of a responsibility to check for cyclists either, say before stepping into cycle tracks to reach bus stops. Pedestrians can change their direction of travel instantly and in any direction without looking or even thinking, so cyclists can't be expected to always anticipate their actions. Nor are cyclists necessarily any less vulnerable than pedestrians in the sense that motorists are (unlikely to come off worst in a collision.)

I admire the Architects doing their bit but its Engineers that design roads not Architects. They're right that a complete change of attitude is needed as cyclists are thought of as being in the way of cars rather than another road user you should give space to and who is more vulnerable than the car driver.