Traffic free Oxford Street and cyclists' left on red likely after 2016

Turning left on red seems a good idea. With any junction caution is paramount

If Oxford street closes to traffic then it will effectively close to bicycles too and the area surrounding Oxford street have the most insane one way traffic systems known to mankind.

So I hope they work out some good alternative routes for cyclists north or south of Oxford Street, it should be pedestrianised.

Well, it if works in London I can't see it being a problem elsewhere. Good luck!

Brilliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant!!!

Seems like at apolitical level there is ambivalence, "we are not really that bothered about cycling but we make the right noises.

At the engineering/design level there is a spectrum ranging from disinterest to trying hard, but its hamstrung by terrible design manuals to refer to.

This means the politicians make the right noises and the designers try to include and what we get is rubbish.

Left turn on red could be easily implemented with the little protective islands that the Dutch use on their (older) junctions which in effect creates a bypass round the junction for left turning bikes.

Even recent designs from TfL don't seem to have grasped that the reason cyclists jump red lights because they often don't actually have to, so bypass the junction and make it easy.

Discretionary left turns is a big thing.

They're rolling it out across most French towns and cities (discretionary right in their case) and it's working well.

It would certainly speed up most cyclists' journeys but more importantly would remove the 'law-breaker' epitaph.

While you are at it folks, can you simply make a London-wide, or country-wide for that matter, TRO allowing cycles to contra-flow one-ways? Road layouts are designed for the motor car and why cyclists have to do three sides of a square when the obvious route is one side is another big hindrance.

Hands up who's ever seen everything in a "pledge" or political manifesto implemented. Call me a cynic but I'll believe it when I see it after the election hype has died down.

I'd like to see it implemented across the whole of the UK, not just in London.

For years and years we've had politicians saying we should use the car less and cycle/walk more, especially for short trips. However, when it comes to putting the cash up for cycling/walking infrastructure they get all mealy-mouthed.

As it says above: "However, Labour’s Sadiq Khan and the Tories' Zac Goldsmith need to firm up their commitments to a safer London, currently too many of their promises are riddled with get-out clauses."

Seems to always have been the case that they're attitude is that spending money on infrastructure for motor vehicles is good, but put up cash for cyclists/walkers? - They'd prefer not to.

Can a newly-elected London Mayor change the law regarding red lights?
Isn't this a government/parliament thing?

Are they promising things that are illegal, and lying already?

I'm just trying to get my head around this turn left on a red light thing... I can see how on occasion it might be a sensible thing to do, but doesn't it encourage cyclists to come up the inside of HGVs and buses, and if the lights change while they're doing it and the HGV turns left, it's game over isn't it? You wouldn't want to go up the right of anything to turn left either, as you'll be stuck if the lights change and they're going straight on.

How should this work in practice?

Great news for pedestrians about Oxford Street though! I never go there because I hate the narrow crowded pavements. Has anyone said whether cycling will be allowed?

The Stop the Killing funeral on Oxford St last year, was the first time I'd visited in ages, and I'm in central London every week. I can't imagine why any of the stores would want to keep through traffic, it's the worst retail experience imaginable.

The protest though was great, you've never seen a bunch of cyclists so happy to have horses shitting all over the road ahead of them.

Now we just need these proposals rolled out beyond the capital.

This shouldn't be called "Idaho Law". The "Idaho Stop" law allows cyclists to treat red lights as stop signs no matter which direction they are travelling. Right turns on red are legal in the US regardless, unless signed otherwise.