Birmingham’s bollard bonanza as “forest” of traffic-calming poles installed outside school… to protect cyclists and pedestrians from bad parking; Kid’s expletive-laden reaction to not getting a bike for Christmas + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"A place where dreams come true": World Bollard Association can't control its excitement...
Everyone’s favourite bollard-repping blue bird app account is in heaven…
Nope, they’re there because they’re beautiful.#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
Why so few?#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
You’re a niche interest group… but bollard fans, this week you rule the world… (well, a 50m stretch of Birmingham A-road to be precise)…
Bollard World.#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
Shit load.#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
It’s to improve the look of Birmingham. We think it’s worked.#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
Absolutely awful.#WorldBollardAssociation
— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
That was fun.
MORE BOLLARDS
What’s that across the junction? Of course… more bollards! Oh, and confirmation the fairly wide path running parallel to the A-road, and now bursting with bollards, is a shared-use path… (admittedly one you may not want to use)…
Your thoughts
Trees?
— aubrey blazey (@blazeya5) January 5, 2023
To kick off our early comments round-up, SimoninSpalding sums up how we’re all feeling this morning…
“Will you please stop putting links to the World Bollard Association Twitter feed in the live blog. It causes a significant reduction in productivity in this corner of Lincolnshire every time you do.”
Car Delenda Est: “The bollards do seem to be on a shared path so I have concerns about whether they’d need to be spaced further for accessibility. But overall traffic calming and stopping pavement parking outside a school are a two for one. Just a shame they haven’t done anything for the road itself.”
Patrick9-32: “Delivery drivers have also been unable to park up and I hear parents have had difficulties too. That’s literally the point you lukewarm cup of piss.” *Makes a note of lukewarm cup of piss as an insult for future purposes…
hawkinspeter: “As much as bollards are the true heroes of road safety, I can’t help but think that parking rule enforcement is the better answer. Install some ANPR cameras covering the area and keep on sending out fines in the post to the drivers.”
And finally with a little language warning… JustTryingToGet…: “Birmingham Council should be more blunt. ‘Sure it looks a bit mad, but it’s better than a selfish prick killing a kid with their illegal parking. They don’t give a fuck whether your kid lives or dies, but they do (sometimes) care about their vehicle paintwork. Therefore we’re hopeful that this approach will succeed where other reasonable approaches have failed to get through their thick skulls’.
To which SimoninSpalding replied: “Do you work in marketing or the Diplomatic Service? If not you may have missed your calling!”
Kid's expletive-laden reaction to not getting a bike for Christmas
There’s other stuff around this morning outside of Birmingham. We’d rather you don’t take this one too seriously or pile into the comments to have a go at anyone involved…
Anyway, it’s now internet famous and it can’t be long before it pops up across the usual meme pages…
2023 cycling tech trends | Specialized Tarmac SL8 predictions and more...
Dame Sarah Storey, DCS Andy Cox and a whole bunch of whataboutery — reaction to our near miss feature
You might have seen we’ve put together an updated feature on submitting camera footage to police forces…
> Here’s what to do if you capture a near miss, close pass or collision on camera while cycling
It was put together with the input of Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox whose full comments can be read here…
For convenience, attached is my full quote regarding the public reporting of road crime. https://t.co/EW5h866jlA pic.twitter.com/ajoKys7qna
— Andy Cox (@AndyCoxDCS) January 4, 2023
Anyway, the piece prompted a fair bit of discussion…
Police alone will not solve road danger. Nobody discourages public providing info re violence, sexual offences or acquisitive crime. So what’s the difference for road crime when considering 4-5 people die each day? See Robert Peel’s quote re the benefits of dual responsibility. pic.twitter.com/IX1D9LOA5z
— Andy Cox (@AndyCoxDCS) January 5, 2023
Andy articulates exactly why I’m working closely with @gmptraffic to get the reporting system right in Greater Manchester. If a vehicle is used aggressively, the person behind the wheel needs to prosecuted. Next step is to deal with leniency of sentencing after prosecution too. https://t.co/34hYHbDj3Y
— Dame Sarah Storey (@DameSarahStorey) January 5, 2023
And a wholly predictable bunch of whataboutery…
Hope this helps. pic.twitter.com/vow1uvGSqZ
— Black Country Ste 🇺🇦 (@CCSteV) January 5, 2023
I’m not excusing bad cycling, far from it but remember the lowest denominator:
Motorists kill cyclists, never vice versa.— RMPNCO (@rmpnco) January 5, 2023
Cycling Tech News | The TOP 10 bike-tech news stories of 2022
More on Battersea's bike hub
New Battersea bike hub: thanks for trying but why all the pushbutton doors? Couldn’t you have made them auto opening or just not had them at all? Would you make car drivers have to stop and move over to the side three times to press a button to get into a carpark? pic.twitter.com/Y0C0HAfpgG
— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) January 5, 2023
road.cc reader Rendel went to visit Battersea’s new bike hub, shared on yesterday’s live blog, and sent us this video of the confusing amount of pushbutton doors you have to negotiate if entering from the car park…
Just a reminder the total redevelopment cost £9 billion…
Oh, and if you aren’t coming from the car park there’s a lift, or this…
3/ The ‘Bike Hub’ is underground.
You can get to it by lift.
Or stairs.
There appears to be no level access. pic.twitter.com/eFtMrhXnwy— Jim Harris is at work (@jimoutoffaf) December 24, 2022
Wout wins again
Water’s wet, the Pope’s a Catholic etc. etc.
𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐆! pic.twitter.com/QIy4bIxTsN
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) January 5, 2023
That’s Van Aert first, Van der Poel second. And another classic of the badly timed cycling photos genre…
Wout way too fast for me 🤭 #Koksijde pic.twitter.com/dHjZk5jCoC
— Guy Schellens (@SchellensGuy) January 5, 2023
New Kask helmet spotted in Ineos Grenadiers Instagram post?
We love a bit of off-season speculating and kit spotting. As the pros head out on training camp spins, their teams keen to snap all the new kit, it’s a great opportunity to try to see if there’s anything interesting and unreleased on show.
> Is a MECHANICAL 12-speed Shimano 105 groupset coming in 2023 after all?
So, when we saw this on Ineos Grenadiers’ Instagram we first had to get over the shock of seeing G without Oakleys… but once the deep feeling of emptiness had shifted, another thing caught our eye — that aero helmet on Dani Martinez’s head…
Seen again here…
Now, if you search Kask Elemento you’ll get a few results come up online, but it’s not yet released, leading our tech team to speculate this could be a replacement for the Utopia or slot in between the Utopia and Protone Icon in the Kask range.
For more off-season sightings check out the possible new Cannondale SuperSix Evo 4 that EF pros have been seen on this week…
How I expect all future bike photos to be posted...
— M∆SON (@MASON_Cycles) January 5, 2023
Near Miss of the Day overseas edition
@epimountainbiker When a taxi drafts you on a bike #mtblife , #roadrage #bikersoftiktok #sudbury #fyp #Aarons ♬ original sound – theepimountainbik
British clothing brand VeloVixen enters liquidation
VeloVixen co-founder Phil Bingham has told Cycling Weekly a multitude of factors and “feeling the pinch” has caused his British-based cycling clothing brand to enter liquidation.
The news was shared on the company’s website, with Bingham explaining “adverse forces” have conspired against it and that after 11 years the brand is no more.
“It’s like any other small business in the cycling world,” he explained. “At the moment, I don’t know if there is any business within cycling that isn’t feeling the pinch,” he said. “I think we can genuinely say that this is all the forces at once conspiring against us. It’s a combination of energy prices, inflation, doom and gloom amongst consumers and cost of living.”
We’ll have a feature on the challenges facing British cycling clothing brands in the near future…
"Unfortunately the number of bollards that have been installed demonstrates the scale of the problem"
Responding to the public frenzy over the bollards, Birmingham City Council told The Telegraph:
We receive regular complaints from residents about inconsiderate and dangerous parking outside the school.
We are working with the school to help challenge this behaviour and encourage walking and cycling where appropriate, but unfortunately the number of bollards that have been installed demonstrates the scale of the problem.
We will continue to encourage parents to consider other forms of transport and to consider others when dropping off children at school.
Birmingham's bollard bonanza as "forest" of traffic-calming poles installed outside school... to protect cyclists and pedestrians from bad parking
Welcome to Bollard World. A place where dreams come true.#WorldBollardAssociation
pic.twitter.com/QKRRHFGKkj— World Bollard Association™ (@WorldBollard) January 3, 2023
This anti-dangerous parking measure from Birmingham City Council along the A38 Bristol Road between Longbridge and Northfield has attracted more than enough chatter for a blog post…
Installed to “challenge” inconsiderate and dangerous parking outside The Meadows Primary School, it was actually implemented 18 months ago but has come to the world’s attention thanks to national newspaper coverage and, of course, Twitter’s ever-brilliant World Bollard Association.
The 50m stretch includes 60 of the poles, described by one local as “weird slalom posts more suited to the Winter Olympics”, outside the primary school, but has drawn criticism from some, including those who believe the scheme could prove more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.
“We’re all for traffic safety around a primary school, but this just looks like a weird slalom of posts more suited to the Winter Olympics,” Jessica grant told the Coventry Telegraph.
“It’s an absolute eyesore too and if anything could prove more dangerous for cyclists or pedestrians trying to navigate it. Delivery drivers have also been unable to park up and I hear parents have had difficulties too. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else to be honest.”
Another local added: “Serious questions have to be asked of the council. It’s barmy. Who on earth thought this was a good idea? We have had problems with parking near the school but this is an unnecessary eyesore and complete overkill by the council.”
5 January 2023, 09:07
5 January 2023, 09:07
5 January 2023, 09:07
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Latest Comments
@Mr Blackbird And the evidence that Spalding BID are a wunch of bankers is overwhelming.
@IanMK Many years ago, HSE decided that cycle helmets were not PPE. Not sure if their position has changed since then.
@Rendel Harris Thanks for digging all that up. That link is of the 'this is the answer, now put it in your own words' variety. As for Spalding BID, this is interesting: "Spalding BID Ltd is a registered company with a Board of Directors who volunteer their time to provide performance monitoring and strategic oversight of the delivery of Spalding BID Improvement Plan. Its Directors must be members of the registered company and in general appointed because they are business owners, business partners or have another vested interest in the town. It is important to note that Spalding BID Ltd is an independent company which is not owned, governed or operated by South Holland District Council." It raises £170k/year by taxing local businesses, which as you point out, they can't avoid, and they can't vote them out until 2029. "Spalding BID 5-year term of operation runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029, after which businesses will be invited to take part in a new ballot to determine whether Spalding BID will run for a further 5-year term." I got curious about what exactly BIDs are so I googled and found some stuff, amongst which the ballot information was particularly interesting: "Establishment and Proposals • Notice Period: Proposers must notify the billing authority and the Secretary of State at least 84 days before requesting a ballot. • Business Plan: Proposers must submit a detailed project plan, consultation summary, and cash-flow budget. • Additional Services: Projects must fund improvements in addition to standard baseline services provided by the local authority. The Ballot Process • Postal Vote: Ballots are conducted entirely by post via the local authority's returning officer. • Dual Majority: Approval requires a simple majority of those who vote, and a majority of those votes must represent a majority of the aggregate rateable value. • Maximum Term: A BID arrangement can last for a maximum of 5 years before a renewal ballot is required to continue. Levy and Finance • The Levy: Eligible non-domestic ratepayers within the defined zone pay an extra levy, typically 1% to 4% of a property's rateable value. • Collection: The local billing authority collects the levy alongside standard business rates and holds it in a ring-fenced BID Revenue Account"
I imagine the 105,000 figure is the estimate for the top of high season., not the number of full-time jobs. The trouble with this job is that you are overworked for 4 months a year and then don't always work enough to stay in the black for the other 8. So many mechanics may need another job for the rest of the year, but then they can't keep up to date with the industry. Catch 22.
@Rendel Harris hmm... wonder if this organisation has received some journalistic attention? It could just be wording but yeah that reads "we've decided x, now let's come up with 'evidence' to prove that..."
@Rendel Harris do you think they got any evidence - or was it just anecdote?
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident. Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.
@Smoggysteve My JoeBlow II is about 15 years old and still going strong. I'd say you were the exception but then Perce agreed with you. If my cycling son ever decides to permanently 'borrow' mine I would definitely get another Topeak.
@mdavidford It may be private land but, unless it was a staff-only area, it was a way open to the public (even if they have to pay to be there). Road legislation therefore still applies.
48 thoughts on “Birmingham’s bollard bonanza as “forest” of traffic-calming poles installed outside school… to protect cyclists and pedestrians from bad parking; Kid’s expletive-laden reaction to not getting a bike for Christmas + more on the live blog”
Birmingham Council should be
Birmingham Council should be more blunt. “Sure it looks a bit mad, but it’s better than a selfish prick killing a kid with their illegal parking. They don’t give a fuck whether your kid lives or dies, but they do (sometimes) care about their vehicle paintwork. Therefore we’re hopeful that this approach will succeed where other reasonable approaches have failed to get through their thick skulls”.
Do you work in marketing or
Do you work in marketing or the Diplomatic Service? If not you may have missed your calling!
SimoninSpalding wrote:
I don’t, but I totally should ?
As much as bollards are the
As much as bollards are the true heroes of road safety, I can’t help but think that parking rule enforcement is the better answer. Install some APN cameras covering the area and keep on sending out fines in the post to the drivers. I bet that’d be cheaper than installing bollards and the fines could go towards a nice champagne and cocaine party for the Tories.
I was with you, right up to
I was with you, right up to your final cheap shot comrade.
Gimpl wrote:
Cheap? I think you’ll find it’s an expensive, luxury shot.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/16/traces-of-suspected-cocaine-found-after-parties-in-liz-truss-grace-and-favour-house-say-staff
Doubling down on your
Doubling down on your cheapness – classy!
Gimpl wrote:
Do you mean classy, like boasting about how you’re diverting money away from deprived areas and funnelling it towards the wealthiest areas?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/05/video-emerges-of-rishi-sunak-admitting-to-taking-money-from-deprived-areas
Except that studies show that
Except that studies show that most banknotes have traces of cocaine on them, including the ones in the squirrel wallet.
So you must be Liz Truss, therefore – following the Groan’s habitual (lack of) logic. This study in London back in 1999 said 99%.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/464200.stm
mattw wrote:
Huh?
I’m pretty sure that handling a few bank notes is not going to leave visible residue lying around that then shows up as a positive cocaine test (the accuracy of which can be disputed).
What part of the Gnuariad’s article was illogical in your opinion?
It was probably chopped
It was probably chopped macadamia nuts again.
The positive test is is easily explicable – that is very likely cross-contamination from having been around
mistaken squirrelsthose in power.Some here wishing to tar them all with the same brush? Easy done – just off the top of my head it’s rumoured that Peter Mandelson had a soft spot for Colombia’s 2nd finest (after their coffee) and of course we all know about Paul Flowers and Keith Vaz. The last moonlighting as an “industrial washing machine salesman” – obviously being a politician is something embarrassing that you don’t want to mention…
Exactly this, and the camera
Exactly this, and the camera should cover it’s cost, hence the burden for preventing entitled drivers parking where they like won’t fall on hard working council tax payers.
“Delivery drivers have also
“Delivery drivers have also been unable to park up and I hear parents have had difficulties too.”
That’s literally the point you lukewarm cup of piss.
Will you please stop putting
Will you please stop putting links to the World Bollard Association twitter feed in the live blog. It causes a significant reduction in productivity in this corner of Lincolnshire every time you do.
I LOVE BOLLARDS
I LOVE BOLLARDS
Woohoo! 2 quotes of my
Woohoo! 2 quotes of my comments in the blog, maybe it was a more productive morning than I thought
.
Jessica Grant wrote:
The bollards do seem to be on a shared path so I have concerns about whether they’d need to be spaced further for accessibility. But overall traffic calming and stopping pavement parking outside a school are a two for one. Just a shame they haven’t done anything for the road itself.
Also sad to see Bezos can’t continue to use the most inefficient means to undermine local stores and endanger children for profit.
The bollards appear to be
The bollards appear to be somewhere around 1.2-1.5m apart so it would be pretty uncommon to find a mobility aid or pushchair that struggled with the spacing. (wheelchair accessibility spacing is 82cm for reference)
The only accessibility issue that I see (and those affected unfortunately may not) is that it is a forest of black bollards on black pavement.
It is weird that quite a main
It is weird that quite a main road in Brum doesn’t seem to have streetview since 2017. However I wonder how much this house (2012) (that likes its privacy) has contributed to the cause of needing these bollards anyway. It does seem to be the only one that has cars (2014) parked outside(2015) on most streetviews (2016) going over the years.(2017)
I knew you could apply to
I knew you could apply to have a car registration plate or a face blurred out, if they’d been missed, but a whole house???
brooksby wrote:
Have you never heard of the Streisand effect?
hawkinspeter wrote:
Or they’re experimenting with a cloaking device in the shed, and it’s nothing to do with Google…
Quite simple to do apparently
Quite simple to do apparently.
Should ship some of those
Should ship some of those bollards off to Ukraine to help them keep the Ruskies out.
https://twitter.com
hirsute wrote:
That’ll buff right out
Sticky plaster to be replaced
Sticky plaster to be replaced by something more useful once they have thought about it. Segregarted cycleway and some proper raingardens (rather than the Guerilal Gardening size excrescences usually installed).
Why is the street sign positioned to block the flow on the shared pavement as much as possible?
mattw wrote:
Are you talking about the second photo “across the junction?” It isn’t blocking the shared pavement. That section of area is essentially owned by the building next to it similar to the shop frontages space is owned by them. The shared public pavement is the thin strip in front of the bollards.
I was referring to the
I was referring to the “School Close” sign in the pic at the bottom of the article, which looks perfect for a cycling somersault.
I admit I did not inspect the legal extent of anything.
I’m watching Rendel’s video
I’m watching Rendel’s video of trying to find the Battersea cycle hub parking, and a Hitch Hiker’s Guide quote comes to mind…
A couple of things I didn’t
A couple of things I didn’t have space to say on Twitter about the Battersea effort: one is that all the door opening buttons are on the right hand side, so that when you open the door you will be directly in the path of cyclists coming from the other side, and that the crowning glory comes when you get to the hub and find the notice on the door saying that from there onwards you must dismount and walk your bike to your parking space.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Not so different to the Sheffield stands in central Bristol for the main shopping area which are in a BID-controlled private-not-public space, where cycling is banned.
There can be no further doubt
There can be no further doubt that this facility was conceived, designed and constructed by people who hate cyclists.
And how wide were the cycle lanes in the video? They looked pretty narrow to me.
I certainly think two wide
I certainly think two wide-bar MTBs passing each other might have issues.
with a bit of give and take
with a bit of give and take it will be alright I dont think there are going to streams of cyclists entering and exiting at the same time 🙂
the rest of it is just the trade offs of following building regulations with fire doors and disability access, Ive a feeling the access buttons are nearly always placed right hand side, Im sure there are ways they could do it better, but it looks like the space came before the idea of what to do with it.
Awavey wrote:
There aren’t now but there might be in future, there’s a huge amount of office and retail space in the development: Apple recently announced that they’re opening a 1400 worker office there, that alone should bring in a fair number.
Awavey wrote:
I don’t think that is an excuse for not following best practice and deliberately designing in danger. It is absolutely guaranteed that there will be times when there is conflict between users because they made it that way, when the briefest consideration of how it will be used would have shown them the folly of their ways.
Perhaps this is like the design of cycle facilities on the road, in that the least qualified, least experienced trainee was considered perfectly able to design stuff for cyclists; because it’s only cyclists innit.
I’m sure they’ll be reconsidering it once they’ve had a few collisions. They’ll inevitably blame the cyclists and probably ban them.
Immaculate overtake from a
Immaculate overtake from a tesco driver today – also they must have been waiting behind me for almost a minute too. I did give them a big thumbs up.
I always worry about doing
I always worry about doing that in case it gets someone’s back up (“You being f-ing patronising?!” “Which finger was that?”).
Generally speaking I find
Generally speaking I find supermarket delivery drivers are very careful around me when cycling. Do they get paid a wage rather than per delivery? Do they receive training?
Not convinced on that, when
Not convinced on that, when Sainsburys vans overtake through pinchpoints like this.
With Waitrose, Yes and Yes
With Waitrose, Yes and Yes 🙂
I’m sure I can find a
I’m sure I can find a Waitrose close pass example in the archives too. It’s down to the individual driver ultimately, not the company.
Do they receive training?
Do they receive training?
Stagecoach bus drivers doubtless receive training, but they don’t pay any attention to it because there’s no possibility that Lancashire Constabulary will pay any attention to reports of close-passing by Stagecoach (or any other bus, lorry or car!) drivers
sad news to start the year to
sad news to start the year to hear Velovixen have gone into liquidation, they were a good company/online shop to deal with IMO.
not that I guess it would have made much difference but I regret now not buying more stuff from them last year, as I really liked alot of their branded range but never quite hit the buy button on it. As theyre not wrong with the do I spend £100 on a nice cycling jersey? Or do I stick that on a household bill? as a choice. One of my near permanent new years resolutions is always to try to buy less new kit each year
Shame, Mrs H was/is a big fan
Shame, Mrs H was/is a big fan of their stuff and it was definitely of a quality worth paying a premium for (so I was told when complaining that my entire outfit including shoes cost less than her jersey…).
Article brings nothing new,
Article brings nothing new, but the picture they used is brilliant.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/05/barmy-bunch-of-60-bollards-near-birmingham-school
That’s safe!
Mrs Jessica Grant, “..
Mrs Jessica Grant, “…Delivery drivers have also been unable to park up and I hear parents have had difficulties too.” FFS