Jeremy Vine shuts down councillor who blamed cycle paths for “destruction” of their town; Pedal Me appeal for help keeping staff warm between jobs; Ian Stannard retires due to rheumatoid arthritis; Doctors + nurses back LTNs + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Doctors and nurses express support for LTNs
More than 120 doctors and nurses have expressed their support for Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and asked London Mayor Sadiq Khan to implement more traffic safety infrastructure. The letter backs plans for more LTNs across the capital and suggests the concern that many have raised of emergency service vehicles being unable to access incidents because roads are blocked off may not be valid.
The letter cites reduction in fatalities, tackling obesity and air pollution as three key reasons for further implementation of LTNs. It says: “We recognise the adverse impact that motor vehicles have on our patients and the broader community. We therefore strongly support the measures you have been putting in place.
“We are concerned that some of these valuable schemes have been removed, and consideration is being given to remove others. We would like to lend our support to TFLand council leaders across London to continue increasing the road changes to promote walking and cycling not removing them.”
LTNs have become more widespread across the capital since the first lockdown in the spring and often involve barriers, such as plant boxes, being placed in residential streets to prevent motorists from rat running to avoid main roads. The schemes have been widely praised for their efforts to reduce pollution and make streets safer for active travel. However, there has also been a vocal backlash from drivers whose journeys now take longer and some shop owners who claim it reduces custom to their businesses. Yesterday there was a debate in Parliament over the issue.
The full letter can be read here.
Ian Stannard retires due to rheumatoid arthritis
End of an era.
After a hugely successful career, British rider Ian Stannard has been forced to retire from professional racing due to rheumatoid arthritis.
Read the thoughts of Ian and Sir Dave Brailsford:
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) November 5, 2020
Team Ineos stalwart Ian Stannard has retired after a decade riding for the team. Stannard won Omloop Het Nieuwsblad two years consecutively in 2014 and 2015, and also finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix in 2016.
Stannard said: “It’s disappointing to have to stop like this but it is clearly the right decision for my health and my family.
“We have explored all of the options this year to deal with my condition, and the team has been there with me every step of the way. I started to hope that I could manage the problem during lockdown, but as soon as I returned to racing I knew that my body wouldn’t be able to perform at any level anymore.”
Team doctor Richard Usher said: “Ian was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 12 months ago. It has caused him severe inflammation in the joints, and Ian has had pain in his wrists, knees and ankles. We have tried various treatments but ultimately Ian has taken the best decision for his long term health.”
Stannard is perhaps best known for the second of those Omloop victories where he somehow outfoxed Tom Boonen, Niki Terpstra and Stijn Vandenbergh to win from a four-man break. We never get bored of watching it…
Guidelines for media reporting of road collisions
How collisions are reported is obviously very important and can impact how cyclists and other more vulnerable forms of transport are treated by other road users. The draft Road Collision Reporting Guidelines has been produced by the Active Travel Academy in collaboration with representatives from national roads policing, legal, academic and media experts, the National Union of Journalists’ ethics council, RoadPeace, Cycling UK, and has the support of active travel and road safety organisations. The hope is that these new guidelines can prevent victim blaming and an acceptance of road danger – creating a safer environment for everyone who uses the roads.
As part of the consultation you can read the proposals and give suggestions and feedback here. The deadline for feedback is Sunday.
Free Lime rides for frontline workers in London
Frontline workers will be able to use e-bike and e-scooter hire from Lime for free, while lower income users can claim a 50%. The “Lime Aid” scheme hopes to help NHS and emergency services staff commute safely with unlimited 30 minute e-bike rides. Yesterday we reported that new data from Lime had shown a 253% increase in use of Lime’s bikes on London’s new cycle lanes between February and June. It also showed increases in use on existing cycle lanes and routes without cycle lanes.
Canyon announce limited edition Ultimate CF SLX
Designed by German artist and photographer Tino Pohlmann, the Canyon Ultimate Artist Edition 2020 features a 12-speed wireless SRAM Force eTap AXS groupset and CP10 cockpit. Only 50 Ultimate LTDs will be made and and it will cost €5,999 (£5,425). The artwork is designed by Pohlmann who has followed the Tour de France as a photographer for almost two decades.
Pedal Me ask for help keeping staff warm between jobs
Are there any London businesses based vaguely near Shoreditch, Kings Cross, Tottenham Court Road that would have space our staff could access to keep them warm while distributed, now that cafes have closed? https://t.co/TPSDiTEcjd
— Pedal Me (@pedalmeapp) November 5, 2020
Bike cargo and passenger company Pedal Me have appealed for help in keeping their staff warm between jobs, now that the UK is back in lockdown. With no cafes open and no base to shelter at, couriers will be forced to wait outside between jobs. Pedal Me staff transport passengers anywhere within a nine-mile radius of Greater London and also act as couriers for deliveries. However, with the onset of more wintery temperatures and nowhere to shelter indoors, they are now willing to pay a business near Shoreditch, Kings Cross, Tottenham Court Road can help keep their staff warm.
In June we highlighted the problem facing delivery cyclists who weren’t able to use resteraunt toilets during lockdown. How can bike couriers be better supported during this lockdown?
Netherlands cycling statistics
What does “Cycling For Everyone” look like?
The Dutch made 4.8 billion bicycle trips in 2019, covering 17.6 billion km, or 1,019 km per person.
Women cycle more than men, kids cycle more than adults, and older adults (65+) cycle more than young adults.https://t.co/ktOsBGpj6e pic.twitter.com/w2T9BbLBuG
— Modacity (@modacitylife) November 3, 2020
25km to go on Stage 15 of La Vuelta
🏁Etapa 15 – Stage 15 | #LaVuelta20
🎥🚴 @cattamat en solitario hacia el Alto de Padornelo / Cattaneo leads solo heading to the last climb of the day! ⛰️
👉https://t.co/zqaO4Bw62K pic.twitter.com/T3UX1CnL89
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) November 5, 2020
Deceuninck-Quick-Step’s Mattia Cattaneo has a 30 second lead ahead of the breakaway he left behind on the last climb of the day. That nine-man group contains Rui Costa, Luis Leon Sanchez and Guillaume Martin. The peloton with the GC favourites are 1:47 in arrears to Cattaneo. We have 4.5km of the climb left then a descent and a flat run to the line.
Some bad news on the road today was the abandon of AG2R Brit Harry Tanfield whose gruelling ascent of the Angliru as last man on the road on Sunday won him fans everywhere.
last man up the Angliru, British rider Harry Tanfield, 40 minutes behind British rider Hugh Carthy. beautiful views; brutal suffering. cycling in an image! pic.twitter.com/N512mVlWW2
— ricky (@veloricky) November 2, 2020
La Vuelta Stage 15 won by Jasper Philipsen
Philipsen in the fast lane 👀@jasperphilipsen #lavuelta20
— FloBikes (@flobikes) November 5, 2020
What a grim day to ride your bike in Spain. That looked tough, 230km and over 4,000m of elevation in miserable conditions. Jasper Philipsen was the man smiling at the end though. The UAE youngster beat Pascal Ackermann and Jannik Steimle on the uphill sprint to the line. Bahrain McLaren’s Fred Wright was fourth as all the GC favourites finished on the same time.
Insync Bikes welcomes decision to keep bike shops open
Manchester bike brand Insync has praised the government’s decision to class bike shops as “essential” and therefore allow them to continue trading during the lockdown. Insync have also announced that they plan to build 50,000 new bikes between now and Christmas.
Insync’s head of business Gopal Krishan said: “Allowing bike shops to remain open, as essential retailers, shows the significance of this form of exercise and should boost further the industry.”
Jeremy Vine responds to councillor who blamed cycle paths for "destruction of their home town"
By way of example, this post from a prominent Chiswick councillor talked today about cycle paths as a “triumph of evil” that have resulted in “the destruction” of her home town. pic.twitter.com/ii0XVF00Cz
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 5, 2020
Broadcaster and cyclist Jeremy Vine emphatically responded to Hounslow councillor Joanna Biddolph, who compared cycle paths to the “triumph of evil” and claimed they had caused the “destruction of their home town”. Vine’s reply also highlighted a west London church that had claimed a cycle superhighway would “do more damage than the Luftwaffe”. Vine explained that the exceptional levels of traffic near his home last night were not, as some anti-LTN groups have suggested, because of cycling infrastructure but instead because of unusually high levels of motor traffic.
“Disappointingly, a number of people have since used the exceptional traffic levels to argue that places like Chiswick, Kensington and Hammersmith should now rip out all their cycle lanes — which have only just been put in place after years of campaigning,” he said.
“Furthermore, the cycle lanes didn’t cause the traffic yesterday — they simply allowed some people to avoid it. If all the cyclists used 4x4s instead, the jams would have been even longer.
“Last night took things to a new level — drivers stuck in traffic, caused entirely by an excess of cars at a given moment, seeking to use their own behaviour to dismantle the tiny number of safe routes built for people who ride a bike.”
Addressing solely the issues arising yesterday, it is worth pointing out: shocking traffic and dangerous pollution have been a feature of London for decades. pic.twitter.com/ip3eLorcPf
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 5, 2020
It’s been pointed out to me that the local church also asked for people to pray that God would cancel the cycle lane pic.twitter.com/YOwFZpO6MO
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 5, 2020
5 November 2020, 09:33
5 November 2020, 09:33
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Interesting counterpoint to the 'hire bike menace' narrative (obviously with the caveat that the report authors have a vested interest in selling the benefits, but...) Appears hire bike schemes go some way to addressing the cycling gender imbalance and, given the point about parking immediately outside the destination, dockless schemes particularly so. https://micromobilitybiz.com/forest-report-finds-shared-e-bikes-are-helping-close-london-cycling-gender-gap/
@chrisonabike True, things went back to normal once the pandemic was over. In this case, however the problems are still ongoing, and aren't likely to be resolved in the near future. If anything, they're going to get worse. Food shortages are predicted because of the effect that the heatwave has had on crops. This is bound to push prices up. The Straits of Hormuz aren't likely to reopen anytime soon and the strategic oil reserves are running low. Russia is having to import petrol because its own refineries have been badly hit, so that's even more competition for an even more scarce resource. I think that more and more people are going to see cycling as a way of cutting household bills.
I think if "grown up" cyclists * are quibbling about ASLs we've very much missed the road safety point anyway. (Not to mention the wider "better transport choices" picture). ASLs are poor-to-useless "cycling infra", even for their design intent. If the idea is "for less confident cyclists" then a design that requires that you re-position in front of the motor traffic - waiting to accelerate - seems unhelpful. Of course they're only designed to help when traffic is stopped, and you can reach the front in time and if vehicles aren't already occupying them. As we're noting here drivers frequently ignore them - whether that be deliberate, a lack of road craft, because they were concentrating on following the vehicle in front, or because the paint has rubbed off. * Aside: shouldn't cycling also be safe and accessible for kids? Or should they only be allowed to do this when accompanied by sufficient qualified adults? Or be limited to parks and otherwise being driven around by their carers? Perhaps there is another way...?
Hi Bungle, I saw you follow-up comment. I can't imaging there's a tolerance of 4 seconds on camera enforced lights, seems an odd decision - an offence is committed if a vehicle starts crossing on a red, any tolerance is discretionary. There does seem to be some odd thinking about 'advanced stop lines' where the rules relating to them are identical to a regular stop line, as explained correctly elsewhere in the Highway Code. It does seem a regular offence. Where I live it doesn't help that some of them are very faint and disappear in rain.
@ktache Not sure he's totally ruled out of the worlds yet (though I think it would be best if he doesn't), normal recovery time is about eight weeks but surgery can halve that...depending on the nature of the break he could be just about fit to ride by the time of the elite men's race, but he'll have missed a lot of training. Hopefully his managers and team will persuade him to wait until Lombardia, if not just to knock it off for the rest of the year.
@Bungle_52 The Met told me a couple of years ago when rejecting a submission that they needed a clear three seconds of red visible before they would consider it for an RLJ prosecution. I pointed out to them that this meant that at 30 mph a driver could see a light change to red from 40 metres away and still get through without sanction, or 55 m if they accelerated to 40 as most do. They just replied "them's our rules..."
@Ben Graham I have just checked the footage from my report. The driver crosses the 1st stop line 4 seconds after the light turns red. All on camera from behind the vehicle. No further action. So I assume the margin is at least 4 seconds.
Oh, and active travel funding per head (in England at least) is laughable compared to other places. Plus it is delivered intermittently. It's more like a Blue Peter contest...
Yup, I see those opportunities being missed all the time in Edinburgh. When it gets really bad, dig it all up and put it back down again how it was. Contrast with what seems to happen in NL - when things are dug up the whole thing seems to get a "let's redo this according to the current standards" treatment. They even coordinate with the utilities, so that after a refurb the street isn't immediately dug up again because of leaking pipes / we suddenly realised the new estate being planned for round the corner will want broadband etc. Pros and cons of course - you may wait longer there for changes as smaller changes may be deferred until a major redo is due. (Though in the UK case you likely wouldn't get them at all...) It seems we "can't have nice things" in the UK in part because a) we have greater motor traffic speeds/volumes spead across "streets" / within urban areas b) the funding and organisational responsibility differs. Are we in the "Sam Vimes boots" territory (being too poor to afford better products which not only save money over time but actually work)? There is long term money pressure on LAs and it seems that due to poor construction and maintenance we have to regularly pour money into (pot-)holes in the road. And it seems there's no budget to check up on or enforce adequate standards from utilities work or even private building.
Shame about the world champs defence. Speedy recovery. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/aug/30/tadej-pogacar-vuelta-a-espana-cycling-crash-hospital-stage-nine
7 thoughts on “Jeremy Vine shuts down councillor who blamed cycle paths for “destruction” of their town; Pedal Me appeal for help keeping staff warm between jobs; Ian Stannard retires due to rheumatoid arthritis; Doctors + nurses back LTNs + more on the live blog”
Ian Stannard! *claps*
Ian Stannard! *claps* monster engine and one of if not the best classics wins in the modern era.
Big fan of Stanno, very sad
Big fan of Stanno, very sad to hear the reason for having to retire as that’s going to be a real challenge to adjust to.
This is the sad bit of the
This is the sad bit of the statement for me :
” perform at any level anymore”. Seems to suggest any competitive riding is curtailed.
Bit maudlin but it conjured up visions of his kids (if he as any) learning to ride with him on the sidelines.
In addition to his own
In addition to his own highlights Stannard was part of the Sky squad behind Froome winning the Tour in 2013, 2015 and 2016 and the Vuelta in 2011 and 2017, and Cavendish winning the Worlds in 2011 (seems so long ago). And for most of those he was doing large amounts of the hard domestique yards – managing the breaks and dragging the peloton along for hundreds of kilometres. I generally don’t much like it when athletes are described as having been “a great servant to” a team or country, but in his case I think it’s well deserved. Thanks Yogi!
Yup – there was a mega London
Yup – there was a mega London-Surrey Classic shift he put in one year I seem to recall. Huge number of times he utterly buried himself for the team, which is why he’s been in contract for so long. If Luke Rowe’s the brains as road captain Stannard was the attack dog.
what was it about the traffic
what was it about the traffic yesterday, it was like everyone was out on one last drive before lockdown or something ?
I only experienced the early
I only experienced the early morning stuff, the bit before most shops were even open. And it was busier than I had seen since the before times.
This morning seemed kind of new normal, but had gone very dead by this evening.