- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Boris Johnson opens CS5Boris Johnson tells UK mayors that far more commuters will need to cycle when nation begins to emerge from lockdown
Boris Johnson has used a call with the UK’s directly elected mayors to urge them to keep cars out of city centres when the nation begins to emerge from lockdown.
Writing on Twitter this week, London’s cycling commissioner Will Norman said that with the capital’s public transport capacity greatly reduced when restrictions area eased, up to eight million journeys a day would need to be made by other means.
“If just a fraction switch to cars, London will grind to a halt, choking our economic recovery,” he said.
The situation will be similar in other major cities and Jamie Driscoll, the Labour mayor for the North of Tyne, told the Guardian that Johnson was therefore keen for people to cycle instead of drive when the lockdown is eventually lifted.
“It was very interesting that the Prime Minister was talking about taking the opportunity to push clean, green travel, active travel, cycling infrastructure and getting cars off the road,” said Driscoll.
“The real risk is that you end up with a situation where people go back to work in their cars, into city centres that are not designed to take that amount of traffic, that congestion makes it harder for buses to get through and you end up with this vicious cycle.
“We will be coming out of a crisis involving a virus that makes it very difficult for people to breathe. The last thing we need is a man-made equivalent.”
Greater Manchester’s cycling commissioner Chris Boardman has tweeted that he, Mayor Andy Burnham and the various boroughs are already “on the case” with regards to encouraging cycling when lockdown measures are relaxed and that plans will be announced next week.
Driscoll also mentioned that Johnson had made references to active travel and reducing obesity. He speculated that obesity’s association with increased risk of complications from Covid-19 may have played on the Prime Minister’s mind during his recent experience of the illness.
“Obesity is a massive issue and also a very expensive issue, because it does cause a lot of us, as we get older, to spend many years when we can’t be that active,” he said.
“It’s just speculation, and far be it from me to comment on the prime minister’s physique, but maybe having just been through it he has had a Damascene conversion.”
The Government has said it will set out a "comprehensive plan" next week on how to get the economy moving, reopen schools and help people travel to work following the coronavirus lockdown.
Dr Rachel Aldred, at the University of Westminster, said the coming weeks and months presented a potential tipping point with regards to improving urban transport. However, she warned that without appropriate action, cities could end up taking a step backwards.
“This is a really important moment,” she said. “There is the potential to lock in the reduction in air pollution we have seen over the past weeks if we get this right, but as people begin to go back to work and can’t or don’t feel safe using public transport, there is the potential to instead lock in a huge increase in car use and pollution.”
Mark Watts, the chief executive of C40 Cities – a network of 96 cities around the world collaborating to address climate change – said: “There is now a hell of a lot of collaboration among very powerful politicians who do think a green economic recovery is absolutely essential.”
Watts expressed optimism that short term measures could endure. “This is how cities are going to function for the next two years, and probably that will transition – if we have a green economic recovery – into permanence.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- E6toSE3 11 min 35 sec ago
Lights: they should be punished. Unlit bikes are a serious threat to pedestrians and other cyclists, especially when riding on pavements that not...
- AidanR 58 min 15 sec ago
You might be safer using one of these: https://yplac.co.uk/product/yplac-mini-stickers/
- I love my bike 1 hour 8 min ago
I live in an English city, where multiple times in the year, one side of the market square & high street (that are explicitly open to cycle...
- chrisonabike 1 hour 8 min ago
Wait a minute - coaster brakes not suited for descents? Someone better time-travel back and tell the embryonic MTB community......
- chrisonabike 1 hour 11 min ago
Argh! Now there's some kind of rat problem there too! Definitely no windows!
- quiff 3 hours 22 min ago
Fair point - I was restricting myself to pedal bikes. As I've never spent that kind of money on anything though (mortgage doesn't count), it's kind...
- brooksby 4 hours 25 min ago
And finally: I wonder how many of the "more than 3,000" signatures on that petition are actually locals, who live or work there (and are not just...
- Doug_D 6 hours 49 sec ago
Another book suggestion - I can highly recommend "Lost Summers and Half-Forgotten Afternoons: A Mint Sauce collection" - a beautifully presented...
- mdavidford 7 hours 51 min ago
I think you're missing an opportunity to pack even more tech into it - add accelerometers that can detect whether they're pedalling or stepping....
Add new comment
42 comments
This is laughable.
When did Ken Livingstone propose these pro-cycling policies?
How much work had been done to implement these policies by the time he left office?
If you've done 'the research' you should easily be able to answer those questions and prove that Ken deserves the credit...
here:
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/livingstone-plans-to-transform-london-c...
here:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/ken-livingstone-quantum-l...
here:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/search/article/bc20120402-British-Cycl...
and this:
https://andrewgilliganblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/cyclists-are-not-a-m...
oh and this to:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/davehillblog/2012/apr/06/ken-living...
Like I said. Do your research.
Boris Johnson is no friend to cyclists. He's only a friend to himself.
And his response to many cyclists being run over and killed was to consider banning cyclists from wearing headphones, with more police officers being on the streets, which followed the NYPD policy of cracking down on the cyclists
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-ban-cyclis...
Although of course he couldn't even put more cops on the streets because Theresa May cut UK police numbers by 21,500 when she was Home Secretary, while Boris Johnson himself closed police stations in London.
I think Max Hastings, the former editor of the Daily Telegraph and former friend of Boris Johnson is pretty succinct on the topic of London's former mayor and current PM. Bear in mind, Max Hastings is no lefty: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/boris-johnson-prim...
You've answered my first question.
Livingstone proposed those policies in February 2008.
He left office in May 2008.
Please answer my second question.
How much work had been done to implement these policies by the time he left office?
All Boris did was not cancel Ken Livingstone's plans, as I said.
But you didn't read this did you?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/davehillblog/2012/apr/06/ken-living...
And maybe you should read this too:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-johnson-ban-cyclis...
I did read those.
They don't answer my question.
Here it is again.
How much work had been done to implement those proposed policies by the time Ken Livingstone left office?
I'm sure you know that proposals are worth precisely nothing without implementation.
Should we just accept? Cos you said so?
As for Khan being the worst thing for cycling - can you please illustrate your point, preferably with evidence?
All you Boris virtue signalers will never accept Khan is good...
https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayors-bold-plan-will-o...
Crikey thought I'd accidentally logged into the Guardian for a moment.
You could have also mentioned Brexit, Windrush and the Grenfell fire while on your 'Tories = bad' rant. Please try harder in future.
I'm in awe of the backwards logic that makes you think mentioning Windrush and Grenfell is helping to defend the Tories. Perhaps you should bring up child poverty rates or NHS funding to strengthen your non argument.
Brexit was more complicated but all the remainer Tories were purged leaving the extremely well qualified and experienced cabinet we have, who are doing such a sterling job of leading us through the most acute health, social and economic crisis in history.
Tories = bad is a bit reductionist but I think Nye Bevan put it best: “What is Toryism but organised spivvery? … No amount of cajolery can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party … So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.”
Are you suggesting that the Tories had nothing to do with those three scandals?
Brexit - instigated and aggressively pursued by successive (Tory) govs.
Windrush - 1st reports of issue returned to (Tory) gov in 2013. Little action taken until it came to public notice.
Grenfell - Local (Tory) council pursuing a policy of housing "improvement" that placed greater priority into what the towers would look like from outside rather than living conditions inside or the safety of the residents.
You're failing to make a sound argument that "Tory ≠ bad". Please try harder.
(Not that any of these are relevant to the topic in hand, but it was you that brought them up.)
Pages