West London church urges parishioners to pray against Cycle Superhighway

Dear Holy Trinity (God, Jesus and… er, is it Robin Hood?)

I know you couldn’t be arsed to intervene to prevent the Holocaust, Black Death, slave trade, rape, disease, famine, paedophilia, murder, suicide etc, but do you think you could help out in shifting a cycle route in London that me and some of my fellow parishioners imagine could be mildly inconvenient for us? Maybe deliver some leaflets or something?

Also, the back steps could do with a bit of a sweep.

Cheers mate

Amen

It's a lovely church, I'd really rather they kept the pavement, which could be done by reducing the space for motors down to seven meters wide or so. Cars would still have most of the space on the street! This is why we're having arguments about cyclists vs pedestrians, because of the ruckus people getting stuck behind buses or deliveries would cause, when they should probably be on the great west road.

It does narrow quite a lot in front of the church in the plans, especially towards the junction. If it does go ahead as is maybe tfl could close of a bit of the side road next to the church and create a plaza-type thing there?

Much hatred and abuse directed at an out- group here. If only us marginalised oppressed cyclists could practice what we preach, eh?!

As proposed here:

https://twitter.com/RantyHighwayman/status/915998808265261056

Quote:

So, this controversy outside the church on #CS9.

The answer appears to be a network level change to fully close Dukes Ave between Chiswick High Rd and Bourne Place. This means the the track can pass the other side of the trees because the right and turn lanes into Dukes Ave are no longer required. This means the junction signals could be removed in favour of a zebra across Chiswick High Rd (make it humped); space would be freed up outside the Dukes Ave entrance to the church which could be made into a really nice bit of public realm for photos etc.
There would also be space to create a bay to be used by principal wedding and funeral cars (which can be reserved by traffic order). As a matter of fact, the wider area could be filtered into traffic cells because through traffic from Chiswick High Rd and the A4 could be accommodated via Sutton Court Rd & Heathfield Terrace for example. We get the cycle track, filter an area, create more of a setting for the church, provide a dedicated bay for the church and save on several sets of traffic signals. Seems like a winner.

Will never happen though - far too sensible.

Nothing to be concerned about, they're paying to "god", and being there's no such entity their action can have no effect on the outcome

a few times I've thought "for Jesus sake can't you take some space away from motorised vehicles" 

obviously my freelance praying isn't effective as the design above includes a dedicated right turn lane (the Lord tells me that is to meet the heavenly requirement to reduce congestion) - get rid of the right turn lane - maintain the pavement width - build a dedicated cycle facility were it should be in the road space not the pedestrian area Oh and the christians can gather in the side street by the new parking spaces and thank the Lord that they don't cycle to church

Well everyone knows that cyclists are godless speed maniacs intent on dominating the roadway to the exclusion of all other road users

So does this church believe that funerals, brides, and first communion processions (?) all have "right of way" at present? Would they care to test that by walking out into the motor traffic which currently fills the road next to the church...?

Classic NIMBY tactic on their Facebook of agreeing with the sentiment of having the CS but that it just isn't practical where it is proposed to be routed; all crafted as a debate to imply that really they are onside and sympathise while actually totally opposed to anything that's makes a difference.

The church's position on their Facebook page is a bit more naunced:

 https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1445435135552642&id=300823800013787

There are some very good and thoughtful replies by Hounslow Cyclists.

It's always amused me how few cyclists are religious. I suppose the Sunday Club Run is our Church.

Selfish cunts.

Religion annoys me. It turns respectable intelligent people (doctors/accountants/solicitors) into crazy folk with an imaginary friend. Their obvious intelligence fails them when applying common sense. They dont believe in Father Christmas because that would just be crazy but some other mythical being for which there is no physical evidence is ok.

remember, this is the same old church that hanged and burned thousands of inocent people for no reason and gave power to thousands of evil people ,again, for no aparent reason..  cyclists road is none consiredred to them... they don't like it for no reason, they will pray for it to leave...

It sounds from the comments like the church in question has either experienced or naively bought into the #bloodycyclists and lycra lout myth that we're all irresponsible speed obsessed yahoos. Maybe the local cycling groups could reach out and give them an opportunity to actually talk to a cross section of potential users to share (vent?) their concerns and engage in a myth busting exercise with them. I'd imagine that the CS is going to be busiest and most likely to be problematic to their way of thinking in AM & PM rush hours, which I suspect will not intersect too much with elderly outdoor congregations of people attending regular services at least and early AM is not a big time for funerals to be occurring if my experience of them is owt to go by.

Cynically tho, I'd rather they continue pray against the possibility of cycling infrastructure than petition or protest in more earthly ways.

Yet another clueless, selfish type who'd rather people in his parish be subjected to the dangers of errant motorists some of whom will be within his 'flock', than allow the right to safe passage. How very unchristrian of him!

Also ignoring the fact that pollutants will be eroding his church and causing premature deaths in the locality.

Having had to put up with very inconsiderate parking from church goers in both town and village the past 30 years frankly he can go get lost.

I expect this is a reflection of the elderly avarege age of their congregation and the numbers that will drive to service on a sunday.

There would be a solution for not losing any pavemnt space, but this would mean taking out the right turn lane eastbound and making it no right turn into Dukes Avenue (which I would expect the church and it's congregation would complain about).

Chiswick is a lovely place, badly blighted by car traffic (Not helped by the M4 running through it). It badly needs more people on bikes and less in cars.

Have they even read the bible?

Isaiah 40:3

Quote:

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Proverbs 15:19

Quote:

A slacker's way is like a thorny hedge, but the path of the upright is a highway.

Revelations 20:1

Quote:

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Genesis 33:13

Quote:

Jacob replied, "My lord knows that the children are weak, and I have nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard for one day, the whole herd will die.

Jeremiah 13:1

Quote:

The Lord said to me, "Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water."

Jeremiah 18:15

Quote:

Yet My people have forgotten Me. They burn incense to false [idols] that make them stumble in their ways- in the ancient roads- to walk on [new] paths, not the highway.

Deuteronomy 2:27

Quote:

'Let us travel through your land; we will keep strictly to the highway. We will not turn to the right or the left.

Genesis 8:15

Quote:

Then God spoke to Noah,

There, but for the grace of God go I.

I think they present some reasonable arguments for their case. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of improving cycling infrastructure but it must be done in consultation with  locals and such concerns should be taken into consideration. 

That is a seriously weird rendition of a bicycle in the St James's flyer. 

As a practising Cthulhu cultist, I shall be performing some ineffable rituals to fortify ALL cycle paths (and psychopaths as well - 2 for 1). Great Cthulhu is most interested in speedy food delivery and you can shift a lot more humans on bikes than in vehicles. Also, HE doesn't like it when his food is coughing from all the smog and pollution - it masks all the mad screaming.

On an entirely unrelated note, does anyone have a good cheap supplier of goats?