Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Live blog: Wish it was here… stunning bike infra pics from around the world, RBKC hit back at Sadiq Khan's in Holland Park cycleway row, Phew! Thomas "all ok" for Tour de France, It’s #Nationalrefillday, How to prep for a Top to Bottom ride +more

All today's news from the site and beyond...
19 June 2019, 16:48
Stunning infrastructure from the Bicycle Architecture Biennale

Surprise, surprise ... none of it is from the UK.

Click through the gallery above, watch the video below, and find out more here.

19 June 2019, 16:39
19 June 2019, 14:25
We can only dream...
19 June 2019, 14:18
Ineos take to the tunnel

The team are working with Swiss Side in the wind tunnel to maximise those aero gainz. As well as their deep section carbon wheels, Swiss Side are building a big reputation for making custom cockpits, having designed and produced the made-to-measure 3D-printed aerobars for current Ironman triathlon world champion Patrick Lange. As triathletes aren't bound by the UCI's rules on equipment having to be 'commercially available', we'll be interested to see what Swiss Side come up with for the Ineos riders.  

19 June 2019, 12:04
Sadiq Khan's letter to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea leader: a response
TfL Holland Park Avenue.JPG

Regarding our coverage of Khan's letter to Elizabeth Campbell this morning, the RBKC sent this to road.cc from Councillor Johnny Thalassites, Lead Member for Planning and Transport:

“We will respond to the letter in due course, but our response will be to ask Sadiq Khan to listen to residents and the council, don't bully them. Change the approach and once the red mist has settled he might see that our door is actually open for conversations on alternative schemes that might win local support and improve the streets of Kensington for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers.

Our full statement regarding the consultation is also online."

Khan's letter to Campbell was forceful to say the least, in which he wrote: "I would like to know how many more of your residents need to be maimed or killed by motor vehicles before you accept that this is a serious problem that requires solving. Doing nothing about the safety on your roads is not an option."

19 June 2019, 11:54
Dr Ian Walker is at it again, attempting to ride from the top of Europe to the bottom in a world record time

The University of Bath environmental psychologist, occasional road.cc contributor, ultra cyclist and general top bloke Dr Ian Walker is off again on the 24th June, this time attempting to break the world record for the fastest time cycled from the top of Europe to the bottom. His 6,300km journey will start in the northernmost part of the Arctic and finish in the southernmost tip of our continent at the Strait of Gibraltar, taking him through Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, France and Spain.

He was trying to break the world record of 21 days, 14 hours and 23 minutes... however the new target is now 19 days, 11 hours and 5 minutes, achieved by Rob Gardiner four days ago. Best of luck to Ian, you can find out more on his Top to Bottom website here

19 June 2019, 11:51
It's #NationalRefillDay

...an initiative by plastic pollution campaigners City to Sea, who run the Refill app. Read all about it in our updated App of the Week article here. And download it, it's bloody useful!

19 June 2019, 11:02
Thoughts and prayers for G...

It's a relief this appears to be the worst thing that happened to him yesterday. Also, the first reply to his previous tweet is underrated! 

19 June 2019, 07:58
Furious letter from Sadiq Khan to RBKC leader on their voting down of cycle lane proposal asks: "how many more of your residents have to be maimed or killed?"

It's been called a "disgrace" and a "cynical political stunt" by London Cycling Commissioner Will Norman, and now London Mayor Sadiq Khan has sent a furious letter to the leader of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea leader Elizabeth Campbell over the group's refusal to support a proposed segregated cycle lane between Wood Lane and Notting Hill Gate. 

In the letter, shared by Ross Lydall of the Evening Standard on Twitter, Khan writes: "These plans were developed to deal with, among other problems, these roads being unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. There have been 128 collisions over the last three years alone in the Kensington and Chelsea section of the route... The vast majority of serious injuries have been to cyclists and pedestrians. Our plans would change this, making it easier to cross busy roads with 15 new pedestrian crossings, and a segregated space for people to cycle safely. 

"Eilidh Cairns was killed at Notting Hill Gate in 2009 and a ghost bike is still on the street marking her death. Had these proposals been in place at the time, it is extremely unlikely she would have been killed. I would like to know how many more of your residents need to be maimed or killed by motor vehicles before you accept that this is a serious problem that requires solving. Doing nothing about the safety on your roads is not an option."

19 June 2019, 07:52
He really is ok!

Geraint Thomas has updated us for the first time since coming off his bike at the Tour de Suisse yesterday, saying he's "all ok". Some big training rides look to be coming up to make sure it doesn't affect his Tour de France preparations. Full story about yesterday's worrying wobble here

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

Add new comment

22 comments

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
1 like

I see that the Grauniad has picked up on the Fake Aunt story on the RBKC "consultation":

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/24/woman-poses-dead-cyclist-e...

 

Avatar
Robert Hardy | 4 years ago
2 likes

Unfortunately the young female A level taking daughter of a RBKC Councillor is likely to have been gifted a Mini Cabriolet on her 17th birthday and unlikely to be braving the horrors of their roads bestrode a bicycle.

Avatar
ktache | 4 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for that information Beatnik, I cannot "like" such sad news.

Avatar
Beatnik69 | 4 years ago
2 likes

A cyclist was hit by two vehicles yesterday, yards from where Eiliedh Cairns was killed.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX | 4 years ago
3 likes

So it only matters if RBKC residents die on their roads?!

Avatar
Bill H | 4 years ago
3 likes

Glad to see that Sadik Khan has pulled his finger out, yes it's a bit late but it has refocused attention on safety rather than handwringing on the loss of two mature trees.

Avatar
Legs_Eleven_Wor... | 4 years ago
8 likes

'....how many more of your residents need to be maimed or killed by motor vehicles...'

Just one.  

But that one needs to be the blonde, teenage daughter of an MP, or of a councillor.   Extra points if she's pretty.  Bonus points through the roof if as well as being pretty, she gets killed the week before her A' level results come out, when she'd have learned that she had been accepted at Oxford to study medicine. 

In other words: that one needs to be someone who actually matters.   The game would change so fucking fast, and then they'd claim that it had nothing to do with Tamara's untimely death.  

Avatar
darrenleroy | 4 years ago
3 likes

This is about entrenched politicians scoring political points over each other. While we go on suffering. Khan doesn't really care about cycling, and nor does RBKC.

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to darrenleroy | 4 years ago
4 likes

darrenleroy wrote:

This is about entrenched politicians scoring political points over each other. While we go on suffering. Khan doesn't really care about cycling, and nor does RBKC.

Khan cares about reducing pollution in London as it's a public health crisis. You might want to read up on what Khan has said about air pollution and the impact it is having on Londoners, children in particular. He has placed pollution reduciton as one of his key priorities. And he cares about curbing car use in London. He sees cycling as one of the measures to achieve a reduction in pollution and a reduction in motor vehicle traffic.

He's brought forward the introduction of the ULEZ, which Boris Johnson had delayed. He's also planning to expand the ULEZ zone in 2021, which is a move way beyond what Johnson had ever envisaged.

By contrast, Johnson's response to the worrying readings showing from pollution monitors placed around the city was to install water spraying equipment to damp down the air around the monitors and make it appear as if the readings were lower than they actually were. He didn't give a toss that air pollution levels were at frighteningly high levels at many of London's schools. Johnson took credit for London's cycle hire scheme and for the cycle lanes, but they were actually planned by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone. However Johnson did fail to negotiate the terms for the cycle hire scheme properly, so it cost London millions to implement. Of course he did waste far more on other things of far less value, like the useless bridge nobody wanted or needed (£52 million), the illegal water cannon and the cable car over the Thames that's hardly used. Bear in mind Johnson only started cycling in London after being banned from driving for a DUI offence.

Oh and London will have its first car-free day in September of this year, plus there's a new Cycleway opening in London as part of Khan's plans.

I do read a lot of anti-Khan comments online. Usually they're far from the truth.

 

Avatar
burtthebike replied to OldRidgeback | 4 years ago
3 likes

OldRidgeback wrote:

By contrast, Johnson's response to the worrying readings showing from pollution monitors placed around the city was to install water spraying equipment to damp down the air around the monitors and make it appear as if the readings were lower than they actually were. He didn't give a toss that air pollution levels were at frighteningly high levels at many of London's schools. Johnson took credit for London's cycle hire scheme and for the cycle lanes, but they were actually planned by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone. However Johnson did fail to negotiate the terms for the cycle hire scheme properly, so it cost London millions to implement. Of course he did waste far more on other things of far less value, like the useless bridge nobody wanted or needed (£52 million), the illegal water cannon and the cable car over the Thames that's hardly used. Bear in mind Johnson only started cycling in London after being banned from driving for a DUI offence.

Absolute shoe-in for leader of the tory party and PM then.  To be fair to Boris, he does lie a little less than Trump, but he's definitely podium material.

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to OldRidgeback | 4 years ago
3 likes

OldRidgeback wrote:

darrenleroy wrote:

This is about entrenched politicians scoring political points over each other. While we go on suffering. Khan doesn't really care about cycling, and nor does RBKC.

Khan cares about reducing pollution in London as it's a public health crisis. You might want to read up on what Khan has said about air pollution and the impact it is having on Londoners, children in particular. He has placed pollution reduciton as one of his key priorities. And he cares about curbing car use in London. He sees cycling as one of the measures to achieve a reduction in pollution and a reduction in motor vehicle traffic.

He's brought forward the introduction of the ULEZ, which Boris Johnson had delayed. He's also planning to expand the ULEZ zone in 2021, which is a move way beyond what Johnson had ever envisaged.

By contrast, Johnson's response to the worrying readings showing from pollution monitors placed around the city was to install water spraying equipment to damp down the air around the monitors and make it appear as if the readings were lower than they actually were. He didn't give a toss that air pollution levels were at frighteningly high levels at many of London's schools. Johnson took credit for London's cycle hire scheme and for the cycle lanes, but they were actually planned by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone. However Johnson did fail to negotiate the terms for the cycle hire scheme properly, so it cost London millions to implement. Of course he did waste far more on other things of far less value, like the useless bridge nobody wanted or needed (£52 million), the illegal water cannon and the cable car over the Thames that's hardly used. Bear in mind Johnson only started cycling in London after being banned from driving for a DUI offence.

Oh and London will have its first car-free day in September of this year, plus there's a new Cycleway opening in London as part of Khan's plans.

I do read a lot of anti-Khan comments online. Usually they're far from the truth.

 

 

I do not understand how Johnson has gotten away with that bridge fiasco.  Even the website somehow cost £161,000.  The guy has a long, long history of incompetence.  All image and little substance.  He's the most grotesquely-overpaid entertainer in the country.  The only positive thing he's ever done was a bit of cycle infrastructure (oh, and annoying the black cab drivers, I suppose).

 

But all the Tory candidates are as bad as each other.  I also don't get why the BBC and the rest of the media are giving this internal Tory party contest (between essentially interchangeable right-wing careerists, and where hardly any viewers even have a vote) so much publicity - it's like a never-ending party-political broadcast for the Tories.   Now the Tory papers are whinging that the BBC wasn't sycophantic enough in the broadcast debate.  I don't see why it was broadcast at all, all the participants are basically the same, just in different packaging. Can they please just get on with it?

Avatar
brooksby replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 4 years ago
1 like

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

But all the Tory candidates are as bad as each other.  I also don't get why the BBC and the rest of the media are giving this internal Tory party contest (between essentially interchangeable right-wing careerists, and where hardly any viewers even have a vote) so much publicity - it's like a never-ending party-political broadcast for the Tories.   Now the Tory papers are whinging that the BBC wasn't sycophantic enough in the broadcast debate.  I don't see why it was broadcast at all, all the participants are basically the same, just in different packaging. Can they please just get on with it?

Exactly.

The members of the Conservative Party (so, not even all the people who vote for them, just the card-carrying Party members) might get to choose who their new leader is (if the candidates all stick it out to the bitter end and don't walk away whistling, as happened when May became leader).

That's maybe at most 120,000 people, which makes the 52/48 split of 'the voters who could be bothered to turn out' look like True Democracy.

Don't give them the oxygen - its not like with fixed term elections they really have to even pretend to give a monkey's what the non-members want surprise ...  they only do so that they can pretend like its a real national political event.

Avatar
OldRidgeback replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 4 years ago
3 likes

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

OldRidgeback wrote:

darrenleroy wrote:

This is about entrenched politicians scoring political points over each other. While we go on suffering. Khan doesn't really care about cycling, and nor does RBKC.

Khan cares about reducing pollution in London as it's a public health crisis. You might want to read up on what Khan has said about air pollution and the impact it is having on Londoners, children in particular. He has placed pollution reduciton as one of his key priorities. And he cares about curbing car use in London. He sees cycling as one of the measures to achieve a reduction in pollution and a reduction in motor vehicle traffic.

He's brought forward the introduction of the ULEZ, which Boris Johnson had delayed. He's also planning to expand the ULEZ zone in 2021, which is a move way beyond what Johnson had ever envisaged.

By contrast, Johnson's response to the worrying readings showing from pollution monitors placed around the city was to install water spraying equipment to damp down the air around the monitors and make it appear as if the readings were lower than they actually were. He didn't give a toss that air pollution levels were at frighteningly high levels at many of London's schools. Johnson took credit for London's cycle hire scheme and for the cycle lanes, but they were actually planned by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone. However Johnson did fail to negotiate the terms for the cycle hire scheme properly, so it cost London millions to implement. Of course he did waste far more on other things of far less value, like the useless bridge nobody wanted or needed (£52 million), the illegal water cannon and the cable car over the Thames that's hardly used. Bear in mind Johnson only started cycling in London after being banned from driving for a DUI offence.

Oh and London will have its first car-free day in September of this year, plus there's a new Cycleway opening in London as part of Khan's plans.

I do read a lot of anti-Khan comments online. Usually they're far from the truth.

 

 

I do not understand how Johnson has gotten away with that bridge fiasco.  Even the website somehow cost £161,000.  The guy has a long, long history of incompetence.  All image and little substance.  He's the most grotesquely-overpaid entertainer in the country.  The only positive thing he's ever done was a bit of cycle infrastructure (oh, and annoying the black cab drivers, I suppose).

 

But all the Tory candidates are as bad as each other.  I also don't get why the BBC and the rest of the media are giving this internal Tory party contest (between essentially interchangeable right-wing careerists, and where hardly any viewers even have a vote) so much publicity - it's like a never-ending party-political broadcast for the Tories.   Now the Tory papers are whinging that the BBC wasn't sycophantic enough in the broadcast debate.  I don't see why it was broadcast at all, all the participants are basically the same, just in different packaging. Can they please just get on with it?

 

Remember though that what Johnson did for cycle infrastructure in London was not cancel the plans put in place by Ken Livingstone. I can't understand why there hasn't been a criminal investigation into the Garden Bridge fiasco. That's £52 million, gone. Where did it go? Ok, so his tennis club chum who won the design contract without a proper tender process probably swallowed £2-3 million of that and there would've been another £2-3 million for legal jiggery pokery and bureaucracy. But where is the rest of it? 

I do find it interesting that Boris Johnson had been complaining about his child support bills (having been forced to pay for one of the offspring hed had out of his marriages), but seems to have gone quiet on the topic of late.

He's a liar. Even his old boss, Max Hastings, at The Telegraph said so, and he's a mate. Hastings also said Johnson was totally unfit for public office, something also repeated by another mate of his, Matthew Paris.

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
3 likes

RBKC wrote:

Our door is actually open for conversations on alternative schemes...

You know, ones that don't actually involve bicycles...

Avatar
Zjtm231 | 4 years ago
2 likes

Khan now pipes up, after the decision has been made.  What a huge surprise!

No way he was actually going to get involved and campaign for it to be installed.  Far better to pretend he's not actually the current London Mayor; the difinitive person who holds the most power in the capital and blame other people for absolutely everything in London and moan that it hasn't got anything to do with him. 

 

Anyone who cares about cycling in London can’t possibly justify voting for him to be re-elected.

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to Zjtm231 | 4 years ago
2 likes

Zjtm231 wrote:

Khan now pipes up, after the decision has been made.  What a huge surprise!

No way he was actually going to get involved and campaign for it to be installed.  Far better to pretend he's not actually the current London Mayor; the difinitive person who holds the most power in the capital and blame other people for absolutely everything in London and moan that it hasn't got anything to do with him. 

 

Anyone who cares about cycling in London can’t possibly justify voting for him to be re-elected.

 

Unfortunately it depends who the other candidates are.  Last time it was Zac 'I'll rip up cycle lanes and get rid of bus lanes' Goldsmith.  The most faux faux-environmentalist ever.

Khan's not impressive and I'd have preferred Christian Wolmar to be the Labour candidate last time, but he was clearly a long-shot.

 

Seems to me though that the biggest problem is the London mayor (and assembly) hasn't got much power.  Central government doesn't want a new GLC to challenge its authority.  That's why they scrapped it last time.

 

As with the shifting of the responsibility for benefits-for-the elderly to the BBC, governments since Thatcher have loved centralising power while outsourcing blame.

Avatar
Awavey | 4 years ago
3 likes

Gee i'm sure a letter like that will have RKBC quaking in their Chelsea tractors...not, cheap political stunt you say...hmm

I'm curious though how the numbers keep changing ,Pete Walkers piece in the guardian quoted 275collisions in three years,now its 293, or is it 128?, this is the kind of detail former mayors would have been criticised for not being consistent on. And even then one commenter in the Guardian piece says Crashmap,which its claimed uses the same figures TfL have for their numbers cites 18 cycle collisions,only 6 of which were severe.

Similar with the tree numbers was it 19 or 12 or 22 ?

Why is there disparity in the numbers at all ?

Build a solid proper case & design for these plans,using verifiable facts & figures and councils will no option but to approve them,do it badly so that it seems like you arent really bothered,because hey if it doesnt get through blame your political opponents, and you end up with this mess

Avatar
burtthebike | 4 years ago
11 likes

Does the council not have a duty to prevent collisions in its area?

Answer; Yes. 

The Road Traffic Act 1988(Section 39) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

take steps both to reduce and prevent accidents
prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety
carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or part of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area
take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(Section 122) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicular and other traffic(including pedestrians)

So the council are in breach of their statutory duty.  Time for a court case, and if someone would like to start a crowd funder, I'm in for £20.

Avatar
paradyzer replied to burtthebike | 4 years ago
7 likes

burtthebike wrote:

Does the council not have a duty to prevent collisions in its area?

Answer; Yes. 

The Road Traffic Act 1988(Section 39) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

take steps both to reduce and prevent accidents
prepare and carry out a programme of measures designed to promote road safety
carry out studies into accidents arising out of the use of vehicles on roads or part of roads, other than trunk roads, within their area
take such measures as appear to the authority to be appropriate to prevent such accidents

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(Section 122) requires local authorities in Great Britain to

to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicular and other traffic(including pedestrians)

So the council are in breach of their statutory duty.  Time for a court case, and if someone would like to start a crowd funder, I'm in for £20.

 

This is all correct and I fully agree, but if they let their own citizens burn in a tower block which was not refurbished correctly and they ignored warnings from residents on that very same matter, what chance is there of them actually doing anything about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists? 

In short, if you're not someone who can earn them money you might as well not exist, or die and be forgotten on the roadside or in a burning building...

 

 

Avatar
zanf replied to paradyzer | 4 years ago
4 likes

paradyzer wrote:

This is all correct and I fully agree, but if they let their own citizens burn in a tower block which was not refurbished correctly and they ignored warnings from residents on that very same matter, what chance is there of them actually doing anything about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists?

They only let them burn because they were so busy dealing with some very important matters

Avatar
burtthebike replied to zanf | 4 years ago
2 likes

zanf wrote:

paradyzer wrote:

This is all correct and I fully agree, but if they let their own citizens burn in a tower block which was not refurbished correctly and they ignored warnings from residents on that very same matter, what chance is there of them actually doing anything about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists?

They only let them burn because they were so busy dealing with some very important matters

Revolution brothers.  These scum should be first against the wall.

I might be joking, but on the other hand, anyone reading that report might like to chip in for a few bullets.  I wasn't joking about the scum bit.

Avatar
paradyzer replied to zanf | 4 years ago
3 likes

zanf wrote:

paradyzer wrote:

This is all correct and I fully agree, but if they let their own citizens burn in a tower block which was not refurbished correctly and they ignored warnings from residents on that very same matter, what chance is there of them actually doing anything about the safety of pedestrians and cyclists?

They only let them burn because they were so busy dealing with some very important matters

 

Why does this not surprise me? 

 

Also, this:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cft52h89roU

 

 

Latest Comments