Due to the nasty conditions of last year’s prolonged winter there are more pot holes than ever on London’s roads… Here are just two of the many innovative ways cyclists and cyclist organisation are highlighting the problem:

Will Shannon has built the ‘Street Plotter’. It’s a device that automatically drops paint on the road as you go over a bump. A creative DIY approach to highlighting bad road surfaces, it’s not really at a marketable stage yet and is probably a bit illegal!

The CTC have developed an iPhone app – ‘Fill that Hole’. It combines a photograph of a pothole with GPS technology to pinpoint the exact location of the hazard. Once a report is logged, the relevant local authority is informed, so they can quickly inspect and fix it.

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Writing on The Guardian’s Bike Blog, Tom Bogdanowicz and Mike Cavenett – two cycle campaigners working for the LCC – want to see an increase in convenient secure cycle parking located in and around central transport hubs throughout London. They argue that the Boris Bike has illustrated London, as a cycling city, contains enormous potential to expand its sustainable transport networks, but that without a commitment to deliver secure indoor parking such capacity will remain dormant.

The London Cycle Campaign have also just launched the Cycle Parking for London Campaign, where cyclists can tell the LCC where cycle parking shortages are and where new stands should be introduced. The information will be used to support the LCC’s request to introduce 100,000 across London and to advise key decision holders where new stands should be placed.

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PRESTO, a project part of the EU’s Intelligent Energy, is producing tools for technicians to create cycle friendly urban infrastructure. They’re producing policy guides to meet different urban contexts with differently developing cycle cultures and are working in 5 different European cities – Grenoble, Zagreb, Tczew, Venice and Bremen – trialling different methods to promote cycling and improve cycle infrastructure. Their cities and activities section worth a look.

They’re also doing some really interesting work trying to spread the use of Pedelics, an important step if cities are going to be able make cycling accessible to less physically active groups or users living in hilly urban areas. Their work on Pedelics is the first European project to involve bike dealers as partners and could have some really exciting outcomes for spreading cycling as a sustainable travel option across Europe.

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The European Cycling Federation has announced that the 2011 Velo-city conference will take place in Seville in March. The Velo-city conference series is the premier international cycling planning conference series in the world. It seeks to encourage cycling as a part of daily transport and recreation and is a gathering point for those involved in policy, promotion and provision for bicycles. The conferences have been running for over thirty years and is becoming increasingly important given rising demand for expertise and resources in the field of cycle related sustainable travel. Information on previous conferences can also been accessed here.

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