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Monday, 05 January 2009
Nadia Gilani, South London Press
VULNERABLE cyclists will have to watch their backs as motorbikes are now allowed to use most of London’s bus lanes.
From yesterday, motorcyclists were given free reign to ride in Transport for London bus lanes for an 18-month trial period.
TfL said the scheme aimed to cut accidents and traffic pile ups.
Pedal cyclists, who already use the lanes, have been against the scheme claiming it would not improve safety or reduce congestion.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “I have long been staggered that while motorcyclists can use bus lanes in many other cities and some of our boroughs they were not allowed to use the TfL routes that criss-cross the capital.
“One of the ways we can ease congestion is by encouraging more people to get on their bike, and I believe they should be able to share our bus lanes safely.”
In June last year the London Cycling Campaign presented the Mayor with a 3,000-strong petition against the plan.
In a letter to the Mayor, LCC’s chief executive Koy Thomson said: “While we would support measures to make motorcycling safer, there is no clear environmental, safety or congestion reason for allowing motorcycles into bus lanes.”
See more at the Evening Standard.
What do YOU think?
Tags: Transport for London
Posted in Weblog | 1 Comment »
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Watch Video (Rose Ades, Head of TFL’s Cycle Centre of Excellence)
‘Putting the Brakes on Bike Theft’ was a cycling and security seminar presented on the 3rd of October by Transport for London’s Cycle Centre for Excellence (CCE) in association with the Design Against Crime Research Centre (DACRC) and the London Bicycle Film Festival 2008 (LBFF).
The seminar was of interest to professionals responsible for delivery of design provision, management and policy for public space and cycling infrastructure. The seminar promoted a multi-agency approach to tackling the issue of cycle theft and promotion of cycle use and enjoyment of the public realm.
This multi-agency approach – which has drawn upon design to help make a difference - has been seen to be effective at cycle theft reduction in recent years and has contributed to the increases in cycle use in London.
Between 2003 and 2005 increases in cycle use matched increases in cycle theft. This period saw the implementation of multiple cycle theft reduction initiatives by various agencies including, Transport for London’s Cycle Centre for Excellence and the Design Against Crime Research Centre’s Bikeoff project.
The Bikeoff research initiative has delivered, in collaboration with TfL’s CCE, and the street management and transport teams of several of London’s Boroughs, tools and resources to facilitate multi-stakeholder communication, collaboration and evaluation in relation to delivery of cycle theft reduction and cycling infrastructure provision.
Presentations:
Adam Thorpe ‘Catalyzing Anti-Theft Bike, Bike Parking and Information Design For The 21st Century’
Download here
Aiden Sidebottom ‘What YOU Know About Bike Parking’
Download here
Shane D Johnson ‘Community Orientated Policing Service (COPS) Guide on Bicycle Theft’
Download here
Paul Ekblom ‘What Theory Knows Is…Using theory to analyse crime risks and generate design guidance for secure bike parking’
Download here