http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2012/04/25/49.html
According to today's Metro free newspaper, B&D is second lowest in London (to Hillingdon) in CO2 emissions from cars. I'm not clear what exactly is being measured as I can't find the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Report in question. The metro article refers to new cars, but I can't find any regional information in the recently published SMMT report that appears to correspond.
Monday 30 April 2012
London Bike Kitchen
http://www.lbk.org.uk/
"The London Bike Kitchen is an open DIY workshop where you can work on your own bike instead of giving it to someone else.
We're here to:
a) Promote self-reliance and confidence through education
b) Make cycling accessible and affordable
c) Get more people of all backgrounds on bicycles
We have a full tool library, mechanics on hand to help and courses to build skills so that you can learn how to take care of your sweet two-wheeled machine: Intro to Bike Maintenance, Bike Building, Wheel Building, Total Overhaul and Long Distance Tour Preparation. To enhance your experience we'll also hold women + gender-variant nights, monthly rides, bicycle-related events (including the infamous Bicycle Bingo) and Members Only Perks.
As a charitable social enterprise, our goal is to create a workshop that is self-sustaining and open to everyone. The money that you spend here will subsidise classes and shop time for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, allowing them to gain access to bikes and bicycle education.
We are located at 28 Whitmore Road, N1 5QA, near the canal on the border between Hoxton and De Beauvoir [Town]"
"The London Bike Kitchen is an open DIY workshop where you can work on your own bike instead of giving it to someone else.
We're here to:
a) Promote self-reliance and confidence through education
b) Make cycling accessible and affordable
c) Get more people of all backgrounds on bicycles
We have a full tool library, mechanics on hand to help and courses to build skills so that you can learn how to take care of your sweet two-wheeled machine: Intro to Bike Maintenance, Bike Building, Wheel Building, Total Overhaul and Long Distance Tour Preparation. To enhance your experience we'll also hold women + gender-variant nights, monthly rides, bicycle-related events (including the infamous Bicycle Bingo) and Members Only Perks.
As a charitable social enterprise, our goal is to create a workshop that is self-sustaining and open to everyone. The money that you spend here will subsidise classes and shop time for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, allowing them to gain access to bikes and bicycle education.
We are located at 28 Whitmore Road, N1 5QA, near the canal on the border between Hoxton and De Beauvoir [Town]"
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Sporthouse
http://sporthouse.co.uk/
This is Britain's largest sports hall, apparently. I had a look at the outside today. Entering Mayesbrook Park (where it stands at the north end) from Lodge Avenue, in true B&D style the first thing I encountered was - yes a 1 way system! There's a newly built access road from the pre-existing park entrance to the front of the sports hall, and it has a nice wide footway, but again cycling has been overlooked in this element (hough there are Sheffield stands for bike parking at the entrance to the building.
I rode along the southern side of the building and came to a banjo, for motor vehicles to turn in I assume. There is no facility for cyclists to join the pre-existing park path that's right near it.
This is Britain's largest sports hall, apparently. I had a look at the outside today. Entering Mayesbrook Park (where it stands at the north end) from Lodge Avenue, in true B&D style the first thing I encountered was - yes a 1 way system! There's a newly built access road from the pre-existing park entrance to the front of the sports hall, and it has a nice wide footway, but again cycling has been overlooked in this element (hough there are Sheffield stands for bike parking at the entrance to the building.
I rode along the southern side of the building and came to a banjo, for motor vehicles to turn in I assume. There is no facility for cyclists to join the pre-existing park path that's right near it.
Academy Central
I've had a nose round Academy Central, the housing development at the former University of East London (or if you prefer NE London Polytechnic, or for the silver surfer, SE Essex Technical College) Barking Campus (in postal Dagenham, mainly). I saw that bikes are being stored on balconies. If this is because there is inadequate bike storage then this is another major disappointment.
Academy Drive, the new road into the development from Lodge Avenue, looks much like any estate road built in the last 20 odd years, except for the signs giving a 20mph speed limit and denoting a home zone. The physical design doesn't look like a home zone.
One of the reasons I wanted to visit was to look at the shared use paths that are there. These are narrow red brick that can be used by vehicles and pedestrians. Most of them seem to sport one way traffic signs, which is rather bizzare, unfriendly to cycling (surprise!) and in my view likely to increase motor vehicle speeds. I don't really understand why, according to the Barking & Dagenham Post, residents are objecting to them being made 2 way. The entrance to the site opposite Gainsborough Road is just that - an entrance. Try to leave through that gate in a vehicle and you're faced with no entry signs. Cyclists wanting to exit there need to do so as pedestrians.
So we see that the anti-cycling illness that pervades B&D is showing its symptoms here, despite the fact of a rather intriguing shared segregated cycle / pedestrian path that appears to run through the school site. It was gated / fenced off, so I could only view it - not go down it.
Academy Drive, the new road into the development from Lodge Avenue, looks much like any estate road built in the last 20 odd years, except for the signs giving a 20mph speed limit and denoting a home zone. The physical design doesn't look like a home zone.
One of the reasons I wanted to visit was to look at the shared use paths that are there. These are narrow red brick that can be used by vehicles and pedestrians. Most of them seem to sport one way traffic signs, which is rather bizzare, unfriendly to cycling (surprise!) and in my view likely to increase motor vehicle speeds. I don't really understand why, according to the Barking & Dagenham Post, residents are objecting to them being made 2 way. The entrance to the site opposite Gainsborough Road is just that - an entrance. Try to leave through that gate in a vehicle and you're faced with no entry signs. Cyclists wanting to exit there need to do so as pedestrians.
So we see that the anti-cycling illness that pervades B&D is showing its symptoms here, despite the fact of a rather intriguing shared segregated cycle / pedestrian path that appears to run through the school site. It was gated / fenced off, so I could only view it - not go down it.
Friday 20 April 2012
The road to nowhere
The road to nowhere, which I've blogged on many times, has opened to buses. I'm not a big bus user, but I did go on a 366 to Beckton and back on 31 March. I was trying to configure a friend's mobile phone, but I think I would have noticed if the bus went down Fleet Road, a the RTN is now called (as I noticed last year at some point, but apparently didn't note, blog, or photograph).
According to this site the buses started using the road on 9 January 2012. The writer says on 17 January) that he saw the bus stops in place, but they have been there for many years.
According to this site the buses started using the road on 9 January 2012. The writer says on 17 January) that he saw the bus stops in place, but they have been there for many years.
Monteagle Avenue, Barking
B&D Council do sometimes get it right. They are proposing to make Monteagle Avenue one way (SW) for motor vehicles between Faircross Avenue and Fanshawe Avenue, and banning right turns into Fanshawe Avenue from Monteagle Avenue for motor vehicles.
This proposal does not reduce permeability for cycling, so I have no problems with it, and hope it successfully alleviates the rat running problems.
This proposal does not reduce permeability for cycling, so I have no problems with it, and hope it successfully alleviates the rat running problems.
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Cycle Helmets: "Liberty or death; don't tread on me"
The journal of medical ethics has published a report on cycle helmets. The abstract is below, for convenience:
"Many jurisdictions require cyclists to wear bicycle helmets. The UK is currently not one of these. However, an increasing number of interest groups, including the British Medical Association, want to change the status quo. They argue that mandatory cycle helmet laws will reduce the incidence of head injuries and that this will be both good for cyclists (because they will suffer fewer head injuries) and good for society (because the burden of having to treat cyclists suffering from head injuries will be reduced). In this paper we argue against this position. We suggest that cycle helmets may not be especially effective in reducing head injuries and we suggest that the imposition of such a restrictive law would violate people's freedom and reduce their autonomy. We also argue that those who accept such a restrictive law would be committed to supporting further legislation which would force many other groups – including pedestrians – to take fewer risks with their health. We conclude that cycle helmet legislation should not be enacted in the UK unless, perhaps, it is restricted to children."
The ethical issues for me are:
1) Should people be compelled to take steps to improve their own safety, and to what extent?
2) If the answer to (1) is yes, then surely this must be applied to all - in this context, pedestrians and car occupants as well as cyclists.
The technical issue remains whether cycle helmets are in fact a safety aid. It is desperately counterintuitive to say otherwise, but:
(a) There is such a thing as risk compensation: The safer you feel the more risk you are likely to take - you have (it is argued) a 'risk barometer'.
(b) A helmet's role in any neck injury could be that of making it worse. It is bigger than your head and therefore more likely to be hit and a loger lever in the twist.
And finally, we know that helmet compulsion leads to less cycling - a disbenefit that is lilely to outweigh any benefits of helmet wearing.
"Many jurisdictions require cyclists to wear bicycle helmets. The UK is currently not one of these. However, an increasing number of interest groups, including the British Medical Association, want to change the status quo. They argue that mandatory cycle helmet laws will reduce the incidence of head injuries and that this will be both good for cyclists (because they will suffer fewer head injuries) and good for society (because the burden of having to treat cyclists suffering from head injuries will be reduced). In this paper we argue against this position. We suggest that cycle helmets may not be especially effective in reducing head injuries and we suggest that the imposition of such a restrictive law would violate people's freedom and reduce their autonomy. We also argue that those who accept such a restrictive law would be committed to supporting further legislation which would force many other groups – including pedestrians – to take fewer risks with their health. We conclude that cycle helmet legislation should not be enacted in the UK unless, perhaps, it is restricted to children."
The ethical issues for me are:
1) Should people be compelled to take steps to improve their own safety, and to what extent?
2) If the answer to (1) is yes, then surely this must be applied to all - in this context, pedestrians and car occupants as well as cyclists.
The technical issue remains whether cycle helmets are in fact a safety aid. It is desperately counterintuitive to say otherwise, but:
(a) There is such a thing as risk compensation: The safer you feel the more risk you are likely to take - you have (it is argued) a 'risk barometer'.
(b) A helmet's role in any neck injury could be that of making it worse. It is bigger than your head and therefore more likely to be hit and a loger lever in the twist.
And finally, we know that helmet compulsion leads to less cycling - a disbenefit that is lilely to outweigh any benefits of helmet wearing.
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