Unreconstructed B&D Council

Prospective and successful councillors in the recent council elections weren't the most supportive group in London of LCC's Space 4 Cycling campaign initiative. Maybe their support was passive, maybe they were unaware, maybe they didn't get around to expressing their support. Almost certainly at least some of them had, or believed they had, bigger fish to fry.

I thought, though, that cycling had made it from being the pariah of transport modes to the paragon - yes with some reservations about the behaviour of some cyclists sometimes, but basically cycling crossed the floor from loser-loony to normal, on trend, hipster, mainstream.

It's hard to describe my reaction to a newly built (or re-opened) road down which cycling is not allowed in both directions. Is it frustration that after about 23 years of cycle campaigning in this borough the council still pulls stunts like this, or is it amazement that the ostrich like organisation can still operate a de facto anti-cycling policy in the face of the cultural shift that even the most petrol headed myopic sand blinded ostrich must have got wind of.

Anyway, attached is an image of the offending road, off North Street in Barking. Yes, it is only short but it's the principle of the thing.And far be it from me to suggest that perhaps the car facing away from the camera was not illegally driven through the no-entry.

Ironically, the new block of flats in the background of the photo has apparently got a large cycle parking facility. You just have to get off and walk  to get to it from here.

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