Mizter T wrote:


I think the comments from Mr Kambanis are are a reasonable reflection
on it all (apart perhaps from the "it sounds cool" bit!). Not quite so
sure about Boris' com

Having mapped the routes out on Google Maps and done a bit of research
on existing cycle routes, there really isn't much to the first two
schemes other than taking good existing routes (e.g. LCN Route 15, which
the start of Boris's Route 3 is based on), painting them blue and
possibly putting some signs up. The later routes, for instance in West
London, have not had the same investment and would require a lot more
work to bring them up to equivalent standards, which is presumably why
they're scheduled later, but an eye needs keeping on how much effort is
actually put into this.

In fact, it's quite clear that inner city and east end boroughs plus
Docklands have had a great deal more done for the cyclist in recent
years than us benighted west Londoners. There's actually quite a strong
correlation between Labour boroughs (Lambeth, Newham, Tower Hamlets,
B&D) and the cycle lanes Boris is relying on for the first phase of his
scheme, despite the spin that these routes are 'for the outer boroughs'.
The TfL map shows most of them penetrating only a short distance into
the outer boroughs in the main and several outer boroughs are completely
excluded (Harrow, Croydon, Bexley for instance).

One amusing one is 'Route 9', which follows the N9 bus route, mostly.
Quite who's supposed to cycle to Heathrow beats me - surely only workers
would be able to do this, and is there sufficient secure cycle parking
in such a high-security area? Jon Snow of Channel 4 News wrote in his
blog the other day that his bike is often removed by the police when he
parks it in Whitehall, on security grounds, and I can't imagine cycling
up to Terminal One and chaining your bike to the security bollards would
be looked upon with equanimity.

A final thing - TfL's cycle mapping (http://cyclemaps.tfl.gov.uk/) is
rubbish compared to people like Sustrans
(http://www.sustrans.org.uk/map?searc...archkey=London) and
Camden Cyclists (http://maps.camdencyclists.org.uk/). They appear to be
relying on public contributions rather than informing us of recommended
routes, which is again very typically Boris (cheap + individualistic +
avoids the nanny state + fundamentally not very good).

Tom