Some of you may have already done this, but if not – please just take a few minutes to have your say on TFLs plans to make London’s lorries safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/buses/safer-lorries
Author: Kerena Fussell
Celebrate Greenwich Foot Tunnel
Do come and join in the fun at the Greenwich Foot Tunnel on 3rd August!
Sunday, 3 August at 3pm at Tunnel Entrance, Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich
Join Fogwoft to celebrate the opening of the tunnel in 1902 and the completion of the refurbishment works.Â
Live music from Trinity musicians Michael Underwood and Oscar Laurence
Short addresses from Dr Mary Mills and Ian Blore of fogwoft, and a walk through the tunnel to Island Gardens where refreshments will be served.
All are welcome.
See you there!
Mike (Shallcross)
Tour de France events
Don’t forget to check the Events page for details of our 2 Tour de France events on Sunday 6th and Monday 7th July.
Canning Town South Conservative candidate’s cycling views
We received the following email from Gareth Knight, Conservative party candidate for Canning Town South, which was originally sent direct to LCC.
Hi, I am a candidate in Canning Town South in Newham and I’ve just seen your website.
Firstly, my twitter handle is @GarethKnight and I’m more than happy for your members to contact me.
Secondly, I support your calls for dedicated cycle lanes on the Lower Lea Crossing and Silvertown Viaduct.Â
Finally, I would go far further than this and support a wholesale strategy to encourage residents in my ward to commute to Canary Wharf by bike, relieving pressure on the DLR and Jubilee Lines, including:
-secure cycle parking serving the developments on Western Gateway and Seagull Lane and the new developments off Hallsville Road;
-secure cycle parking for all new developments in the Canning Town area to be built as they are constructed;
-bike racks and cycle lanes on Western Gateway serving local shops, restaurants, the Emirates Air Line and the ExCel centre;
-the introduction of “Boris Bikes” to the Royal Docks area (they currently stop before they reach Newham);
-a cyclist hotline where reports of potholes, dangerous roads and dangerous drivers can be made so action can be taken quickly;
-mandatory cycle proficiency training for all local primary school children;
-an offer for adults to receive cycle proficiency training to increase confidence in cycling on London roads and reminders of the highway code as far as it affects cyclists.
I would actively encourage any of my colleagues on the council to identify similar opportunities to promote cycling in their wards, most notably around the Royal Docks and Olympic Park.
Newham has one of the worst reputations of any borough in London when it comes to being cycle-unfriendly and if elected, I would want to substantially shift that reputation as far as my ward is concerned.
I hope that explains my position!
Kind regards
Gareth Knight
Space for Cycling in Newham?
We now have all but 2 wards where people have taken action (i.e. put in their postcode and sent emails to the candidates).
The 2 where no actions have been taken are:
Green Street East
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1226
and
Wall End
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1220
So if you live in either of those, or you know anyone who does, please visit the website or pass on the details.
The TUSC and Green Parties have both said they are supporting the campaign right across London. In Newham we have 2 Green Party candidates (both in Forest Gate North) and 8 TUSC candidates.
Also there is one Green (Jane Lithgow) and one TUSC (Lois Austin) standing for Mayor.
We have 1 confirmed Conservative supporting (Adam Nowacki in Beckton) and 9 Labour candidates.
Plenty of work still to be done, but it’s a start!
Newham support for Space for Cycling
It’s not good reading, but I’ve just spent a bit of time going through the ‘Action’ website to list all our wards, the candidates in them and the support so far. Â If you haven’t yet contacted your candidates through the website, please do. Â If you HAVE contacted them and they aren’t yet supporting, please feel free to harangue them. Â Obviously in a nice polite ‘tinging of the bell’ kind of way. Â Twitter is a good medium for this if you use it!
Space for Cycling update
SPACE FOR CYCLING update:
So far we have ‘action’ in 14 of our 20 wards. This is a great start – but we need to get all wards covered and as many candidates as possible supporting.
Please, head over to www.action.spaceforcycling.org and do your bit.
The specific wards with no action so far are:
Wall End: https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1220
Green Street East: https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1226
Green Street West:
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1223
East Ham Central:
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1210
East Ham South:
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1214
Boleyn:
https://action.space4cycling.org/data/ward/1207
Dutch Students’ presentation on Bow Roundabout
You may remember that some of the group met up with some Dutch transportation students who were in London to look at cycling in general but specifically at the Bow Roundabout. Â This was the presentation they made of their findings. Â Interesting reading!
INTERNATIONAL (cycling) WOMEN’S DAY – 4th March 2014
In celebration of International Women’s Day LCC will be linking to blogs from women talking about LCC and their ‘Space for Cycling’ campaign. They’ve kindly asked if I’d like to participate so here goes!
Hmmm, maybe a bit of background about me first. My name is Lisa and I’m a gardener based in Forest Gate. I can usually be seen trundling my kit up and down the local streets in a shopping trolley with red roses stuck to the front. My sister-in-law’s nickname for me is ‘born too late’ as my heart resides in the 1940’s, hence my business being called London Land Girl. As far as my cycling style is concerned that also seems to be stuck in the 1940’s. I’m a heel wearing, no helmet, anti-Lycra, no to hi-viz kind of girl.
I started cycling again in 2008 as I suppose like many adults I hadn’t been on a bike since I was a kid. At the age of 7 I can remember being very proud of my brand new, shiny, bright red Chopper bike and riding it round and around the square of grass outside our flat in Bethnal Green – no particular place to go and for no other reason than I could and because it gave me such great joy to do so! Today the joy’s still there but the bike is not so shiny or new as I’m riding a 38yr old Elswick Hopper Safeway. Still bright red though!
For me LCC’s ‘Space for Cycling’ campaign is about sharing that childhood joy with as many people as possible by fostering a society of competent and confident cyclists and ensuring they have a secure environment in which to pursue that joy. Hopefully the provision of safe integrated cycling in our towns and cities will not only improve the overall environment of town centres (benefitting everyone not just cyclists) but also relieve the tensions that exist between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, of which I’m fully aware as I am a cyclist, pedestrian and car owner all rolled into one.
For me not being a member of LCC is pure madness for anyone who cycles – why wouldn’t you want to be part of an organisation that’s fighting your corner for you?
LCC is the voice of reason in a sea of nonsensical and contradictory legislation so join up today -Â your cyclists need you!
Removal of Gyratories
This is good news, via LCC today
https://www.london.gov.uk/media/mayor-press-releases/2014/02/sixties-relics-to-be-ripped-out-as-cycle-transformation-begins