New cycle lane - same old, same old.

The council contractors are resurfacing the junction of Hoe Street and Selborne road. I know this from all the signs and other detritus littering the cycle lanes around the area.


Well, they have already marked out one of the lanes going North on Hoe Street.  Here it is :

Now, the "new" cycle lane is to the right of the car lane and presumably intended for cyclists going across the junction. This is pretty much exactly where the last markings were and are useless for the following reasons


1) Cars, when there is any type of a queue decide to turn the cycle lane and hatched area into a new lane so they can beat the queue. This completely blocks off the cycle lane. I have had cars come up behind me whilst I have been cycling through and slalom between me and the moving traffic queue.
2) Look how it is positioned. I mean just look at it. It appears that cyclists are expected to come up the left hand side of the road and then cross the left turn lane to enter the cycle lane. Which is fine if you want to be smeared across the road by a left turning vehicle as you try to cross the lane with your back to the danger.


It can be seen that the first user of the "new" cycle lane is the council to put another roadwork sign. At least it then lends the cycle lanes on the junction a certain symmetry as all of them have signs in them. And the cycle lights still hooded.


On that note, I do have to say that most of the signs I reported are still exactly where they were nearly a week ago. A couple have moved, but only in the sense that they have fallen over, not in the sense of anyone from the contractor or council being arsed to do anything. 

Latest Round of Applause

A special thanks to two special drivers

Firstly, the old chap driving a blue Ford Focus on Hoe Street this morning. Thanks for not waiting 10 seconds whilst I cycled through the road-works section with loose gravel and raised drains everywhere. Thanks for close passing me thus spraying me with gravel whilst skimming  past me. A shame you then almost immediately got caught in the queue for the lights at Church Road, but hey, it's only a cyclist!

Secondly, the driver of the ridiculous "Warrier" abomination that skimmed between me and the right-turn queue at the Bell Junction. Couldn't wait 5 seconds whilst I cleared the junction - oh no. Unless you are Russ Swift, you had no idea you were going to clear me in time and so just exhibited a wanton disregard for my safety.

So thanks to both of you. Idiots.

Bob and Boris Bid to Boost Bicycling

In a concerted effort to increase cycling modal share, TfL, TSSA and RMT have announced disruption to the tube for Monday.


I applaud their commitment to promoting other modes of transport and hope that it will convince many people that cycling is one of the best ways to get around this great city.


For those who are thinking about cycling for the first time, the weather is set for "drizzle", which is merely another word for "refreshing", and the roads will be gridlocked, so I doubt you will need to worry about speeding cars.


There, I have spun it as best as I can. Look at it this way - cycling has to be better than waiting hours for an overcrowded bus or sitting in the car in terminal traffic or being squeezed onto a platform hoping a train that isn't full to bursting will be along soon. OK, so you might get a bit wet, but it's Britain, what do you expect?

Another reason to cycle

Selborne Road, E17

Selborne Road today around 5:30pm. Solid traffic from one end to the other, and it is a long road.

Of course, on a cycle, one only has the discomfort of trying to filter safely.

The road has advisory cycle lanes which are so narrow that it is unsettling to use, even for a cyclist who knows this road well. And it is frequently blocked by buses and cars straying into it as they crawl forward. So I tend to filter on the right where there are more escape options if someone does something unexpected.

The upside of cycling is that conditions like the above have very little impact on journey time. One of the reasons I like cycling is that the time it takes for a particular journey is pretty static - traffic doesn't affect it to any great extent.

The downside is that I doubt anyone new to cycling wouldn't enjoy these conditions at all. And so modal share remains pitiful, even though the alternatives - using the car or bus - are horrible in this traffic.

Oh, and the road-working signs are still blocking the narrow cycle lane. So there is a cycle friendly local authority in action, folks.

Cycling powered by hot-air

Whilst scouting around the various cycling blogs, I came across this post on The Lo Fidelity Bicycle Club.

It is a concise, funny and scathing attack on the habit of local and national governments (with support from cycling organisations) to generate reams of aspirational prose but not much actual achievement. It is clearly written by someone who has experienced this process at close quarters.

This is the inverse swan approach to problem solving. Loads of frenetic splashing about on the surface with nothing going on underneath. The truth is that many people don't consider cycling because they believe it is dangerous. And no amount of "sustainable transport" documents or videos of celebrities cycling is going to to change this unless it is coupled with a change to cycle provision. But this requires tough choices and money.

Apparently each borough in London has a transport document. Which suggests that Waltham Forest actually plan the crap cycle provision when I had thought they might just do it as a prank after, say, the annual Christmas Party. I will try to dig out the document, presumably it is hidden deep within the bowels of the borough website. It should provide some entertaining reading.

Roadworks - progress report

I reported the road-work signs littered around Central Walthamstow, most jauntily thrown into the cycle lanes by the contractors repairing the road. I sent this on the 29th September.


Freewheeler has also blogged on this today.


I received an automatic email from Waltham Forest on the 29th, thanking me for my complaint.


I cycled past the roadsigns this evening to find that they haven't been moved an inch. Imagine my confusion at this. Surely this complete lack of action to rectify a danger to cyclists can't be coming from Waltham Forest Council? Surely not the same council that says on its website (with no apparent trace of irony) :


"Waltham Forest Council has been one of the leading local authorities in London in its commitment to introducing cycling facilities and has won five awards over the past decade. There are now 23 miles of cycle lanes and 20 miles of quite cycle routes on residential roads and through parks."


Now clearly, they have forgotten to mention how many miles of these cycle lanes are littered with contractor's signs or general detritus. 


As an aside, the council has put a notice on the home page detailing an issue with their IT systems which means they weren't receiving emails today. They are asking for those affected to resend the emails now. But the question is, with the councils responsiveness, how would anyone tell the difference? Surely better advice would be that the council really don't care about your communication so it is probably best for all concerned if you just don't bother.

The nicer side to cycling

I set up this blog to generally moan about the absurd cycling provision doled out by our elected masters whilst they spout deluded eco-twaddle and try not to inconvenience the dominant car culture. Thus making cycling a sometimes deeply unpleasant and even dangerous mode of transport.


But there is a nicer side with many reasons to love cycling.

Lee Navigation Tow Path

And here is one of them. The Lee Navigation tow path used by many cyclists and pedestrians. The picture was taken on the stretch between Forest Road and Springfield Marina. It is somewhat difficult to believe that on the right is Tottenham Hale and on the left, past the reservoir, is Walthamstow. You can continue this lovely journey into Hackney, through Victoria Park and then into central London. And you pass Springfield Marina with all the narrow-boats, the wonderful Springfield park and Hackney Marshes on the way.


To do the same trip in the car would involve congestion, stress and general misery. I sometimes see a heron peering hopefully into the canal - not something I have ever seen in my car whilst fighting my way around the Tottenham Hale Gyratory, for instance.


Also, at the bottom of Hackney Marshes - next to Homerton Road and the canal, used to stand one of the factories of Lesney industries.

Matchmaker wharf - site of Lesney Industries

Now, the site is being re-developed into luxury flats, but here, along with the site on Eastway (now part of the Olympic site)  millions of Matchbox toy cars were made. It gives me pause for thought that the toy cars I used to collect as a child originated from this site - apparently in its heyday 5000 people worked in the factories. More details can be found here.


 Telford Homes are developing the site and it is now called (a bit confusingly) "Matchmakers wharf". The old factory was looking pretty forlorn - I am sure the new complex will "add a cultural and creative buzz" to the area  as the on-line marketing blurb gushes. But one cannot help but be a little sad - there is now no trace of such a successful local industry producing products enjoyed by nearly every child growing up in the 60's, 70's and 80's.


So, cycling can be an absolute joy. It just should be more like this, more often.