New Artwork on South Croydon's Roads

Some fresh council graffiti in the area, this one is a left turn only, shame I always want to turn right here - lots more to follow.




View Larger Map

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, croydon

Bollards in the Road - Old Town

Have you ever seen cast iron bollards placed in the middle of a road?

I doubt it.

But the sight of a bollard in the middle of a cycle track is commonplace.







The reason is that the people who plan these sorts of routes don't care about the safety of cyclists - most of them don't even ride bicycles.



This particular example is a footpath conversion on a route called Old Town.

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle path, cycle track, croydon

Works Delayed - East Croydon Station

The cycle related works to the east of East Croydon Station have been delayed yet again.



However, the black plastic bin liners have now degraded and fallen off the signs to reveal the routes, and they are not too encouraging - I strongly suspect there will be dismount signs at the crossing, and the rest of the route to the station will be on a busy pavement.



It has even been the subject of an exchange of letters in the local papers, with the council making some pathetic excuses about unexpected problems. However, since it is not that long since the building of the tram tracks in the area this excuse does not hold water.

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, croydon

http://croydon.cyclestreets.net/

A project originating from Cambridge Cycling Campaign, arriving in Croydon.

It's only in Beta form at the moment, but it looks promising.

http://croydon.cyclestreets.net/

Funny what you come across at Open Tech...

The best news for this site is the ability to add photos of crap cycle facilities :)

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon, open tech

More secure cycle parking a must for London

from http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release_a.jsp?releaseid=22598

More secure cycle parking a must for London

Report available at http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/stand-deliver-cycle-parking-report.pdf


The Mayor wants to see a million journeys made by bike every day in London by 2025, but a lack of secure cycle parking will hold Londoners back from getting on their bikes, a London Assembly report today warns.

‘Stand and deliver: Cycle parking in London’1, by the London Assembly Transport Committee, assesses cycle parking provision in London – at stations, in public areas, and in residential developments - and finds it falls far short of demand.

A survey2 of Londoners conducted as part of the investigation also revealed that the security of parked bikes remains one of the most serious concerns for cyclists3. Almost three-quarters (71%) rated the security of cycle parking facilities in London as poor; only 2 per cent said it was good.

Poor security is contributing to the tens of thousands of bikes stolen in the capital each year. The number of bike thefts reported in 2008/09 was just over 18,000 but research4 indicates only one in four thefts is reported, making the real annual figure likely to be more than 70,000.

Although Transport for London (TfL) has installed over 53,000 new cycle parking spaces across London since 2000, the number of trips by bike has almost doubled over the same period – and the Mayor wants to see the rate double again by 20255. He is making £2 million available to fund an increase in secure cycle parking – but even TfL is concerned this might not be enough.

The report calls for TfL to publish a clear strategy that covers every aspect of cycle parking provision in London, including an assessment of demand, proposals for new locations, and how available funding will be allocated.

The Committee’s survey asked Londoners for their views on how easy it is to find somewhere to park their bike at a range of locations. More than three-quarters (77%) said there was not enough cycle parking on the high street, and almost 70 per cent said Tube stations have inadequate facilities. Over half said the amount of cycle parking provided in new developments is insufficient.

Joanne McCartney AM, who led the investigation on behalf of the Assembly’s Transport Committee, said: “In virtually every area I looked at, from new residential developments to mainline stations, the situation was the same: there is not enough secure cycle parking in the right places to meet the soaring demand in London.

“Boroughs, Transport for London, rail operators and the private sector need to work together to find innovative solutions to increase cycle parking, or the wheels will come off the Mayor’s commendable aspirations to encourage more Londoners to cycle.”

Specific findings and recommendations:
The report makes a number of recommendations to improve provision, including calling on boroughs to conduct cycle parking audits and for Transport for London (TfL) to publish a cycle parking strategy for consultation by the end of the year.

In line with Transport Secretary Lord Adonis’s comments earlier this week, the report found there is a woeful lack of secure cycle parking at mainline stations. This is despite the efforts of some operators, including First Capital Connect, South Central and South West Trains, to increase provision. The eleven central London mainline stations share a total of 1200 spaces6 for the half a million people they serve each day. The report says that improving cycle parking at stations will require conditions to be built into train operating companies’ franchise agreements.

Central London Tube stations present a significant challenge because of space constraints. The report notes TfL’s plans to install cycle parking in carparks at six outer London stations, but urges them to bring work forward at further locations.

Secure spaces at new office buildings also fall short of demand. Developers are typically required to install one cycle parking space for every 25 employees - while at some businesses one in five employees is already cycling.

To accommodate the growth in cycling, the report notes that the number of spaces required at new developments, including residential, will need to be increased from those in the current London Plan. As well as numbers, specifications should cover design, layout and security standards so boroughs can more easily apply and enforce the guidelines when considering planning applications for new developments.

New standards should be developed in advance of the revised London Plan, which is due in 2011: TfL should produce a draft standards document for boroughs by the end of this year and publish agreed standards as supplementary guidance by the end of June 2010.

Other opportunities to increase cycle parking are also highlighted in the report. These include the Velib docking stations which, when introduced, could incorporate general cycle parking if designed appropriately. Vacant underground car parking spaces may also have the potential to be converted to cycle parking. The report urges TfL to explore both of these possibilities.

Notes to Editors

1. The embargoed report: ‘Stand and deliver: Cycle parking in London’ is available at: http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport.jsp#cycle-parking
2. The survey results are available in full as Appendix 1 of the report (p.29)
3. Research by Steer Davies Gleave (for TfL), Cycling in London, May 2008, p. 32, showed that the security of parked bikes is one of the two biggest cycling-related concerns, along with availability of spaces.
4. Evidence from Bikeoff at a stakeholder meeting on 25 March 2009.
5. Mayor of London, Way to Go!, November 2008, p. 24. This would mean journeys increase from the current rate of 1.6 per cent of trips made in London, to 5 per cent
6. See table on p.22 of the report for cycle parking by station.
7. The report will be considered for formal agreement at a Transport Committee hearing on 8 July 2009.
8. Joanne McCartney AM, who led the investigation on behalf of the Transport Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
9. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more details, please contact Dana Gavin in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4603/4283. For out of hours media enquiries please call 0207 983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.

--------------------------------------------------
cycling

Bike Mounted Advertising

Seen by East Croydon Station...



not in a fit state to ride home though.

Not that this is a new idea...



...this was the bike I left in North End back in 2005.

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

April Fool Debate on Public Photography

No doubt nothing will come of this...

Westminster Hall debates
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Photography (Public Places)

..and the police will continue to harass innocent photographers following the other events on the same day.

Suburban cycling cut to pay for central London cycling

News from Jenny Jones: Suburban cycling cut to pay for central London cycling

Analysis of new figures released by Transport for London shows how the Mayor is planning to spend £57m on a Velib style cycle hire scheme in central London whilst spending less on schemes which would benefit cycling in outer London. New figures show that out of a total of 383 schemes which have not been funded in the coming year, 260 are in outer London boroughs.

A provisional breakdown of the £111m cycling budget for 2009/10 has been sent to Jenny Jones. TfL have allocated nearly half the money to cycle hire and £12m to the cycling superhighways, which are fast commuter routes into central London. However, nothing is specifically allocated in the coming year to cycling hubs in outer London and the total spent on the pan London Cycle Network will be just over a third of what it has been this year.

Jenny Jones said:
“I think that the cycle hire scheme is brilliant and so is the idea of cycling superhighways, but the London mayor is paying for these high profile schemes by cutting hundreds of local schemes which would make cycling safer in London. We have a zone one cycling mayor who is giving far less money to the London Cycle Network in outer London, despite the advice from experts who tell him that four fifths of the potential new cyclists come from the suburbs.”

Notes to Editors

1. Analysis of the money provided to the boroughs for the LCN+ shows that a total of 383 schemes have not been funded in the coming year, 260 of them in outer London boroughs, see attached table based upon Question to the London mayor No: 2698 / 2008.

2. TfL’s cycle hire scheme is aiming for 55,000 cycling trips per day by bike. At present there are around 540,000 cycling trips.

3. Money spent on LCN+ was £33m in 2008/09, but drops to only £12m in 2009/10. These total figures are divided up between borough roads and the Trans London Road Network (TLRN). The LCN+ expenditure on the borough roads drops from £20 to £10m, whilst the LCN+ spending on the TLRN drops from £13m to £2m.

4. The London mayor has the target of a 400% increase in cycling, but the Transport for London report which proposed this target showed that 80% of the new potential cyclists would have to come from outer London.


For more details please contact the Green Party Group Press Officer - Ian Wingrove on 0207 983 4424, 07967 205 330 Ian.Wingrove@london.gov.uk

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

South Croydon Station and Seltrans..

I'd never heard of Seltrans till today, but it turns out that they are responsible for the works at South Croydon Station.

from the Autumn issue of the Seltrans newsletter.

South Croydon Update

We are pleased to announce that the final allocation from TfL for stage 1 of our holistic “station access scheme” has been approved. The major part of the scheme involves a joint cycle pedestrian access link to the station from the near by A212 and its neighbouring LCN route. This scheme has been delivered on time within budget, with the help of our partners from BRB, Network Rail and Southern Railway. The industry has complemented the Seltrans scheme with a refurbishment for not only the station building and the car park but they have also created a new station forecourt designed for passenger/pedestrian safety. This innovative scheme includes elements to remediate the heavy engineering required. This includes the provision of nesting boxes, too enhance bio-diversity and future funding is being sort to provide solar panels that will deliver a carbon zero project. We are hoping to invite our Seltrans partners to a formal opening ceremony in the very near future. Our thanks goes out to all the stakeholders that have been involved in delivering this relatively complex scheme.

Watch this space!!

I occasionally use this station, and have never noticed any information about this scheme or any information about Seltrans.

Satellite Image - pre-new carpark

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

South End Dual Use Cycle Lane

Croydon's anti-cycling department are known for their innovative approach to cycle facilities.



This example is a combined car parking space and cycle lane. A dual use facility. It allows Croydon Council to claim a few metre's more cycle lane without inconveniencing drivers.



Satellite Image - with a car in the parking space

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane croydon

South Croydon Cycle and Ride?

A nice new cycle parking shelter has been installed at South Croydon Station.




It is in a prominent position at the entrance to the car park, a deterrent to bike thieves, and has capacity for 8 - 16 cycles. The design is bright and modern, and of a quality you might expect in the Netherlands, so maximum points on this one.



However, I have yet to see a single bike parked here. The surrounding road network is pretty dreadful, access to the station by bike is not easy, so sadly cannot imagine this well designed facility getting much use.

Satellite Image - pre-instalation

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

Shoddy road repairs

Of course, although nobody comes to fix most of the rubbish road surfaces, sometimes when they do try to repair them, they make such a shoddy job of it that they probably shouldn't have bothered but they'll have to return soon to make a proper job of the repair.

The photo below is of the A232 on Duppas Hill Road (taken on Wed 11 March '09), a TfL road, not a Croydon Council one! This is what I call a "tarmac which fell off the back of a lorry" repair. A bunch of highway cowboys (but expensively hired by TfL) turn up with a lorry, cone off a bit of road, dump some tarmac in the holes/hazards, press it down a bit with a small steamroller (pushed by hand - and which also arrived on the back of their truck), hoist the steamroller back onto their truck, remove the cones, and drive off to their next shoddily-performed assignment. TfL should be ashamed of themselves. This sort of repair may not cost or delay traffic as much as a proper job, but it's never going to last as long and they'll have to keep coming back to do these useless repairs.
The photo below is of a large hole around a sunken manhole cover in Whytecliffe Road South in Purley (taken on Fri 13 March '09). They have attempted to repair this with some tarmac but they have covered over the manhole cover so it can't be seen whose it is (water, gas, electric, etc.) and is probably difficult to lift/remove. The patched surface around the manhole cover wasn't done properly so it has sunk again with all the buses and other heavy vehicles which pass over it (you can see a bus at a Bus Stand in the photo). You can also see the cycle lane on the LHS of the photo, but because of debris in the cycle lane (near where the photo was taken from) sensible cyclists will be nearer the middle of this one-way road until they need to swerve left to avoid the abortion in the photo!

Rubbish road surfaces and shoddy repairs

Crap cycle lanes are made worse by dreadful surfacing. Road surfaces weren't helped by Croydon Council's negligence in never gritting or clearing snow from ANY side-roads or pavements so that snow remained lying on surfaces for nearly 2 weeks.
The "elephant trap" below (luckily, elephants aren't often seen in Croydon so it won't matter if they're not looking where they are putting their feet!) is at Reeves Corner (trams cross from right to left at the top of the photo).

Satellite Image - EDIT!

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, croydon

Gaps in Croydon's Cycle Network

The map to the left shows Croydon’s cycle network. Croydon has more connections north-south but there are major gaps in the north-west and eastwest directions. The proposed cycle routes do not fill these gaps. The proposed off-road cycle route south of the town centre will create a ring around it improving the connection to the east
but further links need to be proposed towards the west.

found via http://www.croydonthirdcity.co.uk/links/links.htm

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

St James's Park follow up - LCN 5

I've just found this rather out of date consultation on the Croydon Council web site, it is of interest as I was involved in pushing for the original scheme back in 2002.

St James's Park - Proposed Cycle Safety Scheme

with an associated map

I had thought the outcome would have been reported back to the Croydon Cycle Forum, but I can't find any trace....

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, croydon

Cycling in the news...

I was rung up by the Croydon Advertiser to do a repeat of the Crap Cycle Lanes story of a couple of years ago, but I didn't feel I had enough new material to make a decent story. So to try and keep the interest alive I put the Advertiser onto Tom at LCC who passed them back to Jim. I had also mentioned that potholes were a very serious problem for bike riders at the moment, and the two came together to make this story.

Cycling groups slams Croydon Council over potholes

Perhaps I'll give the Advertiser a call when I've got some new material. If anyone has spotted new cycling facilities that have been put in over the past couple of years, please leave a comment below....

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, croydon

Cycle paths: Boris Johnson discriminates against outer London boroughs

Jenny Jones, from the London Assembly's Green Party, said: "We have a zone one cycling mayor who is giving far less money to the London Cycle Network in outer London, despite the advice from experts who tell him that four fifths of the potential new cyclists come from the suburbs."

Analysis of the money provided to the boroughs for the LCN+ shows that a total of 383 schemes have not been funded in the coming year, 260 of them in outer London boroughs.

Jenny Jones claimed: "The mayor would not be forced to make cuts in the budget for safer cycling schemes if he hadn't scrapped the plans for emission charging. Revenue from that would have paid for finishing off the LCN+. He has put the interests of the owners of 'Chelsea Tractors' above the safety of suburban cyclists."

Via Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest

--------------------------------------------------
cycling

Gorman saddles up for stand-up tour ...travelling by bicycle

Dave Gorman is to perform his first live tour in five years - cycling between venues.

The comic, who will be 38 by the time the tour starts at the end of August, will cover 1,500 miles over 32 days, performing at a different venue each night.

His trip works out at an average of almost 50 miles a day, and will take him from Lizard Point – the most southerly point in the British mainland – to Dunnet Head, the most northerly.

The schedule means he will play not only in 2,000-seat theatres but also 30-seat village halls, a barn, the odd hotel function room and a railway dining car. Not all of the dates in his Sit Down, Pedal, Pedal, Stop And Stand Up tour have been confirmed, but the schedule so far is here.

http://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/tour/d/16847/dave_gorman%3A_sit_down%2C_pedal%2C_pedal%2C_stop_and_stand_up.

Gorman, who is described as 'not especially fit' is no stranger to bizzarre challenges, having previously traveled the world seeking out his namesakes, and in an adventure based on Googlewhacks, which formed the basis of his last tour in 2004. His new tour is a return to more traditional stand-up following his more documentary-style live shows.

Pity I can't join in... :(

Found on Real Cycling

--------------------------------------------------
cycling

Motorbikes in bus lanes has made cycling more dangerous

From the Independent

James Daley: 'Facts suggest that letting bikers sidle up alongside cyclists in bus lanes is a recipe for disaster'

Cyclo-therapy Saturday, 14 February 2009

For more than a month now, cyclists in London have been forced to share most of the city's major bus lanes with motorcyclists – the bright idea of Mayor Boris Johnson who, in spite of his self-professed love of bicycles, seems to be doing everything he can to make life more difficult for those of us who share his alleged passion.

Allowing bikers into bus lanes has – as predicted – made the experience of cycling in London just that little bit more dangerous. One motorbike on its own is not usually too bad. But when you get a gaggle of them racing up alongside you – after they've being released from a set of traffic lights behind you – it can be mildly terrifying. Especially if you're trying to move out or change lane.

Until last month, bus lanes were one of the few sanctuaries where cyclists could shelter on London's biggest roads. Admittedly, we still had the buses and taxis to contend with, but given that the drivers of these depend on their licences for their livelihood, they're much less inclined to floor it when they see a clear stretch of road. Unlike motorcyclists.

Quite why Boris went ahead with this trial scheme is still a mystery to me. Why encourage carbon-emitting, noise-polluting motorbikers on to our roads, at the expense of eco-friendly, health-conscious cyclists?

Although bikers make the claim that such a move will help to reduce accidents, the evidence to support this assertion is still somewhat thin on the ground. What we do know, however, is that scooters and motorbikes are about 50 per cent more likely than cars to be involved in an accident which causes serious injury to a cyclist, and about 200 per cent more likely to be involved in an incident that results in a cyclist fatality.

Furthermore, a recent study showed that when motorbikes are allowed to travel in bus lanes, their average speed increases – with many travelling at speeds of more than 40 or even 50 mph in built-up areas.

These facts alone are enough to suggest that letting bikers sidle up alongside cyclists in bus lanes is a recipe for disaster.

Add in the environmental statistics (motorbikes emit 11.3 times more methane than cars – and an infinite amount more than cyclists, who emit nothing), and you have to question the wisdom of implementing such a scheme. Nice work Boris.

j.daley@independent.co.uk

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, bus lane

Bad Science on Bike Statistics

The rather wonderful and very entertaining Dr Ben Goldacre has used his column in the Guardian today to rubbish a crap piece of PRabout new cyclists from the insurance company LV.

The Guardian,
Saturday February 7 2009
Ben Goldacre

Like a lot of people who spend their time thinking about evidence and risk, I’ve always fantasised that the insurance industry must possess a vast repository of useful data: the experience of centuries, carefully tabulated by actuaries into secret commercial databases containing a truth about human behaviour and risk which most epidemiologists and social scientists would kill for.

Read and enjoy. LV aren't just wrong, they are scaremongering. Cycling is actually getting safer.
--------------------------------------------------
cycling, bad science

The Problem with Sustrans

From On the Level

You would think Sustrans would be very eager to engage and work with cycle path advocates who are keen to work to improve the NCN. Yet each time I’ve tried to volunteer with Sustrans, I have been met with indifference at best and at worst, naiveté, ignorance, laziness and incompetence.

See also Sustrans – Good or Bad? a critical review

via Sustrans Sussed

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, sustrans

The Disappearing Sign

There used to be a sign on Coombe Road, by the railway bridge, for the new shared use cycle path to South Croydon railway station. It was, however, pointing in exactly the wrong direction.



The path was closed over xmas for railway works, as the carpark was used for storage and the sign was removed.



However, despite the path re-opening, the sign has not been replaced.

Google Earth Image - taken before the path was built

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle path, croydon

MP's gift of a motor vehicle

LOONY Lib Dem Lembit Opik has been busy plugging the Segway stand-on scooter.

Not only was he on GMTV yesterday promoting it, he also held a debate on it in Parliament.

Why is Lembit going on and on about this strange device?

A closer look at the list of gifts he has recently received shows that he accepted a free Segway Personal Transporter only two months ago. Voila!

What the Sun didn't tell you was how he has previously claimed that he risked arrest for using his (free) Segway, but there is a report on Indymedia that was involved in the arrest of a nearby protester, so he could plug this idiotic motor vehicle on TV.

Why can't somebody buy him a £7,000 bicycle instead?

One year on and counting

I risked being stopped by the police to take the following pictures.

My MP didn't get away with it...

The problem is that the work has dragged on for over a year and there still isn't any sign of improvement.



The road works are still a mess. The vehicle lane improvements have been put in, but pedestrians are left to pick their way round holes in the pavement...



and the cycle facilities are still missing.



Sign of improvement?

More like evidence of incompetence!

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, croydon

Tory MP on trial

from CC&WW

A Tory MP is to go on trial accused of careless driving after allegedly knocking down a cyclist as he drove out of the House of Commons.

Simon Burns, 56, was driving a Range Rover when he allegedly hit the man, in his 20s, causing serious injuries.

The Opposition Whip was breathalysed by police, but was not over the limit.

from Mail on Sunday
--------------------------------------------------
cycling

More Police Harrasment of Photographers

Over at Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest are the pictures which the Metropolitan Police (in the shape of Police Community Support Officer JC 206) didn't want you to see.

It seems the Met police are simply out to bully photographers.

MP replies to my email - as predicted...

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, andrew pelling, cycle path, cycle track, croydon

Is My MP a Terrorist?

Andrew Pelling MP stopped by cops for taking pictures of East Croydon cycle path

Well what a cock-up!

Maybe Andrew Pelling will finally get around to replying to my email about the way the Met Police are harassing photographers!

Satellite Image

--------------------------------------------------
cycling, cycle lane, cycle path, cycle track, croydon