| Children of the revolution | | Print | |
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There are two major problems with London cycling.
1) Fear of your own mortality. It's truly dicey out there. One distracted driver changing a CD or chatting on the mobile, one lorry cutting a curve slightly too sharply, one bus driver with a chip on his shoulder and your life will flash in front of your eyes. Or end.
2) The weather. Perhaps I should be made of sterner stuff, but I believe there are others like me, who shirk in the face of a summer shower, not to mention an icy winter deluge. The perpetual threat of rain makes some of us reluctant to commit to commuting by bike.
 Ken Livingstone to the rescue! (Note to self: don't let this site turn into a Ken fan-zine). The Mayor has just announced a revolutionary £500m plan to make cycling a feasible alternative for those of us who aren't dyed-in-the-lycra enthusiasts. I think this plan addresses both the above issues. 1) The proposed commuter cycle routes and cycle zones around urban town centres will not be the stop/start/long-way-round nightmare of many of today's cycle routes but proper wide lanes with dedicated junctions and clear signs. (I hope this will help cyclists will feel safer and therefore able to respect traffic lights: I'm sick and tired of me and my children dodging rogue bikes when the green man is lit up!) The first lanes should be in place by 2010 with five more by the 2012 Olympics.
2) Ken's bold proposal for a scheme like Paris's Vélib’ system means more of us will feel free to join the revolution. The plan is for 6,000 bicycles for hire from ranks every 600 feet throughout the city centre. This truly is transport freedom, as you're not tied down to a bicycle. You can use whatever transport suits you for different journeys at different times of day (many ranks will be at Tube and rail stations). Pedal to work if the weather's nice, and if it's raining cats and dogs that night, just hop on a bus or tube to go back home. It will also help folks like our friend A who had such a great night out he got a taxi home, then couldn't remember the next day where he'd parked (and fibbed to his wife that the bike was stolen. Naughty!)
My husband and I hopped on the Eurostar recently for a pre-Valentine's escape to France (he was investigating sustainable transport plans, I was investigating the shops, galleries and cafés of Lille and Paris). With our friend Ali we tested out the Vélib' with great success. I particularly like the big baskets, lights and tingly-jingly bell. Everyone was using them, from trendy young things to golden oldies. That did cause one annoying glitch: racks at popular spots are sometimes full, though you're given 15 minutes to find alternative parking. It did mean people hanging around and waiting for someone to take out a bike and free up a parking spot, but everyone seemed fairly polite and jolly about it. Parisian motorists aren't completely on board – I had a near-miss with a flung-open door, trouble making the odd right turn and a nasty encounter in a particularly wide intersection
 – but as cyclist numbers soar drivers are resigning themselves to sharing the road. I can't wait to try out the London bikes. Whizzing across Paris at midnight was truly thrilling (one part freedom, one part heart-pumping exercise, one part sheer adrenaline-fuelled terror). "The aim of this programme is nothing short of a cycling and walking transformation in London," says Ken. "By ensuring that Londoners have easy access to bikes... as well as making our city a safer and more enjoyable place to cycle, we will build upon London’s leading position as the only major world city to have achieved a switch from private car use to public transport, cycling and walking. The expansion of cycling and walking will help reduce our impact on climate change and reduce traffic congestion." Go Ken Go! I really must stop – I'm starting to sound like a cheerleader, despite my lifelong philosophical opposition to the (so-called) sport.
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