Forum Topic

https://www.change.org/p/hounslow-and-h-f-councils-scrap-the-king-street-chiswick-high-road-cycle-la

Make your views know also.With unsafe cycle lanes we do not want to see ambulance in traffic, pedestrians put at risk &.... council tax increase as its,cars tears that pay road tax.... As carer one serve the community and as well as live commitments on a bicycle.... & even then as a cyclist there lovely side roads & green areas.There also making it hard for shoppers and we don't want empty vacant shops.... Turnham Green/bath roads traffic flow is even better and it doesn't have ghastly cycle lane... Why not pilot these ghastly scheme royal Buckinghamshire, Hampstead, Marlow instead. No one drives through Chiswick for fun, given ULEZ/ no parking/ extremely expensive parking. Its just this area are entry points to the motor way.... Parking charges here are worse than Central London so no onevis driving just for the fun of it.

Marcia Carridice ● 1469d9 Comments

I breezed along the cycle lane today from Kensington via Hammersmith to Sainsburys in Chiswick. It is not perfect but it's a great deal better than what was there before it was built.It is a shame that there seem to be a lot of people causing and hence suffering congestion in their cars who, if they were inclined, could enjoy the same relaxing hassle free ride I had.If the fit and healthy would swap heir cars for bicycles it would make more space for the halt, the buses and the emergency vehicles.

Will Watson ● 1469d

When looking at emergency vehicle times some years ago I was told that because of the amount of motor traffic (there weren't any segregated cycle lanes) ambulances were now crewed by paramedics and had a lot of equipment on board so that they could carry out a lot of treatment on board.

Philippa Bond ● 1468d

Why isn’t it perfect Will? How many millions have been spent on it, and changes made to perfect it presumably

Maggie Dodge ● 1468d

Billions have been spent on the Motorways Maggie - they're still not perfect and never will be. Why should we expect cycles lane to be perfect when the Motorways aren't?

Andrew Jones ● 1468d

And it's not just Motorways which swallow up huge budgets, Andrew.A new tunnel under the Thames is currently being built at Silvertown, to try to relieve the chronic congestion which regularly overwhelms the nearby Rotherhithe Tunnel.According to Wiki:"In 2012, the cost was stated to be £600m. A consultation in 2015 stated that the cost of construction was estimated to be £1bn. In March 2020, the cost was increased again, to £1.2 billion. Operation and maintenance of the tunnel over 25 years is expected to cost another £1bn."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_TunnelAnd I think it fair to speculate that those latest figures quoted are already out-of-date.Anyhow, I make no comment on the need for, efficacy or cost-effectiveness of this, but this one project will cost billions, which should put a few millions for cycling in London into some sort of perspective - at least for those who are not so blinded by anti-cycling prejudice that they are beyond reason.P.S. That Wiki article also notes that the tunnel will not be accessible to walkers or cyclists, and that over 100 trees will likely need to be removed to facilitate construction.

Richard Cathcart ● 1468d

Hi Richard, I know about that - I remember someone (possibly it was you) posting some months ago about the cost of this tunnel.Thanks for adding some additional perspective.

Andrew Jones ● 1468d

And yet they can't find the money to fix Hammersmith Bridge properly !

Richard Greenhough ● 1468d

Let’s not forget the percentage of cyclists to drivers. Much as they hate to admit it, road transport is essential, how ever many plumbers you can persuade to work from a bike. Saw one showing off the other day, on Twitter I think. Big bag on the front and another on the back, not sure where he’d hidden his ladder

Maggie Dodge ● 1468d

Which cyclists have said that road transport isn’t essential Maggie?I don’t think Paul Campbell has ever said that. Or indeed any of the other strongly pro-cycling posters who regularly post on this forum,What they have said is that there are plenty of journeys made by motorised vehicles that don’t have to be made that way, and moreover if people didn’t make those non essential journeys, there would be less congestion making it easier for those who really can’t use another mode of transport. Like plumbers.I’m sure the cycle lobbyists would love the amount that was spent on cycling infrastructure to be the same percentage of the amount that is spent on roads they aren’t allowed to use, as there are cyclists to drivers.

Andrew Jones ● 1468d