CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 16years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
Why is cycling so popular in the Netherlands?
There are more bicycles than residents in The Netherlands and in cities like Amsterdam and The Hague up to 70% of all journeys are made by bike. The BBC's Hague correspondent, Anna Holligan, who rides an omafiets - or "granny style" - bike complete with wicker basket and pedal-back brakes, examines what made everyone get back in the saddle
Looks like an accurate and informative account.
I heard a report on Radio 4 last night, it was probably the same report edited for radio. The only low note was made by the motoring advocate who began with the observation that cyclists run red lights.
In the 70's cyclists who asked for better infrastructure were called trendy lefties and trots. Ralph Brereton, Conservative Councillor for Marchmont said in 1978 in a letter to The Scotsman on the subject of creating a bike lane on Middle Meadow Walk:
"Parks are for quiet and decent people. SPOKES can get lost and take its Commie friends with it. Who wants a proletarian dictatorship anyway? Not me, and not Marchmont."
Now cyclists are demonised as scofflaws who don't pay their way. The arguments set up against spending on and prioritisation of cycling really do say more about the preoccupations of the critics than they do about cycling.
Well, the revelation fior me was this:
"A roundabout where cyclists get their own lane and have priority over motorists is being trialled in Berkshire for Transport for London"
Yes, that's a Dutch style roundabout: IN THE UK! Wow.
Those would improve the junctions on Queen's Drive with Dynamic Earth and Holyrood House. So many times I've had to sit and wait for the queueing drivers to leave a space for me to cross from one cycle path to another.
I've read that peice, and just watched the VT. One interesting bit is right at the end Anna talksa bout the large cycle event in London. It shows everyone pushing their bikes to the start/forming up point. Has anyone ever seen a car rally where the drivers had to push their cars to the start?
Yes, that's a Dutch style roundabout: IN THE UK
IIRC, the trial is not in a "real" location.
encouraging development, nonetheless.
It seems odd that they need to build a model to trial it, given there's loads of them just across the North Sea. Is there some UK requirement that they need evidence of efficacy on British soil?
The video has some BBC balance - an unnamed talking head saying that Boris was "bonkers" to promote cycling, cycling is too dangerous, and people should use public transport or buy a car instead...
I suspect the reporter was toeing the party line, whilst arranging a straw man!
Robert
More on the Dutch roundabout trials:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22347184
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22350776
I seem to recall there was some criticism of the way it had been implented for the trial.
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