Met Commissioner 'would not cycle' in London
15 comments when I looked, and half of them look like the EEN mob are on an away day to the BBC site!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » General Edinburgh
Met Commissioner 'would not cycle' in London
(12 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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I thought this was the bit that got me
"There is no doubt that despite the growth of cycling in London, it has got safer and its cost effectiveness and health benefits make it an attractive option for many people."
So its got safer?
Posted 11 years ago # -
Its a depressing statement from a senior police officer but I can't disagree, I wouldn't want to cycle in London either.
Posted 11 years ago # -
When I moved to London in 1994 I left my old racer in the street outside my Edinburgh flat for someone to take. The traffic was so aggressive and gorrendous back then there was no way I was going to cycle in London. With the congestion charge things have got better in the very centre, but outside of the charging zone? Still not sure I'd do it.
Posted 11 years ago # -
"When I moved to London in 1884"
At least there aren't many horse drawn carriages to second guess now.
Posted 11 years ago # -
Aye, the big wagons carrying livestock to Spitalfield were a vision of Hell on Earth, might I say to you sir. Indeed they were.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I cycled once in London before the congestion charge. I had 3 miles to go (between train stations) and it was actually fine because it was just a massive 3 mile wall of cars through which I simply filtered.
He said: "Of course some people don't have the choice, economically.
"If you've got someone who can't afford to take a car into the congestion zone, if they did, you can't park it anyway.
Gosh I'm glad he's not stereotyping about cyclists being people who are too poor to avoid a car. ::-(
Posted 11 years ago # -
Here's an image of my trusty steed before I abandoned her to the Fates: made with some new fangled trickery called 'photography':
Posted 11 years ago # -
@ crowriver
Oh dear, oh dear! You've committed the cardinal sin (in some circles) of photography your velocipede with the crank arms in the wrong position. Properly horizontal is acceptable, as is in line with the down tube. But they should really be in line with the seat tu... Oh, umm...
;-)
Posted 11 years ago # -
Its a depressing statement from a senior police officer but I can't disagree, I wouldn't want to cycle in London either.
Me, neither.
I think it's good to have someone in his position making these sorts of statements. As they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step...
Posted 11 years ago # -
"As they say, admitting you have a problem is the first step"
I'm not sure that such comments are admitting that there's a problem.
A policeman said it to me once about Lothian Road, and a road safety person involved with cycle training said 'I only cycle on holiday'.
Implied in (some) of this is that 'cycling is for the brave/foolish minority' and perhaps 'we can't stop them, but it's a shame they don't follow my example'.
Posted 11 years ago # -
I found London extremely easy to cycle around in '88 - '91, and I still do. Most of the traffic barely moves.
I also find cycling by far the best way to get around there particularly if you do it by dead reckoning and don't worry too much about getting there in a hurry. There are lots of lovely old buildings to see and if you don't allow yourself to ramble you will miss them.
Smithfield had greasy pavements, I assume it was from the carcasses, but I don't remember the roads being a problem.
Posted 11 years ago #
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