CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years 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.
Local Green councillor Alison Johnstone put this on Twitter last night.
"
@CyclingEdin Do tell me more about the "world class cycle city" please!
"
I assume she has the same sense of irony as most of 'us' on here.
So perhaps we should produce a (wish) list.
A "world class cycle city" is where road markings are maintained in impeccable condition and new/improved ones are constantly planned.
A "world class cycle city" is where there aren't fences, gates, bollards, street furniture or waste pipes over or in the middle of cycle lanes.
(all of which are in evidence on this site some where or other)
A "world class cycle city" is where the rights of cyclists to be on roads or in cycle lanes or on shared use paths without unreasonable and unwarranted aggression is respected and enforced.
A "world class cycle city" is one in which measures are not taken to actively discourage cyclists from travelling along the world-famous main street.
In a "world class cycling city" parents taking children to nursery on their bikes would not be told how 'brave' they are.
In a 'world class cycling city' cars would not be allowed to park on cycle lanes.
^^^^^^ this times one million.
Edit: that was directed at the 'bravery' point... :P
In a "world class cycle city" cyclists will never struggle to find a safe and convenient place to lock their bicycle.
In a world class cycling city, road planners would be forced to (try and) use each proposed facility before it was built. And then be made to redesign it.
In a world class cycling city road planners will not allow paint parking bays to share the same space as the cycle lane.
In a world class cycling city a bus/bike lane is a bus/bike lane. It's not a convenient shortcut to avoid queuing in traffic. It's not a place for loading and unloading lorries. It's not open to anyone who slaps a "private hire car" sticker on the side of their Skoda Octavia.
In a world class cycling city you will not be forced to resort to using a street sign as a bike rack on the main, "prestige" shopping thoroughfare.
In a world class cycling city, cycle lanes will not be put in where they run for under 50 metres straight into a dead end that forces you to dismount and push onto the pavement or perform a maneouvre contrary to the highway code to extricate yourself from the situation.
In a world class cycling city all taxi drivers will be made to cycle from one end of town to the other to see "how they like it".
In a world class cycling city, cycle routes will be designed with Daleks in mind. If a Dalek can get up the slope, negotiate the stairs, barriers and bollards, then a bicycle can.
"If a Dalek can get up the slope, negotiate the stairs, barriers and bollards, then a bicycle can"
YES!!
Oh no - daleks can fly these days - I can't even bunny hop properly. Plus they have zappy things to destroy objects that are in the way. I've only got a bell.
In a world class cycling city, all bikes will be fitted with exterminator beams, but will never need to use them.
a cycle lane will never intersect with a bus stop.
A world class cycling city needs ALL of the following:
An education department that actively encourages children to cycle to school through engagement with parents, provision of cycle training and cycle facilities.
A planning department which requires all new build developments to be located so that people WILL access them primarily by bike or on foot. In addition all new developments must incorporate high quality cycle facilities.
A transport department that prioritises investment in, and maintenance of, high quality cycle infrastructure and the development of a cycling culture in the city.
Police/parking attendants that ensure cycle lanes are kept clear of illegally parked vehicles.
Councillors who provide real leadership - through policy and investment decisions, some of which will be unpopular, e.g. reallocation of roadspace to cyclists.
Employers who support work related cycling through the provision of good quality cycle facilities for staff and visitors.
A welcoming attitude from ALL of the cycling fraternity to new cyclists (not US obviously - those other, less considerate cyclists!).
Come on City of Edinburgh Council(lors) - most of this is in your hands.
In a world class cycling city, cycling provision would be forethought at the planning and design stage, not an occasional afterthought following action by pressure groups and citizens having to write to their representatives to express their concern.
In a world class cycling city, cycle routes will be designed with Daleks in mind.
Hell i'd be happy if they were designed with bicycles in mind!
Rofl @ bike exterminator beams...
Road surfaces in cycle lanes that mean it is possible to ride on without the need to swerve/bunny hop every fifty yards (on a good street)...
"Quality bike corridors" that give priority to bicycles, both en-route and when intersecting with motor-traffic, rather than simply being standard on-road cyclepaths that cars can park on...
City centre dedicated traffic-free cycle routes that give the clear message that cycling is encouraged to all in the centre of town...
Investment in cycling that is comparable with other "world class cycling cities" and represents a considerably greater proportion of the city's transport budget than "non world class cycling cities"... [shot in the darck, this one - no idea how Edinburgh's cycle spend compares with others]
Councillors making decisions and taking actions that favour and encourage cycling, while having the courage of their convictions to justify them to the standard knee-jerk "that's soooo anti-car" whingers...
In a 'world class cycling city' we would have a City Council that really cared and tried!.
A world class cycling city would not rely on well-meaning but exasperated suggestions, because it would already consult cyclists and experts at the design stage and incorporate that advice into the realised projects.
A world class cycling city treats both cyclists and pedestrians as people, and does not use city streets as storage for cars.
A planning department that discourages shopping developments with large car parks, it is possible to have shops with out...
A world class cycling city never paints the road where it is already safe and easy to ride until the difficult bits have been addressed - in other words, it is understood that the "quality" of a "quality bike corridor" is measured by the most dangerous / inconvenient points along it.
No more vanishing facilities at pinch points, to resume uselessly in between times!
This thread featured in today's The edinbuzzers Daily
Encourage the Police to prosecute enthusiastically the drivers who bully, intimidate, speed and drive agressively in town, prosecute the drivers who block cycle lanes and dtop on the ASL's, and equally enthusiastically prosecute the cyclists who jump red lights, ride without lights, and fail to obey road traffic law in all the other predictable ways.
Make ALL 30mph limits within the city boundary 20mph limits AND ENFORCE IT.
That way people will quickly realise a bicycle is fastest... :)
Oh and finally, if someone is convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, don't ban them for a while, (the victim doesn't come back to life after ten, fifteen, twenty years, their family is deprived of them forever). Make it a mandatory lifetime ban, no exceptions, no excuses. Anything else is an insult imho.
Also in The Cyclinginstructor Daily
A world class cycling city would not include a long flight of step in a cycling route. Thinking about the path from the Royal Infirmary at Little France to Craigmillar. They would also have a paved route from there to Greendykes created a long time ago. I've given up wondering how long it's going to take for the bus and cycle corridor to actually be created, even so it was on the plans from before the hospital opened.
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