mercredi 10 février 2010
Shared space - a success??
Would creating chaos by mixing all the traffic together be the solution? After observing this videos, I don't believe it is possible
So why does the UK see shared space as THE solution?
jeudi 30 juillet 2009
How is the public transport budget spendt in london?
http://www.busroute38.co.uk/wholeroute.html
Quote:
Priority measures on Route 38 exist in certain locations and only operate for parts of the day, mainly in the peak hours. As a result, these measures are of limited benefit. The proposals we are consulting on include:
12 and 24 hour bus lanes and contra-flow bus lanes (in fact only extending the bus lane opening times)
Busways and zones where general traffic is excluded
Junction improvements to maximise bus benefits and improve safety (in fact junction improvement that makes general traffic quicker, including buses)
Bus location monitoring equipment over the entire length of the route (money given to Siemens for useless high tech gadgets)
standardised approach to waiting and loading restrictions (usually replacement of all the road signes for general traffic!)
Enforcement strategy designed to complement traffic management proposals (of course, just some cheap staff training...)
To ensure improvements for other road users, proposals for Route 38 also include:
Provision of additional parking and loading bays, and protection for parked vehicles (I'm happy that public transport fund pay for that! - more over because of space constrains these new parking spaces wil certainly be done at the expenses of footway width, cycles lanes, other streets users in general)
Provision of additional facilities for pedestrians, including crossings and pedestrian stages at signals (Putting junction with no pedestrain phase is compulsory should have been done 40 years ago)
Provision of additional and enhanced cycle facilities (cycle lanes, advance stop lines and shared use bus lanes/bus zones)
Improved safety for all road users
Increased capacity and reduced delays for motor vehicles on the route corridor
Improvements to the street environment including tree planting
Most of these measures funded at the name of public transport will benefit car usuers!!!
I imagine you are now happy to know why buses in london are so unreliable and slow, and how behind the mask of enviroment friendly measures, TfL is actually giving priority to car users at the expenses of pedestrian cyclists and bus users.
and last but not least, bus 38 is.... going to be converted back into double decker next month!!!
Which will of course increa journey times for users as well as make the service even more unrealiable (with bus bunching)...
They are getter further from their objectives (http://www.busroute38.co.uk/vision.html):
Objectives
Improve bus reliability and reduce journey times
Enhance the environment along the route corridor
Improve safety and facilities for pedestrians and cyclists
Create a more pleasant and safe bus stop environment to make it easier for all passengers to get on and of the bus
Provide additional benefits, where possible, for all road users, communities and businesses
Quote:
Priority measures on Route 38 exist in certain locations and only operate for parts of the day, mainly in the peak hours. As a result, these measures are of limited benefit. The proposals we are consulting on include:
12 and 24 hour bus lanes and contra-flow bus lanes (in fact only extending the bus lane opening times)
Busways and zones where general traffic is excluded
Junction improvements to maximise bus benefits and improve safety (in fact junction improvement that makes general traffic quicker, including buses)
Bus location monitoring equipment over the entire length of the route (money given to Siemens for useless high tech gadgets)
standardised approach to waiting and loading restrictions (usually replacement of all the road signes for general traffic!)
Enforcement strategy designed to complement traffic management proposals (of course, just some cheap staff training...)
To ensure improvements for other road users, proposals for Route 38 also include:
Provision of additional parking and loading bays, and protection for parked vehicles (I'm happy that public transport fund pay for that! - more over because of space constrains these new parking spaces wil certainly be done at the expenses of footway width, cycles lanes, other streets users in general)
Provision of additional facilities for pedestrians, including crossings and pedestrian stages at signals (Putting junction with no pedestrain phase is compulsory should have been done 40 years ago)
Provision of additional and enhanced cycle facilities (cycle lanes, advance stop lines and shared use bus lanes/bus zones)
Improved safety for all road users
Increased capacity and reduced delays for motor vehicles on the route corridor
Improvements to the street environment including tree planting
Most of these measures funded at the name of public transport will benefit car usuers!!!
I imagine you are now happy to know why buses in london are so unreliable and slow, and how behind the mask of enviroment friendly measures, TfL is actually giving priority to car users at the expenses of pedestrian cyclists and bus users.
and last but not least, bus 38 is.... going to be converted back into double decker next month!!!
Which will of course increa journey times for users as well as make the service even more unrealiable (with bus bunching)...
They are getter further from their objectives (http://www.busroute38.co.uk/vision.html):
Objectives
Improve bus reliability and reduce journey times
Enhance the environment along the route corridor
Improve safety and facilities for pedestrians and cyclists
Create a more pleasant and safe bus stop environment to make it easier for all passengers to get on and of the bus
Provide additional benefits, where possible, for all road users, communities and businesses
lundi 1 juin 2009
Britain or the alcohol hypocrisy
usual alcool free zone - with a abig add for Carling!
Have you ever heard about bindge drinking?
A polish photograph has made an very interesting report in Cardiff. This photographic report is published by the daily mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1182373/Welcome-binge-Britain-Polish-photographer-documents-years-drunken-revelry-Cardiff.html
Ghost Bike - Clerkenwell, London
Gost Bike is a new phenomenon in London. It is a sort of monument in the memory of cyclists that have been killed on the london roads. Like a commemorative plate in honor of cyclists that have died for a good cause, for an alternative mode of transport and a new more environmental friendly lifestyle. However, cyclist should not be considered as kamikazes as I will try to demonstrate below.
First, in 2007, 15 cyclists have died (nearly one every two weeks), and 446 have been severly injured in London. In 2007, 2 953 cyclists have been injured at various levels on the London roads. This coresponds to more than 8 accidents per day!
In 2007, cyclists were involved in 13% of all accidents in london whereas they represent less than 2% of all the trips made in London. This disproportion is make cycling in London dangerous compared to other modes of transport. However not yet at the level of walking in London as in 2007, 109 pedestrians have been killed by car drivers (More details here).
According to a Transport for Londoin report (available here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/PC-Cas-Factsheet-Final-1986-2007.pdf), most collistions were caused by driver error or poor driving behaviour. Indeed, in 75% of the cases cyclists where "going ahead" while a car manouvered into them.
The first four collision types that caused cyclists death were as follows (cyclist are showed in a dashed line):
In 66% of the cases, cyclists are not responsible of their death. In opposition to common beliefs, only 7% of the fatality were due to cyclists disobeying at traffic signals.
The below table describes the the top six causes of cyclists severe injuries:
Again, the main causes of cyclist injuris on the poor driving cars of motorists.
How to solve this problem:
1 Stop blaming cyclists for disobeying traffic regulations. As we have seens this is not the main cause of accidents. Efforts should be placed on motorists rather than cyclsist. Moreover, permanent official declarations blaming the cyclists's lack of respect of traffic regulations have a negative impact on the cyclists's reputation, discouraging people from cycling and encouraging bad behaviour of motorist towards cyclists.
2 Stop blaming cyclists and providing cyclists training only. By providing permanent advice and training to cyclists it appears to the general public that the problem are coming from the cyclists. The data above desmonstrates that this is untrue. As we have seen the main problem comes from other road users, and the lack of training of other road users towards cyclists. Emphasis on lorry drivers should be made in order to reduce reckless driving from this group of drivers.
Moreover, the CTC noted:
The number of drivers in England and Wales prosecuted through the courts for 'dangerous' driving fell by over a third between 2003 and 2006, while the number of penalty notices issued for 'careless' driving offences (excluding the use of a hand held mobile phone while driving) was up 101% from 2005 to 2006. CTC believes this means that more and more dangerous drivers are merely getting a ticket for 'careless' driving, something that reinforces the impression that driving dangerously is not really a serious crime.
3 Increase pennalties and encforcement against poor behaviour towards cyclists. A street code should be established to protect pedestrian and cyclists, such as whats was done in Germany, Belgium, Denmark or France. As part of the street code, it is the drivers' responsibility to anticipate the cyclists's behaviour and if he fails to do so, severe penalties should apply.
4 Improve cycle facilities! Indeed a 80kg cyclists as nothing to do next to a 45,000 kilos lorry. The ratio is 1 to 500! On trunk roads were numbers of large vehicle can be seen, a complete safe, adapted, continious, fast and segregated cycle path must be provided. This has been done in a country like the Netherland that has up to 7 millions inhabitant connurbation, narrow streets just like in the UK.
More info and press release:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/may/08/cycle-accidents-road-deaths-rise
http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-safe-is-london-for-cyclists.html
http://www.velorution.biz/?p=2218
http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/search/label/hazardous%20cycling
PS: Boris himself passed closed to death recently: here are some additiona information and some reactions: http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-on-that-boris-near-death.html
and here: http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.com/search/label/hazardous%20cycling
Update: a BBc article on te subject was released today: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8106747.stm
London Paranoia
Very nice illustration of the level of visibility and safety elements a london cyclist needs to conver himself to feel safe enough to cycle...
jeudi 28 mai 2009
Comparing UK and Netherland transport Policy
In London, a new campaign for road safety had been lauched by Mayor Boris Johnson. This campaign is aimed at reducing drink and drive behaviour and speeding amoungst yound drivers by threatening then of the following penalties: getting a fines or even have your driving lisence cancelled. The new safety campaign will, be focused on this last penalty. But have a look first:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/roadsandpublicspaces/7598.aspx and the video: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/media/newscentre/real-life.shtml
As you have just seen, the main message of this new campaign is that if you speed or drink and drive, you'll lose your driving liscence... and be a kid again...
Absurd isn't it?
According to Transport for London safety team, all the people that do not have a driving liscence or do not drive everyday/to the shop/working are considered as immature/10 year old children?
Is this the right way to reduce the 222 road death in 2007 in London and promote alternative and accident-free modes of transport?
Now to show how retrograd Britain is:
This month of May Boris Johnson annonced a massive 110 millions pounds for cycling in London over the next 10 year! This coresponds to 11 millions pounds per year (or approximalty 1.30 pounds per inhabitants). One should also note that several of these cycle schemes involve retiming traffic lights/repaving some streets which will benefit also to car users.
If we compare this number with the 30 euros per year per inhabitants spent by Amtersdam, Boris's pride is even more shocking and revolting, espcially when he annonces that he will trun London into a world class cycling city! Next to that 6 billions pounds will be spend for the Heathrow third runway...
I spare you all the absurd list of UK cycle lanes available here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/September2007.htm
In the Netherlands, here is a very simple cycle promotion advers (one should note that there are no cycle helmets of high visibility jackets as always show in the UK cycle campaigns)
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/roadsandpublicspaces/7598.aspx and the video: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/media/newscentre/real-life.shtml
As you have just seen, the main message of this new campaign is that if you speed or drink and drive, you'll lose your driving liscence... and be a kid again...
Absurd isn't it?
According to Transport for London safety team, all the people that do not have a driving liscence or do not drive everyday/to the shop/working are considered as immature/10 year old children?
Is this the right way to reduce the 222 road death in 2007 in London and promote alternative and accident-free modes of transport?
Now to show how retrograd Britain is:
This month of May Boris Johnson annonced a massive 110 millions pounds for cycling in London over the next 10 year! This coresponds to 11 millions pounds per year (or approximalty 1.30 pounds per inhabitants). One should also note that several of these cycle schemes involve retiming traffic lights/repaving some streets which will benefit also to car users.
If we compare this number with the 30 euros per year per inhabitants spent by Amtersdam, Boris's pride is even more shocking and revolting, espcially when he annonces that he will trun London into a world class cycling city! Next to that 6 billions pounds will be spend for the Heathrow third runway...
I spare you all the absurd list of UK cycle lanes available here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/September2007.htm
In the Netherlands, here is a very simple cycle promotion advers (one should note that there are no cycle helmets of high visibility jackets as always show in the UK cycle campaigns)
mercredi 1 avril 2009
Tramway de Barcelone en 1908!!
Que de velos et pietons! Que peu de voitures! La ville de demain ressemblerait-elle a celle de 1908?
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