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Category Archives: London
Down at the London Bike Show
Made in London: Lovely cycling mackintosh from Water Offa Duck's Back
Jack goes down to the London Bike Show, an annual fair of bicycles and cycling paraphernalia. He eschews the latest electronic gear systems in search of novel products made by interesting people.
The following products are featured on the show:
Georgia in Dublin: Stylish and waterproof clothing for women and men.
Respro: High viz gear for cyclists including the ubiquitous hump and the evergreen elasticated ankle bands.
Bill’s Bike Tools: Makers of the Pedal Aid, an ingenious tool for assisting the removal of difficult bike pedals.
Hornit: The world’s loudest bicycle horn at 140 decibels.
Water Offa Duck’s Back: Classically styled cycling macs with ingenious reflective properties.
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Make Our Junctions Safer
Flowers and candles for Ellie Carey, a 22-year old woman killed while cycling on Tower Bridge Road on 2 December 2011. The flowers and candles were left by family and friends on 14 December following a short vigil at the spot where she was killed by a left-turning heavy goods vehicle.
Ellie’s father Allister has led calls for the Mayor of London to step in and reduce the danger to all road users of a junction that has been the subject of safety campaigns by cyclists and pedestrians for at least two years. Politicians and campaigners are pressing the Mayor to take action to reduce road danger at many of London’s busy junctions. In response, the Mayor has promised a safety review of 300 junctions but remains committed to a policy of ‘smoothing traffic flow’ that precludes significant reengineering of layouts to give cyclists protected space on the roads.
2011 has seen 16 cyclists killed on the streets of London.
Campaigning for a Civilised Cycling City
In the studio is Mustafa Arif, Chair of Campaigns at the 11,000 strong London Cycling Campaign. We look back at the weekend’s Tour Du Danger, a bicycle ride around ten of the most hazardous junctions for cyclists in London and hear how politicians Simon Hughes MP and London Mayor Boris Johnson plan to make London a cycling city.
If you can bear it, you can hear the full half hour of Boris Johnson being grilled by the London Assembly on cycle safety.
Joining the London Cycling Campaign costs just £32 (£14 concessions)
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Boris Johnson on the Safety of Cycling in London: Complete Audio
Following a spate of deaths and serious injuries to London cyclists, there is a growing campaign to make London streets safer for cycling and walking. Under questioning from various members of the London Assembly including Caroline Pidgeon and Jenny Jones, it appears the Mayor thinks that things are fine as they are.
This is a complete audio record of Boris Johnson answering questions on cycle safety on 10 November 2011.
Mayor of London: Are London’s Streets Safe for Cyclists? by thebikeshow
Is London Air Killing Us?
Some people say that air pollution in big cities like London is a public health emergency, contributing to 4,300 premature deaths a year. But nobody seems to talk about it. Is the Government doing anything to deal with it? Are cyclists at risk more than other people?
Is the Mayor of London more concerned about avoiding fines from Brussels than cleaning up the air we breathe? And why is Boris trying to glue air pollution to the roads? Jack and Jen discuss the issue with experts Simon Birkett of the Campaign for Clean Air in London and environmental lawyer Alan Andrews of Client Earth.
More data and information including some amazing maps of air pollution in London are available from the London Air Quality Network.
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Compare and contrast
Here’s the Mayor and Transport for London’s plan for the new northern end junction of Blackfriars Bridge:
TfL's existing plan
And here’s the new plan from the London Cycling Campaign:
London Cycling Campaign's new plan
Which do you prefer?
If you think the LCC’s design is so much better, then get on your bike and join hundreds of London cyclists and walkers for a flashride at Blackfriars Bridge, tomorrow, Wednesday 12 October at 5.45pm. Simple as that.