Boris Johnson’s recent near collision with a truck is a powerful reminder, as he himself said, that cycling needs to be made safer in London. The Mayor is planning to put in a Paris-style free bike system. I’m a big fan, but my worry is that in London we won’t study the French lesson closely enough. The Mayor of Paris installed not just free bikes, but also properly separated cycle lanes, either by moving out a line of parking to put the cycle lane between the pavement and the cars, or by getting rid of a line of cars altogether.
Ever since I was elected in 2006 I’ve been arguing for properly separated cycle lanes to allow residents to feel safe on Camden’s roads. Some in the cycling fraternity are against physical separation but I’m not really interested in those who already cycle – I’m interested in the people who would like to cycle but don’t because they feel it’s too dangerous.
I’m particularly interested in making Camden’s roads safe enough for parents and children to cycle to school together. If I were in charge of Camden’s transport policy, I would be working with schools to create a network of separated cycle lanes along the main school commuting routes. A few concerned locals and I tried to propose this for Fitzjohn’s Avenue, the epicentre of the school run, but transport planners kyboshed the idea.
Free bikes, properly separated cycle lanes, lower traffic speeds, more car club spaces, fewer private cars, fewer diesel trucks, more trees and more green spaces – that’s my vision of Camden’s roads. And how about scrapping the bulk of the Swiss Cottage gyratory system and turning it into a park at the same time?
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