In a drive to get more members to vote on its four campaign options for the next mayoral elections, which I discussed previously in this post, London Cycling Campaign (actually Gerhard) has produced a video in which various people try to "sell" the different options. The poll actually ends on Monday, so any members who have not yet voted, you should do so now. The video features "Yours Truly" promoting the option entitled Go Dutch. This is the second of the segments, after the CEO has had his say. I must say I would not have used that music. Enjoy, as they say, but don't have the volume on full.
According to the EU publication Cycling: the way ahead for towns and cities (p.56-58), we need to be 'thinking in terms of a network'. The first of the campaign options is a target, an ambition. The last two are micro-measures, aimed at improving specific situations.
ReplyDeleteWhat we require, as you rightly say, is a strategic network of routes. That's the first step, I would argue, but you want to go further, for you then go on to say that the infrastructure on this network needs to be of a high quality, such that it is good enough to encourage a large proportion of the population to cycle (like the LCN+, do you mean?), and that this is 'the first step'.
If we are going to emulate the Dutch and the Danes, as I think you and I are agreed we should, then we need to recognise that they have a 30-40 year head-start on us. What they did at the beginning was establish the network to a minimum level of functioning, and then, from that solid base, they took steps to improve the quality of the infrastructure.
In the table on page 56, it says that major installations need to be introduced prudently, based on a plan for an interconnected network. For this reason, I would say, options 3 and 4 are quite weak. Certainly they are both good ideas, and certainly I would like to see them both implemented in the course of time, but there is a more 'prudent' approach available to us now.
Getting a comprehensive, city-wide cycle network to function, albeit at a minimum level to begin with, is something that can be achieved within a relatively modest timescale. Once the network has been established, then we can look to build on that. But get the network up and running! That's the first step. All of the other proposals that we have been asked to vote on are steps two, three, four and five.
'Ambition is a very pretty thing, but sir, we need to be able to walk before we can run.'
I could not agree more with all you say, cyclerdelic.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you won.
ReplyDeletehttp://lcc.org.uk/articles/london-cycling-campaign-members-say-going-dutch-will-lead-our-2012-mayoral-election