Wednesday 29 April 2009

Two Tings

It's two years since British Waterways launched their safety campaign on their towpaths called Two Tings.
Just recently we've been doing lots of cycle training in Ashford which is a Sustrans Bike It location. To encourage more cycling quite a few miles of cycle paths have been created. Many of these paths are shared spaces with pedestrians. We recommend that our trainees follow the same sort of code as the Two Tings:

Ring with Two Tings 

  • Use a bell, giving Two Tings when approaching pedestrians. Ringing with Two Tings is not an order to pedestrians to get out of your way. 
  • Be aware that some pedestrians may have visual or hearing impairments and might not hear your Two Tings.
Pass people slowly. Give people space 
  • Slow down when approaching pedestrians and only pass when it is safe to do so. Extra care should be taken when passing children, less able people and animals. 
  • Be patient and courteous to pedestrians. Saying “thank you” to pedestrians who move to let you pass will make them more likely to move next time. 
Ride at a sensible speed 
  • The path is never suitable for cycling fast as there are many other users.
Unfortunately, our work has a small sphere of influence. So we still get grumpy glares from pedestrians who don't appreciate that it's a shared space and we see cyclists who are not courteous. 

How do we sort this out? 

How do we create harmony in these shared spaces?

Well my suggestion is that we take the Two Tings campaign and expand it from the towpaths to the entire cycling network:

  • Issue thousands of bells with Two Tings handlebar stickers. 
  • Place Two Tings stickers on posts on paths. 
  • Two Tings banners on school railings. 
  • Two Tings six sheet posters on bus stops. 
  • Adverts in buses. 
  • Local media launches in every town and city with cycle paths

Get the message out there to both pedestrians and cyclists. Then we'll see less pavement rage and less of the us and them culture that divides us in these shared spaces.

Come on Paul and the Department for Transport, CTC, Sustrans and all those local authorities and Highways Agencies - Make It Happen!

Sunday 19 April 2009

Cycling Tip - Road Position

As well as ranting, this blog is about sharing some of CyclingAge's knowledge. 
I know that people are often put off cycling when they hear of tragic accidents. The two deaths in London last week are very sad. Eight people die on our roads everyday - thankfully very few cyclists are killed or injured in road accidents. However, bicycles are the smallest and lightest vehicles on our roads so we must do everything we can to stay safe. 
One of the most important ways of staying safe is to cycle in the right road position. When there is other traffic on the road, cyclists should be cycling a good step (as in footstep) away from the curb. This is known as the secondary position. This means we are not cycling over drain covers or in the debris that collects at the side of the road. It also means we can react to hazards from the pavement too. But most importantly of all, it means we can be seen by other road users and we have a better field of vision. Cycling a step away from the curb also makes other faster road users give us more space as they overtake us. 
On quieter roads and at times when it would be unsafe for vehicles to overtake us, such as on narrow roads or at road narrowings at things like traffic islands, cyclists should cycle in the middle of the lane. This is the primary position.

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Bonkers Boris Explained

I've re-read my "Bonkers Boris" Twitter from earlier and it probably needs explaining as the 140 characters I've used seem pretty odd when strung together.
Boris has apparently written to the Department for Transport to suggest that they run a pilot in London that allows cyclists to turn left at red lights as long as they are careful not to knock over any pedestrians.
Most cyclists have supported the campaign to persuade cyclists to stop running red lights because it's dangerous. Obviously the few who do ignore red lights give cyclists a poor reputation as careless road users. Now I know "the few" appears to be vast numbers in major cities like London, but the ones you see are still only a small percentage of cyclists. So, why does Boris feel the need to blur the lines?
Secondly, one of the most dangerous things a cyclist can do is undertake vehicles, especially lorries. The Met has been running a campaign in London to educate both lorry drivers and cyclists. It's bad enough that highway planners created advanced stop boxes for cyclists at lights to creep along to. Now Boris is encouraging cyclists to undertake queues of waiting vehicles so that they can creep round a corner. 
What cyclists really need on all streets everywhere is less cars and less lorries, lower and enforced speed limits, and a sensible consistent approach to cycling infrastructure. 
Get on with it Boris and stop mucking about!
Is there something about the name Boris? I remember another one who heroically rescued Gorbachev's Perestroika only to sink into alcoholic buffoonery.

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Minister Cycle Training

Had a good cycle training session with Paul Clark and a couple of members from his team.
Paul is the MP for Gillingham as well as the Minister for Sustainable Transport and a very nice chap. 
Spencer (www.cyclecircle.co.uk) and I started the training at The Strand in Gillingham. The weather was a bit windy but bright and sunny. The venue was ideal, on National Cycle Route 1, with loos, a cafe and tennis courts we could hire and use for the Level 1 activities. After some initial nerves everyone progressed well. After a tea break we went out onto the quieter roads in the area to practice the Level 2 disciplines. Again the location was ideal with different sites available to practice the different drills and so many drivers demonstrating their poor road skills. All the trainees including Paul demonstrated the necessary outcomes to reach Level 2. We finished with a press photocall. 
As ever the Level 2 Route included examples of cycle facilities. We enjoyed showing Paul the 15 foot long cycle lane and the sign post containing the signs for National Cycle Route 1 and the instruction "Cyclists Dismount"!
Photos from the session are on Flickr 

Sunday 5 April 2009

Bikeability £10m

The sun is out. The sky is blue. And the government has just announced a grant of £10m to help pay for 200,000 children's Bikeability cycle training.
In Kent it's not clear how this money will be allocated. Hopefully we will hear soon.
Paul Clark the minister who annonced the grant said "I will be doing my own Bikeability training next week and, like the children I've met today, I look forward to hopefully receiving my Bikeability badge." Well, Spencer and I will be training the minister next week and he will get his appropriate Bikeability Level badge according to the outcomes he can demonstrate.