A London motorist 'gets it'

As I whizzed along with the buses towards Lambeth Bridge this morning I passed this car with an appropriate number plate sitting in the one-person-per-vehicle jam.

Eulogies for Brian Haw

This afternoon, taking some pupils through Leake Street, we stumbled upon this ephemeral tribute to Brian Haw, the peace campaigner who spent the past decade in Parliament Square, t'other side of Westminster Bridge.

The 'War on the Motorists' blogspot believes he also merits out thanks for making Parliament Square a place again. Take a moment to read their post .

Enjoy the Jubilee Greenway

I couldn't resist taking a quick snap of the Jubilee Greenway in Lambeth this afternoon, and by coincidence this very evening Crap Cycling and Walking in Waltham Forest posted, in a downbeat kind of way, about the Jubilee Greenway, the feature of an upbeat Evening Standard article today.

This is the official Jubilee Greenway cycle route from Tate Modern to Westminster Bridge (note it includes the Blackfriars Bridge approach which TfL want to make 30mph):

Just after the Tate Modern cyclists follow a different route to the end of this section as the path alongside the river is closed to cyclists. Turn left onto Hopton Street after the Tate Modern and then right onto Southwark Street. Turn right onto Blackfriars Road , heading North towards Blackfriars Bridge, but turn left into Upper Ground just before you cross the bridge.
Pass the National Theatre on the right and head under Waterloo Bridge continuing along Belvedere Road. With the London Eye directly to the right, turn left onto Chicheley Street. At the end, turn right onto York Road. To reach the official end point of this section, follow the road around and turn right towards Westminster Bridge where this section ends. Alternatively, to continue onto section 9, continue ahead onto Lambeth Palace Road towards Lambeth Bridge.

This is my photo of the York Road part today. What a delightful Greenway.

Locals, Demand road charging for Vauxhall

The London Assembly Transport Committee has published a report, The Future of Road Congestion in London. The Conservatives dissented from the majority view on Road User Charging, saying (appendix 2),
There is no occasion when a large London-wide road user charging scheme should be introduced. Any introduction of a road user charging system should be limited to small, local schemes which have the support of local people.

A hands-up survey at the recent Lambeth Community Forum concerning the Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea Opportunity Area showed massive support for making Vauxhall a more pleasant place for people to live. Local residents want the volume of motor traffic to be reduced and the Vauxhall Gyratory and its sprawl of motorway-style lanes tamed.

Instead they want Vauxhall to be a place where it is enjoyable to stroll and ride, with outdoor cafes in fresh air and streets returned to two-way working. Transport for London consider this achievable by cutting a third of the existing traffic.

So, a wonderful opportunity exists for the Conservative Mayor of London to have a local vote on a small, local scheme: to charge motorists choosing to use the Vauxhall Gyratory a sum sufficient to deter a third of them, with the income contributing to the replacement of the gyratory with a more liveable streetscape.

It'll meet the 'localism' agenda of the government, endorsed by the Conservative Assembly Members within London, while meeting the desire to remove the gyratory expressed by Lambeth Council, local Assembly Members and the locals.

Win-Win! Who arranges the vote?

Archbishop's Park cycling events - Sunday 26th June

Archbishop's Park, by Lambeth Palace, is one of the four hubs for this year's 'Bike the Borough' event put on by Lambeth Council.

The main aspect, as you'd expect from the title, is a great route to ride to see much of the borough, including parts and parks that you may never have been to before. There are led rides from each of the hubs on the hour from 10am.

In addition there are a range of activities in each hub. At Archbishop's Park the following is on offer:


Rollapaluza Static Bike Racing12-4pm
Battle it out against your friend on a pair of vintage rollers connected to a huge dial over a simulated 500m distance at speeds in excess of 50mph!
Let's sketch Sustainability 11-3pm
An interactive sketching workshop with Pam Williams; open to everyone

Fur Fang Fairy face painter; all day

Dr Bike 10am-1pm - free bike checks

Met Police Cycle Taskforce - Free Security Marking 10am-1pm

Secret Lambeth Walk to Clapham Common leaving at 12pm; meet at information point

Bike Week 2011 in Lambeth: full programme of events

I have added a link in my cycling blogs list to the shiny new Lambeth Cyclists blog/website - well worth a look, in particular for details of this week's Bike Week events.

Aspects particular to the Kennington area include:

Sunday 18th: Incredible Edible Lambeth ride, starting at 1pm at Myatts Fields Park, will include visits to some great food growing projects in Kennington.

Wednesday 22 :7:30pm South London Bike Film Club film night
Come and watch fascinating cycling related film Beijing Bicycle, about a seventeen year old country boy working in Beijing who gets his bike stolen
7:30pm upstairs in the Ruby Lounge, Vauxhall Griffin pub, 8 Wyvil Road, SW8 please email slbafc@gmail.com to confirm attendance

and, the big event: Sunday 26 June all day Bike the Borough (http://www.biketheborough.co.uk/), which features a load of activity in Archbishop's Park that I'll blog about separately.

A way forward for the future?

If you didn't catch Andrew Marr's Megacities programme last night on sustaining the city, which gives you all the reasons you could wish to have to increase cycling and decrease mindless consumption, please make the time to watch it on BBC iplayer and encourage others to do likewise
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b011w7xm/Andrew_Marrs_Megacities_Sustaining_the_City/