Cyclists versus the world

The fear of getting hit by speeding motorists is stopping us from getting on our bikes, says a new survey by Brake, a charity which supports victims of road accidents.

In a survey last month, respondents said they would be more likely to cycle, if cyclists were given priority on the roads to reduce the risk of collisions with motor vehicles.


The survey by Brake of 800 adults which revealed that:

• 71% of respondents never cycle on roads and more than half (59%) never cycle at all.
• However, 34% of people who don't currently cycle would cycle between home and local amenities if there were cycle paths and trails connecting them.
• This means that with investment in safe cycling facilities, an additional of 20% of adults could be persuaded to get on their bikes to improve their health and reduce carbon emissions and congestion, improving the likelihood of children cycling more too.

The benefits to cycling are numerous. In a country with an increasing obesity rate, cycling is a great form of exercise. In a climate of financial crisis, cycling is cheap. There are no fuel costs, no need to wait for buses in the rain or sweat it out on the underground. And it is great for the environment.

Grant Shapps, the Local Government minister, announced in May that he is calling for the removal of restrictive cycling by-laws which endanger pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike.


He said: “There have been some crazy by-laws in place from the year dot stopping cycling from taking place. This should enable local people to scrap laws stopping people from getting on their bikes.


“Everyone is interested in looking after themselves and their health, as well as the environment, and cycling succeeds on both of those fronts.”


At the end of last year, the Localism Bill was introduced to Parliament in order to shift power from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and councils and therefore would not need permission from Whitehall to implement new laws.


The Localism Bill:

This Bill will shift power from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and council.

It includes a number of important packages:

• decentralisation and strengthening local democracy
• Non-Domestic Rates
• community empowerment
• a radical re-boot of the planning system including neighbourhood planning
• changes to social housing policies
• devolving powers to the Mayor and London Boroughs

Mr Shapps said: “Amazingly at the moment it needs a minister to sign off scrapping a bylaw, I think we can trust the locals.”

There have been many reports in the news of cyclists that have been killed by collisions with cars. Recently, Christine Fager, 69, was killed instantly on a busy road in Scarisbrick on a dangerous stretch of road.

Julie Townsend, campaigns director of Brake, said: “We need more traffic-free and segregated cycle paths, especially on commuter routes and connecting homes with local facilities, and widespread 20mph limits in communities.”

The other side of the argument is the denouncement of cyclists in the press. “Lycra louts” is generally the preferred term to describe unruly cyclists jumping red lights or cycling on pavements.

The Pedestrian’s Association are delighted with the new fines for cyclists, who ride on public footpaths, especially as one of the key targets are cycle couriers, who get from A to B the quickest way then can, whether it be pavement, road, or busy shopping precincts.

In March, Conservative MP, Andrea Leadsom introduced a 10-minute Rule Bill, called Dangerous and Reckless Cycling (Offences).

Mrs. Leadsom said “At the moment, the punishment for cyclists falls far short of the crime, and I believe we need to update the law so that all road users are equally protected and take equal responsibility for their actions.”

The UK’s National Cycling Organisation – CTC, feels that the bill is unnecessary because fatal collisions involving cyclists are rare compared with deaths involving motor vehicles. During 2009, no pedestrians were killed by cyclists but 426 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles.

Jason Howard

The bill is in response to the killing of teenager Rhiannon Bennett in 2008, by cyclist Jason Howard, 36, of Buckingham, convicted of dangerous cycling in the town. The family were outraged that Howard was only fined £2,200.

Mr Bennett, 52, a roofer from Finmere in Buckinghamshire, said: “If anything positive can come out of this awful situation, it would be a change in the law.

“This man has ruined our lives. He headed straight at our beautiful daughter and she stood no chance. He cut her down in the prime of her life and all he gets is a fine. We will still have the agony of watching him cycle around town on that flash bike of his.

“He should have got an eight to ten year prison sentence.”

But, a CPS spokesperson said: "It was decided that the charge of dangerous cycling was the appropriate charge and there was insufficient evidence for more serious charges, such as manslaughter, to be pursued."

Stop At Red is a campaign to improve the status of cycling in the eyes of the public and policy makers alike and to tackle the attitudes of those cyclists whose behaviour perpetuates the image of cyclists as a low-status social ‘out group’ on wheels.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has introduced a great many schemes to get the population on their bikes. He says: "No form of transport is 100 per cent safe but cycling is safer than most and we are doing all we can in London to make it even safer and ever more enjoyable."

Two out of the 12 superhighways leading from greater London into central London have been built so far, to make cycling into the city safer by separating cyclists from motorists. There are no obvious barriers as such, but the path is blue with signs showing when the route finishes and estimated journey times.

Hiring bikes is much easier now with bike racks in obvious areas – outside hospitals and tube stations, on the high street and near supermarkets.

Even employers are getting in on the act with the Cycle To Work Scheme. Cyclists can buy tax free bikes, with the payments being deducted from their gross monthly salary.

Local authorities which have already taken the step to give cyclists more rights include:

• Canterbury: cyclists are allowed on to the promenade around Herne Bay as part of the National Cycle Network
• Worthing: the council has opened the promenade to cyclists
• Harrogate: cyclists can use designated routes across the Stray, open land in the town centre, following changes to by-laws that came into effect earlier

At present, it appears that the separation of cyclists from pedestrians and motorists is imperative for road harmony.

With the number of cyclists on our roads growing in number, there remains a great deal more to be done to improve cycling conditions, making it not only safer for cyclists, but also pedestrians and motorists alike.

Cycling case studies:

Gavin Davis, 25-year-old, from London

How often do you use your bike? Daily

Do you wear a helmet? Yes

“Recently, in South London, there was a queue of traffic at a red light where cyclists can filter through. A car pulled out of a side street and without looking (I was watching him to see where he was going) he drove right through.

“He then stopped, wound down the window, when I thought he was going to apologise and check if I was ok. Instead he shouted “f*ck you!” and drove off.

“My advice is to avoid hotspots like roundabouts and take safer cycle routes where available.”

George Mitton, 26-year-old journalist

Bike: Apollo racing bike

How often do you use it? Daily

Do you wear a helmet? Yes

“I suffered an accident where it was the motorist's fault, but he redeemed himself by stopping, giving me a lift home (with my damaged bike in the boot) and paying me £80 for repairs. 

Scratched and bruised but nothing broken. Both he and his girlfriend, who was in the front seat, were very shaken up.

“It happened as I left Highbury Corner, going up St Paul's Road (London). The traffic was moving slowly and I was overtaking the traffic on the inside when the car turned left into Corsica Street, without signalling.

“The bike needed a new wheel but was all right otherwise. The driver was genuinely apologetic and at the end we shook hands and I said it was a shame we had to meet under those circumstances.

“The accident was a timely reminder to be more careful. Because I was commuting on that route I was very used to it and that probably made me more reckless - I should have slowed down more before overtaking the slow moving traffic. 

“But it didn't put me off cycling. I still think it's a great way to get around: much better to be in the open air getting some exercise than crammed in a sweaty tube carriage.

“My advice for novice cyclists would be: take time to build up your confidence. Get practice riding on quieter roads where you feel more comfortable. If you want to cycle to work, plan your route in advance and leave plenty of time so you're not in a rush. For most people (me included) this confidence doesn't come naturally so you've got to build it up. You've just got to make yourself seen, so wearing high-vis clothing is a good idea, especially if you're a novice.”

Restoring London's lost orchards

There was a time when London and its suburbs were crammed with orchards providing fresh fruit for the population

Thanks to a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The London Orchard Project has a two year plan to restore some of the surviving trees and sites to produce fruit for the future.


For the full story, go to:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/restoring-londons-lost-orchards-2282970.html

Multiculturism...

Following David Cameron’s speech in Munich, the BBC asks, what does multiculturism mean? It offered a few definitions:

• People of different communities living alongside each other or ethnic or religious groups leading completely separate lives.
• The policy or process whereby the distinctive identities of the cultural groups within such a society are maintained or supported
• Putting people into ethnic boxes; multiculturalism is a fusion in which a culture borrows bits of others and creatively transforms both itself and them

But this is all a little too ambiguous for my liking...

I’ve set out below some of my ideas of the meanings of multiculturalism:

Firstly, I believe it's Whitehall's fault for encouraging segregation and not just within the "Muslim" community... 

There are so many policies that encourage segregation and racial discrimination - policies implemented by the government including faith schools and positive discrimination. Although this was created in order to create a “multicultural” environment, white counterparts could be forgiven for feeling like they were not being chosen for places because people from ethnic minorities were favoured above them – even if they held better qualification and experience.

Perhaps if local MPs didn't just appeal to specific communities and instead spoke to every member of their constituency, then the form of multiculturism that Cameron's harping on about wouldn't be perpetuated to the extent it is... For example, although Tower Hamlets is only made up of around 30% of people of Bangladeshi origin, it was them that the majority of MPs concentrated on.

Secondly; segregation has existed for-absolutely-ever. This country has welcomed immigration for hundreds and hundreds of years... It seems now that us "coloured" folk have come in, apparently taking "their" jobs that there is a "problem”.

Maybe Mr Cameron should leave Whitehall occasionally and visit these “segregated” areas. I will admit that people stay within their own communities when they first get to the UK – it’s natural to feel more comfortable amongst your own people rather than strangers. Once they’ve made themselves at home, give it until the second or perhaps the third generation and people DO start integrating. 

And thirdly, upbringing: “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua has created a great deal of controversy over the last few months. But people from ethnic minorities that have succeeded have done so because of the hard work of their parents – be it, saving money to send them to a better school or putting homework above having a social life. These parents want to give their children what they never had growing up, especially as most immigrants come from poor backgrounds. 

An education provides a better income and therefore a better way of life (well, it did in MY day! Who knows what’ll happen to the graduates of today). It’s money that gets them out of the “ghettos” – not people of the same ethnicity.

Where I grew up in Birmingham - when we first moved there, it was mostly Irish people, and then came the South Asians – a mix of Bengalis, Pakistanis and Indians. Now it's Eastern Europeans and Somalians... 

The Asians have moved out to more well-off areas of Birmingham such as Mosely, Sutton Coldfiend and Solihull.

Visit north London where in areas such as Stoke Newington there is a vast number of Hasidic Jews, all complete with skull caps and below-the-knee pleated skirts. If Cameron thinks that it’s just Muslims who oppress women, he should consider the Jewish community as well: women are expected to separate from their partners during their menstrual periods and the men give thanks to God for not making them a woman.

I think Cameron needs go back to the drawing board on this issue and pick his words a little more carefully.

He is scapegoating people and in doing so, making them less likely to want to “integrate” than they already feel. The reason, I think, why he's picking on Asian and Black communities is because we stand out more - it's physically easier to see the difference between an Asian person and a white person than a white Irish person or white English person...

I personally don’t believe I fit into a stereotype: I am as happy to stay at home and cook my friends a curry as I am sat in the pub on a summer’s afternoon. 

Amongst my peers, we have always joked about the similarities between Irish and Asian people: their love of food and family being the main ones! Every culture has things in common and it is those that should be promoted rather than the differences highlighted. If you feel you have something in common with your neighbour would you not be more likely to offer them a cuppa than someone you didn’t know?

David Cameron may be trying to turn multiculturalism into a dirty word, but unless he opens his eyes and talks to the British people one to one, he will not understand the basic facet of our cultural identity: empathy. This country has been a haven to immigrants from all over the world – during times of wealth and depression; war and peace. 

 

Integration should not be about assimilation. 

At our fingertips lies a doorway into the many cultures of our world – we should embrace the good bits, discard the bad bits and come up with a whole new identity: one that is rich, full of life, and the best of British.

It looks like it’s going to be an interesting four years…