Bike blog | The Guardian – Tagged "Local politics"

Conservatives, Cycling, Local elections, Local politics, London, Mayoral elections, Politics, Transport, Transport policy - July 20, 2023

London’s Tory mayoral candidate is pedalling backwards on cycling policy

Susan Hall’s stance on active travel reflects a view within her party that contrasts with that of other major European cities

Among the political strands exposed by the Conservatives’ decision to pick Susan Hall to stand for London mayor – not least the apparent unlikeliness that she can win – is one that might seem niche but is in fact arguably very telling: what it says about active travel.

Anyone who has observed Hall in her six years as a London assembly member, and especially her energetic and often outspoken Twitter feed, will have realised that she is very much not a fan of cycle lanes, cycling, or indeed of cyclists themselves.

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Cycling schemes popular with London voters, finds analysis

Are measures to make streets safe for walking and cycling unpopular? Are they vote-losers? Have we failed to take communities with us – and will we, as local politicians, pay the price?

As a former Labour leader of Ealing council in west London, I was at the heart of this debate. The low-traffic neighbourhood schemes we installed in my borough, using cameras to stop rat-running in more than a hundred streets, caused a row noisy even by the standards of cycling scheme rows. Demonstrators marched to the council offices with “Julian Bell – end this hell” placards. The “Bell” and the “end” were placed together to make a further well-loved phrase.

This footnote was added on 3 June 2021 to give Ealing council’s response on the status of its nine low-traffic neighbourhoods: The West Ealing South scheme (LTN 21), it said, was ended early because roadworks in neighbouring Hounslow would have made it unworkable for residents; there are no plans to remove the remaining eight before the end of the trial period. At that point “we will be offering a consultation on each LTN, keeping schemes that work and are supported, and removing those that do not”. It was further amended on 8 July 2021 to add attribution to a caption assertion that oil had been poured on the road to create danger for cyclists.

Julian Bell is councillor for Greenford Broadway ward, and was leader of Ealing council for 11 years.

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The London election proves that measures to make streets safer are a vote-winner, says a former Labour leader of Ealing council

Cycling schemes popular with London voters, finds analysis

Are measures to make streets safe for walking and cycling unpopular? Are they vote-losers? Have we failed to take communities with us – and will we, as local politicians, pay the price?

As a former Labour leader of Ealing council in west London, I was at the heart of this debate. The low-traffic neighbourhood schemes we installed in my borough, using cameras to stop rat-running in more than a hundred streets, caused a row noisy even by the standards of cycling scheme rows. Demonstrators marched to the council offices with “Julian Bell – end this hell” placards. The “Bell” and the “end” were placed together to make a further well-loved phrase.

Julian Bell is councillor for Greenford Broadway ward, and was leader of Ealing council for 11 years

Road closed or open? The signs revamping low-traffic neighbourhoods

Fearing red signs sent the wrong message, one resident created an alternative – and councils are taking note

An alternative road sign is being adopted by communities around England to promote the benefits of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTN).

Finding that the official signs on the temporary barriers installed in her own LTN in Brixton, London, conveyed the wrong message, Sarah Berry and other local residentsdesigned a green sign reading “road open to” with icons showing pedestrians, a scooter user, a wheelchair user and a bicycle.

Road closed or open? The signs revamping low-traffic neighbourhoods

Fearing red signs sent the wrong message, one resident created an alternative – and councils are taking note

An alternative road sign is being adopted by communities around England to promote the benefits of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTN).

Finding that the official signs on the temporary barriers installed in her own LTN in Brixton, London, conveyed the wrong message, Sarah Berry and other local residentsdesigned a green sign reading “road open to” with icons showing pedestrians, a scooter user, a wheelchair user and a bicycle.

I never imagined when I whipped this together on illustrator a month or so ago that soon Councils would be installing them as official road signs. https://t.co/QPG9n4675R

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Local politics RSS

London’s Tory mayoral candidate is pedalling backwards on cycling policy

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

The evidence is in: low-traffic neighbourhoods are popular

Road closed or open? The signs revamping low-traffic neighbourhoods

Road closed or open? The signs revamping low-traffic neighbourhoods

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