irishboyinlondon

Progress!

Jeremy Clarkson, the Top Gear presenter and one of Britain’s most outspoken motorists, has come out in praise of cycling, hailing Copenhagen’s cycling culture as “fan-bleeding-tastic” and comparing it to the streets of London where a state of “undeclared war” exists between cars and bicycles…

…“In Copenhagen, [cycling] is just a pleasant way to get about. Nobody wears a helmet. Nobody wears high-visibility clothing. You just wear what you need to be wearing at your destination.”

He adds: “The upshot is a city that works. It’s pleasing to look at. It’s astonishingly quiet. It’s safe. And no one wastes half their life looking for a parking space. I’d live there in a heartbeat.”

Conversely, Clarkson describes cycling in Britain as a “political statement”, where cyclists need to wear cameras on their helmets to document the motorists who “carve them up”.

In Copenhagen, he explains, most journeys are made by bicycle:

“Now I know that sounds like the ninth circle of hell, but that’s because you live in Britain, where cars and bikes share the road space. This cannot and does not work. It’s like putting a dog and a cat in a cage and expecting them to get along. They won’t, and as a result London is currently hosting an undeclared war. I am constantly irritated by cyclists and I’m sure they’re constantly irritated by me.

“City fathers have to choose. Cars or bicycles. And in Copenhagen they’ve gone for the bike.”

Article by Mary Dejevesky in the Independent today about cycling in London. 

Given the enthusiasm with which London and its visitors have embraced “Boris bikes” and the recent efforts to signpost cycle routes, you would have thought that just a bit more thought (and cash) could have been earmarked for kerbing off cycle lanes, as in most Continental cities. This might entail expensive reapportioning of pavement and road space – but this is already being done in some of the most central areas, without any more space allocated to cyclists.

This is a missed opportunity, and it blights what should be an enjoyable experience. A letter-writer to The Independent last year observed that London cyclists seemed to be waging an angry crusade, compared with their more relaxed peers elsewhere. I agree. But as long as so many city cycle routes remain a hostile environment, our cyclists – or so they might argue – must stay angry to survive.

The key to achieving high levels of cycling appears to be the provision of separate cycling facilities along heavily travelled roads and at intersections, combined with traffic calming of most residential neighbourhoods. Extensive cycling rights of way in the Netherlands,Denmark and Germany are complemented by ample bike parking, full integration with public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both cyclists and motorists, and a wide range of promotional events intended to generate enthusiasm and wide public support for cycling. In addition to their many pro-bike policies and programmes, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany make driving expensive as well as inconvenient in central cities through a host of taxes and restrictions on car ownership, use and parking. Moreover, strict land-use policies foster compact, mixed-use developments that generate shorter and thus more bikeable trips. It is the coordinated implementation of this multifaceted, mutually reinforcing set of policies that best explains the success of these three countries in promoting cycling.