Cycling is good for us
Submitted by john ackers on Sat, 2010-08-14 18:33.In last week's article about cyclists on the canal path, Ms Pathare said cyclists are now dominating the places where people like to walk, including the canal tow path. However, if there were canals going to Finsbury Park and Archway, they too would be full of commuting cyclists. Let's step back and consider why this is.
Cycling in Islington and other inner London boroughs is booming; there are many more cyclists everywhere. If London catches up with Amsterdam (40% of all trips are made by bike, [video]), cyclists will completely outnumber cars on Islington's streets.
However the big problem for cyclists is finding safe routes. The canal is a safe haven for cyclists; you might end up in the canal but that's preferable to slamming into an opening car door or being tipped off your bike by a large vehicle.
The sustainable and healthy solution is not to discourage cycling along the canal but to provide quicker and equally safe routes along the streets. People that don't cycle at all, say that they want segregated cycle routes but most of Islington's streets aren't wide enough or Transport For London won't give up the space for fear of aggravating congestion.
Cyclists could be directed to streets that aren't stuffed full with residents' parking and that have rigorously enforced 20MPH speed limits. Failing that, simply close some roads to through motorised traffic; cyclists will go out of their way to use them, literally.
John