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Comments

mike cavenett

LCC is not trying to change cyclist behaviour, rather it's politicians and the police that we're targeting.

There are some really easy 'wins' with theft in London: such as tackling the markets and the websites that blatantly sell stolen goods - something that shouldn't be tolerated in any civilised city, and cause untold anger and frustration.

Yes, London needs infrastructure too (indeed, the very next LCC campaign will focus on parking), but right now London's cyclists need to see theft prioritised by police and politicians. Until that happens, no-one will see any point to having the secure parking of which you speak.

Holland halved its theft problem over a decade with a high-profile, concerted, nationwide effort based around pro-active policing - London and the UK need the same.

You do LCC a disservice to claim we're tired brainstormers - we're cyclists who suffer the same frustrations as you, and infrastructure is as high on our priorities as anything else.

Mike Cavenett
London Cycling Campaign

ma499

Comparisons with Holland need to be put in context. Average journeys (especially commutes) in London are far longer than in the Netherlands. Out in the suburbs we also have some hills. Consequently the sort of heavy, low performance bikes ridden by most Dutch riders are not conducive to most daily commuters in London.

MarkA

@ma499 Your argument is flawed I'm afriad, I'll think you'll find the average commute by bike in Holland is comparable with that of the UK, only there are a lot more people doing it. And, believe it or not there are plenty of big hills in some parts of Holland (unlike London which is flat as a pancake!), and where cycle modal share is still up there in the double figures (instead of 8% at it's highest level in London (Hackney) David Hembrow, on his excellent blog 'A View from the Cycle Path' pretty much shoots down every myth about Dutch model cycling and shows how it can be adopted here in the UK - I recommend it!

Regarding the LCC's latest campaign, whilst I DO think a focus on bike theft is a good thing, I agree that I would like to see more overt and detailed campaigning about PROPER cycle infrastructure as their primary concern, with things like thievery and behavioural changes as secondary campaigns. A good post, Mark, thanks for sharing.

Dan Sturges

I'm not sure you friends of mine in the UK have gotten to the root of the problem. And That I would sum up as needing to go from a "CND" country to a "CNO" one, and that is where you will find lots and lots of money -- which will provide the infrastructure and then some.

"Car Not Driven" and "Car Not Owned". Do you know the difference? Here in the States, a CND person pays $8,000 each year on average for each car, and there are very few dollars for additional infrastructure (or programs) for supplemental mobility systems. To get in gear and focus on how you can take, let's say 20% of the car owners in the UK and CONVERT them to CNO people, you will see substantial amounts of money stay in the consumizen's pockets and that money can flow into many needed new areas - as well as not flow at all out of one's pocket. (Oh yeah, a "Consumizen" is both a "Consumer" and a "Citizen" and both these people pay for transportation, and most often are one in the same person).

We are in the age of the mobile web, and there is absolutely no need for car ownership levels to remain where they area. Great intra-London mobility can be done. Your public transit system is great, you have micro-rental (carshare) vehicle popping up all over (in fact nearly doubled in past year), there are new modes of light and local vehicles (ultras small e-vehicles) commercially available that could be promoted, and iPhones to hitchhike (where you pick up Facebook friends and not stranger). All of these light and tiny powered modes are easier for "car drivers" than asking everyone to "push" their way to work. All together we (or UK) has the making of an amazing intelligent multi-mobility system that could redirect billions of pounds to the things that make sense.

Dan Sturges
Follow yourself: DNAsturges

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