Updates

25th July: The Bike Show on last weekend's Dunwich Dynamo
In the latest edition of the Resonance FM Bike Show, Jack Thurston gives a great flavour of last weekend's Dunwich Dynamo, which went from London Fields up to the beach in Suffolk. Listen to the show on the Internet Archive. It was indeed a sublime night.

14th July: Hackney LCC calls for task force to tackle the HGV/cyclist crisis
On 23rd June Lucinda Ferrier was killed by a lorry on Stamford Hill, at the junction with Manor Road. She was the fifth cyclist to die following a collision with a truck in our borough in the past two years. We were stunned by news of this terrible event. Our sympathies go to Lucinda's relatives and friends. Any death on the streets is one too many, but the frequency of these lorry/cyclist collisions is now such that it can fairly be described as a crisis. We are approaching senior figures with a view to setting up a task force which could bring together all of the interested agencies and organisations locally to work together to tackle it.

26th June: Hackney Council backs LCC on motorbikes in bus lanes
Yesterday we brought a deputation to Hackney council requesting it to maintain the current regulations for bus lanes on borough-controlled streets, and to oppose any moves by Transport for London to permit motorbikes to use bus lanes on Hackney streets under its control. Charlie Lloyd spoke convincingly on our behalf and provided well researched answers to councillors' questions. Our deputation was followed by a motion, proposed by Councillor Vincent Stops and approved by a large majority, which confirmed the council's opposition to the use of bus lanes by motorcycles, and instructed officers to bring forward a report setting out the council's options for opposing changes to bus lane regulations. Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors voted as one in favour of the motion, many of them declaring their membership of LCC as an interest in the issue, and speaking from personal experience of cycling. In sympathy with their new London mayor, the Conservatives on the council spoke and voted against the motion, a few with evident relish, it has to be said, and others with less conviction, or so it seemed to us in the public gallery. We await the options report with interest.

20th May: progress on two-way in Paul Street EC2
Those of us who use the quiet streets south of Old Street to get down into the City and beyond will be pleased to hear that there's now some movement on turning the southern section of Paul Street back to two-way working, at least for bikes. A meeting is being called next month to decide on a way forward. Hackney council is taking the lead but, since the street falls on the borough boundary, Islington officers will be taking part as well, along with ourselves and, I hope, comrades in the Islington Cyclists Action Group.

Restoring this northbound permeability will go a long way towards completing the back-street link between Hackney's main north-south London Cycle Network route (LCN+ 10) and Southwark Bridge. (The other major missing link is the Moorfields - London Wall crossing - Basinghall Avenue/Street section down in the City itself).

One of the main challenges is going to be removing vehicle parking completely from one side of Paul Street. This is unlikely to happen without some, shall we say, grumbles. When it comes to the crunch, LCC members should be ready to stiffen the resolve of councillors, who may end up being under quite some pressure to reject the scheme.

28th April: appeal for witnesses
Police are appealing for witnesses and information following the fatal collision on Middleton Rd, at the junction with Kingsland Rd E8: "Police were alerted at 0844 on 21.4.08 to reports of a male cyclist in collision with a tipper lorry. Police officers, London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service attended but the 36-year-old local man was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem and inquest will take place shortly. The CIU at Euston Traffic Garage is investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. Any witnesses or anyone with any information should call the CIU on 020 7388 6806."

21st April: man killed by lorry on Kingsland Road
It is with great regret that we note another killing by a lorry in our borough. Reports are that a man was dragged from his bike under the wheels of a lorry at about 8:50 this morning at the junction of Middleton Road and Kingsland Road. We know no more about what happened as yet. This is one of a sad and, we believe, avoidable series of fatal HGV/bike collisions in our borough and the rest of the capital, including that which killed Ninian Donald a little further down Kingsland Road last year.
Read about LCC's HGV mirrors campaign

18th April: advance notice of enforcement on the A10 Kingsland Road
We have received the following notice of police enforcement against infrigements by cyclists on the Kingsland Road this coming Monday morning:

"On Monday 21st April 2008 in the morning, Queensbridge and De Beauvoir Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be carrying out enforcement action on Kingsland Road (the A10), for any traffic offences. This will include any cyclist who jumps red lights, or cycles on the footway, or any other cycle-related offence." Fixed penalty notices will be issued to offenders, resulting in a £45 fine (£30 if paid within 28 days) and the possibility of arrest and an appearance in court.

Opinions differ on the gravity of the hazard posed by cyclists passing through signals at red -- and indeed about whether there are circumstances in which the practice actually reduces risk. However, enforcement against vehicular footway cycling by able-bodied adults can certainly be worthwhile. The inquest into the death of Ninian Donald on Kingsland Road last year revealed that his decision to mount the footway to avoid queueing vehicles was a contributing factor to his tragic killing by a left-turning HGV. Vehicular cycling on the footway is also rightly a leading cause of complaint by pedestrians, particularly those with restricted mobility, balance problems, visual impairments and the like.

We are asking the safer neighbourhoods teams whether they will consider referring some offenders for a safety lecture and/or cycle training as an alternative in future enforcement events. The City force has done this with some success. Also, given that the safety outcome is paramount, we are suggesting that the police might consider stopping and advising those whom they spot doing stupid but not necessarily illegal things, especially going down the left hand side of HGVs queueing at traffic lights.

We will also be asking the borough commander how cycle-specific enforcement activity fits into the more general traffic policing programme, and whether the resources devoted to enforcing against different types of illegal road user behaviour are being applied in proportion to the hazard posed.

The Kingsland Road is the most popular cycling route in the borough, with some 2000 cycle journeys on it per weekday at the last count. The street is wide, straight and direct, and speeds of motor traffic during peak hours are generally not too bad, with the glaring exception of powered two-wheelers which openly flout the speed limit, not to mention noise regulations -- except for two brief stretches where safety cameras have been installed.

14th April: council backs 20mph for all its streets
In a historic vote at a full council meeting on 9th April, Hackney Council resolved to adopt a plan of action to make 20mph the standard speed limit on all borough roads, and to pressure TfL to consider introducing 20mph limits on those of our streets which are under their control. Many councillors spoke with great personal conviction on the subject during the debate, and we are very grateful that the majority took a courageous decision which promises to make our streets safer and more pleasant in the years to come. We and Hackney Living Streets have issued a joint press release.

7th April: motion to council for default 20mph speed limit
This Wednesday's full session of Hackney council will be debating a motion calling on the executive to establish a plan of action to make 20mph the default speed limit on all of Hackney's borough streets, and to exert its influence on Transport for London to do the same for the streets until its control, starting with our town centres. We resolved to support the motion at our meeting last week, and we are writing to councillors to request that they work together to make a clear and bold statement on Wednesday in favour of 20mph as the default speed limit for our borough.

24th March: minutes of our March meeting
Thanks to Marian Farrugia for writing up the minutes of our March meeting. Topics discussed include the relaunch of Hackney Living Streets; the Olympic walking and cycling route; the Victoria Park masterplan consultation; Stamford Hill Estate bike maintenance events; and Millfields Park.

16th February: presentation on green spaces to Hackney council's scrutiny commission
We were recently invited to give a presentation to Hackney's scrutiny commission, which is currently reviewing the use of green spaces. The presentation went well, and the councillors seemed happy to accept our recommendations, which broadly were in favour of shared use with pedestrian priority. The key points we made are included on our presentation slides (772KB PDF -- opens in full screen)

13th February: good news on Frampton Park estate cycle lockers
Arrangements for installing and allocating the long delayed bike parking lockers are now in place, and they should be up and running for a launch in June during Bike Week. More details

31st January: Wheels and Heels cycle fashion show
Hackney and Tower Hamets councils are collaborating on Wheels & Heels, a Valentine's Day cycle fashion show in Columbia Road. It's going to be an exciting, high-profile event that aims to show that cycling and style are by no means mutually exclusive.

28th January: Burns Night photos
Thanks to everybody who came along to last Saturday's Hackney Cyclists Burns Night fundraiser, and especially to all our volunteers who worked so hard to make it happen. It was a wonderful evening. Hackney LCC member and pro photographer Chas took lots and lots of great photos.