Dear Readers, we cyclists are so awkward. We pay no road tax, neither do we contribute fuel duty. We can go where we like, when we like, wearing as much Lycra as we like (subject to the indecent exposure laws). And yet local authorities are obliged to pretend to like us, because we are "green" - emitting no more CO2 than a non-cyclist after tackling a flight of stairs.
But they don't really like us. We are awkward and independent. So they pay lip-service while giving us dangerous facilities and ridiculous cycle lanes. I commend to you this article from Rosamundi. And the rest of the blog. And suggest you take a trip through the centre of Leicester and up the Melton Road to Thurmaston, as I did in the spring, to see how not to do things.
I should say that I would not accuse the individual people who work or even run Transport for London of hating cyclists. Given the job that they do, many probably cycle themselves. They will be committed to making travel more efficient and safer. They will care deeply about cyclists. But a big organisation chases targets and big projects and sometimes they don't listen too well to those they're supposed to be there for. I would make a simple suggestion to TfL and every other authority responsible for cycling and its facilitation. Anybody who commissions a cycle lane should be forced to ride it in the rush hour, every day for a month. And anybody in any transort authority should be made to cycle around their city for a day with Dave Warnock, while he points out their shortcomings. I'm sure the world would be a safer place for those on two wheels, and a slower one for those on four.
Look after cyclists - they are looking after the world better than you are. Unless you are a cyclist. In which case, well done.
Excuse me, I do pay road tax, I just don’t pay Vehicle Excise Duty. Roads are paid for out of general taxation and there hasn’t been a thing called “road tax” since the 1930s.
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