If you’ve ever stood, ridden or driven through Euston Circus you’ll know it is a nightmare. An area infested with fumes, ear piercing screeches of buses coming to a halt and sirens every 20 seconds. This is a part of London that you can’t wait to get away from as soon as possible. Yet, in one of the worst examples of urban planning, lies the greatest potential for improvement. In amongst this chaos also exists one of my favourite cycling facilities in London that I use on an almost daily basis.

TfL’s 11m makeover plans for Euston Circus

TfL today announced their 11m makeover plan that they are currently accepting public consultation on.

In their press release they recognise that this is “a traffic dominated area which acts as a significant barrier for pedestrians and cyclists.”

The new design has been a collaboration between TfL, Camden Council, Design for London and British Land. It aims to make things a lot easier for pedestrians with fewer crossings and more pavement space.

TfL also state that it provides a safer journey for cyclists with plans to enhance the contraflow (against traffic) cycle lane along the Euston Road.

Camden Cyclists plans for Euston Circus

Whilst the design upgrades look set to improve things for pedestrians with wider pavements, trees and easier crossings, the improvements for cyclists appear severely limited.

Here’s an example of a typical ride currently using the contraflow lane:

The video shows how there is plenty of room from improvement through re-allocation of under used space. However, I see little in the plans that would serve cyclists better.

Instead, cyclists will now have to take a less direct route and will continue to face many of the difficulties shown in the video above.

The main point of contention, is that once again, cyclists are having to mix with heavy moving traffic. Whilst it is something that experienced cyclists are able to grin and bear, new cyclists will continue to be put off switching to a more effective mode of transport.

However, there is an alternative. The below is the proposal by Camden Cyclists:

The proposals make it far easier for cyclists to travel from Camden and the Euston Road down towards central London through a contraflow cycle lane. The space does exist to make this happen. This is a facility I would personally use on an almost daily basis.

They also call for phased traffic signals, similar to the ones that will be installed at Bow Roundabout. This would give cyclists time to move across multiple lanes of traffic without having to battle for road space. The plans do not compromise on the amount of road space available for vehicular traffic.

If the original TfL plans go ahead unchanged, then it is unlikely they’ll be any further major improvements for another 10 years.

Information on the public consultation can be found here.

The big news reverberating today around the London cycling blogosphere and reaching the mouths of cyclists sipping their morning cup of Joe in Look Mum No Hands, is about the planned changes to Bow Roundabout.

Nothing if finalised yet. However, it looks as though we will soon be seeing the first ever phased traffic lights in the UK. Cyclists will be given a separate set of lights, 12 metres ahead of general traffic. The lights will go green for cyclists first, giving them enough time to safely navigate and clear Bow Roundabout without fearing fast moving left turning traffic.

These changes will likely be seen in time for the Olympics. Visitors attending the games will be able to marvel at how forward thinking we are with our cycling infrastructure. “Them Brits really know what they’re doing over there on the other side of the pond!”

Over 500 junctions up for review

Unfortunately, it has taken a number of tragic deaths and protests before the Mayor ordered an urgent review of the most dangerous junctions in London. With over 500 junctions in the queue, Bow was pushed up the line to first position. The priority of getting this right is high enough that TfL will likely be breaking their rule of no new major road works in the run up to the Olympics.

The other major change is to the Bow flyover. According to the press release 60% of cyclists choose to use the flyover to navigate across from Bow road to Stratford High Street. A new compulsory lane just for cyclists would improve safety.

Is this a sign of bigger things to come?

The changes will have cycle campaigners wondering whether it’s time to pop open the champagne and celebrate better things to come or whether they are counting their chickens too early.

According to a phone interview with Ben Plowden, the Director of Better Routes and Places at TfL, it absolutely" and unequivocally is. The priority will be to review the junctions that are the largest in scale and public interest.

As you read this you’ll be thinking: Kings Cross. The scene of many of the recent protests.

(See also: Pictures from the Christmas Vigil held by cyclists at Kings Cross)

This was the next question I put to Ben Plowden. The original improvement works that have been planned for a while at Kings Cross, will still be going ahead. These plans have been criticised by campaign groups of not doing anywhere near enough to protect cyclists.

However, and this is where things get confusing, TfL will still be including Kings Cross junction in their wider review program. It seems counterproductive to go ahead with changes that have been planned for a while, with a view to changing them down the line.

To that Mr Plowden added that the original changes needs to be done in time for the Olympic games, due to the huge increases in pedestrian traffic in the area.

Big changes are coming, but after the Olympic games

It’s likely therefore, any further big changes such as the ones seen at Bow Roundabout, will only bring safety to cyclists after the Olympics. The job of campaign groups will be to keep the pressure on TfL and the Mayor, to press ahead with any recommendations that come out of the review of all the junctions.

The positive change, is that it finally seems the TfL wheels have begun spinning in a good direction for cyclists. Whilst 2012 won’t be the year we stop opening the newspaper to stories of cyclists hit by vehicles, the Bow Roundabout should stand as an example of what can be achieved when the Mayor acts on people’s concerns.

See also:

• Kings Cross Christmas Vigil for cyclists who lost their lives in 2011
• Blackfriars Bridge protest

On Wednesday 21st of December TfL delivered an early Christmas gift to motorbike riders announcing that they’ll now be allowed permanent access to all bus lanes on TfL’s network.

The reason was quoted as the infamous: “Smoothing traffic flow” which as we’ve discovered recently, trumps all other transportation policies such as sustainability and safety.

According to TfL:

As part of the second trial, TfL increased enforcement of bus lanes on the TLRN through daily patrols by the Metropolitan Police Motorcycle Tasking Team. In line with this increased enforcement, the average speed for motorcyclists in bus lanes reduced by 6.5 per cent during the trial, with the proportion of motorcyclists exceeding the speed limit decreasing by one fifth (51 per cent in September 2010 down to 41 per cent in September 2011).

The number of motorcyclists giving little to no regard to the speed limit remains absurdly high at 41%. That was during increased enforcement.

According to TfL:

The trial was also supported by other road users, including 51 per cent of cyclists, and car / van drivers.

The figure of 51% is hardly one to brag about.

I’ve got absolutely nothing against motorbike riders and I believe as a group, two wheelers are always going to be more vulnerable. However, I believe motorbikes in bus lanes discourages new cyclists. It’s simply another danger we have to contend with and it creates a less pleasant environment for cycling.

What do you think? Leave a comment below..

“No Barclays Cycle Superhighways will be launched in 2012/2013 due to a reduced construction delivery window necessitated by the 2012 Games”

This was the answer given by the Mayor when asked about the progress of the Cycle Superhighways.

The good news is that the Cycle Hire scheme will continue to expand. This news comes despite the revelation that total income by March 2012 is now expected to be £7m as opposed to the original estimate of £18m. The difference is attributed to the delayed launch of the 400 sites as well as the delay of the launch to casual users. Although TfL says this figure is likely to change again depending on the roll out of phase 2.

As part of phase 2 rollout, the cycle hire scheme will be heading towards Tower Hamlets, Westfield White City and Camden Town.

Phase 3 of the scheme will be rolled out in summer 2013. This will head towards the West and South West of the current area. Wandsworth and Hammersmith & Fulham have already started to identify suitable cycle hire locations and are calling on local residents to send in their suggestions.

In other news from Mayors questions:

• Total complaints about the cycle hire scheme have fallen by 1/3 in the past six months since May 2011. From 1,647 (0.23% of total hire) to 1,100 (0.16% of total hire)
• We don’t yet know if the Trixi mirrors (blind spot mirrors) is statistically successful but TfL has had approval to install them on all future superhighways from the DfT.

It appears the turnout at the Blackfriars Bridge protest has been very good. It is encouraging to see so many cyclists are following the social media sites and able to respond so quickly when TfL takes a decision that majorly discourages cycling.

The picture above taken by twitter user Floella Webb shows the 20mph signs that will soon be removed to make the bridge a 30mph route with few provisions made for pedestrians and cyclists. This despite a recommendation by City of London that all bridges in central London have a 20mph limit.

If you were at the protest then we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

By Summer 2011 two new Cycle Superhighways will be crossing through London. I wanted to see how they were coming along so I posed the question on Twitter..

• @suspectpackage cs8, painted the road blue a bit, wouldn’t call it progress though, just back from Holland http://yfrog.com/h87rnvrsj
• @ianbar33 CS8 getting on but surface not good between Vaux Bridge and Chelsea Bridge as I now have the blue over my frame and top!! Not happy
• @angus_fx there’s been blue paint on Battersea High St for a couple of months now. Don’t know if that counts as "progress" )
• @rokav enjoyed a cycle along a largely-complete section of CS8 on Grosvenor Road on Sunday

Armed with the knowledge there would at least be a few strips of blue paint to checkout (so exciting!) I went along with my camera to investigate.

“Oh no, we’ve run out of blue paint. Where’s the nearest B&Q?”

The above picture shows the previously dilapidated green cycle route. The new blue route is now located on the road. Not really an improvement. If anything a beginner cyclist, which is exactly who we need to encourage, would probably feel much safer on the previous route. Hopefully, if the planners have any sense, which we know they rarely do when it comes to cycling provision, they will build a barrier to keep cars out of the cycle lane.

This picture above is far more encouraging. A nice big wide blue lane that has plenty of room for cyclists to overtake. Full points for this part of Cycle Superhighway 8 go to TfL!

Unfortunately, the final picture was less encouraging. When I was asked what I thought about the motorbikes in the bus lanes trial I would of given a more favourable answer if motorbikes hadn’t translated the trial as permission to ride in all cycle lanes too.

I recognise it’s a little harsh to critique Cycle Superhighway 8 even before it’s finished so I’ll be revisiting when it is officially finished.

Note: Nicole is meant to be posting on Tuesday but she’s very busy at the moment with work so you are stuck with me!

See also:

• Is there anything super about the cycle superhighways?
• Two very different visions of the cycle superhighways
• Cycle superhighways latest let-down

“Work starts today on London’s biggest cycle hire docking station”

As any Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme user will know Waterloo is one of the busiest cycle hire stations. In fact it has been so busy that Serco, the company who is contracted to run the cycle hire scheme, has been placing employees to manage the huge influx of bikes at rush hour.

In one incident there was even a bike stolen as so many bikes were being handed over to employees that it became almost impossible to manage.

By mid-December the new super station should be complete.

Waterloo however isn’t the only place with cycle hire issues. Perhaps the earliest criticism of the Cycle Hire Scheme was the lack of availability around key rail terminals. Places such as Kings Cross and Liverpool Street would also clearly benefit from additional space. It is often at these key commuter locations that space is at such a premium.

The addition of the larger Waterloo station would suggest that TfL are embracing the commuter as one of the key users of their cycle hire scheme. However, the motivation behind this move may just as easily be the additional cost of all the support staff that were required for the volume of hire bikes. Either way it’s good to see the scheme making progress.

See also:

• Cycle hire bike 14964 < my horror story!
• Cycle hire tips < insider tips to using the scheme
• Cycle hire routes < 3 great routes to try on a cycle hire bike

Image by Nic Price Flickr

During yesterdays tube strike the media inevitably turned their attention to cycling as a way of getting to work. This provided some great publicity for cycling and the BBC even invited me in to talk about it. To get there I cycled through the mayhem of rush hour. I thought it was pretty mad out there – buses, cars and people all tangled up in a huge mess trying to get home. Traffic signs were being ignored, cars were waiting in no stopping zones and cyclists were jumping red lights in droves.

This is also one of the first things the BBC reporter asked me about. As I sad down in one of those rooms with a green background, pulled the microphone under my shirt and decided between the background of Big Ben or London. I opted for London in the end. “Cyclists are quite famous for jumping red lights aren’t they?” My well rehearsed defence: “Actually, only a small minority of cyclists jump red lights, they are usually the ones you notice”. I was hoping they would ask me about how to cycle safely as new cycling commuters often don’t know the tricks of the trade. But no such luck.

I asked on Twitter yesterday what London Cyclist’s thought of the tube strike and if they spotted any new cyclists:

sweek0 @londoncyclist it was bloody busy. More cyclists than I’ve ever/seen more cars too. Many were clearly inexperienced and rode close to curb

sukeyyy @londoncyclist More (smug) cyclists for sure! And I saw one guy in a suit sprinting to get the last Boris bike in the rack.

phototropy @londoncyclist Lots more cyclists! I ended up escorting a lawyer on a Borisbike, simply because he didn’t have a clue how to get to work.

nicobobinus @londoncyclist probably double the usual number coming in through Holloway and Camden Town. Seemed to be more red lights jumped than usual!

mculmer @londoncyclist yes, lots of new cyclists on hire bikes to close to pavement. Too many cars jostling for that extra inch & lots of motorbikes using bike lanes more than usual

OxfordSpring @londoncyclist More folk on mountain bikes, wide sweeping turns and a distinct lack of proper rain kit.

suspectpackage @londoncyclist closest i’ve come to blows with another cyclist this morning but looked like he was a regular

petermeanwell @thefinalform @londoncyclist mainly mega traffic but a few more wobblers, and lots more people trying to jump lights – but didn’t know how!

chthonicionic @londoncyclist Lots of cyclists + nice bikes/lycra but with no experience of riding in heavy traffic – undertaking lorries + on pavement

meincken @londoncyclist a few near misses which scared even me, and lack of respect for other road users! Tube strike can’t end quick enough!

tobycastle @londoncyclist Even at 7am definitely more bikes. Some rusty & definitely more wobbly. Also many more rucksack runners panting along.

my1minuterant @londoncyclist Seemed a few more people up for a race (Lycra Warriors), maybe not woked it all out of their system.

commentisfree @londoncyclist loads more nOObies. "Experienced" commuters can be just as much as a pain in the a$$ though, so I kept quiet…

And so as another tube strike comes to and end hopefully we will have some more cyclists join us on London road’s. Be nice to them guys!

Read more:

• 7 mistakes new cyclists make
• The Skyride in pictures
• Waterproof cycling jackets
• Bike lights guide

This seemingly small change is well supported by organisations such as the London Cycling Campaign. It’s not just the benefit of getting to your destination faster but it is also part of making cycling safer. The LCC see it as part of their campaign to make places more permeable to cyclists thus making cycling more attractive.

The bad news is, this kind of positive change to the law is slow to implement. All the Mayor really has the power to do is go up to the Department for Transport and request they review it. They then have to run a trial to see if it works before starting to make plans to change the law countrywide. That is if they feel it is even worth considering in the first instance.

David Love, founder of the 3 Feet Please campaign, said “It is a good idea however, measures to change driver behaviour would have greater overall impact on cyclist safety and could be brought in earlier and at a considerably lower cost”.

Turning right on red is the law in America where they drive on the other side of the road. A red light is instead treated as a stop sign. Both drivers and cyclists are allowed to make a safe judgement and proceed accordingly. This is not the only example of allowing road users to exercise their common sense. In some cities in Germany traffic lights are switched off late at night when traffic dies down. Drivers are expected to check at the traffic light rather than proceeding without giving it any thought.

Do you think cyclists should be allowed to turn left at red?

See also:

• What cyclists can be fined for
• How much time do you waste waiting at traffic lights?
• What is your traffic light strategy?

Here are some of the tips from those pioneers of the scheme that have been leaving comments on London Cyclist and on sites such as the Boris Bikes forums that should make your cycle hire experience as smooth and as pleasurable as possible:

Check that your chosen bike has a rear wheel that spins smoothly by lifting the bike and spinning the back wheel.

If you need to do a journey that is longer than 30 minutes you can dock your bike. Wait 5 minutes. And then undock the bike again to continue your journey for free.

Use an application for your mobile phone to see where the nearest docking stations are and how many bikes are available there. There are great applications for the Android or iPhone.

The members key is money well spent. For £3 you can quickly undock bikes.

Be careful as to how you use multiple cycle hire keys system. People are reporting that activating one key will activate all four thus costing you money. Also people are reporting each key requires an annual fee and is not covered under the initial key.

Be sure you get the green light from the docking station when you return the bike. Check to see the bike has been correctly docked.

Print a receipt of your journey to check that the bike has in fact been docked correctly.

Be aware that popular terminals such as Waterloo and Kings Cross are likely to suffer from poor bike availability. The chances are you may have to walk or cycle an extra 5 minutes to find hire docking stations in less popular locations.

Leave any tips you have for first time users in the comments below.

Images via: Steve Punter and Charlotte Gilhooly

See also:

• Cycling apps for the Android
• What are your thoughts on the cycle hire scheme?
• 3 great routes to try on the cycle hire bikes
• How to use the cycle hire docking stations