Boris bikes to get eco-helmets?

Here's an article to reignite the timeless 'helmet or not' debate. Personally I think the focus should be on making road conditions safe enough not to need helmets (as is the case in Holland and many other European countries) but it's an innovative idea for sure, and if it helps some people get on a Boris bike who otherwise wouldn't, it's pretty worthwhile.

New docks for London Bridge area

Southwark Council has approved three new docking stations. Of particular interest is the Tooley Street site - being so close to the station it will be very busy I imagine.

The BBC has done an interesting report on how the cycle hire scheme is performing. The new redistribution scheme I reported on a couple of days ago may have an impact on future usage, as obviously will these new docks.

Redistribution Promises

I have just returned from Paris, where the Velib rules the city's streets. Paris is a fascinating case study to compare to London - the streets are wider and have more cycle lanes, but there is still a real problem with congestion and intimidating vehicular traffic. On my short trip I noticed a lot of Velib traffic, though less people using their own bikes. Paris, like London, is making a start but has yet to embrace the bicycle fully.

So back to London, where we are now assured a new contract means we will see better bike availability for us all. It's certainly a step forward. But note Bob Crow's comment: 'If it is not to become an embarrassment to the Mayor, the Boris bike scheme needs more docking stations, more bikes and crucially more and better paid staff'. Mr Crow has a point; the success of the scheme means central London in particular needs more bikes and more people to help manage them. In central Paris the docking stations come thick and fast - compare to London where major destinations such as St James's Park are devoid of docks, and rail stations struggle to meet demand.

In his latest transport vision, the Mayor sees cycle hire as the norm rather than the exception (p38). But the Mayor issues a lot of visions - we need to see a few turned into reality. There is a lot of work still to do. But the direction of travel is encouraging.

In other news ... controversy over the siting of a docking station in Hammersmith and Fulham. We've seen this before of course. For what it's worth, I agree with Mr Aldworth.

Boris Bikes hit the streets in New York

Citibike, the New York version of Barclays Cycle Hire, has launched for members. With 6,000 bikes at over 300 stations, it's the biggest bike sharing system in the US so far, not quite as big as the London scheme yet, but it's only the first week, and it aims to grow. The bikes are differently branded, but are, to all intents, Boris bikes with an American flavour.

Here's the Standard's report, and one from the Huffington Post.

Despite the 'nimby's, cycle hire is here to stay, launching in New York, growing in London, and a feature of many other big cities. I'll be keeping a close eye on how the New York system is received in the coming weeks.

Can't stop the Bikes

Good news coming from Kenisngton and Chelsea, where planning for the new Boris Bike docks is at an advanced stage.

The crucial decision over Lavender Gardens in Wandsworth borough is due next week.

And though this blog was set up to comment exclusively on cycle hire issues, I would draw your attention to the work a number of us have been engaged with in the Regent Street / Haymarket area. This part of town is quite dense with docking stations, yet a nightmare of conflict between traffic and cyclists. Let's hope for a resolution which benefits us all.

And maybe Westminster are eventually seeing the light on cycling. This article in the Evening Standard suggests they are starting to take safety seriously.

Planning for new docks nearing completion

The Standard is running a quite silly article today.

The impression seems to be that hires are in decline, but if we look towards the end of the article, we notice that hires in the first two months of the year are up. And do you remember last March? It was the summer we never had, beautiful weather until the skies opened in April and, with a brief Olympic respite, continued all year. The contrast with freezing March 2013 couldn't be greater.

Over in the Times Matthew Parris has apparently complained he can't find anywhere to dock. I haven't read the article (I don't pay for the Times online) but is the fact that there are tidal flows of bikes during the day really big news? Sure we need more docks and better redistribution, but it was ever thus.

Another fun bit of news was that we might get bonuses for returning our bikes to an empty docking station. 'No immediate plans' is perhaps the take-home message of this article.

There is more concrete news though from the boroughs, where the long and largely unseen process of selecting and approving sites for new docking stations is underway for the southwesterly extension.

In Kensington and Chelsea, by my count 29 docking stations have been approved, with only 4 refused. In Wandsworth 57 have been approved, with only a few remaining to be determined, the most controversial being Lavender Gardens, on which my last post commented. Lambeth have approved most of their latest applications, 19 accepted, 1 refused. The loss of the site on Exton Street is regrettable, as the area around Waterloo is desperate for new docks. In Hammersmith and Fulham, 59 sites have approval, 3 were refused, and 27 are still pending.

It is disappointing that whereas the eastern extension also featured 'intensification' in the central area, this does not seem to be a feature this time. There are no new applications for sites in Westminster and the City.

Within a year all these new stations should be up and running. I imagine March 2014 will see quite a bounce back in hires from those the Standard reports today.

Boris bikes and bad journalism

Thank goodness few people read the Wandsworth Guardian, because it contains one of the worst pieces of journalism I have ever read. It pains me to give it more coverage than it's due, but here it is.

Boris bikes - a threat to children and blind people? Unlikely

Once you've got over that shock, a few points are worth making. Firstly, at the end of the article Nick Aldworth explains why the power supply has been put in early, and makes it clear that it will be removed if planning consent is not given. The rest of the article is mainly scaremongering. What possible danger can sedately-paced Boris bikes pose to a nursery school, or for that matter, to a blind person? Far less than motor vehicles I can assure you. The loss of six parking spaces is nothing compared to the multiple journeys which will be possible into and out of the area by hire bike. As for the Shrubbery's 'Tudor foundations', has no-one noticed cars have been parking outside it for years? Let me be clear - cars clutter our streets, pollute, and are potentially dangerous. Bikes are smaller, emission free, and safe. My hope for Lavender Gardens is that it will be transformed from a busy motor thoroughfare into a haven for pedestrians and cyclists.

We need a shift in perceptions. One of the reasons given for rejecting a docking station on the Mall was conservation. Yet that street is a busy dual carriageway, with a car/coach park down one side. I hope Wandsworth, and other councils, will see through this sort of nonsense and embrace cycling as a safe, clean and healthy mode of urban transport fit for our future. I look forward to docking in Lavender Gardens soon.