Journalism and cycling

monument

Don't believe the hype about Groningen -- it does not have 60% modal share, the inner city has some really poor roads for cycling on, and, while it has done some things well, it is an example of a city with a recent history of building poor cycling infrastructure (ie painted lanes of different types).

SEE: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/groningen-cycling-city-of-the-netherlands/

AND: https://departmentfortransport.wordpress.com/tag/groningen/

I'll have a day of freedom before a study tour at the end of this month and while I was half tempted to check out Groningen myself, I'm probably going to accept what BicycleDutch and others have written. Instead I might enjoy myself visiting a city which is trying hard or cycling cross-country on a long-distance cycle route, maybe a new bicycle priory one.

Roadhawk wrote: »

Im sure they are but not in cycle lanes...:D

It's an advisory cycle lane -- in the Netherlands, that means almost nothing. Note in Google Street View: There is no sign at the start of the lane.

MediaMan

George Monbiot on the dominance on car-centric thinking in Britain (goes for Ireland and many other countries too...).

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/01/car-chokehold-britain-polluted-inefficient-transport-system-motor-industry

magicbastarder

some serious SEO action in that URL.

Borderfox

Hook having another aneurism about cyclists not cycling in cycling lanes and instead cycling on his road that his road tax pays for??

JHC!!

TheChizler

Nice to know that people not using motors to travel will be totally unimpeded by the works.

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/luas-works-on-quays-to-cause-motorists-huge-disruption-1.3170334

zurbfoundation

Lads I'd say there was more info floating around about the the 1975 Rapport Tour then this years Suir Valley Clonmel 3 Day.

magicbastarder

was sent this by a friend; only just started listening to it, but he says this podcast series is generally good; seems to be much more conversational than normal podcasts.

https://www.acast.com/thecriticalpath/199-transport

Chips Lovell

Off-topic posts removed

Roadhawk

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Off-topic posts removed

And there I was trying to be nice. Thanks Jep

Chuchote

Letters in The Irish Times today on the Fairview cycle path and trees.

The first is from Donna Cooney of Clontarf:

I write to you in relation to Hugh Linehan’s article “Fairview trees row shows why Dublin remains a mess” (August 12th). He says some of the claims about the history of the trees are “dubious”. I would refer your writer to the front page of The Irish Times on October 31st, 1908, which devoted considerable column inches to the planting of the trees in Fairview, and clearly demonstrated their historical significance.

Regarding the claims of nimbyism, let’s make one thing clear: local residents want a cycle path built – just not the current design for one. The campaigners are aware of the facts, have studied the plans, consulted users and experts and submitted alternative design solutions. The issue local residents have is the poor consultation and engagement from council engineers responsible for this plan – and their refusal to integrate feedback from stakeholders into their final designs. If Dublin is a “bedraggled mess”, as Hugh Linehan claims, it is due to poor design and failure to integrate new infrastructure properly. This is exactly what campaigners, including myself, are opposing.

As a cyclist that commutes daily on this route, often with a young child, I want to see investment in safe cycling infrastructure – but not at the cost of destroying Fairview’s local environment and natural heritage.

Note: I think she's wrong about the date - the front page story was in the Weekly Irish Times of that week in October 1908, which is unfortunately inaccessible to subscribers in The Irish Times's online archives.

The second is from Mary Keogh of Dublin 3:

Well said, Hugh Linehan. It’s time we had some reason in this debate.

TheChizler

I'm not sure is this headline intentionally written to provoke anger at the cyclist in this story or... Well, it definitely is:

"Cyclist accused of fatal crash with mother-of-two 'shouted at her as she lay dying'"
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cyclist-accused-of-fatally-ploughing-into-motheroftwo-shouted-at-her-as-she-lay-dying-a3612026.html

How many people will read the entire thing to see that he shouted as he got up and stopped once he saw she was badly hurt? Awful thing to do to attempt to get a dig in with such a tragic event.

Bad enough that he wasn't using a road-legal bike but no need to make it seem like he was knowledgeably shouting at someone dying.

Chips Lovell

The trial is ongoing. Evidence was also heard yesterday. It's probably worth reading and bearing in mind that the trial is still under way.

Miklos

Just look at the head on him! I was trying to come up with something more cogent to say but the absolute bloody head on him.

Roadhawk

TheChizler wrote: »

I'm not sure is this headline intentionally written to provoke anger at the cyclist in this story or... Well, it definitely is:

"Cyclist accused of fatal crash with mother-of-two 'shouted at her as she lay dying'"
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cyclist-accused-of-fatally-ploughing-into-motheroftwo-shouted-at-her-as-she-lay-dying-a3612026.html

How many people will read the entire thing to see that he shouted as he got up and stopped once he saw she was badly hurt? Awful thing to do to attempt to get a dig in with such a tragic event.

Bad enough that he wasn't using a road-legal bike but no need to make it seem like he was knowledgeably shouting at someone dying.

I think the real question is why shout at all? I mean sure there could have been a shout out of fright before the accident (if the cyclist didnt have a bell) but why shout at anyone on the ground? I think its one of those things...only happens once in a blue moon.

magicbastarder

Roadhawk wrote: »

why shout at anyone on the ground?

the way it's reported suggests he shouted before he saw whe was on the ground:

shouted something at the pedestrian before taking a step towards them.
"The cyclist froze after taking that initial step seeing the pedestrian was still lying on the ground."

the 'step forward' happens *between* the shout and him seeing her.

Jimoslimos

TheChizler wrote: »

I'm not sure is this headline intentionally written to provoke anger at the cyclist in this story or... Well, it definitely is:

"Cyclist accused of fatal crash with mother-of-two 'shouted at her as she lay dying'"
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cyclist-accused-of-fatally-ploughing-into-motheroftwo-shouted-at-her-as-she-lay-dying-a3612026.html

How many people will read the entire thing to see that he shouted as he got up and stopped once he saw she was badly hurt? Awful thing to do to attempt to get a dig in with such a tragic event.

Bad enough that he wasn't using a road-legal bike but no need to make it seem like he was knowledgeably shouting at someone dying.

The fact he was on a track bike with no front brake will probably be the most damming and I'd imagine it will go some way to the court finding him at least partially culpable.

Still some of the reporting is ludicrously biased. I noted another headline along the lines "Cyclist blamed victim for fatal crash"...err yeah I'd imagine that would be the general line of defence (whether right or wrong) in any similar case, whether it was a cyclist hitting a pedestrian or a motorist hitting a pedestrian or cyclist - pure clickbait headline.

Also note the subtle use of language "mother of two", "victim". Switch that to cyclist death terminology and it becomes "pedestrian who died as a result of colliding with bicycle (cyclist is suffering from shock)"

Also some of the prosecution claims;

Penny told jurors: “The crown suggests that what the defendant was doing – riding a fixed-wheel bicycle without a front brake through a busy area of central London at nearly 20mph at lunchtime when hazards, such as pedestrians stepping out into the road, might well be expected to occur in front of him requiring him to react – was dangerous.

So...like pretty much every other form of traffic

This was an extremely tragic and unfortunate event. However, it is also a very rare one (thankfully) - still no newspapers sold on in-depth reporting of the other 100 or so deaths a year.

Chuchote

Absolutely tragic.

I don't know that a front brake would save someone if a cyclist were going 32km/h and the pedestrian were going straight across a road 10m from a crossing while on a phone - so the cyclist wouldn't expect them.

If the pedestrian stepped straight out, even good disc brakes might have stopped the bike wheels but it wouldn't have stopped the cyclist hitting them, I think.

I know a lot of people here won't agree, but I think 30km/h is too fast to cycle (or drive) on city streets.

Chuchote

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/bike-boom-popularity-of-cycling-leads-to-overcrowding-a-915598.html

Can too many bikes be a problem, asks this rather wandering piece. Apparently Berlin has too little money to provide kerbed bicycle lanes, whodathunkit.

The bicycle boom is causing problems in the German capital, as well. "There is a lack of space on the roads," says Burkhard Horn, a Berlin traffic planner. "The bike paths are too narrow. Sometimes 30, 40 people will be waiting at a traffic light." There have also been conflicts between fast and slow cyclists, because many bike paths -- especially older ones -- don't offer space for overtaking other bikers.

(snip)

In Berlin, the problem is slowly being resolved: The city is adding cycle lanes to existing road surfaces. But because money is scarce, there won't be a physical separation, such as a curb, as is customary in Denmark and Holland. The price for this is that cars continue to misuse bike lines as parking spaces.

But where this journey is headed is well known to Horn, the traffic planner: "We need to reallocate space for bicycles. That is inevitable. The space will be taken from cars."

magicbastarder

it was interesting to hear at the DCC talk about velo-city, that a lot of the dutch acknowledged that in providing so much for cyclists, it's actually made being a pedestrian in dutch cities difficult; something a lot of the irish who attended were able to attest to.

Chuchote

magicbastarder wrote: »

it was interesting to hear at the DCC talk about velo-city, that a lot of the dutch acknowledged that in providing so much for cyclists, it's actually made being a pedestrian in dutch cities difficult; something a lot of the irish who attended were able to attest to.

This is their current infrastructure problem. But I haven't found pedestrian life more difficult in Amsterdam than in Paris, for instance; the main problem for us from a left-driving society is remembering to look left and knowing when to look right. (The day that Europe standardises to drive on the right will be a happy one for me.)

magicbastarder

and napoleon's conquering of europe will be complete.

Grassey

Chuchote wrote: »

(The day that Europe standardises to drive on the right will be a happy one for me.)

Imagine the further decline in Irish driving standards!!! :eek:

Chuchote

Grassey wrote: »

Imagine the further decline in Irish driving standards!!! :eek:

Impossible!

magicbastarder wrote: »

and napoleon's conquering of europe will be complete.

Missed that in the history lessons Also missed the idea that the side you drive on means conquest!

magicbastarder

it's probably a hoary old chestnut, but i once read that the reason the continent drives on the right is because napoleon was left handed - that a horse rider would have ridden on the left, as it means their sword hand - their dominant hand, and usually the right one, would have been the one you could meet an attacker with. but napoleon changed that as he was left handed and insisted on riding on the right, and that stuck.

Chuchote

Probably also an old chestnut, but I heard that Europe standardised to drive (horses) on the right, probably because most drivers will naturally favour the right when guiding horses, and the Pope made some kind of ruling on it, whereupon the English said "Damned if we do!" and standardised to drive on the left, bringing the same standard rule to all their colonies.

Meanwhile, in honour of Napoleon, the old marching song…

monument

magicbastarder wrote: »

it was interesting to hear at the DCC talk about velo-city, that a lot of the dutch acknowledged that in providing so much for cyclists, it's actually made being a pedestrian in dutch cities difficult; something a lot of the irish who attended were able to attest to.

What was the context?

I've hear before that Dutch protected crossings aren't great for pedestrians but with little or nothing to back that up and the same people advocating shared use footpaths at junctions, mixed crossing, putting cyclists onto zebra crossings etc -- I can't see how our options are the better.

Chuchote

Interesting piece of probably pop history on driving on right or left:

http://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/driving-on-the-left/

magicbastarder

originally brought up by one of the people giving one of the talks - i think i remember a 'having your leg cut off at the ankle' comment.
one of the attendees put up an overhead photo of the venue and hotel - directly opposite each other, across a roundabout and commented it was much harder for a pedestrian to get between them than a cyclist.

tomasrojo

This was an interesting piece about Sweden changing driving sides:
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/h-day/

(I'm always a bit sceptical of explanations of cultural phenomena that hinge on one individual; such as the very often repeated myth that the predominant practice in Spain of making a "th" sound when pronouncing "ci" and "z" in words originates in the populace sycophantically mimicking one of the kings who had a lisp.)

Chuchote

tomasrojo wrote: »

This was an interesting piece about Sweden changing driving sides:
http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/h-day/

(I'm always a bit sceptical of explanations of cultural phenomena that hinge on one individual; such as the very often repeated myth that the predominant practice in Spain of making a "th" sound when pronouncing "ci" and "z" in words originates in the populace sycophantically mimicking one of the kings who had a lisp.)

That would be Pedro of Cathtile?