Why drivers should want cycle lanes

Two wheels versus four wheels.

Bicyclists versus car-ists.

Speaking personally as both a cyclist and a driver, I hate myself. But should I?

Is it true that to provide infrastructure for one tribe you have to screw things up for the other?

or can we learn to live side by side?

or one behind the other? Or weaving in and out of each other?

( ♫ ♫ ♫ )

As discussed in the previous episode, we've now got lovely Cycle Superhighways.

But unfortunately, progress for cycling infrastructure has been somewhat grinding somewhat to a halt.

The current mayor, Sadiq Khan, and I'm sorry to say this cos I really like him

has been pretty rubbish for cycling. He's cancelled cycling projects left, right and straight down the middle.

His only achievement so far has been the "Quietways".

The Quietways are a benign and barely noticeable network of signposts and tippex

guiding cyclists onto less busy roads. But it's hard to imagine who will benefit from them.

Not timid new cyclists, cos they still have to share with cars,

and not experienced cyclists because they won't want to go the wiggly squiggly long way round.

So, why is cycling being watered down in the capital?

There are several different groups whose fault it is.

In order to build cycle superhighways, TfL needs the cooperation of London's 32 local boroughs.

The streets belong to them, and not all of them are enthusiastic about bikes.

Kensington and Chelsea, the Slytherin of the London boroughs, has been the most obstructive of them all.

CS9, which in the original proposal, was meant to go all the way to central London

was cut back in 2016 to stop here at Kensington Olympia.

And CS3, which was originally planned to go all the way to Acton, now stops here at Lancaster Gate.

Coincidence?

And it's not just the boroughs halting progress.

Delays and cuts are also being caused by the curious Royal Parks Commission

The Royal Parks of London are technically private land belonging to the Queen, not the local boroughs.

So change here has always been slow and reluctant.

Elec...tricity?

When the East-West Cycle Superhighway was announced, the Royal Parks dithered for so long

over which way it should go through St James's Park, TfL were forced to publish this embarrassing map

with the route still not decided, long after construction had started.

in a further poke in the tyres to cyclists, the Royal Parks installed speed bumps in Hyde Park

on what used to be a really popular cycle route, hitting cyclists where it hurts the most...

their balls.

AND!!! The Church of Our Lady of Grace and St. Edward in Chiswick

has been calling on their parishioners to literally pray for CS9 not to be built outside their church.

So why do all these groups of people hate cyclists so much? What's their beef?