Mike Cavenett
NEWS
New track at the Hill
Secure parking in south London Two new cycle parking locations in south London could help ease the vast shortage of secure bike facilities in the capital. Better Bankside has opened a secure cycle park in Hopton Street, Southwark, while Lambeth Council is trialling on-street ‘Fietshangers’ in Bonnington Square, Vauxhall. The Southwark cycle parking
facility is open to employees of businesses that are part of the Better Bankside commercial collective, and there’s a free trial as we go to press. It has space for 70 bikes and is accessible only via a swipe-card. Further west in Lambeth, the Fietshangars (designed in the Netherlands), take up about half a car parking space and
SAINSBURY’S: NO PARKING In the last issue, Dave Harris asked if anyone could give similar examples to his of “grossly inadequate cycle provision at supermarkets”. I certainly can. For ten years, Redbridge LCC has been trying to persuade Sainsbury’s to put in cycle parking at their superstore in Ilford. In 2006, a representative from the company attended an LCC conference on shopping and cycling, plus I’ve twice approached different managers personally and we have emailed them regularly — all to no avail. Could their ongoing reluctance be related to the fact that the store is located just off the notorious Ilford gyratory? Chris Elliott, E12
VICTORIA: PARKING WASTE In the latest unputdownable London Cyclist, I was reading about the lack of cycle parking at Tesco in Hackney. Now I want to name and shame
can hold up to five bicycles, with key access. A spokesperson for Lambeth Cyclists said: “Thousands of these secure units have already been successfully installed in Dutch cities over the past decade, and now a few lucky Lambeth residents will be able to hire a secure bike space for as little as £5 per month.”
Victoria mainline as the worst place to park a bike of any station in London. I needed to park my bicycle for an hour in the station and was told to go to platform eight. I found the racks, at the end of the platform, but chockful of not-so-cared-for steeds, and I had to lock mine carefully to part of a safety barrier that two other bikes were already locked to. I got the impression that a good percentage of these cycles were not picked up regularly, possibly abandoned, thus taking up valuable parking spaces. So thumbs down Victoria for unfriendly, poorly managed cycling provision. I’d give my prize to Nuremberg Hbf in Germany, which has space for 1,500 cycles outside the station. Stephen Street, Beckenham
MINICAB DRIVING TEST It is clear from the way they drive, that licensed minicab drivers take
Herne Hill Velodrome re-opened at the start of September with a new £500,000 state-of-the-art surface paid for by British Cycling, the body that oversees the UK sports cycling. The buildings and track had fallen into disrepair in recent years, but a successful campaign (supported by Southwark Cyclists, the local LCC group) has kept the track open, and seen the first step in a significant programme of investment in the facility. The new surface is a fast-drying velodrome-specific tarmac and should allow the track to open more frequently than previously. The track was built in 1891, and is the last remaining venue from the 1948 Olympic Games still in use. Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, attended the opening ceremony on 7 September, said: “It’s fitting that the year before London 2012, we are able to celebrate the refurbishment of the track at one of the key venues from the previous Games.”
special tests before being accredited. Following extensive research, I have been able to deduce at least part of the special driving theory test sat by these drivers (and especially those from a company rhyming with ‘glee’. Q1: What should you do as you approach a light that’s gone yellow? A: Accelerate. Q2: What should you do as you approach a light that’s just gone red? A: Accelerate. Q3: Which lane should you be in if you intend to turn right? A: Whichever lane you fancy; that is what your horn is for. Q4: What are the green areas/strips along the sides of many roads for? A: Parking. Q5: Why are there pictures of flattened bicycles on these green areas? A: To warn cyclists what will happen if they get in the way. Score five and you’ve got a new job. Jo Hunt, NW1
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