A Tree-Lined Section Of Cycle Superhighway Route 1
I took this picture, as I walked along Culford Road to go to my house.
A Tree-Lined Section Of Cycle Superhighway Route 1
Like most of the roads round here, it is lined by numerous mature trees. I haven’t looked at the species in detail, but if it’s anything like my road, they’ll be a mixture, with generally two of each randomly planted to no particular pattern.
Do cyclists bother about leaves on the road?
A Trixi Mirror On The Essex Road
I saw this mirror on the traffic lights by Essex Road station a few weeks ago from the top of a bus, but it was only when I walked that way this morning, that I was able to photograph it.
A Trixi Mirror On The Essex Road
It’s a Trixi mirror, from a company called Convex Mirrors amd is designed to protect cyclists from trucks and buses turning left, by making the driver more likely to see the rider.
Cycle Superhighway Construction At Temple
This site seems to feature in a lot of BBC Radio 5 Live’s traffic reports.
You can understand, why various factions are against the Cycle Superhighways.
A Rat Run Is Going To Be Cut
The Ardleigh Road junction off Southgate Road, near to me is a dangerous place for pedestrians. Cars, trucks, vans and cyclists like to peel off Southgate Road and see how fast they can turn down Ardleigh Road.
I took these pictures this morning, as I walked across De Beauvoir Town to my doctor’s surgery. Later on, two visitors to my house, who know the area well, told me that they are always very careful near that junction.
But the other end of Ardleigh Road, where it meets Culford and Engelfield Roads near the Scolt Head pub, is going to become a dead end for vehicles because Cycle Superhighway Route 1 goes up Culford Road, which will go straight across Engelfield Road towards the City.
This Google Earth image shows the area.
Ardleigh Road
On the map note how the Scolt Head sits between Ardleigh Road and Culford Road. Culford Road is going to be straightened and will take the cycling route on a north-south axis through De Beauvoir Town crossing the Balls Pond Road by the Duke of Wellington pub.
You can clearly see from the map how tempting it is to drive fast off Southgate Road into Ardleigh Road just south of the Hunter S pub. Someone told me, that the wide junction of Southgate and Ardleigh Roads was to allow trams and trolley buses to turn. This photostream on Flickr shows, trams, trolley-buses and buses in the area. The first picture in the photostream was taken on the western side of Southgate Road opposite the Hunter S looking towards the Balls Pond Road.
There are going to be a lot of very angry rats. And at least one very happy pedestrian!
How Will Cycle Superhighway Route 1 Affect De Beauvoir Town?
And me in particular?
Transport for London have published their plans for Cycle Superhighway Route 1, The good news is that I’m only a hundred metres away from where it runs between Liverpool Street and White Hart Lane. So at least it won’t have a negative effect on the value of my house.
It will affect my walking routes significantly.
1. My doctor’s Surgery is on the Superhighway and as he is a keen cyclist I think he’ll be pleased too. I might actually get a replacement bike to avoid the walk. Or I could lobby for a Boris Bike station close to my house? I’d actually prefer the latter, as then if the bike got nicked, it’s not my problem.
2. One of the problems walking round here, is that drivers treat the turn out of Southgate Road into Ardleigh Road as a chicane that should be taken at speed. As many don’t bother to signal someone is going to get flattened on that junction in the future. Hopefully, as Ardleigh Road is being blocked at the southern end, fewer drivers will use it as a rat run. So it looks the Superhighway will have a collateral benefit for pedestrians here.
3. The arrangements where the Superhighway crosses the Balls Pond Road will make walking to Dalston High Street easier as a new pedestrian crossing will be in a better place than the current one. At least for me!
4. Some of the other changes to cycle and pedestrian routes just to the north of the Balls Pond Road will also make it easier to walk to and from Dalston Kingsland station, the Rio Cinema and the northern part of the High Street. The route is quieter and you avoid the narow pavements round Dalston Junction.
Other residents of the area, may have different views on how it will affect pedestrians. But hopefully, the large number of cyclists on Southgate Road will swap to the Superhighway, easing the traffic on that road and making it easier to coss.
So you can understand, why I’m pretty much in favour of the scheme.
A few Boris Bike stations along the Superhighway would probably get me cycling again!
Is Silicon Roundabout Going To Become Silicon Peninsular?
Silicon Roundabout or the Old Street Roundabout is well known as the centre of a high-tech area of the UK.
But is that all going to change as part of the de-roundabouting of London by Transport for London, the roundabout will be simplified. The full plan is here. It includes this map.
Note how in TfL’s words in the full plan, it has been turned into a peninsular. Hence the title of this post.
I think car, truck and van drivers will hate it, taxi drivers will do what they always do and adapt and joke, cyclists will love it and pedestrians will probably find it better.
For myself, I would like the bus stops placed so that I could get on a 21/141 bus going northward with only a short walk from the station. Coming from Kings Cross or Euston, I might take the Northern line to Old Street station and then get the most convenient of the number of buses that serve my house. I probably wouldn’t go the other way very often, as getting a 38 to the Angel will probably be slightly quickly.
Whatever you say about the plan, it has been very well explained on a good map.
Mini-Hollands
I wonder what the Dutch think of the naming of this project by Transport for London.
Action By The River
There was a lot going on in London by the river.
The pictures show the preparations for the Tour of Britain and a barge race on the Thames.
I met a lady from Stoke Newington, who was on her way to see Harmondsworth Barn near Heathrow.
I think there are millions of us, who use their Freedom Passes to explore London.
Liverpool Gets Another Event
This morning Liverpool is hosting the start of the Tour of Britain.
It seems to me, that since being European Capital of Culture in 2008, Liverpool has received more of the large events, than it should have on the law of averages.
Perhaps, it’s just that the City is more efficient in attracting them!
On the other hand the Sea Odyssey of 2012, brought 800,000 people into the centre and had an economic impact of £32million.
So they know that events work.
It’ll be interesting to see the figures for the Tour de Yorkshire in Leeds and Sheffield.
Va Va Froome
By chance I travelled yesterday on a DLR train bedecked with Va Va Froome for the Tour de France.
I’d actually seen it on the bridge as the cyclists passed underneath on Monday.
As the train went towards Canary Wharf, we passed another with Cavendish going the other way. I hope that one doesn’t have an accident.
The Anonymous Widower 