It's been a long wait for the crossing...
but finally cyclists can cross
A new crossing has completed a missing link in a vital cycle route across the Royal Parks.
The crossing of Marlborough Road connects the two halves of the Horse Ride, the service road to the north of the Mall. This in turn forms part of the route between the Albert Memorial and Trafalgar Square via Hyde Park Corner.
If you are using this crossing, remember to:
According to press reports, cyclists have been accused of causing fatal injuries to four dogs in collisions in Kensington Gardens.
We are aware of two incidents of this type. In one, an early-morning cyclist collided with a dog near the Serpentine. The cyclist was able to ride away, while the dog unfortunately had to be put down. In the other incident, a dog that had run away from its owner was later found with injuries the owner believed had been caused by a collision with a cyclist. Both incidents occurred on paths where cycling is not allowed.
In response to these incidents, actresses Felicity Kendal and Jenny Seagrove have joined protestors in calls to stop cyclists from riding illegally on paths where cycling is not allowed.
The protestors are likely to be successful: when new legislation is
introduced, the parks police will be able to issue fixed penalty notices to
cyclists contravening park regulations.
Counts conducted by the Westminster Cycling Campaign suggest that cycling may have reached a plateau.
As the graph and table below show, cycling has not recently sustained the rate of growth it showed earlier this decade. Possible reasons may include:
| Location | 1987 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albion Gate, Autumn 08:00 to 09:00 |
181 |
267 | 277 | 263 | 351 | 444 | 446 | 453 | 522 | |||
| Park Lane Crossing, July, 08:00 to 09:00 |
265 | 508 | 496 | 759 | 829 | 607 | 890 | |||||
| Grosvenor Road / Lupus Street, Autumn, 08:00 to 09:00 |
210 | 324 | 294 | 485 | 597 | 595 | 704 | 674 |
David
Cameron is not the only cyclist to get his bike back after it was stolen.
When Little Venice cyclist Joanna Percy had her bike stolen, she was able to give the frame number to the police. Not long after, local police became suspicious when they saw a yob riding around on a ladies' bike. They checked the frame number and found it was Joanna's.
"There is a God and a good Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team around here" said a happy Joanna. "The police have good pointers that a bike may be stolen if they see kids who don't have a good lock for a bike - they then don't know the real value of the bike."
The incident shows the importance of noting your frame number. You can use www.immobilise.com to create a free private and secure portfolio of all your personal property. If it is then lost or stolen, you can use immobilise to tell law enforcement, your insurer and the second-hand trade to assist in recovering your property and catch the thief.