Forum Topic

Cycle  lane expenditure

Peter Mason boasting on Twitter“@EalingLabour have committed at least £10m to cycling infrastructure. “They’ve got no money,  so they sold off our tiny recycling facility. Labour Out!

Maggie Dodge ● 1230d40 Comments

Fully concur with that Raymond. 10 years is far too long for a provisional licence. It should be two years during which time you should complete your CBT or theory tests and having completed them taken your practical test. If you have done none of these then there should be a one-year moratorium before you can re-apply for a new two-year provisional licence.

N V Brooks ● 1205d

It's high time the abuse of provisional licences and riding Scooters untested for over a year is ended.If you use a car for say, deliveries then you have to be insured for hire or reward as you are technically using your vehicle to earn income from hire of it's space best a package or a human.The same is supposed to apply to using a scooter or even a e-scooter for deliveries.Some are probably covered by their employers but given the poor employment status and rates by many, I doubt that they are covered by Public Liability insurance in the field or with motor insurance for Hire & reward.If you have a provisional licence you cannot be insured for hire or reward. However, the L plates can be deceptive as you can have a Full drivers licence and ride a low CC motor cycle.But you are supposed to be fully tested at some point. This is being completely unenforced.  Primarily because of the grey area of L plates held by Full licence riders.It's giving a bad name for fully tested and certificated Motor cyclists and the truly disgraceful standard of Moped riding is a hazard to everyone.It need to be changed and a test must be mandatory at the end of a 1 year term based on insurance cover.

Raymond Havelock ● 1205d

Not at all, no one would condone a motorised vehicle invariably being ridden on the pavement at 15mph, assuming the restrictor had not been tampered with or removed. This routinely happens given the number of times that you see legitimate vehicles being undertaken at speed on both Boston Road and the Uxbridge Road. There is a sound reason that such pedestrian controlled vehicles, like buggies for those with mobility impairments are restricted to 4mph when used on the pavement. ALL unlicenced vehicles should be so restricted.

N V Brooks ● 1205d

Fair enough, but the comparison between an e scooter and a motor scooter is a bit over the top surely?The government has clearly decided a CBT isn't necessary for riding an escooter (which go at a max 15mph and even slower on some areas), but it remains necessary for motor scooters, which aren't speed limited like escooters.

Paul Richard James ● 1205d

You don't need CBT to get a provisional licence, in your own words, do keep up.

N V Brooks ● 1205d

>No CBT is required for e-scooters You can't hire them unless you have a driving licence Nigel.If you're talking about ILLEGAL e scooter use, then illegal car use is a MUCH MUCH bigger problem.

Paul Richard James ● 1205d

I was stuck outside yesterday for 5 hours helping a neighbour foot a ladder.Had a clear view of the street.  Just a handful of cars and a few cyclists.But over 30 mopeds and nearly 50 vans on deliveries some of which were the same vans hours apart. Most liveries Amazon etc but many unmarked and most long wheelbase large vans. And some drive way too fast. And only one Royal Mail van! Quite surprised me. But take the vans out how many would have to revert to using a vehicle to collect the items?What will happen as delivery costs start to go beyond affordable?

Raymond Havelock ● 1205d

Displaying your amazing talent for stating the bleeding obvious as usual. But how would they have delivered them in your dreamworld whare vans are banned? Engage brain before typing, there's a tip fo you.

N V Brooks ● 1206d

I doubt very much if you get new windows or a new oven delivered several times a week!

Philippa Bond ● 1206d

Exact, no one drives for gun (except sadiq Khan james)

Peter Yale ● 1207d

So pleased that I wasn't waiting for a fleet of window fitters with cargo bikes to fit my new windows nor for the delivery of our replacement oven strapped to the back of a Deliveroo driver. Vans are necessary, end of story.

N V Brooks ● 1207d

Imagine having responsibilities without adequate experience or training. Bit like Ealing Council.And as for being ‘desperate to hang on to my car’, well, yes, because it’s central to my being able to work, Phillipa. But perhaps you’d prefer me to sponge off the state instead.Idiots with ideas about sustainable travel should really be made to live in the real world. Those ideas will last five minutes.

Simon Hayes ● 1207d

All riders have to complete CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) to prove that they can ride safely. The certificate if they pass this is valid, and must be renewed, every 24 months.  No CBT is required for e-scooters which can be riden on a provisional with no testing or training.

N V Brooks ● 1207d

A 10 year licence in charge of a motorised vehicle without having to take a test?

Philippa Bond ● 1207d

Many scooter delivery jobs are taken by students and recent immigrants. Only an easy to obtain provisional licence is needed to operate a scooter. The licences are valid for ten years. I would suggest a considered move to Sark Phillipa (no private motor vehicles) or Clovelly where only sledges and donkeys are permitted (not even a bicycle). Just don't get ill as there is no ambulance access by road.

N V Brooks ● 1207d

You seem very desperate to hang on to your car by declaring all your rights. Lots of people have to give up their cycles snd cars and then find it difficult to stay mobile. The pavements are being wrecked by careless and selfish drivers. We should all know by now that we need to stay active for as long as possible to stay mobile.  We should all be fighting for better cleaner alternative transport methods for everyone.We should also all be asking why there are so many 'L' plated  scooters on the road and so few without them.

Philippa Bond ● 1207d

Ah, there’s the nub Phillipa. To drive a car I had to pass a competency test, and had to pay for lessons from a qualified instructor to get there. I have to have insurance and ensure the vehicle is roadworthy. These aren’t ‘right’ as you so histrionically claim, just the basic requirements. I’ve managed 30 plus years without killing anyone or smashing up pavements/kerbs/walls/bike racks,etc. So have plenty of other people.Your persistent vilification if anyone who gets behind the wheel is just boring. Crass generalisations about drivers and driving standards. What if I claimed anyone called Phillipa was an irresponsible alarmist with zero credibility?

Simon Hayes ● 1208d

So why are you, Simon Hayes,  so insistent on listing all your 'rights'  concerning car transport but none of your responsibilities?

Philippa Bond ● 1208d

Absolutely. People use their cars for a variety of reasons, and in Ealing that’s largely to do with the disparate nature of the facilities in the borough and public transport links that don’t always, well, link.How odd that the much vaunted Elizabeth line will be closed on Sundays, when it’s touted as part of the solution to London’s transport needs.Anyone who thinks Ealing Council gives two hoots about the state of pavements in the borough needs their heads examined. They came to ‘repair’ a hole in the paving outside my house where a tree once stood. The original tree was taken down as it was diseased and dangerous. The replacement sapling was smashed down by a delivery van ages ago. The repair involved two blokes, a vat of tar and a shovel. They simply made it more of a trip hazard.The kerbstones are solid granite. Most car drivers avoid wrecking wheels and tyres on them, but van drivers aren’t so bothered. That’s where the problem lies.

Simon Hayes ● 1208d

"We don't all use or need to use personal car transport all of the time. "And we don't, to believe this is the case shows nothing other than blinkered prejudice.

N V Brooks ● 1208d

My complaints are about the parking and damaging of the pavements which is very costly to more than just the Council and very often goes unreported by residents particularly if they are the cause directly or indirectly of the damage themselves.  We don't all use or need to use personal car transport all of the time.  Lots of people already don't and are more flexible in their use of transport.I'm sure that home deliveries of food in particular could be better organised so that there aren't as many large delivery vehicles on the streets at the same time.

Philippa Bond ● 1208d

Oh dear, Phillipa. I hope you have a decent stable for your high horse.Some facts:1. It’s not illegal to own or drive a car.2. It’s not illegal to use that car for any journey, no matter the distance.3. It’s not illegal to park in the roads of Ealing. Most residents pay for a permit for the privilege.4. Ealing Council did a deal with Zipcar to allow its vehicles to be parked in any CPZ in the borough. Quite often those vehicles are badly parked.5. The council removes parking spaces on a whim, which increases pressure on remaining spaces.6. The council still operates a shared use bay policy, encouraging non residents to drive into the borough and park for as little as £3 a day.7. I see delivery vehicles all day and every evening around where I live. I don’t get grocery deliveries, but plenty do who could make their own way to the shops.8. There are more and more people being packed into Ealing. They still need to move around, beyond the local area, and will have deliveries and visitors who come via road.The problem with people like you is that you believe in a socialist utopia. You’ll never find one, because if it was possible to achieve then it would exist now.

Simon Hayes ● 1208d

It's not an excuse.  How often do you get deliveries?  With residential streets looking less like car parks it would be easier for delivery vans to park but even then there are those who are too lazy to park properly.

Philippa Bond ● 1208d

A minority but then there are selfish, lazy and arrogant people doing all sorts of things, including cyclists!The main culprits for damaging pavements are delivery vehicles. I saw two this morning mounting the kerb when parking in my road. So perhaps the lazy people are those who get their groceries delivered. Think about that if you can phillipa.

Simon Hayes ● 1209d

Well they are lazy drivers.  They don't stop being lazy by not mentioning them.!  They are slso exceedingly selfish and are breaking the law.

Philippa Bond ● 1209d

You keep repeating yourself. The usual stereotypes ‘lazy drivers’, etc.The money that’s ring fenced can be used for other things, including making all our pavements better. Active travel isn’t just cycling, most of it is walking.And as for saying there isn’t enough space for people to keep cars, well perhaps the problem is there isn’t enough space for all the people Ealing wants to cram into the borough. Certainly there’s a lot of infrastructure issues besides parking. You mention the NHS. That’s one to start with.

Simon Hayes ● 1209d

Some people have the same problem with cars - our residential streets often seem just like a car park and lazy drivers (private and commercial) drive over the pavements dislodging the kerbstones and damaging the pavements creating hazards for pedestrians resulting in what can be life changing damage.  A struggling NHS does not need this.  On a positive note we now have cleaner buses now on the 65 route.  It is a shame that the DRT bus was stopped due to the pandemic as this helped to show which routes passengers wanted to travel.  I noticed that the ECT minibus had spare places for those needing transport to hospital appointments.There just isn't space for each and every resident to keep and use a car.  There is more space for cycles which are convenient for more active local journeys.  The money is often ring fenced and allocated specifically for projects by Govt. 

Philippa Bond ● 1209d

E Bikes are very expensive, and almost uninsurable as theft and hijacking of them in rife.You cannot leave them outside in all weathers so you need a place dry and safe to keep them. Generally a bit too big for the average terraced home so only suitable liken electric car if you have a drive or a larger home, or underground garaging with charging supply.And they don't manage hills terribly well in the wet. I have one and it's going back.

Raymond Havelock ● 1210d

I followed an e-bike along the road from Brentford to Kew Bridge the other day. He was well exceeding the speed limit, didn’t stop at the light but hopped onto the pavement without slowing, crossed the junction and disappeared down Strand on the Green.

Simon Hayes ● 1210d

Hills?  That's why e-bikes are increasingly popular.

Philippa Bond ● 1210d

They sound lovely people .........

Rosco White ● 1228d

Question them by all means, but you won’t win an argument with them . They don’t do losing. If they can’t win in a fair fight, they’ll cheat

Maggie Dodge ● 1228d

Don't question the Lycra Mafia.You could find a deflates inner tube on your pillowCapiche?

Colin Goodman ● 1228d

They also overlooked just how hilly the outer London Boroughs are."Mini Hollands"  Did they skip geography at school? Something fundamental there.This council cannot even manage to level a cricket pitch.

Raymond Havelock ● 1228d

Just to point out that the cycling utopia called  Waltham Forest with the highest concentration of LTNs now has the second highest pollution levels in London.

N V Brooks ● 1229d

According to TfL statistics only 1-2 percent of journeys are by bike. Around 40-50 percent are walked. Yet, the allocation of money to pavement repairs is minimal. Not sexy enough for the cycling zealots.

Simon Hayes ● 1229d

Far too much creedence given to a relatively small band of activists who are recognised by TfL and authorities but are far from representative of most cyclists.No coincidence that a straw poll of what they do for a living is also a small niche and very much allied to political and non productive occupations.Yet pavements go un repaired for years, potholes and ruts on easily cycleable routes avoiding traffic remain as bad as ever.As a lifelong cyclist, some of these roads have been in a shambolic state for most of that time. But no £££££s thrown at showboating schemes that suit a very small niche of cyclists and not the wider range of go anywhere local cyclists.As for pedestrians? Well stupid schemes that cost money but make no difference. And then they have to save money by reducing street lighting at night.In the City that the Mayor of London decrees " Must be a 24/7 city everywhere"

Raymond Havelock ● 1229d

I just get fed up of money always being found for cycle infrastructure, when there’s no money for anything else.  Where does TFLs money originate? I thought they were always bankrupt. On other forums the pollution monitors are reading high in car free open spaces. Yet they’re accusing the motorist of causing all the pollution , and using it to push through all the cycling expenditure. We are without doubt bt at the mercy of the likes of the LCC who are holding all the cards. How is that happening?

Maggie Dodge ● 1229d

It could be money coming from TfL to be fair.However, these funds are normally designated for 'active travel' which includes walking. I could easily spend that amount on repairs to pavements and improving accessibility to public spaces rather than appeasing cyclists who are a tiny number when compared 5o pedestrians.

N V Brooks ● 1230d

Ealing Council Labour, you know you can trust 'em!!!    😉      😊      😁      😆      😂      🤣

Rosco White ● 1230d