Why doesn't our Council love cyclists and pedestrians?

Transport for London has serious ambitions when it comes to increasing cycling in London. It is targeting a 400% increase in cycling from 2001 to 2026 as part of the Cycling Revolution and, on its past record, it might even make it. Cycling on the major roads network in London has already increased by 173% between 2001 and 2012 and by 9% between 2011 and 2012. [1]

As well as the renowned Boris Bikes the capital has a network of Greenways: routes for pedestrians and cyclists which make use of parks, waterways and quiet residential streets to create calm, safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians with minimal traffic. They also provide cycling training, cycle superhighways, free cycle maps and a cycle safety strategy. [2]

What a contrast to our own dear Tonbridge where the Council has been blocking the Kent Highways plans for linking the exiting patchy cycle routes to form a network for many years now and refuses to consider pedestrianisation seriously.

We too could have a Cycling Revolution and our own Greenways. We too could have alternative routes for cyclists and pedestrians to either side of Tonbridge High Street – the North South route to the West of the High Street is obvious and, with a little planning, another one could be created to the East of the High Street – but our Council lacks the will to do anything to increase cycling and walking and reduce car use.

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[1] http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/24426.aspx

[2] http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/metro/26423.aspx

Oxygen deprivation kills my little grey cells

The person who manages to invent air conditioning for train carriages which actually works would be doing a great service to public health.

I have just finished another week of commuting to London in incredibly stuffy carriages. It’s not so bad in summer when you can open a window – that’s if you are lucky enough to travel in a train which actually has functioning windows. The worst are the ‘modern’ trains with sealed windows and supposed air conditioning – oh the headache by the time you get out at London Bridge.

I am sure the lack of oxygen is killing off my little grey cells which probably means its leading to early stage dementia.

Please, please Mr Dyson – or somebody – invent decent air conditioning for rail carriages?

Three Cheers for Chichester!

Congratulations to Chichester on achieving 20mph speed limits on all residential roads. What a campaign that must have been! A Public Consultation with 4,000 votes in favour of speed limits is impressive, as is managing to persuade every councillor on the South Chichester County Local Committee to vote in favour.

It’s hard to imagine that happening in Kent with its culture of car worship. Although it would be great if we could get 20mph limits in some of our towns. We are the most obese and most car dependant country in Europe. We desperately need safer roads so that people are encouraged to ditch the car and cycle or walk.

Top of my personal wish list for 20mph would be Tonbridge. Even introducing a lower speed limit would improve the experience of Tonbridge High Street and make it less noisy and polluted. People might even start to feel safe crossing the road.

I can just hear the howls of the ‘I want to drive fast and I don’t care about anyone’ else lobby.

Of course, long term the only possible answer for Tonbridge High Street is pedestrianisation – but try getting the local dinosaurs to accept that.

White poppies are for peace

Remembrance Day draws near and soon many people will be wearing red poppies in remembrance of those killed in war. There is an alternative symbol which still mourns for the appalling loss of life caused by war but also contains a message of hope: the white poppy.

The white poppy is now produced by the Peace Pledge Union and aims to promote debate on alternatives to war. It is a symbol of grief for everyone harmed by war and a reminder of our inability to prevent war world wide. It represents a commitment to work for a world where conflicts are resolved without violence and with justice.

If you believe that war is not inevitable and that there are better ways to resolve conflicts then  wear your white poppy instead of the blood red poppy – or, as some people do, wear both together.

White poppies can be bought from the Peace Pledge Union at http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html

Buses – how do we make them easier to use.

Last weekend I was in Maidstone and went to take the bus home. I was expecting a No. 7 bus to Tonbridge at 12.38pm with a forty minute journey to Tonbridge. At this point the bus was due in just over 8 minutes so I crossed the busy main road to a corner shop to buy a snack, believing I had plenty of time.

As I came out of the shop I saw a bus just leaving the bus stop. After crossing the road (viewing the departing back end of the bus) I asked one of the passengers who had just alighted what the number of the bus was. When she said No.7  I was distraught. No. 7 buses between Maidstone and Tonbridge are only two an hour. I believed I had just missed my bus and would now have to wait half an hour for another bus to Tonbridge and a further forty minutes for my lunch – not a happy prospect.

Furious at the dastardly bus driver for leaving so early I sat at the bus stop and ate my snack. Imagine my surprise when, quarter of an hour later, the No. 7 bus (delayed by about five minutes) turned up at the stop. Had I taken my snack to the nearby park instead of staying at the bus stop I would have missed the bus and 

could have had to wait until 1pm for the next bus to Tonbridge.

My distress at believing I had missed my bus could easily have been avoided by the provision of Real Time Indicators (RTI) at the bus stop to let me know that my No. 7 would, in fact, be along soon. RTI are in operation in Oxford and Brighton to my certain knowledge. The bus stop indicators in Tunbridge Wells and at Kings Hill are not Real Time – they are simply a mechanical repetition of the timetable. Hence the buses which suddenly disappear into thin air. 

Tunbridge Line Commuters has long lobbied for Real Time Indicators in Tonbridge. When will we drag our Kent bus services into the 21^st century and provide this kind of service? So come on councils, wake up and demand this minimal service for bus passengers. How else are we going to encourage people to use buses instead of the excessive car use which is the norm in West Kent?