Have a quick look at the clip below. What do you see?
A group of families and residents, including lots of children, enjoying riding their bikes safely on their local roads, and having a good time with their friends and neighbours outside?
Well, not if you’re an anti-LTN activist, you don’t. You just see a bunch of “insensitive” and “entitled” people, apparently. Yep, even those smug, arrogant kids (‘the cheek of them, riding their bikes without fear of being hit by a distracted driver. The yoof of today, eh?’).
Yes, that’s right. This video of the community group ride – posted over the weekend by the Liveable Streatham Wells group, which campaigned for the introduction of a Low Traffic Neighbourhood in the London ward, a trail of which was launched by Lambeth Council at the end of October – has attracted the ire of motorists, fuming at the sight of families on bikes.
According to the council, the new traffic restrictions within the Streatham Wells LTN will “turn traffic clogged roads into spaces where people can meet and socialise” and “lead to a significant improvement in road safety, air quality, and will allow more space for people to enjoy their neighbourhoods without worrying about traffic jams and exhaust fumes.”
> “Going back is not realistic”: Councillor stresses “need to change” as Oxford LTNs made permanent – but angry residents say “we can’t get on bikes”
However, the visible workings of that policy – the sight of lots of children and their parents riding bikes – have prompted more than a few angry comments on social media.
“This must rank as one of the most insensitive videos ever posted,” the anti-LTN group Social Environmental Justice wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“As this small group wave merrily to the cameras no thought given to the residents taking the overspill traffic, the shift worker stressed out as the bus is late, the carer or the plumber bogged down in traffic.”
Meanwhile, former Lambeth Conservative councillor Tim Briggs – who, it was revealed in 2016, failed to declare that he was the owner of a “tenant eviction specialist” firm which boasted that it had a “near 100 percent record” in repossessing homes for landlords – described the organisers of the group bike ride of having an “astonishing sense of entitlement at the expense of others”.
Others, meanwhile, relied upon the good old tropes of cycling bingo, such as the classic ‘Sure it’s easy to ride your bike when it’s lovely and sunny in, errrr, the middle of November’:
While Liz said that she was “concerned to see cyclists as a community group not abiding by the rules of the road in this video”, and ‘jc’ described the cyclists – yes, even the children – as a “weird cult, all going nowhere in particular”.
> “Extreme, undemocratic, and dangerous”: Council scraps majority of low traffic neighbourhoods – despite “overwhelming” public support for cycling and walking schemes
Needless to say, the frothing response was ridiculed by cyclists far and wide.
“That this wonderful video (of children enjoying a cycle ride on a safe, low-traffic road) is the content that riles anti-LTNers says everything about their campaign. Well done, Liveable Streatham Wells, you've already won the argument.”
“Honestly, what kind of society do we live in that people would criticise children cycling? An utter disgrace,” a London-based 20mph speed limit campaigner added.
Meanwhile, the organisers of the group responded to Social Environmental Justice’s tweet by simply labelling it “embarrassing”.
While cycling lawyer Rory McCarron posted a video of an entirely different community activity – a demonstration organised by those opposed to the Streatham Wells LTN – showing one of the campaigners driving and using their horn… while holding a mobile phone in their hand.
What was that about “entitlement”?
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Re “There’s always money to make life harder for cyclists”, is the gate on the right hand side not a radar gate? Looks like a sensible place to put one. If it is you can get two keys from Amazon for £3.99. Problem solved
Meanwhile, former Lambeth Conservative councillor Tim Briggs described the organisers of the group bike ride of having an “astonishing sense of entitlement at the expense of others”.
I believe that is what the pyschologists call "transference" where you attribute your own faults to people you want to criticise.
Complaining about children riding their bikes with their parents. That is so sad. And calling the children and parent cyclists entitled - even more hypocritical when driving a huge car in the urban environment is the MOST entitled thing possible.
That barry Sharp guy isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
What kind of weather does this doofus think we have here in The Netherlands?
Also, aren't marines supposed to be all tough and stuff, instead of moaning about a bit of rain?
Reversing onto road. Highway Code 201, that's all.
People here seem obsessed with motorists but what about us wheelchair users who regularly find cyclists bearing down on us because they just hopped on the pavement to go around red lights or get to the front of a queue . On Sunday I saw a group of very young children being given bike lessons but there was hardly a bike with proper lights and reflectors , we regularly get teens out after 9 pm on dark nights with not a light between them . There may be good cyclists but I've yet to see one . The sheer number of narrow escapes I've seen this year alone purely due to eagle eyed drivers seeing cyclists doing extremely foolish manovers and avoiding them ,i see alot of bikes doing wheelies down the wrong side of main roads . I've come to the the conclusion that we need cycle tracks to keep these dangerous bikers away from normal people
Is this a bot account?
Pictures, or it didn't happen:-D
In nearly 50 years of cycling I've never once borne down on a wheelchair user. I have though had to leap onto the road to avoid being clipped by a selfish self entitled mobility chair user. I've also had them race from up behind and narrowly miss me as they pass. I've lost count of the numbers who don't have reflectors or lights on their chairs and of those who do not travel on pavements at walking pace which they are required to do.
One incident sticks in my mind when I was cycling along the A370. There was a guy in a wheelchair waiting by the side of a pedestrian crossing and it turned red as I approached, so I naturally stopped, but then two drivers overtook me to go straight through the red which didn't go down well the chap wanting to cross.
If anyone on this site wants to continue to defend this poster (as some have, hello Adam Sutton) as being anything other than an anti-cyclist troll, could they kindly bear this comment in mind?
Personal attacks when I'm not even part of the conversation. You're better than this Rendel, at least I thought you were.
Troll or not the reality is your responses in the comments you are clearly referencing had you and others coming across like a sociopath, who cannot accept that cyclists can and do pose an issue to others. So one of us played into their hands and it wasn't me.
The thing is old chap, last time they were on here spouting demonstrable bullshit (about the "countless" times they have been hit by cyclists on the pavement) you leapt to their defence and castigated everybody who suggested that perhaps they weren't telling the truth. So it's not a personal attack, it's a gentle hint that maybe next time they come on with more of their attacks on cyclists and cycling you think about what an obvious anti-cycling troll they are, as evidenced by the comment I've quoted, rather than rushing to agree with them and launching your own personal attacks on anyone who has the temerity to call them out for it.
Bless. Just a reminder that you along with others were not simply "calling them out" but as noted bringing out your inner sociopath that has to squirm around and come up with all kinds of reasoning that diminishes what actually is an issue.
I mean the obvious factor is, how many actual wheelchair users are there in London? Clearly you are unlikely to see one in an accident simply from that statistical probablility. It doesn't diminish the fact we are talking someone far more vulnerable than a cyclist.
As I have pointed out countless times (and sorry doing so does not make me anti-cyclist, it is just being a realist) that my experience of the infrastructure in West London is one where a LARGE number of cyclists using it have a complete disregard of the pedestrian crossings and traffic signals dedicated to cyclists, therefore deliberatly putting pedestrians and indeed any wheelchair user that may be about at risk.
So well done, as noted troll or not you have actually played to their hand and as well as that shown yourself to be a bit of dick to those more vulnerable road users. Slowclap.
Your arguments would be (or at least appear to be) more valid if you didn't try to jazz them up with terms like sociopath which you clearly do not understand in the slightest. I suggest you go to Google as I did and look for examples of wheelchair users being hit by cyclists: as I said, I could find two on the first page, both in 2018, one from Liverpool and one from Tokyo. That tells me that Wheely's assertion that he has been hit so many times by cyclists that he can't even count is simply untrue and of a piece with the rest of his general hatred of cycling and cyclists. Unlike you, it seems, I treat the disabled as the same as other human beings, some of whom are good folks and some of whom are dicks; I'm not simply going automatically to believe everything somebody states just because they're in a wheelchair, any more than I would automatically disbelieve them. I would test their statement in exactly the same way as I would any other person and in this case I find it to be untrue. If you want to dispute that, find some facts instead of simply accusing me of being "a bit of a dick to those more vulnerable road users", which doesn't add anything to debate and only adds weight to the impression that you are simply supporting them as part of your general campaign against cyclists and cycling. One really does wonder why you come here to a website for cycling enthusiasts when all you want to do is moan about cyclists. I suppose it gets you attention, but if that's what you want there are surely better ways to achieve it.
Rendel, why do you always have to be such an obnoxious plonker.
You know this site is free to register for anyone, which is why you will get a mix of views on here - I know most are, but we arent all your puppets.
You're the person who as thisismyusername was banned from this site for bullying, libel and racism, amongst other things, aren't you, and who since they have returned has changed their username at least five times. I don't think I'll take lectures from somebody with that track record, thanks.
Pedantry in the middle of a tiff - but wasn't the racism and libel the Nigels/.../(latest? wheely?) Buckbreaker?
I guess this is rhetorical as I do believe LIFL (and others) is TIMUN, and for all I know they're one and the same, but TIMUN did seem to be a different individual than the Nigels...
Yes, he is definitely a separate entity but as TIMUN he joined in enthusiastically with some of Nigel's nasty racist sallies. I think it was mostly the bullying, constant comments about other people's wives and so on that got him slung out in the end though.
Absolute rubbish, spouting more tripe and lies as usual to tarnish someone else for your gain.
And I'm not lecturing you, just telling you to get lost
I don't need to "tarnish" you, every single time you leave a comment you do that for yourself. No lying involved, you are the poster who was banned as thisismyusername and everybody who used this site when you were stinking up the place with your hate in that persona knows it. It's also true that you have changed your name multiple times since returning, you came back as Rendel Harriz (somewhat ironic for somebody who accuses me of being obsessed with them), changed to Ledner Sirrah (this obviously passes for clever in your world), then Jeremy_Corbyn_for_PM, then The_Tory, and now your current name. Simple truth, no "tripe and lies" involved, although one does acknowledge that you and your party do have a great deal of difficulty distinguishing between the two.
What do I "gain", by the way, and where can I claim it? Is this part of your bizarre paranoid fantasy that I am a member of road.cc staff?
Dude, so what If I have changed my name? No one cares apart from you - road.cc allows it, so who cares?
Stop being such a waster and get on with life rather than pushing everyone down like you do on this site all the time.
Says the person who was banned from this site for bullying.
Web MD - first sign of a soiciopath "Lack of empathy for others"
NHS - Anti Social Personality Disorder (Socipath) some snippets as you clearly kind of know how google works to find your bias at least.
behave irresponsibly and show disregard for normal social behaviour
Seems to fit quite well given here you are still diminishing the idea that wheelchair users would face issues from problem cyclists. Again how many wheelchair users do you think there actually are in London? Can we simply dismiss this, as there isn't enough data for proper analyis and neglect those few wheelchair users?
Interestingly I note another article with a Vine video, this time with Vine dismissing a cyclist jumping a red light on a C10 route. I mean you cannot make this up, but thank you Jezza for providing both proof of what I witness along these routes and also proof that your ilk don't give a crap. So now consider a wheelchair user along these routes facing that kind of behaviour on a regular basis. It is not possible for one person in a wheelchair to actually have repeated incidents that impact their confidence and ability to get around safely?
How many hours a week do you volunteer for groups that work, amongst other things, to improve access for disabled people and to promote volunteering with the disabled, Adam? For me it's between the five and ten hours a week, depending how busy we are, so you can shove your pompous sermonising and "lack of empathy for others" where the sun don't shine.
As somebody else pointed out, there are approximately 250,000 wheelchair users in London, that's a lot. Google "wheelchair user hit by cyclist London" and see what you get. Nothing, not one story about a wheelchair user being hit by a cyclist. With large sections of the press being virulently anti-cyclist and desperate to publish anything which makes cyclists look bad, do you think it wouldn't be publicised if this was happening? No, there are no results because it's not happening.
P.S. No further responses to you on this from me, the utter absurdity and stupidity of your last post has demonstrated that you're simply not worth the bother and will desperately try to push your anti-cyclist narrative no matter what.
I think we can add anger issues to your list.
Edit: with a population of just under 10million in london that is approx 2.5% are wheelchair users. Not a lot. How many wheelchair users do you see on an average day? I would expect someone who professes to do so much for them to care a bit more but heyho.
Oh and one final point. I wouldn't even be here commenting if you hadn't decided to drag my name here. If anyone is acting pompous it is you yourself.
Whassat? Someone say something? Cycle tracks? Hear, hear!
Now you've just to convince blind and partially sighted people this isn't making things worse, and you're there!
The conclusion re: mobility tracks is correct. One issue is that we have certain fringe disabled lobby groups who allow themselves to be useful idiots for the 'nothing but motors' lobby.
On the stats upsubthread, there are around 1.2 million wheelchair users in the UK, which pro-rate would be 160k based in London.
Given that London has accessible public transport sometimes, fewer car owners, is more wallkable / wheelable than most places, and is the country's main medical hub, which is better (or more likely "less worse") for wheelchair users, I'd suggest the actual number will be somewhat higher. Especially as London has a large commuting population.
Call it approx 180k->250k wheelchair users in London as my estimate.
If they are not seen very much - and disabled people make significantly fewer trips - it is probably because of an unsafe / innaccessible public realm.
Is that a cyclist I see riding on the road in the picture from the Gloucester Green Party
As there appears to be signage in the cyclepath ... is it open yet?
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