Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s driver cuts across and nearly hits cyclist; Local paper blames cycling route for shop closure; Egan Bernal’s epic 270km ride; “Those leaves are more protected than cyclists!”; Cav’s team collapses + more on the live blog

It’s been quite the morning for Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

After informing the public that ambulances won’t be able to respond to elderly people who fall during the upcoming NHS strikes, Barclay was the greeted by the seemingly ever-present sight and sound of prominent anti-Brexit activist, Steve Bray, who duly awarded the Health Secretary the much-coveted ‘Tory bullshitter of the year’ award.

Now there’s a hard-fought competition if I ever saw one…

Before handing Barclay his accolade, however, Bray made sure to berate the minister’s driver for parking on double yellows:

We explained in depth the legality of parking to Stephen Barclay’s driver. pic.twitter.com/FfAUwgAsNA

— Steve Bray on Mastodon @SNB19692 [at] Mastodon.Social (@snb19692) December 7, 2022

And if that wasn’t enough, Barclay’s driver then proceeded to pull out right in front of a passing cyclist, who was forced to brake rather sharply to avoid a Land Rover-shaped dent in his side (wait for it):

Stephen Barclay just now after his interviews …. steps out to accept his award. pic.twitter.com/VKmzrifyOP

— Steve Bray on Mastodon @SNB19692 [at] Mastodon.Social (@snb19692) December 7, 2022

The driver’s near miss has somewhat overshadowed Bray’s original point about Barclay’s impact on the health service, though some on Twitter have pointed out that maybe the minister’s chauffeur was simply trying to drum up some work for the beleaguered NHS:

Parked on double yellows then fails to give cyclist enough room when pulling away. Doubt he even saw the cyclist. All on camera for all to see.

— Jack O’Baen (@jackobaen) December 7, 2022

His driver needs to learn to not drive at cyclists!

— Step Parikian (@sparikian) December 7, 2022

I know rules don't apply to Tories and @metpoliceuk won't intervene without public pressure (see: lockdown parties where your Downing St officers turned a blind eye) but this needs looking at, stopping on double yellows then cutting up a cyclist, this driver is dangerous

— PedroD (@PeteD81) December 7, 2022

That driver was trying to make more work for the NHS! Poor cyclist!

— Jenny 👩‍🦽 (@JennyPe44658500) December 7, 2022

That cyclist was lucky , avoiding having to wait 2 hours for an ambulance

— nellyblue (@nellybl82102839) December 7, 2022

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Tory ministers in cars have proved hazardous for people on bikes.

In October 2016, then-transport secretary Chris Grayling was filmed dooring cyclist Jaiqi Liu just outside the Palace of Westminster. According to reports at the time, Grayling immediately went to check on the shaken cyclist, but departed soon afterwards without leaving his name or details.

And earlier this year, Barclay’s predecessor Sajid Javid was on the end of an ear bashing from a certain megaphone-wielding Mr Bray… while his driver ignored the cyclists’ advanced stop line.

We’re rattling through the old live blog stalwarts this morning…

This time, we’re featuring that road.cc classic, ‘Local Businesses versus Bike Lanes’, but this time with a twist courtesy of another favourite, ‘Unsubstantiated claims made in local newspapers to cause anti-cycling aggro’ (I’ll work on a catchier title for that one).

The controversial cycle route has been blamed for the closure of a well-known store https://t.co/nwKLHAhrMm

— The Star, Sheffield (@SheffieldStar) December 6, 2022

This morning, the Sheffield Star claimed that the Arnold Laver Depot on the city’s Little London Road shut down on Monday, with the loss of nine jobs. According to the paper, workers at the depot, which sells timber and building materials, said that they started hearing rumours about a potential closure last week.

One worker told the paper that the company’s lease for the site, the base of Arnold Laver’s Sheffield Central Depot, was not being renewed because the business wasn’t making any money.

And what was to blame for this downturn?

Well, the austere economic climate, of course, but also – drumroll, please – the new cycle route on the Little London Road.

Celebrating the beginnings of the Sheaf Valley Active Travel route on a lovely sunny day. Ends abruptly but so does the cycle infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/OmQNRsLMvV

— Putu Winchester (@beetrootandpeas) August 10, 2022

The Sheaf Valley Cycling Route – designed to ensure cyclists can travel safely from the south-west of the city – was installed in the summer and has proven immensely popular. According to a petition launched at the end of November calling for the route to extended and completed, cycling on the Little London Road has increased by 50 percent month on month.

The petition also argued that the completed route “would then have a massive ‘catchment area’ which would allow those wanting to cycle, but afraid to along the busy main arterial roads that we currently have, the ability to get out of their cars.”

"We the undersigned petition the council to Complete and extend the Sheaf Valley Cycle Route."

Pass it on 🧑‍🦽🚴🚶‍♀️https://t.co/Lr34jGG6hf pic.twitter.com/ZGioQum21D

— Arundels of Norfolk (@ArundelsofN) November 28, 2022

However, the Sheffield Star’s source claimed that the route is responsible for cutting traffic past the Arnold Laver DIY shop and increasing congestion on the nearby Abbeydale and Chesterfield roads, further deterring visitors to the shop.

Absolute garbage. This business didn't exactly rely on passing trade- you either want wood for building or you don't. From the article it was already going bust way before the cycle lane appeared.

— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) December 6, 2022

So, classic ‘blame the bike lane’ stuff then, that we’ve seen hundreds of times before.

> Cycle lane will be "clear getaway" for shoplifters and drug dealers, business owners claim

But wait, there’s more…

This morning, Arnold Laver responded to the Star journalist’s request on Twitter for comment by asserting that the Sheffield Central branch was, indeed, “still very much open”.

Hello @DavidWalsh_M No, that branch is still very much open https://t.co/LFnwGf2Y8m

— Arnold Laver (@ArnoldLaver) December 7, 2022

What’s going on?

Update: The Star’s original article now seems to have vanished from the paper’s website. Don’t tell me the whole thing was just a load of porkies, was it? Surely not…

Come on Jim, you know what to do…

@markandcharlie @theJeremyVine @MikeyCycling I really wish cyclists wouldn't ride two abreast and hold up traffic. Car drivers have important things to get done and can't spend an extra second waiting after all..... 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 pic.twitter.com/tRMlCu6w1m

— Greg N (@n00dles71) December 7, 2022

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Brompton Bicycle (@bromptonbicycle)

Brompton Bikes reached a rather significant milestone today, as its millionth folding bike rolled out of the company’s factory in Greenford, London, 47 years after the iconic design was first invented.

Of course, Brompton weren’t simply going to let this landmark pass them by, and the millionth bike has been given the special design treatment.

Based on the one of the brand’s original models, the Mark One, the bike features a red main frame, silver parts, aluminium touchpoints, and, naturally, a nice decal commemorating its place in Brompton’s history. Oh, and it’s also been signed by founder and inventor Andrew Ritchie and the company’s current CEO Will Butler-Adams.

And the bike hasn’t just been made to look pretty in the factory or an office: it will instead go on a global tour of 16 cities, with the aim of ensuring that thousands of Brompton enthusiasts can have a spin on the landmark bike.

“This is a magic moment in Brompton’s history, and we want to celebrate it with the people that made it happen,” says Butler-Adams.

“Since the first bike in 1975, a Brompton has always been built to be ridden, and the millionth is no different. Instead of putting it on display somewhere, we want it flying down the Mall in London, across Orchard Road in Singapore, along the Sein in Paris, exploring and moving through cities as it’s always meant to.”

Details of the tour will be released soon on Brompton’s website.

Tomorrow, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) will face a judicial review at the Royal Courts of Justice, over what campaigners say was the premature removal of protected cycle lanes from Kensington High Street.

The lanes, one on either side of the street and used by up to 3,000 cyclists a day, were removed in December 2020, just seven weeks into the scheduled 18-month trial, before the scheme had even been completed, and despite protests from campaigners and nearby schools, among others.

In March 2021, after telling local campaigners that they would reconsider the decision to remove the scheme, senior councillors at the Conservative-controlled borough voted unanimously not to reinstate the lanes but instead to “develop plans to commission research into post-Covid transport patterns”, which could potentially “lead to a feasibility study in the longer term.”

> Kensington & Chelsea Council refuses to reinstate High Street cycle lane

The council insisted at the time that the decision to remove the lanes – in response to which then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly went “ballistic” – followed what it claimed were complaints from local businesses and residents (though later evidence showed that some of that opposition emanated from well outside the borough).

The local authority also claimed that the lanes created congestion and hindered the emergency services, even though an independent study found that traffic jams had worsened following the removal of the lanes, partly due to illegally parked cars.

Now, campaigners from Better Streets for Kensington and Chelsea will head to court tomorrow to claim that the council’s decision to scrap the trial early, which prevented it “from running its course and gathering data” was unlawful.

> Council officer edited business group’s press statement on removal of Kensington High Street bike lane

“It’s been a frustrating two years since the cycle lanes were taken out,” says Better Streets’ chair Justin Abbott. “We’ve seen progress across London, but our home borough has fallen further and further behind others on healthy streets measures. 

“We remain stunned that RBKC have chosen to spend public money fighting this case and prolonging road danger – rather than accept our repeated invitation to embrace the huge support to fill this overwhelmingly obvious need.

“It’s ridiculous that a volunteer community group such as ours has had to spend two years on this case. The context is jaw-dropping. Our borough – RBKC – has 200km of road, and not a single kilometre of protected cycle lane. It has blocked, hindered, ripped out, or promised and then not delivered, protected bike lanes across the borough. No other London borough has no protected bike lanes.

“Perhaps this history of refusal to put in place basic safety infrastructure explains the utter chaos of their decision to rip out the lanes in December 2020 and subsequent attempts to improve their paperwork.

“Win or lose this case, we hope RBKC finally come to their senses and embrace the support across the community from 17 local schools, the NHS, Imperial College, businesses like Waitrose, iconic institutions like the Royal Albert Hall and so many more, to put in place safe cycle lanes on this route.”

> Motor traffic journey times increase after Kensington cycle lanes removed

London Cycling Campaign’s CEO, Dr Ashok Sinha, added: “We are pleased to see the borough of Kensington & Chelsea being held to account for its irrational decision to end a safe cycleway trial prematurely.

“The council is putting lives at risk by refusing to make cycling safe on any street in their borough. Particularly damaging is their failure to take action on the headline recommendation of the Centre for London report that they themselves commissioned, namely to put safe cycling infrastructure on Kensington High Street. Plus, by deterring cycling in this way, they are undercutting their own promises to reduce toxic air pollution and carbon emissions.

“The money the Council is spending fighting their own residents in court should instead be spent on preventing further serious injuries and deaths on their roads, which has some of the highest casualty rates in London.”

After months of rumours, gossip, and half-truths about the imminent demise of Jérôme Pineau’s ambitious and controversial B&B Hôtels project, this time, as the old Southside Johnny song goes, it’s for real.

(Come for the cycling news, stay for the obscure ‘70s music references.)

According to a report from Le Telegramme, the team’s manager Pineau held a two-hour video conference this morning with his staff and riders to tell them that the squad – bereft of a new title sponsor the former Quick-Step rider hoped would vault them into the big leagues – would be shutting up shop at the end of 2022.

The news, which was on the cards for a while now, comes at the end of Pineau’s ultimately vain attempt to attract a big-name sponsor which would finance a WorldTour team (to be led by new signing Mark Cavendish), a new women’s team (headed by French champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot), and an academy set-up.

> Mark Cavendish’s future uncertain after team boss tells riders to look elsewhere

However, even the allure of a potentially record-breaking attempt at the Tour with Cav wasn’t enough to convince a new backer (with names like Amazon and Carrefour chucked around in the early days) and, despite Pineau’s desperate attempts to convince everyone in recent weeks that the team – or teams – would still be in the peloton in some fashion come 2023, the end appears nigh.

Or, as Le Telegramme poetically put it, “there is no more hope”.

Founded in 2018 as Vital Concept, the French squad amassed 36 victories during its time in the pro ranks, almost half of which were courtesy of former marquee sprinter Bryan Coquard and veteran stage hunter Pierre Rolland.

However, the last few years saw the team develop some exciting talents such as Franck Bonnamour, mountain biker Victor Koretzky, and 21-year-old prospect and CRO Race stage winner Axel Laurance.

Nevertheless, Pineau’s attempts to build an empire around Cavendish and Cordon-Ragot have ultimately crumbled, with riders and staff now placed in the awful position of scrambling for work as we approach Christmas.

Here on the road.cc live blog, we love providing some (often entertaining) answers to a question often heard emanating from a passing car, as the enquirer gestures wildly at nothing in particular: ‘Why don’t you lot use the cycle lane?’

Today’s instalment, spotted in Wimborne, Dorset, and posted on a local active travel Facebook group, is a real gem.

Not only does it feature the usual barrage of vehicles parked in the bike lane – in this case, two vans (one of which I hope is on its way into the cycle lane and not abandoned all askew), purported to belong to Dorset Council – but it also, for some reason, a big pile of leaves.

Before anyone starts to worry, the leaves – which count as vulnerable road users, right? – are protected by a fabulous array of cones.

As one member of the group replied in the comments: “Those leaves have more protection than a cyclist often gets!”

Leaves get cones, cyclists get a lick of paint in the road. So that’s how it is, eh?