To the Clap’ham Bandstand! …on Saturday morning for the Lambeth Cyclists feeder ride rolling out towards #space4cycling. This is a political cycling call to arms organised by the London Cycling Campaign.
The main central London meeting point was a rallying cause for the many cycling tribes of London ahead of the local elections taking place on Thursday.
The politics behind the ride were simple; the #space4cycling hashtag said it all.
A healthy three figure mini pelaton of Lambeth cyclists snaked through the backstreets of Battersea, around Sloane Square and through to Hyde Park. We picked up other riders en route ahead of the meeting of the other tribes.
#space4cycling was timely on two counts. The politicians need to listen to London cycling concerns ahead of 22 May, plus only last week yet another London cyclist was killed whilst cycling around The Elephant.
The London Cycling Campaign has covered all 629 London wards. A ward ask has been drawn up by the local cycling group activists in each area.
#space4cycling has been urging local cyclists to lobby all candidates standing for election in their ward, and ask them to sign up to support the ward ask for their particular patch.
For me this means a segregated cycle route along South Lambeth Road. It’s a HUGE ask to be honest. Space is limited already with only two lanes flowing in each direction, one of which is for buses.
For the record I’ve received a response from Cllr Imogen Walker, one of the Labour party candidates for Stockwell. Lambeth Labour supports the ask, although with the caveat that £70k worth of funding would need to be found…
Not all of the 629 wards have been so successful. The London Cycling Campaign reports that 35% of the asks have been met with a positive political endorsement. Over 75,000 requests for clarification have been made by London cyclists.
It is all too easy for *any* candidate to endorse a policy. “Free swimming for every resident” was endorsed four years ago around here. You try asking for that each morning down at Brixton Rec, Comrades…
Action is needed.
Which is pretty much what Saturday morning was all about. A route from Park Lane down to the Embankment was closed to cars. This in itself would have been quite an ask only ten years ago.
The incredibly enthusiastic @markbikeslondon did a brilliant job as the pre-roll out warm up man. Numbers are always tricky to estimate. Two to three thousand? It certainly seemed larger than one of the peak time summer Critical Mass rides.
The cycling itself was secondary. This wasn’t the most enjoyable of cycles around town. A slow pace, plenty of stopping but a very visible presence as we made our way through the West End.
The irony of #space4cycling was that there wasn’t much… space for cycling, given the popularity of the ride.
We passed the very apolitical Tweed Ride along Westminster Bridge. Bells were rung in support, hopefully for the message, if not the clothing clobber.
Colourful flags are banners added to the cycling carnival atmosphere. A lone LibDem flag attached to an old rust bucket cut a lonely figure.
The Politics with a capital P continued when we reached the Embankment. Perhaps the loudest PA system that London has ever heard was the platform for the politicos to endorse their cycle friendly credentials.
Labour’s Val Shawcross, Caroline Pidgeon of the LibDems and the Green party Leader Natalie Bennett said all the right things.
Not a single Conservative in all of central London could be found to speak about cycling. Instead it was left to Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor’s Cycling Commissioner for London.
The best speech though came from a young mother, speaking about her ambitions and concerns for having a safe cycling culture in the capital for her young son.
Will #space4cycling make any difference?
Probably not when it comes down to the hard politics. Politicians will say anything around this time of the year with every vote literally being hunted down.
But you need a physical presence in order to grow a movement.
The London Cycling Campaign is growing.
