FairTrade, pollution, and ... bronchs

When FairTrade started it seemed a bit of a joke.  Now it competes in the marketplace of goods, and in the marketplace of ideas.

Their first offerings of tea were a bit rough, rather like drinking brewed straw, but now products are excellent.  I especially appreciate the quality of wine, coffee, and chocolate.

When it comes to reducing pollution by cycling, it is too easy to think that our efforts are insignificant but they do make a cumulative difference.  What might appear token begins to affect change.  And there is change.

New roads include cycle tracks.  Cities are evolving cycle-friendly infrastructure.  Disused railway tracks are converted into cycleways.  But as yet radical design is unsupported.

We desperately need ideas like SkyCycle and the bronchs to be built now.

I wish,
Elder Adok

Kings Cross to Victoria in 15 pollution free mins

Getting across London can be tediously slow.  Either we burrow underground and melt in the humid heat, or we breath in particulates as we walk, cycle, or drive.  Imagine a practical alternative of reducing pollution by cycling inside fresh air bronchs.

London's Kings Cross looking up
© Darrell Godliman

It would only take 15 minutes of fascinating views to travel from Kings Cross to Victoria.  The passage is highlighted in Brighton Evening which is a chapter from a futuristic but realistic novel.

Virtually every week we hear news of a major city having to take drastic action to reduce suffocating pollution.  If we fly into many cities we are greeted by a whimper of yellow haze.  Imagine clean cycleways (not coloured tracks) designed specifically for uninterrupted travel in clean air.  They would not be heavy structures and could easily plumb into existing infrastructure.

All it needs is the imagination, and political action.  We lack both, but spread the idea!

Here's to true cycling liberation,
Elder Adok

A glimmer of hope after 7/7

The bombings on 7/7 brought 52 lives to an end, and injured many more.  However, that ghastly day in 2005 may in the end have saved some lives because cycling increased markedly.  The memorial looks like a collection of garden fence posts, but Alex Bamford sees it in a different light.  Perhaps we should too.

7/7 on 9/11 © Alex Bamford

Reducing pollution by cycling will mean we constantly arrive at work all hot and sticky.  That will encourage the provision of showers, secure cycle storage and airing facilities.  Imagine a world where those facilities are the norm.  

I envisage even better in chapter 03 of Serpent Dove.  The bronchs are designed for fresh air and cycling.  Arrival branches are cooled so that cyclists reach normal temperature quickly, and of course departure branches are warm to get cyclists comfortable.

On this tenth anniversary of 7/7 may those who died rest in peace; may the injured continue to find healing; may we relish the gift of life and look after our world.

Here's to imaginative investment that encourages us to do that!

I wish,
Elder Adok

Richard Branson's railroads + cycle-roads = Bronchs

Posted May 2015 as 'RB on roads for cycles ... Bronchs'

Revised August 2016

In March 2016 Richard Branson unveiled the first Azuma train for his East Coast rail franchise. He shows commitment to railroads. He has also come up trumps again with his idea to dedicate some roads for cycling only, ie cycle-roads. Trying to squeeze cycle lanes alongside existing traffic is a poor compromise. Good cycling space leads to conversation.

Picture by 105MM

Economically, environmentally, and mentally, it makes sense to invest in quality cycle-friendly designs. These will be at the expense of motor vehicles unless additional routes are built. Branson's thinking is good but it doesn't go far enough.

What would happen if he combined railroads and cycle-roads? Foster + Partners' SkyCycle design was rejected by Boris Johnson and David Cameron, who didn't have the imagination to see its potential. If cycle-roads are built above railroads there are a number of advantages:

• existing traffic flows are recognised and capacity increased
• no additional land is required
• cycle speeds are increased

Why not add fresh air and weatherproofing? SkyCycle + Bronchs is best.

Here's to freeing up our cities and citizens,

Elder Adok

Using empty platform space ... bronchs

Apart from signals and converging tracks, the end of most railway platforms are uncluttered.  How about using that space for connections into a cycle-friendly infrastructure?  Network Rail's plans for London Waterloo show the opportunity.

Instead of fighting through the main concourse and trying to grab a Boris bike outside the entrance, it would be as easy as walking in the other direction!  Smaller pods of bikes would be available safely screened from the tracks, or a folding Brompton bike could be used.  

Then it would be easy to cycle into dedicated cycleways which would gently climb above the tracks.  Such a light structure could connect to other London terminals within quarter of an hour.  These overground tubes would carry fresh air into the heart of the city ... they would be the bronchs.

Fantastic, futuristic but realistic!

Here's to that, Elder Adok

Dave, Boris, & Ed forget cyclists' vote

News reports, for example Telegraph's which party should cyclists vote for?, show that only the Lib-Dems and Greens are saying anything much about reducing pollution and investing in cycle-friendly infrastructure.

Others have forgotten that cyclists' vote, and in large numbers too.

I know Boris has introduced different coloured cycle lanes but as I've argued before they are not superhighways.  Time is running out for substantial realistic commitments to increasing cycling and reducing pollution.

Where is the political will we all seek?

Buying fresh air?

Water used to be free but now we pay for it.  Our tap water is so clean that a doctor recently told me it could be safely used to wash wounds without risk of infection.

Might we be buying clean air in the future?  After all the recent smog was not confined to Paris but slowly crept across central and eastern areas of Britain.  Those with health problems were advised to avoid excess exercise.

Cycling doesn't cause smog so surely cyclists have a right to travel in clean air.

Fast, refreshing, and efficient ... bronchs

I love Ibike's list giving 60+ advantages in cycling.  A bike can take you to the heart of a city, in this case Bath, England.

It would be worthwhile putting the advantages in order of preference, so how about this for starters:

1. It's often faster cycling short journeys or in cities [No 8]
2. The exercise and freedom refresh body, mind, and spirit [No 10 & 13]
3. I agree that a well maintained bike can give years of service at little expense to the environment [No 1 & 42]

But there's one disadvantage because cyclists often have to breathe in polluted air.  What if they had clean air to cycle in?  The cycleways could be the lungs of a city, its bronchs.

Here's to real investment in clean cycling,

Elder Adok

Waterloo cycling

Waterloo railway station is the busiest in London; the South West Trains - Network Rail alliance is increasing its capacity.  How will everybody get around?

Four platforms are being lengthened and the redundant Eurostar section being refurbished to provide additional platforms.  A succinct animation gives details.  Clearly there will be a significant rise in traffic; cycles could clog up pedestrian thoroughfares.

Boris bikes are available outside the station, but imagine being able to pick one up on your platform and cycle off into purpose built cycleways.  That's my vision in Serpent Dove, a futuristic realistic novel.

Enjoy, Elder Adok

Paris smog is caused by cars not cycles

In April 2014 I blogged about Paris smog; it's back!  Wikipedia has a good piece on the Eiffel Tower which virtually disappeared in last week's smog.

Free public transport, a 20kph speed limit, and banning cars with registration plates ending in an even number [very French that] were used to cut down on pollution.  Converting roads to cycleways would have been even better.  Various lanes would allow for a variety of speeds.

Imagine making that a permanent solution in Paris, or London, or Beijing, or anywhere.  We would be fitter, happier [conversations are possible between cyclists], and have cleaner lungs.

Here's to good design for cyclists,
Elder Adok

Designing out pollution

The Guardian has an article on avoiding pollution. Surprise surprise, keeping away from exhaust fumes [particularly diesel] helps, as their picture so aptly demonstrates. 

Being in the open is a huge advantage over sucking in fumes from the vehicle ahead straight into your own private space.  But what options do cyclists have?  Back streets are suggested but they are slow with many junctions.

Imagine cycling in purpose designed infrastructure supplied with clean air.  That what I call the bronchs, the lungs of the city.

Here's to clean airways, Elder Adok

SkyCycle + Bronchs is best

Why so little mention of SkyCycle in cycle-friendly infrastructure design searches?  It's the only idea complementing existing passenger flows; the rest amount to different coloured cycle tracks!

Foster + Partners, Exterior Architecture, and Space Syntax produced first class information for the SkyCycle launch in January 2014; an extract is shown above.  Since then the project seems to have been killed off by Boris Johnson.

Real cycleways must include dedicated infrastructure allowing cyclists to travel uninterrupted and at different speeds.  We need the motorway equivalent for cyclists, not coloured cycle tracks.

Imagine a step further ... as in this chapter from Serpent Dove.

Here's to real cycleways,
Elder Adok

Environmental benefits squared

I commend ADULTBICYCLING.com for their succint blog on the environmental benefits of biking but believe we should also be thinking about an environment that benefits biking.

Because cyclists don't pollute the atmosphere they deserve clean air. Imagine real investment in cycleways which were not fancy coloured lanes alongside polluting traffic. SkyCycle is a step in the right direction.

We need wise politicians to make a real commitment to cycling. 

I imagine a world where that has happened. 

Elder Adok

SkyCycle or 'spent tube cycle' Boris Johnson?

Timeout have told us about cycling underground in reconditioned redundant tube lines with the platforms hosting Boris' bikes.

Although reusing redundant infrastructure is an excellent idea it might be worth asking first why it became redundant.  The old tubes might be connecting places between which few people wished to travel.  Compare that to Foster + Partners SkyCycle which would run above existing railway lines.

SkyCycle complements existing traffic and is in fresh air not a dank underground atmosphere.  It also connects easily to existing cycling infrastructure unlike cycling in spent tubes.  But why not take things a step further?

The bronchs provides the real solution.

Here's to quality cycleways,
Elder Adok