The quiet cycling route behind Whitechapel Station that connects Vallance Road to Brady Street, Durward Street has been closed for the next four years. I spoke to the Crossrail site supervisor and he said the pedestrian/cycling route has closed so that they can dig trenches for the new station. The irony was lost on him when I said that 100 years ago trenches were also being dug for four years.

An alternative route has been signposted down Fulborne Street onto the Whitechapel Road but this is unsuitable for cyclists that are not confident using a main route however, this route will also close early next year for the continuing expansion of the station. Cyclists will then have to use the Whitechapel Road between Vallance Road (a junction that has claimed a cyclist's life 3 years ago) to Brady Street.

On Wednesday, 14th May at 7pm Tower Hamlets Wheelers will hold our first Mayoral Cycling Hustings. Ahead of the local elections on 22nd May we have invited all the declared mayoral candidates to come and speak about how they would improve cycling in the borough. Each candidate will have the opportunity to make a short speech followed by an Q&A session and then informal discussion.

With a close election forecast this is your opportunity to urge candidates to support improved cycling facilties and to support the LCC's Space4Cycling campaign. The event is open to all and refreshments will be provided.

For full event timings see our diary page.

Great news from TfL, bikes allowed on off-peak DLR trains. It's been a long wait for this!

"Transport for London (TfL) is pleased to announce that, following a successful trial, non-folding bicycles are now permitted on off-peak Docklands Light Railway (DLR) trains on an ongoing basis.

Over 5,000 bikes and their cyclists travelled on the DLR during the trial period, which ran between July 2013 and January 2014. Evidence from their successful carriage has been used to demonstrate that it is appropriate to continue this policy permanently.

From 27th January, non-folding bicycles will be allowed on DLR trains from Monday to Friday during off-peak hours (not between 07.30 and 09.30 or 16.00 and 19.00) and all day at weekends and bank holidays. For safety reasons bicycles are not allowed on trains travelling between Shadwell and Bank stations. The policy regarding folded bicycles (which were already permitted on the DLR at all times, including peaks) is unchanged.

These changes enhance the ability of cyclists to cross the River Thames in east and south-east London and are part of the Mayor’s Vision for Cycling in London, the £913m plan to transform the Capital into a city where cycling is a part of every day life. Cycling on London’s main roads has risen by 173 per cent since 2001 and this plan will help double the level cycling over the next 10 years.

For more information on DLR’s bicycle policy, please visit our website."

Full TfL press release.

Reproduced from LBTH Decisions of the Council, held on 27 November 2013.

13. EMERGENCY MOTIONS

13.1 Emergency Motion on Cycle Safety

Councillor John Pierce moved, and Councillor M A Mukit MBE seconded the motion as tabled.

Councillor Harun Miah moved an amendment to add to the third point under ‘this council resolves’ reference to the Cable Street cycle lane, which was accepted by Councillors Pierce and Mukit.

Following debate the motion as amended was put to the vote and was agreed.

RESOLVED

This Council Notes:

• Six people have now tragically died on Cycle Superhighway 2 (CS2)
• CS2 was recently labelled an “accident waiting to happen” by the coroner investigating the recent deaths of cyclists along the route.
• London Cycling Campaign’s Space for Cycling campaign calling on Transport for London and local authorities to ensure:
  • Safer Routes for schoolchildren
  • Streets without through motor traffic
  • Protected space on main roads/major junctions
  • Safe cycle routes via parks and canals
  • 20mph speed limits
  • Liveable town centres
• That despite the high number of accidents involving lorries Tower Hamlets Council only scores 3/5 on the London Cycling Campaign’s Safer Lorries rating.
• That over 10,000 Londoners have written to the Mayor in support of the London Cycling Campaign who want an urgent review of CS2.
• Labour London Assembly Member John Biggs has led the way campaigning passionately on cycle and pedestrian safety for many years.
• That he will tomorrow host a high level CS2 Safety Summit giving local residents and cyclists who use the CS2 an opportunity to air their views on what actions should be taken and to agree a list of demands for the Mayor of London and Transport for London.
• Labour representatives in the GLA have consistently put forward tangible solutions to make London safer for cyclists including calling for segregation of cycle lanes as well as an early phase for cyclists at traffic lights.

This Council believes:

• That cycle safety is a vitally important issue not only for road users but also to support cultural change and encourage more people to take up cycling.
• John Biggs’ work on the London Assembly over the past years has helped to highlight this as an important issue and that his proposals for segregated lanes and early phases for traffic lights would help to protect cyclists.

This Council further notes:

• The Mayor of Tower Hamlets’ dangerously ill-designed cycle scheme in Bethnal Green which was condemned by the Cyclists in the City group as a “new contender for the worst bike lane in London” and labelling its creation as “an utter scandal” with “absolutely no excuse”.
• The bike lane was littered with lamp posts and parking ticket machines blocking its path as well as having car parking
• That during the planning process Tower Hamlets Wheelers described the scheme as "a waste of money" saying it was "unclear who was meant to be benefiting" from the work.
• The IbikeLondon blog described the Bethnal Green route as “woefully inadequate; narrow, within the dooring zone of the parked cars, and ridiculously short before they spit you back in to the road from behind some parking.” And actually encourage cyclists to boycott the paths as the (now narrower) roads are actually safer than the cycle route.

This Council further believes:

• That whilst the Mayor of Tower Hamlets may say the right things on cycle safety he does not understand that cycling cannot be treated as a fashionable add-on. It needs to be integrated into the heart of road design and that badly designed cycle routes, whether CS2 or the Bethnal Green route actually put cyclists in more danger.
• That the widely condemned Bethnal Green route puts cyclists at more danger as a result of both the poor design of the cycle route and the narrower road space.

This Council resolves:

• To call on the Mayor of London to attend tomorrow’s CS2 Safety Summit to hear the concerns of local residents.
• To support the proposals resulting from John Biggs’ consultations with residents and cyclists at the CS2 Safety Summit and to write to the Mayor of London in support of that work.
• To call on the Mayor of Tower Hamlets to fully review the Bethnal Green cycle route project and the Cable Street cycle lane and to report back to Council on what went wrong.
• To support the London Cycling Campaign’s Safer Lorries Campaign and to strongly encourage contractors used by the Council to meet its Safer Lorries conditions.

(Action by: Stephen Halsey, Corporate Director, Communities, Localities and Culture)

Today at 6:00pm, for a 6.30pm start, London Cycling Campaign will mount a peaceful flash protest in response to the four recent cycling deaths in just over a week, and the increasing number of serious cycling injuries. The most recent fatality, a young woman in her mid-20s at Bow roundabout this morning, was the third cyclist to die at this location.

Read more: LCC urges Londoners to join cycling protest at Bow roundabout tonight calling for Mayor to take immediate action to make cycling safe.