Thursday 12 July 2012 saw the London Assembly Transport Committee opening the floor to cyclists at a special public meeting to debate safety concerns and barriers to cycling in London.
Did you watch the webcast or attend? If you did, why not let us have your feedback via Facebook (bottom of the page) or Twitter @BritishCycling.
Background
In light of a recent increase in the number of cyclists killed or injured and the Mayor’s plans to get more Londoners on their bikes, the Committee is investigating ways to make cycling in London safer and more appealing.
Committee Members questioned representatives of cycling campaign groups and other experts as well as inviting cyclists and members of the public to raise issues about their experiences on London’s roads.
The meeting covered issues including: reasons for the recent increase in cycling casualties, conflicts between cyclists and other road users; the safety of cycle superhighways; differences between cycling infrastructure in London and abroad; and measures to encourage more people to cycle.
When & Where
The Transport Committee meeting took place on Thursday, 12 July 10am in the Chamber at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Watch the Meeting
The meeting can also be viewed via webcast during the meeting and should be added to the webcast archive (same link) shortly after the meeting, so if you missed it "live" you can always watch it again.
British Cycling's View
In April we asked our members what the new Mayor needed to do and out of 1471 respondents we heard that 52% felt that more dedicated space for cyclists on the roads is a key issue and a quarter felt that the mayor should focus on imrpvoing road conditions, especially potholes. British Cycling, along with the London Cycling Campaign, the CTC and Sustrans, will be at the open forum meeting to make our members' views known.
The Panel
The following guests were invited to the meeting:
Martin Gibbs, Director for Policy and Legal Affairs, British Cycling
Chris Bainbridge, Chair, Borough Cycling Officers Group (BCOG)
German Dector-Vega, London Director, Sustrans
Chris Peck, Policy Coordinator, Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC)
Ashok Sinha, Chief Executive, London Cycling Campaign (LCC)
A short summary of the issues raised will be published after the meeting. The Committee will draw on this, plus submissions received from cyclists via email and social media, to shape its questions to Transport for London and the Mayor's representatives, alongside experts from other cities, at a hearing on 11 September 2012.
