SE23 - The great divide.

Not content with making sure people know there are two (apparently) distinctly different parts to the postcode that is SE23, a movement has now started to get part of the postcode, Honor Oak Park of course, re-zoned by TfL as Zone 2.

Cheaper fares, yaaaayyy!!
That is all it is about, honest. Nothing to do with the "oh I live in Zone 2" status statement, or drawing yet another line between "them and us". I have long whined on about the divide in SE23, and how important or over played it really is, however it seems that some will not be content until they make it into a whole new place. Maybe it should get its own postcode HOP1 or something? How about that?

While I admire the desire to get changes which benefit the many, I sometimes think the motives, and conversations they spawn are a little more telling.
For the residents of HOP, who bought their houses in Zone 3 pricing, result. A change of zone is sure to have an impact of sorts on the house prices. For those renting, well that is a different matter, they can no doubt expect their rent to rise next time their contract is up.
Parking, because of the close knit of side streets, with quite a few blocked roads, which HOP is made up of, parking is already a bit of a chore. Regularly discussed on local forums, parking outsides ones house is a bonus not a certainty. With some (to the annoyance of others) pave their gardens to get off street parking.
To imagine that other commuters will not be attracted to the area is nothing less than ignorant. For those between Forest Hill and HOP stations, the obvious choice would be to head towards HOP for the preferential travel pricing. Not to mention those who drive in from other areas and park near FH station. The obvious choice would be to head nearer HOP and travel to and from there.

Should HOP get re-zoned, how long before there is uproar and calls for residential parking zones to be extended through the streets?

Another unconsidered side effect is local businesses. many businesses get a fair bit of trade from commuters as they pass the shops on their way to and from work. Dartmouth Road is booming, London Road is getting a Costa, it's all going so well. Perry Vale shops also get a bit of passing trade from that end of the area.
Now take away all those people who could do their foot commute to HOP instead, or indeed park closer to HOP and walk through the back streets. All that passing trade for FH, gone.

The arguments being made about where is the centre of London, how randomly is was chosen, etc seems to ramble on a bit, but the quote below sheds a little light on the matter.

The centre of London is often given as the Charles I statue south of Trafalgar Square. It's a handy convention for measuring distances to and from London. But where is the geometric centre?

Back in 2010, we did a little experiment. We pasted a map of Greater London onto cardboard, cut out the map, and then tried to balance it on a pin-head. The balance point, also known as the centre of gravity, can be said to be the geometric centre of London. Turns out that Lambeth North tube station is the centre of the city. 

https://londonist.com/2014/04/where-is-the-centre-of-london-an-update

Interesting eh. It isn't a dart thrown at a dart board, or some cunning person from Forest Hill who wanted to persecute those who he envied as they lived in the modern Utopia known as Honor Oak Park. It was done eons ago, when mapping London's road networks etc was done, and those signs started to appear with how far it was to London. A central point was decided long before TfL came into existence.

Just before I wrap up this latest whine, I thought I would refer back once again to The Londonist. You see this whole re-zoning thing has been done before, the conversations had, and the points made. Read all about it in the comments section of this old post. It also has a somewhat more geographically accurate map of London and the zones too.
https://londonist.com/2014/01/mapped-londons-oyster-zone-boundaries


Til next time, I will carry on observing the threads of discussions on the internet, and watch with amazement as yet another thing which won't really impact me unfolds, and is decided. Something some other people who are not local enough, or involved should maybe consider doing too.  #JustSayin

Cycling in London

As I have said before, there is this huge incentive to get people on their bikes, and out of their cars. Having made the transition myself over a year ago, I have to say I am SO much happier for doing so. That said, I would be even happier if my employers offered a Ride to Work scheme. Large as they are, unfortunately they don't participate. Oh well, it's not like I NEED a new bike is it? Or do I? (N+1)

Sadly, as positive as I feel about it, there are many negatives involved in cycling to work in London too. Arrogant drivers, arsehole cyclists (quite a few), and pedestrians... Bloody pedestrians! Only this morning I had an attentive young lady walk slowly out in front of the bike, turn to face me, and happily continue walking into my path, as I swerved to avoid hitting her.

Then I get to work, and see that the City of London have published guidelines, with this fantastic statement within.
“Our message is simple – in the City, please ride at a speed where you can easily stop if a person walking happens to step out,” says a statement from the Corporation.

I am left wondering if there is an opposite statement suggesting pedestrians walk at a sensible pace, and make checks before walking into the road.... Nope, didn't think so.

Article is here.
https://www.bikebiz.com/news/cyclistsslowdown

Now before you sneer and say "bloody cyclists", I get it. There are some proper arseholes out there on pushbikes. Red light jumping, queue shoving, impatient arseholes. I ride with them every day. ON their 5 mile commute, acting like they are on a stage from the TDF, or in a sprint race. I happily amble along, and watch the muppets bumping into each other, race each other from light to light, or just simply act like they are the only ones on the road. It is those people who ruin it for everyone else.

Every road using group has them, the self important twats, who feel their journey is far more important than everyone elses, cars pushing in after driving along the outside of a queue, pedestrians shoving to the front of a crossing, if indeed they bother to use one at all, the list goes on.

As I have said before, somehow, we all need to try and get along the best we can, on a small , cramped, shared space, also known as the public highway. And to be honest, given the volumes of all groups using the roads, things go pretty bloody well.

However, from time to time people in positions of authority get involved, and it all gets a bit messy. Sometimes through ignorance, and other times they are simply being stupid about things, trying to say the right thing at the right time.

Cycle lanes, planned by anyone from a genius, to someone who thinks they know how cyclists behave, but has never ridden a bike in their life. Some are brilliant, make sense, flow with the road, and allow cyclists to take a variety of routes while remaining in the relative safety of the bike lane. Others are based on a single popular route, and should you find yourself trying to use it, but not wanting to go where it suddenly leads to, you are stuffed. If you don't know a cycle lane, don't use it, that's my rule of thumb.

When it comes to the above article, it is a case of setting guidelines to appease the masses, rather than trying to get the message through to them. Pedestrians have been walking into roads without checking since the time of horse and cart. Old black and white film actually shows a disturbing level of chaos on the roads from many decades ago. Sometimes when I see such things, I get the impression things have actually improved!!

Cars should slow down, IN CASE a pedestrian walks in front of one.... Bikes should now ride at a slower pace than cars are permitted to do so, IN CASE a pedestrian walks out in front of one. Yet with all this in place, there is still no law to cover what the USA consider jaywalking. Why not !!
In general, if a person is struck by a vehicle of any sort on the road, the immediate blame will fall on the operator of the vehicle. Dash cams, and handlebar cams now show a very different story, yet the onus still falls on them to be the ones taking more care.  I don't get it!

CycleGaz is one of the people I follow on Twitter and YouTube, and in almost every video he posts, where there is a conflict with road users, it is more often than not, the other persons fault. Or should I say, the other party could have acted more responsibly and considerately.  Carelessness or arrogance, either way it could end in injury.
https://twitter.com/cyclegaz

I too now like to video my journeys, and I have to say, the most common occurrence is pedestrians walking out. If anything, I give some motorists a little leeway , given the number of angles risk approaches them from on certain roads. Some more obvious than others.
Pedestrians on the other hand, in all cases I have caught on camera, the cause is simple. They just can't be bothered to wait, so out they go. After all, it's only a bloke on a bike. Well, its 240lbs of bloke on a bike travelling at 15-20mph... It's gonna hurt (both of us) if we collide.

So to see an authority make such stupid statements, is really annoying. Target the easiest bunch, rather than the actual issue. Seems to be the done thing these days. Then when someone else throws themselves in front of a bike, they can say, "we warned them!!".

Again, I want to be clear, any cyclist riding in a dangerous or inconsiderate manner, jumping red lights, carving in an out of others etc, gets no respect or defence from me. Let the courts deal with them in a matter they see fit. There is no reason for being a dick on the roads, none at all.

I enjoy cycling, and hope to continue to be able to do so, in all weathers, at all times of year, for a long time to come. And as the years go by, I really hope that I see an improvement on the conditions out there, as well as seeing a change in each groups behaviour, taking responsibility for their actions. Unlikely I know, but I can dream right!

Cyclists, make yourself seen, and ride in an appropriate manner for the conditions of the road you are using.
Motorists, mirrors please guys and girls, and an occasional look to the side.
Pedestrians, look where you are going, and drop the "it's just a bike" attitude. They hurt, honest!

I will say, I really hope the future of road planning, and cycle lanes, involves a group of people who cycle on those exact roads daily. Some of the solutions out there so far are hilarious, and must have cost a fortune. For example, I love seeing a road with a cycle lane, then narrowing points for pedestrians or traffic calming, causing pinch points for cyclists / motorists. Space them out, then squeeze them together, smart!

Going into the red. Bus Lanes!

In so many walks of life 'going into the red' is a bad thing. Bank balance, fuel guage, temperature gauge, and even, yup you guessed it... The Bus Lane!

It is the dreaded bus lane that I thought I would have a little ramble about today.
Many a time, driving a familiar route at certain times of day I chuckle to myself, as all the law abiding, fearful drivers sit patiently (and impatiently) in the normal lane, waiting in a long queue of traffic in a mix of cars going straight on and being held up by those turning right.... Meanwhile, the left lane, THE BUS LANE is clear for traffic going straight on and left. But no one will use it.

Duh, Its a bus lane I hear you say. Yes it is, but like yellow and red lines, bus lanes also have hours of operation, and the times I refer to are those times of day when the bus lane is no longer in effect. Its fair to say that when driving along at 30mph, watching for idiots pulling out, pedestrians on the phone walking into the road, and cyclists who don't see to care for their own life, reading the operation hours of a bus lane comes low on the list of priorities. (I will come back to this later)

However, when sitting in stop start traffic, and running along side a bus lane, especially a road you are caught on regularly , my recommendation to you is this... Read the hours of operation. Make a mental note of the times, and remember them next time you use the road. In general its not hard to rememeber as there are only a few sets of hours used on most lanes.

All Day
7am-7pm
7am-10am and 4pm-7pm
7am-10am
4pm-7pm

Not that much to remember now is it :)

The next thing to do is pay attention to the time of day you travel, and keep an eye on your clock or watch in the car (assuming you keep it adjusted correctly)

Its not just one or two places, nor is it just around the hour the restrictions change. I have frequently buzzed along up a 'not in service' bus lane only to receive glares from other drivers queuing, or even having them swerve into the lane to stop me passing. Its not my fault you are not paying attention, or are just in fact an idiot.

This basically brings me to something I have wondered for a long long time now. Is there really no way to use a basic lighting system to show a bus lane is allowed to be used by normal traffic? The emphasis seems to be on penalising the unauthorised use of them, rather than encouraging the use of them when they are not in service. It only takes a broken down car, road works in the middle of the road, or some other incident to bring the single 'permitted' lane to a grinding halt, and causing the fearful drivers to sit there politely waiting to navigate their way around the obstruction. Meanwhile, all traffic simply turning left is trapped in this queue.

Of course this could be avoided by drivers taking the time to pay attention to the signs, have a little read, and take advantage of the out of service bus lane. But the fact is... THEY DON'T!

In recent years, to ease congestion, and negate the need to widen motorways further, electronic signage has been used to advise motorists that they are permitted to drive on the hard shoulder, turning it into another lane. This can of course be reverted back to a hard shoulder at any time. So with this in mind, and as a trial for the really back areas for this on roads like the South Circular for example, how about replacing the standard bus lane hours of operation signs with ones more commonly found in town centres for car parks. With an electronic section, set to the hours of operation of the lane, but ultimately controlled by bodies like TfL, who could make the bus lane usable to clear congestion around an incident, or indeed extend the closure of the bus lane to traffic when traffic issues are causing serious delays for buses. (see it works both ways).

I have thought over the years about how this could be done. A simple red / green traffic light system on the hours of operation sign, giving a simple indication that the bus lane is open for use by other road users, right through to the above suggestion, which actually came to me writing this.

Working in the logistics business, I know how frustrating it can be for vehicles to be caught up on a long road, just waiting to turn left. And from a private road users perspective, I am flabbergasted by the number of people willing to sit in traffic purely driven by the fear of driving along or into a bus lane. Another thing I have noticed is that this 'fear' is so powerful, people actually swerve around bus stops laid with red tarmac.

While I know the aim of a bus lane is to ensure the bulk of commuters, those willing or required to use buses, are able to get to where they want in a timely manner, while the buses manage to stick quite closely to their timetables. And I'm all for that. having used buses quite a lot in the past its lovely to bypass the traffic and get there in a quarter of the time. Actually I can see that its an encouraging factor when it comes to deciding how to make your commute. 40 mins of traffic or a 15 min value for money bus journey. Personally I usually choose to drive.

So, people of London and other mighty cities, TfL, and dear Boris.... For those who concentrate SO much on the goings on on the roads that they can't read the hours of operation, for those caught in the moment and not aware, and for those who are terrified of the red tarmac which invaded our highways and threatened to charge us £100 for laying a wheel on to it (even if it is only a bus stop and the driver cant tell the difference) Please can we consider a way to make the drivers of the roads choked with traffic and bordered by expensive to drive in lanes, aware of when they are allowed to break free from the traffic, and make a run for freedom (a left turn).

Control over that extra lane could make such a difference. It has on the motorways, now to help those trapped in the cities (by their own stupidity)

And to those people reading this thinking aaaah..... Do something about it, get to know the roads on your journeys, and pay attention to the time of day. Its not a lot to do, but could be very rewarding. A quicker journey home, and the priceless looks on the faces you pass by. Try it.

Fantastic New Years Day

For some, the night before is about getting blind drunk, over indulging, and 'celebrating' a little too much. For others its a quiet night in and just another day in the morning. For others however its another day of loneliness, and isolation.

Being anyone who falls into the category of vulnerable in this day and age is not easy, especially in the hustle and bustle of a city. Over looked, forgotten, and brushed aside by a society which has become too busy and self involved to take a moment to lend a hand.

So this New Years Day, a large group of volunteers in the SE23 area got together to assist a wonderful man Tommo, who has been organising a lunch and fun afternoon for such groups over Xmas and NY for over a decade now. Following a post for help on the local SE23.com forum by Alice, a whole host of people jumped on board to help out with the last of the 3 days. Some however had helped the whole time, so hats off to those people.

A minibus would collect groups of people from the surrounding area, and the interactions with one another would begin. I ran  the minibus with my nephew Calum, who for a young shy lad did a great job knocking on doors, and helping people to and from the bus. A great exercise for overcoming the shyness he suffers from. As each new character joined the bus, the mood changed up a gear, excitement, general conversation, and some wonderful interactions.

On arriving back at the hall after the first trip, the volunteers had done an amazing job starting to set the place up, and by the end of the last trip, the place was transformed in both image and energy. (as you can see)

By the early afternoon the logistics planning of getting everyone home again, but without making them feel rushed or left out was underway. Talking to people about what time they wanted to leave, while they were trying to concentrate on a game of bingo was not the easiest task. However, along with many other tasks, like phoning ahead to let people know we were on our way to pick them up, Daryl, my niece, took to it like a duck to water, and got the job done.

By the end of the day, after a few misunderstandings, a few unplanned diversions, and a whole lot of fun, all the guests were safely dropped back home, the minibus returned to Sidcup, the keys back to Swanley, and the final curtain fell.

This morning, we got the rest of the clearing up done, all the cooking equipment, food, and decorations back to their home, and the hall was like new again.

So I want to sum up by saying this:

Thank you to everyone who volunteered time, goods, or just a little effort to the whole event. I only did the one day, and have huge respect for those who did all three. I only found out about all this at the last moment, and seeing the way Forest Hill and its people pulled together to help on the day was quite touching. So if you are local, or were drafted in, like helicopter crazy Ali :) Thank you all for answering the call.

The call, which came from Alice, who took on a huge task so soon after having her first beautiful little baby. Awww. Looking after a newborn is quite a task in itself, but to have managed to coordinate all this too was really quite amazing. So thank you Alice for bringing us all together, putting us all in touch, and especially for the hospitality and patience having myself and Rob (CellarDoor) over to start getting sorted.

A special thank you to Calum and Daryl, who for my end of the job played a HUGE role in the day, and made things work as clockwork as they possibly could. It was a great experience for you both, as well as a heck of a long day, so well done, you both did a brilliant job, and I really could not have done it without you.

Events like this not only make you realise how fortunate you are, but also how important you are, and what a difference a small gesture or bit of time can make to someone else's life.
So here's to the next time we are all able to do something as amazing as this, I hope opportunity comes knocking soon. Tommo, you are a great guy for making things like this happen :)