Monthly Archives: April 2012


in which those who forget the past…

Hansard, 28 Feb 1994. Mr Robert Key (Salisbury)I shall shortly announce a new Government cycling policy. I am not sure that we have ever had one, but it is high time that we did.The announcement was presumably of the policy that led to the Nationa…


in which cycling is not booming

For a blog post, coming soon. Hansard, 17 Feb 1993. Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby)There has been an encouraging increase in the sale of mountain bikes, but sadly there has been no marked increase in cycling???indeed; there is anecdotal evidence of cycli…


for @AsEasyAsRiding

from a parish plan for a nearby small rural village divided by a primary route. It seems that guardrail, though less requested than speed cameras and a crossing, is surprisingly popular with residents… 9. Roadside BarriersRequested by 28% of res…


in which the experts agree with me

Phil Goodwin says: So let us do a role-playing game. Suppose you are the investment manager for XYZ Pension Fund, considering whether to invest in the M999 bridge and motorway widening programme, vitally necessary, you are told, because it is alre…


they make this stuff up as they go along

LTN 1/89, “Making way for cyclists”:LTN 2/08, “Cycle Infrastructure Design”:As a result of concerns over the safety of parallel cycle tracks crossing side roads, it is becoming common European practice to reintroduce cyclists to the main road in a…


on the origins of cycling’s bogeyman

These have to be read in the context of the introduction of the first dual carriageway roads. Amazingly, in 75 years, some folk still haven’t noticed that the context has moved on a bit…29 April 1937: Mr William Craven-Ellis (Southampton)asked t…


on rights and duties

Meant to bank this astonishing piece, from the Pedestrian Crossings debate, 26 July 1951. Sir Austin Hudson (Lewisham North)… I happened to be Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport just after the pedestrian crossings???the Belisha b…


who could’ve guessed?

Hansard, 5 July 1939, in full, without comment. Mr William Leach (Bradford Central)I would add my congratulations to those which other hon. Members have addressed to the Minister on his accession to his present office. He starts with very consider…


on obese Bristolians

nice feature on the Avon Longitudinal Study in today’s Nature. In 2007, however, data from ALSPAC and several other large human biobanks were used to scour the human genome for single-letter variants associated with obesity. The work turned up a g…


in worse times

in case you thought current and recent governments were bad, look at what you get when you go back to the days of futuristic New Towns and Highways In The Sky… Cycling debate, Hansard 10 Dec 1976. Mr John Horam (Gateshead West)The hon. Member ha…


when cyclists were easily satisfied

I should have banked this one, too, from that May 1978 Highways Bill debate. Sir George Young (Ealing Acton)As chairman of the all-party Friends of Cycling Group I welcome New Clause No. 1….I welcome the clause for two reasons. First, it puts th…