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Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle (image - Prudential RideLondon)Boris Johnson to consider car-free Sundays for Central London
Boris Johnson says he will ask Transport for London to look at whether the capital could host car-free Sundays. The mayor was speaking after taking part in one such event today in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, and said he was “blown away” by its popularity.
Riding a Brompton with a bag attached to the front displaying a union flag design, Mr Johnson, who is on a six-day tour of south-east Asia, joined Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo on a mass bike ride, reports BBC News London.
Jakarta has hosted car-free Sundays for 16 years, with many of its streets closed to traffic from 6am and taken over by people on foot or on bikes. Initially they were held monthly, but now take part on a weekly basis.
Mr Johnson said afterwards: "Wasn't that sensational? I was blown away by the popularity of the car-free Sunday here."
He said he would ask TfL to look again at earlier proposals to introduce a car-free Sundays in parts of Central London, but acknowledged that implications for traffic would have to be taken into consideration.
"I think it would probably take time to bed in and it would take a few years before people got into the swing of coming out into the streets and making use of the space that a car-free Sunday provided," he said.
"We have been thinking about it for ages. I don't think you are going to get the British people out of bed at six in the morning to do it quite like that but it is certainly food for thought."
Since 2007, streets in Central London have been closed on one day a year for a mass participation bike ride in which up to 50,000 people take part.
Launched as the Hovis London Freewheel, Sky took over sponsorship from 2008 to 2011. Due to the city hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the event was not held that year.
During the past two years, a mass participation ride has been incorporated into the Prudential RideLondon weekend in August.
Bristol launched its first car-free Sundays last year as part of its Make Sundays Special initiative, with the city's mayor George Ferguson hailing the first such event as a huge success.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Hirsute 28 min 55 sec ago
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
- lonpfrb 48 min 50 sec ago
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
- lonpfrb 1 hour 14 min ago
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
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In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
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What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
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The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
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Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
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David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...
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24 comments
What I want to see on the congested busy roads of central London is high quality segregated infrastructure. And by segregated, I don't mean on a time basis!
Nice thought, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
I was in London on Saturday afternoon with my family - Regent St. was closed to car traffic due to the crowds of shoppers. It was lovely to be able to walk up the street with my children, without worrying about taxis, cars or lorries.
But the cyclists I saw were having to moderate their speed and general riding to avoid the crowds. Pedestrians walking straight off the pavement without looking wasn't the least of it. If car-free Sunday ever does happen, and I really that it does, then cyclists are going to have to accept that pedestrians are likely to be even more of a 'hazard' than they are now.
A few commentators on here seem to get upset at anything which prevents them from flying along at 20mph.
Regents street during the Christmas rush isn't representative of all central London all year is it.
As a cyclists who likes to be doing 20ish I'd still rather slow down and dodge pedestrians than be subject to some of London's fast but hellish roads such as the A13 or the A1203.
quite a lot of central London is already car free on a Sunday - the Mall, Birdcage Walk etc. Plus the parks.
To make this impressive, there would have to be a very large increase in the area without cars or lorries or buses.
It isn't going to happen!!
Despite being billed as a car-free Sunday, the Bristol event only involved closing a couple of streets, and it's now been scaled back to the point where it's just a Sunday market with some street performers thrown in. If these things are going to have an impact like Bogota or Jakarta they need to be big and ambitious.
My apologies as i don't have the answers, I am not a transport planning professional.
London is dominated by motor vehicles. Look how unpleasant Oxford Street is on a busy Saturday, due to large numbers of buses and black cabs and other vehicles.
Try walking or cycling during the week and your movements are dominated by motor vehicles, you are always waiting on motor vehicles before you can freely move about, and you are constantly subjected to a toxic cocktail of combustion pollutants.
9 people are killed every week in motor vehicle related collisions according to the government.
Wow!
Meanwhile traffic pollution is causing an average of 730 deaths per week!
It can and it should be so, but the only realistic way to reduce car use is to invest in a publically funded transport system which aims to provide transport for everyone at a realistic cost. Bicycles, however advantageous and trendy, will not work to move the volume of people the distances they need to move in the available time.
We have a society dependent on the car. Any change needs to be able to cope with the volume of people and the distances they are used to travelling, and address the needs of people who cannot cycle 5-10 miles everyday.
As pointed out elsewhere, it's not an either/or. There is no other mode that offers all the advantages of the car (usually the most-appealing blend of quick, cheap, safe, comfortable, convenient and all the other things that people value).
Walking, cycling, buses, rail, car-sharing, road pricing all have a role - as do low emission vehicles, which deal with one of the problems of private car. Spatial planning and development also has important role - the nature and location of places is a major determinant of how we travel. Low density suburban development is car-dependent, high-density cities promote other modes.
You think this is a good idea?
........until you get 2 million pedestrians wandering all over the road in front of you and taking selfies because there is no 'traffic'
You know, I'd take that trade for the opportunity to leisurely cycle around the city not worrying about being run over from behind.
I speak in jest, but it would be stressful on my unicycle.
Actually traffic in London is horrendous on a Sunday after about 1200, because there's no congestion charge and lots of free on-street parking.
The answer to this isn't bicycles, however...
...it's public transport systems, run for the benefit of communities and organised to work seamlessly together without the silliness of competition.
At present it would cost me petrol for a 20 mile round trip and £4 a day parking to go to my nearest city, taking up to 5 people in my car.
By public transport it would cost 5x£4.20 with one train an hour, if you can get on the train...
Or 5x£4.10 and a journey of over an hour by bus.
Mass transit systems are the answer to moving lots of people, not bicycles.
Can't it be both?
Certainly public transport can be practical in some ways bikes aren't, but equally, many people like the independence of cycling - not having to wait to share a vehicle. And other advantages are door to door travel - no walk at either end saves time - plus cycling has the edge when it comes to low pollution and the active travel angle.
Yes please!
About blooming time the city was given back to the people:-
people on bikes and on foot bring life to the city by making it a pleasant place to spend time
motor vehicles are strangling our cities with pollution, pressure of movement and intimidation / injury of those on bicycles and on foot
If we are ever to make 'livable' cities we need to get rid of combustion motor vehicles as soon as possible and restrict it to hybrid electric vehicles for deliveries out of hours and the emergency services, and limited numbers of public transport vehicles
I can't help but be amused by this quote
I don't think you need to look that closely to understand the implications for traffic.
They could call it Boris Sunday if it helps steel his political nerve.
Bring it on - there's barely any traffic in London on Sundays anyway so it's not going to inconvenience anyone.
It's a great way to see the city and all it's history and architecture too - you've got time to stand and stare without worrying about being mown down by traffic.
I reckon it'll do wonders for getting people out on bikes who're currently too intimidated by traffic - who'll then be more enthusiastic about commuting and riding at weekends.
Main thing he needs to think about is how to get people from where they live into the centre - maybe rides led by Bikeability instructors from set points around the outskirts? IIRC it's done for the Sky Rides.
Bring it on - there's barely any traffic in London on Sundays anyway so it's not going to inconvenience anyone.
It's a great way to see the city and all it's history and architecture too - you've got time to stand and stare without worrying about being mown down by traffic.
I reckon it'll do wonders for getting people out on bikes who're currently too intimidated by traffic - who'll then be more enthusiastic about commuting and riding at weekends.
Main thing he needs to think about is how to get people from where they live into the centre - maybe rides led by Bikeability instructors from set points around the outskirts? IIRC it's done for the Sky Rides.
Bring it on - there's barely any traffic in London on Sundays anyway so it's not going to inconvenience anyone.
It's a great way to see the city and all it's history and architecture too - you've got time to stand and stare without worrying about being mown down by traffic.
I reckon it'll do wonders for getting people out on bikes who're currently too intimidated by traffic - who'll then be more enthusiastic about commuting and riding at weekends.
Main thing he needs to think about is how to get people from where they live into the centre - maybe rides led by Bikeability instructors from set points around the outskirts? IIRC it's done for the Sky Rides.
Given the popularity of the Hovis/Sky/Prudential ride every year, I think he's being pessimistic about the potential uptake. One of the major reasons people give for not cycling in London is the traffic - I think the uptake would be huge. Come on Boris, lets get it started!
Agreed.
The world's biggest car free day is in Bogotá (they call it Ciclovía), where more than 120km of streets are car free every Sunday and public holiday and are used by about 2 million people (30% of the population).
It would be amazing to see something on that scale every Sunday in London (and everywhere else in the UK, for that matter).