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City of London residents call for crackdown on cycle tour groups

Transport committee will debate issue tomorrow - but tour operators reject claims riders are a risk to themselves and others

Residents in the City of London are calling for a crackdown on cycle tour groups, claiming they present a danger both to themselves and pedestrians – an allegation tour organisers reject, while insisting that people on foot put themselves at risk by looking at their mobile phones while walking.

According to The Times, the complaint has been made by residents of Farringdon Without – the largest of the City of London’s 25 wards but even so, home to just 1,099 people according to the 2011 census.

The ward, which sits on the boundary of the Square Mile, is effectively split into two parts with the western part including Inner and Middle Temple and Chancery Lane, while the north western part includes Smithfield Market and St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

A motion that will be debated tomorrow by the Corporation of London’s Planning and Transportation Committee has been tabled by the Farringdon Without Wardmote, which represents the ward’s residents. It reads:

This Wardmote notes the dangers caused by cycle tour groups in narrow, semi-pedestrianised areas of the City. Despite discussions with City of London representatives, the operators of such tour groups do not appear to have made any substantial changes. There are reports of cyclists colliding with residents, but such collisions have not been recorded. Cycle convoys are seen to travel at speed through narrow cobbled lanes and have been crossing busy roads at unsafe points with participants, including children, not wearing any safety protection.

There is a risk of serious injury to both participants and pedestrians and the Wardmote therefore urges the Planning and Transportation Committee to undertake an urgent review of the terms of licences for such tour groups and confirm the actions that will be taken to improve safety.

The Wardmote further urges the Committee to work with the City of London Police on enforcement measures against cyclists who contravene the Highway Code, to safeguard the interests of pedestrians and other road users.

However, Jack Harris, the founder of tour operator, Tally Ho!, which provides guided tours including City & Secrets and the London Gin Safari on three-speed Pashley bicycles, insisted that “speeding is certainly not a factor.”

He added: “In areas where there are many pedestrians, we are advocates of old-fashioned courtesy and common sense.

“We certainly uphold the Highway Code, but it must be noted that many pedestrians today hop between public transport in a zombified state, staring at a phone and ears covered with music.”

Chris Abbott, who owns another tour operator, Brakeaway Bike Tours, which has rides including The Secret London Bike Tour and The Grand London Bike Tour, told The Times that in the nine years the company has been in business, “no collision between a participant and a member of the public has ever taken place.”

A number of businesses offer off-the-peg and custom bike tours in London, including bespoke itineraries for hen groups or for corporate events, with nine operators listed on the Visit London website.

With the City of London being the location of some of the capital’s most iconic landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London, cycle tour groups are now a familiar sight there.

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.

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8 comments

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kingleo | 4 years ago
2 likes

The biggest danger to pedestrians in London are the pedestrians, lots of them are drugged up, drunk, fight, kill and injure each other.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to kingleo | 4 years ago
1 like

kingleo wrote:

The biggest danger to pedestrians in London are the pedestrians, lots of them are drugged up, drunk, fight, kill and injure each other.

 

In my pedestrian capacity I sadly have to agree you have a point.  Though the pedestrian who attempted to mug me (at knife point!) then made his escape in a car.  And I note those scrofulous youths who assaulted the lesbian couple were bus-passengers.

 

Generally I think there is going to be an overlap between the anti-social and the lazy, and hence I would maintain that those engaging in active-travel are less prone to it than either drivers or users of public transport.

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ooldbaker | 4 years ago
2 likes

Is Farrington Without, without what?, a clue, reason, hope. 

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brooksby replied to ooldbaker | 4 years ago
1 like

ooldbaker wrote:

Is Farrington Without, without what?, a clue, reason, hope. 

i think those "without" place names are usually "without/outside the town or city walls"

Avatar
Prosper0 | 4 years ago
8 likes

I’ve seen these guys on my commute. Complete epitemy of harmlessness, pootling along in groups on town bikes looking at buildings in a generally orderly fashion. They are very slow moving groups that stick to quiet side streets, it looks like a nice way to explore the city.

With all the issues in London this complaintent needs their head examining. 

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 4 years ago
11 likes

A frequent user of the East-West Superhighway, I often come across groups of tourists on bikes riding two-abreast whilst sightseeing along the river: the thing to do is give them a wide berth and slow down a bit: no harm done.  London is a great city for biking around and its fantastic that more people are chosing to do it, especially tourists bringing their hard earned money.

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burtthebike | 4 years ago
10 likes

"There are reports of cyclists colliding with residents, but such collisions have not been recorded."

So no evidence then, just the usual anti-cycling rhetoric.  Does anyone know the numbers of pedestrians hit by cars in these "semi-pedestrianised areas"?

"Cycle convoys are seen to travel at speed through narrow cobbled lanes and have been crossing busy roads at unsafe points with participants, including children, not wearing any safety protection."

OMG!  The end of the world is nigh!  Presumably pedestrian convoys also use those same narrow cobbled lanes at speed, but what speed?  Seeing as there are no records of any collisions, it can be fairly safely assumed that it is a safe speed.  And not wearing any safety equipment, code for not wearing a helmet, the stereo-typical attack of the addicted driver to any cyclist doing anything they don't like, and not wearing a helmet.

With the latest disgusting actions by Kensington and Chelsea, it would seem to be time for these anachronisms of councils to be abolished as they are obstructive of improvements to the whole city.

 

Avatar
burtthebike | 4 years ago
1 like

For those like me, who hadn't come across the word Wardmote before, here's the definition "A wardmote was a meeting of the inhabitants of a ward, or a court held in the ward (e.g. in London) to try defaults in matters relating to the watch, police, and the like. The term is used in York, London, Faversham, etc., and was also used by the Chartists."

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