“Not interested in truth, just lining his pockets”: Cyclists react to Mr Loophole’s “no-brainer idea” of speedometers on bikes to bring “legal parity with all road users”; London’s Terracotta Army; Protected bike lanes, not wands + more on the live blog

Figures from London's major universities have come together to demand action on road safety to protect cyclists and pedestrians, one campaigner now suggesting that road danger has become a "safeguarding issue" for universities after two staff and a student were killed while cycling in the city in less than a year.

> "Accelerate efforts to eradicate cyclist deaths," demand campaigners from major London universities calling for action on road safety

Yesterday’s report about The Royal Parks, the charity that runs London parks including Richmond Park and Regent’s Parks, wishing to prosecute cyclists who break the 20mph speed limit had already drawn a lot of views and reaction from many cyclists, including many from our readers too.

So it was only a matter of time that Nick Freeman, or Mr Loophole, as he’s more commonly known around parts of the internet would have something to say about it too.

Just for a quick catch-up with the news, The Telegraph reported that  The Royal Parks chairman Loyd Grossman (the former presenter of MasterChef and Through the Keyhole) wrote to Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, asking the government to amend laws so that cyclists failing to adhere to the parks’ 20mph speed limits can be prosecuted for speeding.

> Cyclists riding “at excessive speeds” and causing crashes prompt Royal Parks to review cycling policy, as charity cancels time trial events because “they directly encourage cyclists to go faster than speed limit”

And as a response to that, Freeman, the lawyer famous for obtaining not guilty verdicts for celebrities charged with driving offences, wrote on social media: “No-brainer of an idea. But how do you enforce a bicycle to travel within the speed limit when there is no legal requirement for it to have a speedometer? The need for legal parity with all road users is long overdue.”

Cyclists seem to not have taken very well to this take, with many criticising the lawyer, who has previously accused by popular camera cyclist CyclingMikey for “stoking cyclist hate for publicity”, for ignoring the offences conducted by motorists while driving in the parks and instead shifting the blame on the vulnerable road users.

One person wrote: “Perhaps the government should look at putting 70mph speed limiters in cars first?”, while another commented: “Parity for all road users? So compulsory speedos for pedestrians, now? You're ridiculous.”

Cyclists in Regents Park (photo supplied by road.cc reader)

A few other responses on Freeman’s tweet…

“You’re right but man has always looked at making transport quicker. Why do they make cars that do 200mph when the national speed limit is 70mph?”

“I take it tachographs in cars is not the kind of legal parity you are campaigning for?  MOTs for horses?”

“So, the lawyer who makes our roads more dangerous by getting rich car drivers off the hook is going on about a tiny minority of cyclists, who ride the least dangerous vehicles of all. He’s not interested in the truth, just lining his pockets.”

> "Stoking cyclist hate will get him more publicity": CyclingMikey hits back at Mr Loophole's latest attack on "snitch society" camera cyclists

The discussion around speed limits follows after a string of events over the past few years that have called into question cyclists’ conduct in the Royal Parks. Despite initially suggesting speed limits did apply to cyclists, in 2021 it was confirmed that the park's speed limits (which range from 5mph to 20mph) do not apply to cyclists, a stance in line with the wider law.

In July, we reported that a group claiming to represent cyclists who use the park (Richmond Park Cyclists) had clashed with the charity over its speed limit advice for riders using the park.

A number of cycling events were also cancelled by The Royal Parks this year, including this summer’s Richmond Park Time Trials — praised for enabling beginners to compete on road bikes and on almost traffic-free roads due to their 6am starts — as well as last month’s London Duathlon.

The Royal Parks has received plenty of criticism over the years for its approach to improving road safety in its parks. Many, including the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), have repeatedly asked why through-traffic is still allowed to use Richmond Park as a shortcut, the campaign calling the cancellation of well-organised events “weak” while “daily rat-runs” continue.

The design programme for High Speed 2 railway, due to run on HS2 and further north on the West Coast Main Line, is well underway now, with the “airline-style” seat designs unveiled last week. Now, it’s been announced that the public is being sought after to provide feedback on the design to the train’s future operator WCPD, with cyclists included as one of the 20 customer groups.

Other groups including those with reduced mobility and young families, were also invited to experience the life-sized wooden mock-ups of the trains at the HAH-S facility in Derby – helping engineers to understand the levels of ease, accessibility and comfort.

Life-sized mock-ups were also made of other sections of the train including, the café, and child buggy storage, with the engineers saying that the new designs will help deliver a “step-change in the passenger experience”.

Frustratingly, there’s not much info available about the provisions made for cyclists inside the trains, other than a eight-year old report which confirmed “appropriate provision” for bicycles on the HS2.

There’s some concrete good news outside the carriages though, with the West Midlands Mayor announcing in February that a 24-mile cycleway along HS2 covering Birmingham, Solihull, Warwickshire and Coventry, will be built by repurposing HS2’s construction roads and maintenance paths. But so far based on the images, what do you make of it? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!

The cycling-related complaints keep on coming for Thames Valley Police, a week on from the force's Police & Crime Commissioner admitting "very valid concerns" around how cyclists' reports of dangerous driving have been dealt with, the force now attracting criticism for undertaking "Operation LYCRA".

> Police force slammed for "stoking culture war" with "Operation LYCRA" targeting cyclists