Selfish Parents

The same time we were getting a video of one driver, X108YDY, prepared to fight the anti-car city and use the secret rat-runs of Kingsdown, we were also getting some shocking footage of parents walking their kids to school.

Some were clearly going on to cycle to work, so instead of driving their children to school in comfort and safety, they were being forced to walk alongside a bicycle -while the parents push them without even a helmet on!

Others were actually encouraging their children to cycle to school.

Such actions not only endanger the children, they threaten the bodywork of those of us who drive the wrong way down one-way streets as an alternative to traffic lights. Can't these parents see that we are in a hurry!

Nine Tree Hill -historic climb of the republic

Our fellow-travellers, the Association of British Drivers, think that bicycles should have a license and pay tax. Presumably they want the bikes to pay tax so that they have a right to use the road which complicates the whole pedestrian crossing thing. Should pedestrians pay a tax too? This is something to investigate.

Number plates though, they would be handy. You are actually required to have them if you live in Switzerland, but it helps pay for the armed bike police, which certainly ensure that nobody cuts you up on a bus lane. Why is Bristol Traffic interested in bicycle number plates? It would let us name and shame the two people seen pushing their bicycles up Nine Tree Hill at 08:57 on this sunny Wednesday morning.

But given that some the contributor who took this photo seemingly goes home a different way just to avoid Nine Tree Hill, it is hard to shame them. They are pushing their bikes up one very steep hill.

Here are some facts about Nine Tree Hill:

1. It is a hill.
2. It is very steep.
3. There are less than nine trees on it.
4. It connects the People's Republic of Stoke's Croft with Kingsdown
5. There are some very nice pubs and cafes nearby.
6. It is believed to date from Roman Times; going onto Fremantle Road and hence onto the port at Sea Mills. If true, people have been suffering up this climb for two thousand years.
7. It is believed that in the 1970s, the ill-fated Outer Circuit Ring Road wanted to run their dual carriage way up here, through Cotham and hence to Clifton.
8. The square at the top, Fremantle Square, is where one of the Royalist forts that defended Bristol during the English Civil War stood.

It is that fort and the civil war that merits a mention today. Because today, January 30th, is a day for anniversaries.

First and foremost: January 30, 1943: the surrender of the German 6th army at Stalingrad and hence the turning point of the Second Word War. If Putin wants to remind the Davos audience of their obligations to Russia, that event of fifty-six years ago is the one to mention.

Closer to home, it is the 360th anniversary of Britain executing King Charles I, and hence becoming, if not a Republic, a Commonwealth. Which those days meant shared assets, not the shared ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland's 1.4 trillion pounds worth of liabilities.

This roman road then, with its monument to a civil war fort at the top, is a reminder of the history that lies round this city, and the fact that as far as this road is concerned, England becoming one of Europe's first modern republics is in fact a recent event. It is also why alongside the People's Republic of Stoke's Croft, should stand the Commonwealth of King's Down.

Montpelier mixed-use area

Here's a lovely shot of evening Montpelier. Three kids cycling round the street; two adults pushing the bikes up the hill. Further down Richmond Road there are some more people walking in the middle of the street, carrying shopping bags. A taxi will nudge its way up the hill, but carefully, rather than the 35+mph that is their ideal speed.

This street effectively makes Montpelier Bristol 's first people-first-cars-second area. And to achieve this, the residents didn't need any contributions from Bristol City Council. Instead they came up with their own goal - a safe place to walk and play- and a simple strategy to achieve this.
What did they do? Well, if you look at the edges of the picture, you can see it. Along each side of the road, completely blocking every pavement, is a near-continuous line of cars. This forces pedestrians into the street, but the cars are positioned such that the road is too narrow to drive fast. If the parked cars were not here, through traffic would speed, and the children would be constrained to the pavement, rather than being able to enjoy the whole width of the street. And, as they are cycling, that would increase the risk of pedestrian/cycle collisions, which as we all know, is the greatest danger facing this city.
It is contributions to innovative road design like this that make Montpelier a leading part of "Cycling City Bristol"

No cycling in London

This bit of London near the University of London Union deserves a special mention, a sign telling people not to cycle

In the middle of a cycle park. Presumably the cyclists are expected to carry the bikes, the way mountain bikers are.
Despite being a cycling city, Bristol is behind on such signage. The only place where "cyclist" funding has been applied to no cycling signs is the Downs, where a few thousand pounds were invested to discourage people from getting in the way of the Zoo parking area.

Hill Work

Someone pushing their bicycle up Nine Tree Hill, from the People's Republic of Stokes Croft, Bristol's home of graffiti. There may actually be a Roman road under here; the Romans liked their hill work.
Note the double yellow lines here have no cars on top of them. This is very odd. Two theories:

1. It's too tricky to get to. Certainly you can't do it from Kingsdown, but you can do it from Stoke's Croft.
2. Parking rules are actually enforced here.

You'd have to do some experiments to determine which was correct. Park cars and see what happened.