Shocking school run photos

we must denounce the people who have a two-child tagalong to tow their children to school

 
Not only does it start to make the children think that there was an alternative to sitting in a car every morning, their parents are actually permitting the children to sit on the bicycle without putting their helmets on.

Neither of the children are wearing any hi-viz.

We are pretty confident that these kids are in the 47% who pay no tax whatsoever.

On the Blower

Another cyclist, dangerously using the phone while towing a child from school.

He has pulled over, but given this is the top of Cotham Brow, that's a very wise move. But it is still dangerous.

Why? That child is getting bored. Another couple of minutes of parental chat and then dad's going to set off down the brow at speed, curve round the mini roundabout at the bottom and only on the level bit will he notice the lack of pedalling coming from the stoker. At which point, it's back up that hill to try and find the kid that got bored and ran off earlier.

Some people say this isn't going to happen, but those people haven't been half way down Burrington Coombe when they discover their small child has actually got off by the ice-cream van at the top.

This plan has success written all over it

We in Bristol Traffic are pleased be the first blog to recognise the "reality on the ground" and celebrate the granting of planning permission to the Chocolate Factory development, a development which will bring progress to Greenbank, including progress to the green hedgerow along one side of the railway path.

The railwaypath is a family bike path at weekends. But what is interesting for the parent may not be for the child. Look at this photo for example. The parent may be enjoying their workout towing some extra kilos to bath and back, but what of the child. They get bored. The only bit that has some interest is the Bitton Railway, as trains are one product pushed at small children -in the form of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Closer to the city centre, no trains. But now we will have that other centrepiece of child literature to look forward to, Bob the Builder, at work. This will make family bike journeys more fun. Once the multiple new access stairs to the railway path are laid out, we will also have some places between the stairs to let the kids run and play, free from the risk of passing mountain bikers doing a bit of high-speed offroad. Hopefully the residents will contribute to this family feel by providing some picnic benches and play facilities.

The E.P. says, "This plan has success written all over it". We say "mission accomplished!"

More Hill work

This is why fixed speed bikes are still a rarity in the city: its hilly, and after a while you seem to end up with small children attached to bits of your bicycle.

This particular cyclist is doing the school run from Montpelier to Cotham by way of Nugent Hill, and claims to be breaking the proposed 20 mph speed limit in the process.

We will reassure this cyclist that the proposed zones will not affect his journey time. Nugent Hill is not in any proposed 20 mph speed zone. Furthermore, looking at the photograph's metadata in the appropriate image editor shows that this photograph was taken on a Panasonic camera with a 100 ISO "film", F3.3 and a 1/50 shutter speed, yet the image of the bicycle is not blurred. We estimate the uphill speed to be below 12 mph, possibly below 8 mph, and therefore well within range. Please work on you and your children's hill climbing ability before claiming that you will break the speed limits on the way to school.

Think of the children

Its a common sight in the mornings: bored kids in the back of the 4x4, playing on the Nintendo DS while they sit in traffic jams. Some people say that things would be better if the kids got to walk or cycle to school. The people who say that are not small children.

Look at the expression on this girl's face. She's just had to come up Cotham Brow or Nugent Hill, both of which hurt enough as a grown up. As a child, pushing an overweight and underfit parent up, with nothing to look at but their shiny clothes, well, you'd be unhappy too.

Ideas for Bristol: traffic calming on bike routes

As well as photos/videos of Bristol, we also welcome photos of ideas that could be adopted in our fair city. As it is the holiday season, there should be lots of improvements to pick up.

Here is a bit of Lôn Las Ogwen. This is a lovely route which takes you from sea level to 300+ metres, by LLyn Ogwen and below Tryfan, right in the heart of Snowdonia. The path may run up the same valley as the A5, but it does it along a river, through a slate quarry and with sheep on the road being the main traffic hazard. Apart from that 300m of ascent -mostly at a a steep bit- its a good family ride. Not very busy either, people could come out and enjoy it more.

Except not, of course, in bikes with trailers, tagalongs or any other child towing configuration. No recumbents either. Because there these little Z-bend entry points on the path that take about ten minutes worth of bike wiggling to get through, with the main bike being lifted up to the back wheel, the kid lifting his part through. Its enough to put you off cycling here with kids.


Which may actually be the intent, as the yellow sign says -in welsh and english- 'danger do not allow your children to play here'.

It's not clear who funded this junction and signage, sustrans don't go out of their way for such designs. Perhaps either the local slate quarry or council felt they needed to discourage cycling.