Friday Reads – 12 October 2018

18 comments

1. Re the Olympic cities tube map: it works up to Tokyo bis but would seem to need quite a bit of rejigging for Paris ter and Los Angeles ter

2. Further to the article about the City Corporation. They’ve just published quite radical plans to dramatically reduce vehicle use within their area. (It’s a very long read….) Due for review at the end of this month if I recall correctly.
   http://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/documents/s102969/Draft%20TS%20Local%20Plan%20Sub%20091018%20combined.pdf

3. @IslandDweller: The difference in attitude between the City Corporation and the Borough of Westminster is huge!

4. The UK rail companies article was interesting, but ….
   ( As discussed at this month’s Thursday meeting ) It is only part of the problem.
   There are also failings of technology & “type approval” ( so to speak ) & failings to co-ordinate & manage at the top levels.
   This commenter thinks that the last is the root cause of all of the problems – a failure to get a grip at the highest level & a complete failure of management, both technical, managerial & political. ( Gerry Feinnes’ pertinent comment strikes again, after, what over 60 years! )
   To quote a very well-known revolutionary: “What is to be done?”

5. @SHLR
   A Tale of Two Cities, then…
   What the dickens.

6. The UK canals time map clearly is NOT new. The person who currently claims to have conceived it was preceded by the chairman of the Trent and Mersey Canal society in the 1960s who drew up the first ever canals time map. This new one simply plagiarises the original as both are very similar.

7. “The number of cyclists counted during the morning peak hour has more than doubled since 2007, making it the single largest mode of transport counted on City streets from 08:00 to 09:00” (And the survey was done in the winter!)

   https://www.bikebiz.com/landscape/traffic-in-the-city-2018

   So allocating more space to cyclists makes sense.

   I recently had to go toa meeting in the city and it took longer by taxi than it usually takes to walk. On the occasions when I have to carry equipment I think I’m going to start using PedalMe which is a bit like pedal powered Uber – they will take you and your cargo to your destination by bike. It should be considerably quicker.

   One halo effect of cutting off the city as a destination for cars is that it should reduce the demand to drive through the inner suburbs, making them better environments to cycle in.

8. Bob
   Unfortunately, because of the road-layout SOUTH of the river, going through the periphery of the City is unfortunately necessary if you are using a vehicle. There’s the ‘orrible way everything points to The Elephant & you may have to use Tower / London / Southwark bridge.
   Not that the Corporation don’t seem to have a reasonable idea.

9. @Greg

   Tower Bridge is not in the City, and is also outside (forms part of the boundary of) the Congestion Charge Zone (as is the Elephant)

10. … though Tower Bridge is weight-restricted to 18 tonnes. I don’t think this need be a problem for Greg, however.

11. Actually, Tower Bridge is owned by the City, along with the property at each bridge foot, and while the boundary of the City is technically the mid line of the Thames, to all intents and purposes that makes the whole of the bridge part of the City.

12. That’s interesting because for other bridges (presumably owned by the city bridge trust?) you can see the outline going with if the river on the map in the original pdf.

    http://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/documents/s102969/Draft%20TS%20Local%20Plan%20Sub%20091018%20combined.pdf

    But tower bridge is shown as being outside the city entirely.

13. Malcom
    No, not even with th Great Green Beast fully loaded!”
    😍

14. Indeed, from this:
    https://www.towerbridge.org.uk/about/
    “Tower Bridge is owned, funded and managed by the City of London – Under the Corporation of London (Tower Bridge) Act 1885, the City of London Corporation is required to raise the Bridge to provide access to and egress from the Upper Pool of London for registered vessels with a mast or superstructure of 30 feet or more. The service is provided free of charge subject to 24 hours’ notice and is available any time, day or night, 365 days per year. The Bridge is raised around 850 times each year.”

15. Much of Epping Forest is managed by the City Corporation – doesn’t make it within the City.
    Yes, Tower Bridge is owned and maintained by the City, but the bridge sits in the local authority areas of Tower Hamlets and Southwark.

16. The Tower of London was built by the new Norman overlords outside the City walls in order to keep an eye on the troublesome Londoners. Tower Bridge, although owned by the City, is on the downstream side of the Tower, and its northern landfall is in LB Tower Hamlets.

17. Regarding “The Trolley”

    A really beautifully shot documentary – and the persistent use of the score from “Les Choristes” was also a nice touch. Definitely worth a watch.

    Whilst (as I’ve already made very clear on LR) I’m a strong supporter of trams as a form of transport – I can’t help but think that some of the narration was a bit over the top.

    There is a lot more that could have been said about their advantages and disadvantages compared to cars etc, as well as more detail on the historical reasons they were removed, why they are making a comeback now, and in particular rebuttals to many of the common arguments against them.

    For a documentary released in 2018, far more could have been said about electric and/or self-driving cars – which didn’t even get a mention.

18. More to the point on Tower Bridge, like London Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge it is part of the Transport for London Road Network and so the highway authority is TfL, not the City of London.

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