borderpaul

We are seeing both LTNs and CPZs being put in for the same reasons. They both have the same effect to remove traffic and parking from a residential area but those in CPZs have to pay for the privilege while those in LTNs have been given a privilege for free. It seems fair to have an LTN charge for this privilege proportional to property values such as the council tax bands.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Whether you are for or against the LTNs, we should not forget that council acted in ways that many of us disagree with and hopefully they will be more democratic and listen to us in the future (unlikely but there is always hope). There is nothing wrong with holding people to account and reminding them of their past behaviour.

It does sound like another out of touch policy pursued by the political classes. We have had a u turn on tax cuts for the rich, perhaps it is time for a u turn on pollution cuts for the rich as well. I am totally in favours of cuts but they should be targeted where there is greatest need and shouldn't be regressive.

You make a good point which is that your experience is the sum of the components and it depends on your needs. I found out when I was doing the wired testing that initially it just did not perform and it was only when I investigated that I realised there was a slow network card that was always going to limit speeds to under 100Mb. Our BT ADSL speed was improved as there was a local issue but before that we were getting a lot slower speed which was causing issues with the kids when a new game update had come out on Xbox which their mates were playing already while they were waiting hours for a download to finish. If there weren't 5 of us and I didn't work in IT, the BT service would be my choice as my needs would be less.

Another recommendation here for Community Fibre, we struggled for over a decade with BT ADSL with no chance of fibre shared between five of us, got Virgin eventually and then a year later Community Fibre arrived. I have screenshotted the results as I now have three Internet providers coming into the house but will be getting rid of Virgin in a few weeks. Community Fibre has the best speed, downloads 25% faster than Virgin but 6 times the upload speed and a third of the latency/delay/ping which is good for gamers and some specialist applications. I went for the 1gb package, the first three screenshots show the wifi speed and the last screenshot shows the wired speed for which you will need a 1Gb ethernet adapter(a lot of laptops will have slower 100mb adapters). All tests were done using Google's Internet speed test. BT looks weak in comparison but although slow has proved very reliable and gives a £10 discount on BT Sport if you need it. It is worth your while using a referral code when signing up as you will get a £100 Amazon voucher which you can do by clicking on the link https://communityfibre.co.uk/friends?referral=tsviiwyseC Community Fibre Wifi Speed Virgin Wifi Speed BT Wifi Speed Community Fibre Wired Speed

I found Balfes reasonably good but do think bicycle shops tend to be very dependent on the staff member you get rather than the shop. Recently I tried the mobile bike repair shop in Northcross Road market, they had been brilliant in the past but recently I took my bike there and they needed to take it to their bicycle shop Bicycle Nation in Herne Hill. It took about 5 weeks and 2 visits to the shop and one to the market to get my bike fixed as initially they changed some components but didn't solve the issue. It ended up costing a lot more than I expected and I felt the person who initially did the work didn't know what they were doing and replaced components that were only a few years old, were not worn and didn't need replacing. I learned an expensive lesson and next time would write down exactly what they said they would do, get them to put in a proper estimate and then do a bit of research. I will be heading back to Balfe's next time.

I don't think the ridge part of Sydenham Hill gets a lot of cyclists from my experience of cycling across it. It is a local route feeding into the main cycling routes of College Rd or Kirkdale/Hill part of Sydenham Hill/London Road. There are 2 bus routes there that probably amount to more person journeys than are carried out by bike. It is not very headline grabbing but as many people have said installing speed cameras that measure average speed on that stretch would be the most sensible thing to do. If there is a need to spend money on a cycle lane then put it on the Hill part of Sydenham Hill where there is a greater need.

I cycle occasionally up/down and across Sydenham Hill. There is a cycle lane on part of it and a lot of cars park on it especially by the new flats where motorists are more in fear of private parking restrictions than council restrictions so segregation/rediweld curb in this case is good. Speeding is generally not such an issue where the road is used by cars to park on both sides or near the speed camera. I am not sure that removing parking will reduce speeding. I would expect it to increase with motorists not having to worry about parked cars or cyclists. I do think the main requirement for a cycle lane is on the hill part rather than the ridge/plateau. I have always found this the most hazardous, and often a major bottleneck for cars/bikes/buses because of parking on both sides combined with the speed going down and effort required going up as a cyclist.

I do think the Labour party plays a much better game in the local elections. In my local ward, they got three seats with 52% of the vote leaving the other 48% who voted unrepresented. The Greens got 23% split amongst 3 candidates. I'd say their vote would have stayed the same if they had just one candidate and they would have got that one candidate elected as they would have beaten the lowest labour candidate who got 15%. I would agree it is complete rubbish that it was an election on LTNs or make assumptions about the quiet people who may not live on quiet streets. grumpy old cyclist No.2 .........

The Missing by CL Taylor about a 15 year old boy going missing is a book you won't put down once you start reading it.

Sorry about the short notice but thought I had it organised. I am looking for somebody to help move a delivery from the road into my back garden. You will need to be reasonably strong and fit as there are steps up from the front of the house. Location is close to Forest Hill library. Paul

All we need now is Wetherspoons to take over The Greyhound when it re-opens.

Classic lofts did my loft and did a good job quickly. The staff were friendly and competent although there was one management guy whose competency seemed to be he was related to the owner rather than good but that was a few years back so he may have improved.

The Blythe Hill Tavern is worth a try but more Forest Hill/Catford than ED or take the 176 to the last stop and go the Pawleyne Arms in Penge. http://www.blythehilltavern.org.uk/blythe-hill-tavern/

I am looking to rewire a three bed house in Eden Park, does anybody know of an electrician who is out that way or would work there. House is empty and needs the work done as soon as possible. The house has got a mixture of old and new electrics but on balance we have decided to rewire rather than repair. PM me or reply to the thread if interested.