first mate

Weren't we recently assured by a Councillor or Southwark rep it would not go to a chain?

Richard, I think you may have a point. Richard tudor Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I believe that Southwark Council had its own > agenda on traffic flow and this traffic chaos will > prompt them to bring in traffic regulation that > the pen pushers want not the general resident > population. > > How many of the pen pushers actually live in the > area? Not many I would think. > > Local residents know best. Have you every been > asked. Real residents not the cycle mafia.

One more thing, can organisations and individuals who post letters or leaflets halfway way through a letter box, leaving the letterbox partly open, indicating in all liklihood the house is empty at that moment, please stop. It is not only a security risk it also lets expensive heating out of the home. Is this how a letter was taken from someones house? Can penalties be bought against unsolicited leafleters? Local pizza, curry and other establishments please take note.

Wow 'being made' to sign non disclosure agreements is truly shocking. I can only hope that for the tenants/owners involved it was truly worth it and that they are safe and will have homes in future as well as compensation for such a shocking experience.

Discover Dogs at Excel this weekend. A great way to meet and research breeds and breeders. Also a fun family day out if you like dogs.

Yes, RH very aware that 8mph is banned on pavements. My point is that for the 8mph user( and disabled people might be in a hurry too) a segregated lane is better and safer...just as it is for cyclists. If major change to infrastructure is necessary to make cycling really work, these other users must be carefully considered and included wherever possible. It makes sense and I believe would generate more support. Are you saying with space on cycle lanes that it would be impossible for a cyclist to pass a mobility scooter at all? Or is it that it would be annoying for someone doing 15mph to have to slow down temporarily to pass? Of course, if as you seem to suggest, you don't see that many mobilty scooters out and about then perhaps they would not have much impact on cycle journeys anyway- that is so long as the scooter is passable at some speed?

You are forgetting 8mph mobility scooters. The phrase "further excluded" is about looking to the future and how change can benefit a broader cross section of society. I accept that in the short term it may not be possible to include mobility scooters on cycle lanes but it should be weighed in the balance in future. BTW there is a view that 4mph scooters on pavements are as risky for pedestrians as are cyclists on pavements. The width of pavement on Blackfriars is unusual. I note that your argument for limiting cycle lanes to cyclists only seems to be about maintaining a certain speed.. I thought the 15 mph was just about pacifying aggressive and frustrated car drivers on the open road? It doesn't seem like pootling along in dedicated cycle lanes really is an option then. I am not anti cycle lanes or anti cyclist, but I am concerned that major changes to infrastructure are well thought through and as inclusive as possible.

RH, just an observation, and I don't think it is really surprising that where significant changes are mooted for transport routes abd infrastructure that questions are asked as to who will benefit and who might be further excluded.

I've read mobility scooters also use cycle lanes in Copenhagen.

rh, come on. If cycling is on the rise then means to reduce bad behaviour should be considered and people free to relay their experiences and frustrations. You cannot every time dismiss a complaint simply because it has not been 'balanced' by a similar anecdote about bad driving in a car.

RH, Well the Dutch manage it, so perhaps we will have to at some point!

rch, out of curiosity approx how much CIL is there from the M&S development? Great idea to use it as a place to speak to Councillors and get back a local police presence. As you say, better than another coffee or burger chain, which is what we'd most likely get.

RH, Many using the Blue Badge scheme would say it is not fit for purpose. Someone can be elderly and have mild balance issues or arthritic joints, either making cycling problematic. However, even they would not necessarily be defined as disabled I would still support their use of a mobility scooter.

Well, I may be wrong but I see this could be an issue down the line. It is certainly something to think about. In my view the able-bodied should not use mobility scooters but defining the degree of disability is quite tricky. To return to the speeding issue, if I go out on a bike I am more likely to 'fordle' along (to choose another posters expression). Being made to feel I can only use cycle lanes if I am fit and able enough go at a speed that pleases those who are commuting etc.. is most definitely off putting.

rahrahrah, agreed.

RH, I had though mobility scooters are allowed into cycle lanes in Holland? With an increasing ageing population I'd have though mobility scooters will be on the rise as will campaigns to open up cycle paths to users. It is probably something that needs thinking about. If a significant amount of investment is being made to creating cycle ways then in the interests of equality of access, these other users should be considered. I am not sure access to pavements is a real solution.

I think some mobility scooters are allowed to go on the roads and so I'd have thought it would be in the interests of those users to allow them in cycle lanes.

Surely mobility scooters should have access to cycle lanes, otherwise how can they also get around safely? Obviously motorbikes and scooters for able-bodied have no business being in cycle lanes.

Are mobility scooters allowed into cycle lanes? The roadworthy type have a top speed of 8mph, I think. The notion that cycling slowly is dangerous and to be avoided confirms my suspicion that cycling in London is for young or fit people only.

I think going fast is an issue if the majority stick to a lower speed. It is not easy as a pedestrian, fellow cyclist or even car driver, to have eyes in the back of your head all the time, especially in low light. I have had some very near misses recently when I am suddenly aware of a cyclist whizzing by in the blink of an eye- going for the gap as it were- and thinking if I had deviated by a small amount a bad crash might have ensued. It reminds me a bit of skaters when you get the odd skater on ice hockey skates who insists on whizzing round at a reckless speed, weaving in and out of fellow skaters, glorying in their ability and skill to miss other skaters by a hair's breadth. "Going fast shouldn't be an > issue; it is entirely possible to cycle quickly > and safely. The vast majority obey the rules, but > as a previous poster mentioned, no one remembers > the ones who follow the rules. Just like the vast > majority of motorists don't run red lights or cut > me up - I just tend to remember the ones who do".

The issue, allegedly, is that the architects and developers have changed their minds a million times about details of the build and hence it has dragged on. Some of the utilities also have to now dig up the path to get the homes hooked up to stuff. It is pretty disgraceful though and reflects the way developers just use public footpaths and roads as they please for storage, even when there is often enough room to store materials on site...as in this case. I also wonder how the heck Southwark and planning have let them get away with this? Also no-one on site today (Sunday). You'd think the developer would be obliged to have people working as many hours as legally possible. I dread to think the impact all this had had on the poor shop owners.

Otta, yes low volume fireworks are the more social option. Save the big bangs for large organised events.

A small plea, can you let neighbours know your plans. Those with pets, especially pets that are terrified of frieworks, will be very grateful. DOvertheroad Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I've longwondered who these annoying f$%**rs are > who let off rockets all night from their back > garden. And now I've realised - it's people like > me. People newly flush with kids. People for whom > Dulwich sports ground with the crowds, mud and a > buggy is a no go nightmare. This year I've shifted > from finding garden fireworks annoying and deeply > anti-social to....an adventure. And with apologies > to all of my neighbours .....this year, for one > night only, at a civilised hour, I plan to become > Back Garden Firework Twat. > > Specifically I would like to recreate a childhood > watching my dad nail a damp and uneventful > catherine wheel to our back fence whilst eating > economy sausages and waving a mini-sparkler. > > If you want to rant/moan about fireworks - use the > search to find all those old threads and go there. > For this thread I'd just like some advice...where > can I get some decent fireworks for some amateur > pyrotechnics? How much should I budget? Any tips > to avoid injuring anyone?

Many of Shakespeare's soliloquies and monologues it might be argued stand alone as great works of art and literature- Jacque in As You Like It "All the world's a stage; Portia in the Merchant of Venice "The quality of mercy"; Hamlet "To be or not to be" just for starters... rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > *Bob* Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > A poem must convey everything just by words. > > > > The magic, indefinable element of a song is the > > symbiosis of words and music. > > > > IMO a song is a song and poetry is poetry - and > > the most successful forms of each are not > > interchangeable simply by adding music or by > > taking it away. > > By the same logic Shakespeare (had he not written > the sonnets etc) couldn't have won a Nobel as his > words are written to be spoken by actors? Is > drama not interchangeable with poetry, i.e. is it > susceptible of standing alone on the written page? > Then why not a song lyric?