Spartacus

I see @Sue, a few drinks and dirty men in uniforms working fast and furiously to fill holes with their hot steamy stuff sounds a bit too much like your personal fantasy 🫣

Are they digging for Tin Foil again ? Obs that the have run out of helmets, hence why no one is actually there.

Taking this to the extremes, if Starmer steps down as PM, who would be best to step into the role? This could be different to who would put themselves forward as the better options may not come forward. The grass may not be greener over the fence!

So what do you want to see happen in the site ? The developer has to make money so increasing social housing may not be financially viable and we 100% need more accommodation locally. Also the quote that it will be used by people as second homes is a bit strange, I would have suspected that would be the opposite as people might look to the countryside for a second home, not a semi run down town centre. For future, can you attach files as PDFs not word documents as my firewall blocks Word downloads due to increased risk of carrying hidden payloads.

I suspect, from their behaviour, they may not like you either 🤣 Sounds like you may have cubs if they are causing so much damage

Is that you Dillon ?

Or sleeping with the journalist writing the list 🤣

@Earl Aelfheah are you on the square everyday to be able to doubt @first mate's experiences ? First mate may well be seeing lots of issues on the square, unless you have solid evidence contrary to what is being said, then its a case of they said, you said. Personally, I see a lot of dangerous cycling behaviour on a daily basis, which sadly taints my view of all cyclists. Even you admitted cyclists should stop at red lights, which implies you havecseen them not stopping. Therefore its about perception and acceptance of bad behaviour that we are really discussing here.

What exactly do you have against Camberwell?

@malumbu, the article was talking about accidents involving cyclists, yet you focused in on one small point cocerning spending on cycling inferstructure. Maybe if you raised a question over the accident rates that the article discussed you would have a better chance of getting a response. Sadly your methodology of not discussing the overall issues but focusing on a minor point to try and destabilise the discussion is becoming weary

Apparently it would have been higher, except for the random discussions on the EDF 🤣

So your take on the article about the increase in accidents is questioning how the spend is calculated. jeez louise, you are so transparent in your methodology now.

Might be of interest to the discussion Cyclists injuring record numbers at pedestrian crossings https://share.google/bwAFKqPRE6IKmaKJY Behind a firewall but says " A record number of pedestrians has been injured by cyclists, the latest official data show. Department for Transport (DfT) road casualty figures analysed by The Telegraph also reveal the highest-ever number of casualties involving cyclists at zebra crossings and on pavements. In 2024, police recorded 603 incidents where a pedestrian was injured in collision with a cyclist, an 18.9 per cent increase on 507 similar injuries in 2023. Last year, 321 of those collisions occurred on either a pavement or a pedestrian crossing – a 9 per cent increase on 292 in 2023 In just five years, the number of pedestrians injured in collision with a cyclist on a pavement or at a crossing soared 60 per cent compared to 2019. During that period, the Government ploughed billions of pounds into promoting cycling, as well as allowing private companies to hire out e-bikes in cities. The true threat posted by cyclists who flout road rules will be far greater because the DfT data, known as Stats 19, only record injuries reported to police. The data do not show which party was at fault or whether collisions involved conventional bicycles or e-bikes. Call to protect pedestrians from cyclists There has been growing concern that some cyclists ignore road rules by failing to stop at red lights or zebra crossings, or riding on pavements. Road safety campaigners claim the data proves more must be done to protect pedestrians, particularly those who are elderly or young, from dangerous cyclists. Of the 603 recorded injuries in 2024, roughly one in three (189) was a serious injury requiring hospital treatment, with one pedestrian dying from their injuries. The 189 killed or seriously injured was the joint-highest on record, equalling 2023. The data include incidents where pedestrians were injured in collision with a cyclist and the police became involved. More than a quarter of those injuries last year occurred on pedestrian crossings, with 164 at zebra and pelican crossings. This was up 13.1 per cent on the previous year. The next most common locations for accidents were on verges or footways, including pavements, where there were 157 injuries. There were 132 injuries on roads themselves. A total of 16 per cent of all those injured were 65 or over and 15.3 per cent were children under 16." For balance it does go on to say "Cars pose a far greater risk to pedestrians, with 24 times more pedestrians injured by motorists than cyclists. However, ten years ago the gap was far greater with 43 times more pedestrians injured by cars than bicycles. In 2024, there were 14,727 injuries to pedestrians after collisions with cars."

Blimey Digital id solves the obesity crisis 🤣

@Earl Aelfheah you still haven't answered @Rockets question "do you agree with that too - cyclists should just stop at red lights?" Avoiding it makes you sound like you dusagree. Fair play, at least we know where you stand.

I think.Rockets did hint at a solution, "Stop at red lights"

I think digital id is potentially a good thing, number of reasons for that. Eventually it will encompass services you already have from the goverment, your driving licence, you NI number, your gov gateway (all obvious extensions) Services like photo card driving licences have already proved to have flaws, including Mr Smith, who looks similar to Mr Green, passing Mr Greens test to get Mr Green a "dodgy" dtiving licence as an example. Digital id may also ensure only people entitled to NHS care get it and health tourists pay to use our health service. However, whilst I think.its a good idea, social media will ensure it is still born. Over the weekend I've seen so many anti digital id posts, including Kier as Davros leading the Labour Daleks (did make me chuckle) , comparisons to 1984 and even a song about it. Someone posted "what would happen if we all refused to sign up" and how within 31 days it would topple the government. Will it actually happen maybe , but I have a feeling, like most things whatever way it goes both sides will again employ project fear and misinformation.

@malumbu, I am convinced you said, and I quote, "I don't find this thread of any interest" yet still you are reading and posting 😉 I also love your latest quote "a number of you have it wrong in treating all cyclists the same. We are not a uniform group " as often the pro cycling lobbying posters on here believe exactly that of drivers that they are a uniform group. Maybe we all need to take off the blinkers recognise some cyclists are breaking the rules as well.as some drivers, and then we could potentially have a chance of a constructive debate.

I think you are raising different points Only a few years ago , if a bus stop was closed, 90% of the time a temporary stop was installed a few meters down the road from where the obstruction / issue was. Haven't seen that happen recently which in this situation would be a possibly (a stop installed just past Plough homecraft for example and outside the Plough/ Sainsbutys in the opposite direction) Contactless/oyster, whilst a revolution also has problems The number of tourist i see in central London asking if they can pay cash is amazing, some people actually don't like their information bring grabbed by TfL everytime they tap in and some people want to pay cash as they have limited funds so want to spend only what's in their pocket. Revolution yes, but not always the wonder solution some proclaim.

Got to admit, I agree with @Pugwashugwash , it is a real challenge for those with mobility issues and the uneven pavements really are difficult (think wheel chair users or those who need mobility aids)

This feels like you have never worked in retail or understand the pressures retail businesses have 😅

Is there a view from people on "should Internet only based retail businesses be taxed in a fairer way to level the field for bricks snd moryer businesses?"

Would you also say that the £5billion investment won't have the desired impact as shoppers prefer online ?

There was mention yesterday, which may have slipped by some, that the Goverment is about to launch a "pride in place" £5 billion investment into city and town centres to boost high streets, parks and public spaces. I can see two flaws with this. Firstly it's a sticking plaster over a problem that the government doesn't seem to want to tackle. The decline of town centres is largely down to the impact caused by large players including the Internet giants, (non bricks and morter), who seem not to be paying the appropriate amount of taxes or even bypassing them by sending small value items into the UK. Until the playing field is leveled to give high streets an equal chance, consumers will naturally go for the best price. This would also increase the tax revenue the Chancellor has to play with and keep money in the local economy . Second issue I see is that when we are all staring down the barrel of a potential £30 billion tax hike in the budget, is this the right time to be announcing even more spending. Feels that maybe waiting till the economy is tracking better would be prudent. Of course the argument could be, improving the town centre realm , improves consumer confidence to shop locally, but unless the first point is fixed it could be a case of throwing bad money after good. BBC News - Which areas are due to get share of £5bn funding boost? - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1mx8vr2gr1o