Friday, August 21, 2020
Are Cycle Superhighways red now?
Sorry, that was a leading question. It shouldn't even be a question, it's just a scrap of speculation with a question mark on the end. What it's made you do is think "ooh, maybe cycle superhighways are red now" which isn't something you'd have been thinking if I hadn't brought the question up. Worse, some of you are now thinking "diamond geezer says cycle superhighways are red" when there's absolutely no evidence of policy shift, just a photo. I've merely insinuated that the answer to my question might be 'Yes' whereas in fact it's more likely to be 'No' because I have absolutely no inside information whatsoever. Leading questions are basically fake news if taken at face value.
Evidence: I asked this question on Twitter. It caused a fuss. Someone replied "Literally the only thing Khan has done with cycling is turn not very good blue lanes into not very good red ones and if that isn't a metaphor...". This person had assumed cycle superhighways are now red and launched into a tirade that suited their politics, because this is how fake news spreads. I never said, they just assumed, and suddenly my speculation had become the foundation of an argument. It's not even a very good argument because "Literally the only thing X has done..." is patently untrue, but it is the kind of provocative exaggeration these kinds of shoutyperson specialise in. "Doesn't matter what colour you paint them, 99% of cyclists will ignore them and use the road/pavement" was inflammatory hyperbole from the mouth of another.
All I did was walk past a red cycle lane and take a photo and make a connection. I know that Cycle Superhighways have normally been blue, indeed I walked this one ten years ago and CS3 was definitely blue back then. This is the first bright red cycle lane I've seen in London, which I know proves nothing whatsoever. But might bright red actually be a better colour than light blue? Sorry, that was another leading question.
Evidence: People on Twitter seemed quite excited that red might be the new colour of Cycle Superhighways. "Please be true and not an oddity" said one. "Tbh it'd be really helpful. I hate cycle lanes on pavements, easy to not notice and people walk on them. The red makes it difficult to miss!" said another. Someone pointed out that "Dutch bikeways are red asphalt or pavers, not usually paint." Someone speculated that Santander had finally taken control of cycle lane branding, much as Barclays achieved under Boris. Someone else rightly pointed out that most recent cycle lanes in London haven't been any colour at all.
I hadn't even pointed out where my photos were taken. This might be highly relevant, even crucial. 'CS3' was a big clue, placing us somewhere between the Tower of London and Barking. In fact we're amid the data centres off the East India Dock Road, along a peculiar section of CS3 which weaves through a private estate. It's so private that just around the corner on Saffron Avenue cyclists are still supposed to wait for a security barrier to be raised. This is hardly super.
Evidence: A number of people were keen to point out that Cycle Superhighways have been rebranded. They're "cycleways"" urged an early respondent, correctively. "Weird that it’s red and uses the CS branding given everything is now ‘C’ apparently" said another. "Surprised to see the CS. I thought they'd dropped the 'super' from the names." added another, because technically yes they have. But not this one... "I think CS3 hasn’t met the Cycleway criteria yet so won’t be rebranded until then", not yet... "it will almost certainly become C3 though".
This is definitely a very new cycle lane. The surface is an unsullied red, the paint an unusually bright white, and you can still see the chalk marks which helped someone write 'CS3' in a straight line. According to official maps this isn't even part of the official CS3 route. We're on Leamouth Road by the Aspen Way roundabout, whereas the longstanding route follows Oregano Drive and Sorrel Lane instead. Roadworks are underway here, and a Travelodge is destined to be built behind the hoardings, so this might well be a special case cycleway skirting the edge of private land.
Evidence: Some people knew all this. "Might be privately installed, there's a housing development going up there" tweeted one. "This is on private land and is just a temporary C3 diversion" tweeted another. Someone who cycles the route regularly said "Yeah, there's been red there for ages for a diversion of CS3, looks like it's adjusted again." I don't know why anyone should assume I, a non-cyclist, would be an expert on this kind of thing.
A workman was twiddling with a cycleway sign on a lamppost as I walked by, so I think I managed to turn up at a moment of transition. Other lampposts already had Diversion signs linking from nigh-invisible un-coloured connections. Maybe the red is simply to make it really obvious to cyclists which new route to travel, or maybe the colour was chosen for an entirely different reason. Basically it's worth keeping an open mind and not jumping to any conclusions based on a single outlier which likely signifies nothing. I should never have asked the question in the first place.
Are Cycle Superhighways red now? No they're not. But this cycleway is.
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