#46. YOU CAN'T START A FIRE WITHOUT A SPARK. ‘You can’t start a fire without a spark’, sang Bruce Springsteen (in one of the only songs I’ll dance to at a wedding).
Cycling in London needs a spark. The LCC are proposing further cycle development – the equivalent of loading more and more wood onto the pile – but that’s not going to be enough. We’ve already got a decent cycling infrastructure in the capital – 2000 kilometres of London Cycle Network spread throughout the city – yet the public mood remains lukewarm.
It is ironic that while cycling is safest when lots of people cycle, lots of people refuse to cycle because they think it’s not safe enough. Somehow we need to break into this circle.
Simon Parker’s London Cycle Map would provide the needed spark. By installing the corresponding road signs and markings on the streets of the London Cycle Network, we could provide easy navigation and safe passage for Londoners new to cycling - enabing them to get from anywhere to anywhere in the capital by remembering just a few coloured routes like on the Tube.
Soon, these routes would be heaving with new cyclists, and the cycling mood would spread, like wildfire, to other streets in the capital.Then, of course, we could start throwing more and more wood on, providing new cycle developments. But first, let’s get this fire started!
