Safe Speed Forums

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Sounds like an april fool they printed too early When are these chumps going to realise the more you slow traffic down the more pollution there is? If it used to take 5 minutes to go anywhere then if it takes 10 then you increase the amount you are pumping out as well as affecting fuel economy. Morons.

The COMMENT piece in the 'paper misses the point too. The new "eco-towns" will be built with NO car access to the houses. The houses will have NO parking near to them, the parking will be in locations scattered about the housing "estates".

Moving into, and out of, the houses will be fun....

http://www.newstatesman.com/200706060002

The above is more to the point. The real reason for "eco-towns" to be built has yet to be stated. The object, to reduce dependence upon private transport, will not be realised because the use of public transport depends upon it being available WHEN needed. Not "the bus will be here in two hours, hurry-up". Doomed to failure and being inhabited by people who know no-one and need to go knowhere, ideal No-Nu-Ideas-Here-labour policy. Build communities to become ghettos.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

It certainly looks like these Eco-towns, being the brainchildren of politicians, are doomed to be dreadful ghettos. Of course, there is a problem with 15mph limits. No car speedo is legally required to be accurate at this speed.

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Hey, they got a FORUM !

http://forums.mirror.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=3

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Looks like a great idea to build these eco-towns to me.

All the eco warriors can move to them and let the rest of us get on with our lives.

Better still we can build a big wall around the towns to protect the inhabitants from wandering into a road accidentally.

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Reminds me of the few times in traffic calmed areas I've had to overtake cars while cycling. Not a nice thing to have to do in the least.

The principle is right though. A huge chuck of london, Metroland, was built around the metropolitan railway, now the metropolitan line. At first the stops served the country site but after a few decades houses were built up. The stops are quite a bit further apart than 400m to offer a faster services, and there are fast and slow trains, in fact 6 tracks on one stretch. I see no reason why this can't be repeated in the 21st century.

21st century high-rise ghetto repeat ?
Or just another way of keeping people in their place ?

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Well, people are complaining about house prices, so by building a bunch of houses that no-one wants to buy means they will become very cheap and thus national average house prices will fall.

Are there any plans to provide any jobs in these towns, and are any businesses likely to move in, especially if the pickings for potential employees are somewhat slim and commuting to them from outside is going to be a pain in the backside.

By looking at [the] several estates around here that were built for no-car or one-car families 10 years ago, you can extrapolate what will happen.
The houses wil be bought, and be sought after. That's guaranteed. They will be cheap[er] than other new houses to get families to move in. Some families will move there because they do not have cars and do not want them. Others will move there and park in the designated areas. Others will park outside the house, even if it means parking on grass. Loads of that around here. There is a new town[ish] being built here, called wixams. Access from the A6. And a train station. Fools. The streets will be full of cars parked awaiting the return of their [traintravelling] owners. Most of the streets, with free parking, around the train station in Bedford are full of commuter cars. Their owners save a fortune a year by driving into Bedford rather than pay twice the fare from the towns up the line. Same for wixams.
I sometimes wonder why we bother employing public servants, they never quite seem to have the cells up top.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

We had "eco-homes" in Poole.
It's a con. They are all made from concrete, bricks etc. They aren't homes, they are flats. The whole place is paved over, no natural ground at all. It used to be a nice open space, now the view is gone. Oh and each door has a filament lamp outside, on all night.

The "eco" bit means "not enough parking places" so they built it with parking restrictions and a toll for anyone who wants to park there.
It's a horrible place.

If everyone obeyed a 15mph speed limit there would be no gaps to cross the road.

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Andrew.

There probably wouldn't need to be any gaps. People would almost certainly just weave their way between the slow moving vehicles, like they do on really busy highstreets or around football grounds when the crowds are coming out.

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Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

late coming into this one as only had a chance to read a paper this morning.. first time in weeks.

the 15mph was stated as to encourage residents onto their bikes.. since speed limits dont apply to cycles does this mean there will be alot of cyclists overtaking cars ?... maybe roads should be for bikes only.. with special 'car lanes' added down the edges or alongside the pavement.. or shard use with the peds?

sorry.. getting carried away there.

Great definition!!

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

Folks.

15mph is too fast.

At this speed the man with the red flag walking in front of motor vehicles would have to run!

C.

So get him to ride a push bike.

I wonder if you trace back the ownership of the involved companies you will find they have a big stake in a warehouse full of unsold Sinclair C5s?

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Driving fast is for a particular time and place, I can do it I just only do it occasionally because I am a gentleman.
- James May

Isn't it amazing how anything which inconviences or penalises car users in any way is now automatically considered "good for the environment".

This fallacy must have a name. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Group A is considered responsible for causing problem X
Action B harms group A
Therefore Action B is the solution to X

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

British Disease?

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Andrew.

Brachial Repetitive Strain Injury - they're all w@nkers...

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Aquila



Licat volare si super tergum aquila volat...

Richmond Park is a very interesting illustration of what happens with 20mph limits - they obviously did to encourage people to do 30 max whereas when the limit was 30 people did rather tend to edge up towards 40...

But when you get somebody committed to keeping at the 20mph speed limit, you end up with a queue of cars. Since Richmond Park is a mecca for all the cyclists in SW London, you end up doing very much the same speed as the cyclists, a little more or a little less (except down the hill to Robin Hood Gate where they'd like to go twice as fast as the cars!), and it is fantastically difficult to overtake.

As a regular cyclist, the thought of cars being constrained to 20mph terrifies me - instead of them being able to scoot out of my way between junctions etc., I'm going to be undertaking/overtaken every 50 yards or so around the town. Makes for a lot more risky 'interactions' than are otherwise necessary.

Ian