In the New Statesman last week, Cllr. Clyde Loakes claims that Mini-Holland and LTNs are ‘proven to make ourselves, our neighbourhoods and our planet healthier’.
As might be predicted, while Cllr Loakes’ tone is bombastic, his argument is largely vapid.
Thus, to take one example, he quotes the Kings study of 2018 as if gospel, apparently unaware that, LBWF spin notwithstanding, careful evaluation has shown it to be hedged with qualifications, and anyway significantly flawed (see links below).
Answering Loakes, ex-Guardian journo and one time Clare Coghill admirer Dave Hill tweets thus:
Leaving aside Mr. Hill’s amusing turn to iconoclasm, his observations are unarguably correct.
Surprising as it may seem, neither LBWF nor TFL have any socio-economic data about exactly who cycles in Waltham Forest (see links), but if the borough’s profile matches that of London as a whole (and there is little reason to think otherwise) then those on two wheels in the borough are indeed ‘a small, affluent minority’.
Accordingly, the answer to Mr. Hill’s question about progress must be a resounding ‘No’.