Not all cyclists want to use ‘segregated gullies’, says Boris

At this morning’s Mayor’s Question Time, Boris Johnson said there isn’t room for separated cycle infrastructure everywhere in London. He added that such segregation is not the "knock-out solution" many think it is.

Johnson was criticised by the Green party’s Jenny Jones. She told the cycling Mayor:

"You’re not a normal cyclist. You know you’re not. You have a weird view [that dangerous junctions are] good for energy levels and adrenalin. You love them. Most cyclists don’t. They’re frightened of these junctions. You should go out with an eight year old child. See if they’re happy."

Johnson replied: "I understand that point. I want everybody in London to feel happy and safe on a bike. I want them to feel safe to [cycle]."

An exaspereted Johnson also tried to answer with stats, but Jones stopped him.

He said: "I can’t guarantee to Londoners that we are going to be able to produce segregation everywhere it is desired. That is simply not a realistic objective, just because there isn’t the road space to do it."

He added:

"The difficulty is you take away a huge amount of road space and you perhaps don’t even deliver the safety improvements you desire. Speaking as a daily cyclist, I think one of the problems I think many cyclists have…is that they don’t always use the segregated gullies.

"I’m not convinced that [segregation] would be the knock-out solution that some people suggest that it would be."

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