Britain: Where Politicians Love to Pedal
The Times' Lede blog reported yesterday that Tory chief David Cameron had his bike nicked while he ducked in to a store to buy some groceries:
Someone swiped the bike of the British opposition leader, David Cameron, who happens to be a national advocate for parking that gas-guzzling automobile and pedaling instead. Mr. Cameron, the Conservative party chief, regularly commutes to work at the House of Commons by bicycle.
As the story filled with humble details goes, he stopped at a supermarket on his way home, to pick up some items for dinner, and left his mountain bike locked to a bollard, a short and stout barrier whose main purpose is to block vehicle traffic while letting pedestrians pass. Mr. Cameron would regret the decision minutes later.
Sloppy locking technique aside, what's news to me is that the leader of the UK's right-wing party is a bike commuter and advocate for switching modes. This is the first I'd heard that Cameron is cut from the same cloth as London Mayor Boris Johnson, another Tory and avid city cyclist. Turns out several Tory MPs like to ride to work too. In America, this would be like Bloomberg biking to work every day, Republican congressmen joining Earl Blumenauer on his commute to the Capitol, and John McCain championing cycling as transportation.
Of course, associating bikes with one side of the political spectrum or the other may be missing the point, as one MP told the BBC:
"I have to say it is not an ideological crusade as far as I'm concerned. It is just a convenient way of getting about."
Photo of David Cameron pre-bike theft: Daily Mirror
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Wednesday’s Headlines: Concerted Effort Edition
The Great Lawn will be closed to the public six weeks earlier than normal because of those damn rockers. Plus other news.
Broadway Vision: Watch 15 Years of Transformation in a Single Streetfilm
It's hard to see the big picture of just what has been accomplished between Times and Union squares. That's where Clarence Eckerson Jr. comes in.
What Do ‘Livable’ Streets Look Like in an Era of Driverless Cars?
In today's Brake podcast, Kea Wilson asks Bruce Appleyard what future livable streets have in a world of autonomous cars.
NYPD Steps Up Effort Against Illegal Mopeds, But Some Advocates Want a Different Approach
The NYPD seized some illegal wheels from delivery workers in the middle of their route on Wednesday, part of a stepped-up effort.
Astoria Organizers Lead the Way on Street Safety with a Reddit Strategy
The western Queens neighborhood has become a hub for a new kind of safe street advocacy.
