MAG get mad at London cycle lanes

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has called for more to be done about the growing number of cycle lanes that are dominating already limited road space and increasing congestion in London.

What does this have to do with motorcyclists? According to MAG, a lot.

The new cycle lanes are reportedly creating reduced road space, by up to a quarter in some places, and are also making it more hazardous to motorcyclists who have less room to legally filter past stationary and slow-moving vehicles.

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One of group’s main concern is that outside of rush hour periods the cycle lanes remain largely empty.

And with statistics showing traffic delays are up and average speeds in Central London having fallen to 7.4mph, the ever-growing said-chaos is apparently ‘slower than a horse-drawn carriage in the 18^th century’.

Former MP Lembit Opik, now MAG’s Director of Communications and Affairs, said: “We are in favour of cycle lanes but not hard segregation.

“Narrowing roads makes it more dangerous for motorcyclists going through the gap between cars in traffic, which is perfectly legal.

“We are happy to share road lanes in an intelligent fashion but we don’t support the favouring of cyclists above everyone else.”

The control of emissions in London has been an evolving mission over the years and with congestion at an all-time high in the capital, MAG is hoping to find solutions to these further arising issues.

Selina Lavender, MAGs chairwoman added: “The already limited London road space has been squeezed further by dedicating swathes of it to cycle lanes which are under-used.”

According to Lavender it ‘seems daft that so much has been pooled into cycling alone with lanes that have been built with huge amounts of taxpayers money for the benefit of a very few’.

“It’s a terrible way to treat the 97%+ of road users who aren’t cyclists,” Lavender continued. 

What are your thoughts on the cycle lanes in London? Do they affect you in any way? Or do you have any similar concerns within your nearest community? Let us know via MCN’sFacebook and Twitter accounts. 

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