ETA

A London borough is to allow bicycles to travel the ‘wrong’ way down one-way streets in an experiment to see whether it makes cycling safer and more convenient.

The deputy leader of Kensington & Chelsea council, was persuaded of the need to make the change after noticing that hundreds of cyclists a day were ignoring no-entry signs.

There will be no dividing line between cyclists and motorists because the council believes that it will be safer to allow them to negotiate their own path past each other.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association said: “We have spoken to the police in London and there is concern at the effect that this experiment will have on the behaviour of cyclists across the capital, but whilst the idea of contra-flows for cyclists can seem counter intuitive, it is important to remember that many of our roads are not cyclist friendly – a situation that needs to be redressed if we are to encourage this environmentally benign form of transport.”

Bike Week , Britain’s biggest mass participation cycling event, this year coincides with Green Transport Week National Bike Week has been runing since 1923, and during periods when cycling has been judged to be popular it has attracted some big sponsors. With an increase in cycling in London of 83 per cent, now is clearly one of those times – Nokia, which is promoting a range of GPS-enabled phones, is backing this year’s event and wants to “challenge families to get out of their cars, step away from the TV and get on their bikes”. Find out more by visiting the Bike Week website

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The ETA is a not-for-profit ethical organisation providing motorists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and insurance products. As well as encouraging responsible driving to reduce carbon, the ETA campaigns for sustainable transport. The ETA provides the most comprehensive cycle insurance policy on the market.