England may soon have new road signs for pedestrians. We have some new signs coming out, to remind us about ‘social distancing’. Here are the samples taken from the .gov.uk website.
What are these signs for? The UK government’s Department of Transport is clearly playing the long game in short order in the war on freedom and against the private motor vehicle, er.., Covid-19 in England. On Saturday 9th May 2020, guidance came out for local councils (who manage most of the road space) to make changes to road use to facilitate the use of ‘roadspace’ by cyclists and pedestrians. This has been done by providing new ‘guidance’ to local councils on under The Traffic Management Act 2004. So the response to this epidemic is clearly going to be rather more ‘permanent’ than temporary, the government is engaged in not just a reaction to widespread respiratory tract infections and the inability of the NHS to provide health care. Take a look at some of the wording:
“The government therefore expects local authorities to make significant changes to their road layouts to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians. Such changes will help embed altered behaviours and demonstrate the positive effects of active travel.”
“When the country gets back to work, we need them to carry on cycling, and to be joined by millions more. With public transport capacity reduced, the roads in our largest cities, in particular, may not be able to cope without it. We also know that in the new world, pedestrians will need more space. Indications are that there is a significant link between COVID-19 recovery and fitness. Active travel can help us become more resilient.”
A new world, are we on Mars? It goes on:
“We recognise this moment for what it is: a once in a generation opportunity to deliver a lasting transformative change in how we make short journeys in our towns and cities. According to the National Travel Survey, in 2017-18 over 40% of urban journeys were under 2 miles – perfectly suited to walking and cycling.”
Never let a crisis go to waste.
“Active travel is affordable, delivers significant health benefits, has been shown to improve wellbeing, mitigates congestion, improves air quality and has no carbon emissions at the point of use. Towns and cities based around active travel will have happier and healthier citizens as well as lasting local economic benefits.”
Will those citizens be happier and healthier cycling to work in the cold November rain? Sorry, I assumed that there will be any meaningful jobs left by then. Why haven’t they been cycling already? ‘…no carbon emissions at the point of use…’, really? I think it means ‘carbon dioxide’ of course. But if anyone rides a pushbike and doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, whether immediately or via lactic acid metabolism, they will be dead.‘…lasting local economic benefits…’: Never mind the bigger picture. The bull is big on this and they know it and don’t care.
So all this is what the Secretary of State for Transport, Mr Grant Shapps, a sort of Bruce Foxton lookalike, has in mind. He seems to be there to make the rest of the Cabinet look good, and who has a very trustworthy past.
Is, in this ‘new world’, (their words) HS2 going to be viable as this virus will still be deemed a threat in 2030 or whenever it is ready, and the train will be ‘socially-distanced’? Don’t hold your breath, unless you want to reduce carbon emissions.
Whatever the UK Prime Minister says tonight, the UK government is clearly using this situation as an opportunity to regulate ever more closely every aspect of our lives. This is Mr Johnson’s green agenda bursting out into the open, the Khmer Vert with Covid-1984.
Being both a car driver and a cyclist I have some observations. Cycleways that are separate from the roads are great. When they are shared with pedestrians there is little conflict, there will always be a few idiots. Facilities for cyclists that are just markings on the road are worse than useless. Stupid narrowings and chicanes that are supposedly for traffic calming are also a problem. Making the road space clear and uncluttered so that cars can pass cyclists easily and at a safe distance would be far more helpful.
I have been doing quite a lot of cycling during ‘lockdown’; roads I would not normally risk are quiet, I can crawl up hills in lowest gear at 4mph without a queue building up behind me, I can ride on fast country roads a not worry about what is coming round the next bend. But I am also a motorist, it is not practical to be without a car in the country, I won’t be cycling those roads when things are normal.
This goverment has blown it, where the opposition is going to come from I have no idea but we certainly need it.
A few years ago I was doing my triathlon training before work which meant going out at four in the morning. The quiet roads that I enjoyed at that time were similar to those that I have enjoyed during the lockdown. I would still prefer things to be back to normal though. I think that we really need to get on with it now and get the lockdown ended. If we have to wear masks and take other precautions fine, but let’s get the country moving again.
Stonyground
I don’t think that the lockdown is going to be ended ever, if the PTB have their way, it is going to be made permanent, with some modifications and easing and throttling of the controls. This is part of it.
Not long ago, we were advised that the social distance between distinct groups of cyclists needed to be 20 metres, owing to their carbon emissions being more strongly vented than those of walkers and their oxygen inhalations being more intense. By contrast, nothing socially distances you like being in a car. So we may perhaps hope that what someone in the department of statist transports advises, someone in the department of stealth and socialist care will discourage.
The survival of liberty through the competition of rival power-brokers is no new thing in history.
This is the precursor to ‘net zero carbon’ tyranny. People can decide whether the Covid panicdemic has been specifically created thanks to a fortuitous relatively benign influenza outbreak as the run-in to decarbonisation of our economy and society or is it just one of those conspiracy theories?
This sort of thing is clearly part of a much wider agenda.
If anyone says “this is just about the virus” may their lies turn to ashes in their mouth.
The international establishment elite may not have released the virus on purpose (although the virus was certainly improved in the research facility in Wuhan – a research facility party funded, illegally, with money that was taken from American and Canadian taxpayers) – but they have jumped as the chance to use the “accidental” (if it was accidental) release of the virus to further their totalitarian agenda.
They also, of course, helped the People’s Republic of China cover up the spread of the virus – it is now clear (by such actions as Wuhan airport being kept open for international flights – but NOT for domestic flights within China) that the international spread of the virus was done ON PURPOSE. it was a deliberate attack by the People’s Republic of China Communist Party Dictatorship – a dictatorship that is beloved by such people as Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates and the rest of the Big Business totalitarians. Such groups as the “World Health Organisation” lied their heads off (no need to fear – “the virus can not be passed from person to person”) in a deliberate effort to spread the virus as widely as possible – in order to have an EXCUSE (“justification”) for their totalitarian agenda.
Even the “Green” stuff (“we must shut down the economy and destroy the lives of tens of millions of people – it is the only way to reduce C02 emissions, we will use the virus as an excuse for this”) is itself an excuse (not a reason) – the real reason is what it has always been, since the dawn of history. These people do evil things BECAUSE THEY CAN – they enjoy power, their view of the future is a boot coming down on a human face, for ever.
As for the British government – perhaps the Prime Minister will show that this country is still free, and will shortly make a speech denouncing the “lockdown” and dismissing all the officials and “experts” who pushed the totalitarian agenda.
However, I do not expect this to take place. Sadly the elected government (at least in the United Kingdom) appears to be very much the servant of the unelected government.
There will some “relaxation” – but only because the international establishment elite know that the economy is on the verge of utter collapse and they fear for their own safety (they could not give a damn about anyone else) – but we will be urged to accept a “new normal” with the state (i.e. the international establishment elite) controlling our lives.
In the Republic of Ireland this already happening – RTE (Irish government radio – I listened to it today, because I could not believe what friends had told me it was saying) regularly tells people that the virus (and “other viruses” – I wonder they have planned for the “next wave”) is the result of the “environment” (a total LIE) and that, to avoid mass death from future viruses the government must control every aspect of life – for ever, as the “new normal”.
The “new normal” is code for perpetual totalitarianism – and if any British government minister comes out with such language they will be confessing that their intention is the same as that of the Irish government.
I do NOT expect British ministers to be as blunt in their totalitarianism as the ministers of other countries (such as the Republic of Ireland) – I expect British ministers to fudge and be confused, and act as puppets of the officials and “experts”.
How about banning all government-sector workers from using individual cars?
Ted: more broadly, how about a general rule for government employees of “you first”? Here in the US, there are some civil servants pushing hard for an end to air conditioning for the proles … it would be delightful to see them working in DC in the summer without it.
Blojo and all 650 HoScum traitor-pukes can cram their bicycles up their arseholes. Indeed that would be an excellent method of executing them.
Black spray paint to black out these signs and a programme of camera smashing. We also need a way of EMP type camera destruction at a distance.
As far as the signs are concerned they are merely authorised for use. Whether a highway authority actually uses them and for how long is another matter. There are many signs in the traffic signs manual that are rarely if ever used- I’ve yet to see a minimum speed limit sign, but they are in the manual
The DOT has been trying to push cycling for decades. Doubtless this crisis will advance their cause, but I anticipate public pressure will push back once the crisis is passed and especially come November.
They talk about two mile journeys as though that’s the end of it. More common is two miles to school with young kids in tow, two miles to the shops, two miles home with a load of shopping. All on a time schedule. and then another series of hops later in the day. Frankly the people taking to their bikes at the moment struggle to reach 10mph or go uphill, and don’t look good risks for when traffic returns to normal. Also it seems unlikely that kids will be safer riding through traffic than they are in a car. The safety obsession pushed by HMG will continue to create problems for the pro-cycling lobby.
There are plenty of cycle lanes round my way that are seldom used because they are inconvenient to cyclists- too much stopping and starting, too many tight turns. Confident cyclists ride the road, non confident ones ride the road now but will go back to the car once traffic makes the roads dangerous again.
No this is not coming from the elected government. This is coming from the Civil Service using a crisis to push it’s wish list
Is there any…ANY chance that this MIGHT be an effort to repair roads and bridges while traffic is
reduced (albeit artificially)
Pat–Schapps (sic) is announcing this shite–how is it NOT part of BluLabour Johnson’s green-freak show?
The rage of millions discovering they are up financial shit-creek will be the real undoing of the fucking British state. And that includes the 1/3 of UK who are terrified bed-wetters–fear is the basis of anger and will they be terrified when they find out they are in economic freefall. All that and the blank stupidity of a Govt who think money is only a concept and they can still spare the 150 billion that will be the real end cost if not more of HSR2.
Leaving aside the Int’l picture being terrible also. The whole world is in for the Greater Depression–we will find out if the globo elite are the geniuses they reckon themselves to be.
CaptDMO, round my way they are still doing road repairs, but not much more than normal i.e. putting tar and then stones on the road to destroy your paintwork/rust protection and windscreens.
Pat, minimum speed limits are found in some under-river tunnels, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one in the last 30 years or so.
Mr Johnson is still running scared, he has the British economy, a tiger, by the ears and knows that we he lets go it will turn round and bite him. He’s trying to let go in the hope that the tiger doesn’t notice it’s been starved for 7 weeks.
Ted S: We could start with banning our politicians from their Ministerial cars. Don’t hold your breath.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has delivered his statement.
I can neither praise him or condemn him – because his statement was unclear.
Something is to happen Monday or Wednesday – but it is not clear what it is.
And there may, or may not, be a partial end to the “lcckdown” on the 1st of June. But the Prime Minster also said “July” (which is insane) – and he was not even clear that “lockdown” would be over even in July.
It is not clear that the demented “lockdown” will fully end on the 1st of June – we may be in the “new normal” perpetual totalitarianism mode. Indeed the idea seems to be that the “lockdown” will carry on in June – so the economy is finished. Britain is FINISHED if the lockdown carries on into June.
I must stress that I do NOT believe that Mr Johnson is himself a totalitarian – I suspect that the gentleman is rather confused, and not really in charge.
I do not think this man is in charge – I do not think the elected politicians are in charge.
People must now reopen their business enterprises – that is my view (I do not know what the view of the Prime Minister is).
The idea that we should wait till things are “safe” is insane – as things are NEVER sane.
There was a lot of stuff about “step one” and “step two” and “step three – which was all as clear as mud.
The talk about only doing things if it is “safe” is (I repeat) insane – as things are NEVER safe.
Here is the text of the pre-recorded speech.
Paul,
You may condemn him on the basis of this part alone, a lie he has twice repeated.
I doubt that Goebbels would have lied like that, not in the age of the internet when the truth was out there. The man is at best a fool.
I am still trying to make sense of what the Prime Minister said.
I will go out tomorrow and see (for example) if a barber or a bookshop is open – but I do NOT think they will be.
I do not think the amusement park where I will will be open – so no work or income for me.
I may have to self terminate. I believe there are ways of buying cyanide capsule on line.
“In weeks or months we may be able to go further – subject to scientific advice, if the numbers support it, if it is safe”.
So this madness will continue.
It will be interesting to see how the Daily Telegraph reacts to this tomorrow.
Whether Boris Johnson is in charge or not (and, to be fair to the man, I do not think he is in charge – he is in office, but not in power). This is madness. The Conservative Party is, at least supposedly, “in power” (even if it is not really in power) – so it has to take the blame for this continued farce.
The “Opposition” are also supporting “Lockdown” – they are talking about “building consensus” for tyranny (with people who are against this “consensus” terminated?).
Bottom line?
This country appears to be finished – it depends on how many people just reopen their business enterprises (if need by by telling the government and its “fines” to GO TO HELL).
There can be no “safety” – we are all going to get this virus (most of us may have already had the virus – I do not know).
The “lockdown” must end – so the people must take their lives into their own hands, and end the lockdown (whether the government like that or not – and it is unclear as to what the government wants).
The actual clear-as-mud message of the Prime Minister may even HELP.
Someone could just say “I have not got a clue what the Prime Minister meant – I have to open my business (cutting hair or whatever), if the government fines me I will not pay the fine – and if you try and arrest me, you will have to use force against both me and my neighbours, as my neighbours will come out to assist me against you”.
If enough people did that, if enough people HELPED EACH OTHER – the “lockdown” would collapse, and the country would be saved.
The police force (not that many people) is not going to fight a population of 70 million people – but are those 70 million people determined to end “locdown”?
If the message is “only if it is SAFE” – then the country is finished.
“How can we reopen SAFELY” some CBI idiot is saying on the BBC.
THERE IS NO “SAFELY” IN THIS WORLD.
No “safely”.
Paul, the barbers and the bookshops won’t be open, mate. Definitely not. Put that one out of your mind now to avoid disappointment tomorrow, and indeed in the next few weeks, okay?
You aren’t responsible for the rest of the UK; you seem to be feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders right now. Take care of yourself, foremost, and your neighbours/friends/family second, and trust that everyone else is doing the same for themselves and for their nearest and dearest. We’ve faced worse than this and come through – a bit battered and scarred – and we will do again. There’s still enough to go around, and we can stay fed and healthy if we pull together – we’ve not hit a tipping point yet.
Easy to say, I know, but concentrate on your own health – mental as well as physical – and trust others to do the same, brother. Try not to take all of it on your own two shoulders, alright?
I do not have, and have precisely zero intention of acquiring, a bicycle.
I have a car. My part of the country is mostly 1-in-4 and 1-in-5 hills anyway, and apart from the A and B roads many of the roads have grass growing down the middle. Trains? All local lines except one lost to Dr Beeching. Buses? Some outlying villages (the fortunate ones) get one single bus to-and-from the local town, on market day only.
Those promoting cycle lanes rarely see themselves commuting on bicycles. They just want to laugh at the gullible taxpaying-classes cycling to work in the rain from the comfort of the chauffeured limousine taking them to their Guardian-advertised fake ‘job,’ ideally in a ‘Zil lane’ reserved for tax-consuming officialdom.
That was the exact reason I bought my first car. Walking to the shops didn’t bother me.
I walk to work most days. Except rainy days, because I’m not stupid. And Fridays, because I go to the pub afterwards. That will not be changing.
The point has been made several times in our circles that the lockdown is a taster of what Extinction Rebellion has in store.
Note well that Boris Johnson (under the influence, maybe, of the mother of his latest child) is pretty keen on the Green agenda. I don’t see how the voters in the Midlands, North and other former Labour strongholds are going to like this.
Actually this virus only underscores the importance of the car.
Paul Marks: “The police force (not that many people) is not going to fight a population of 70 million people – but are those 70 million people determined to end “locdown”?”
Do you mean ‘loco-down’ because that’s what we’ve got. Mass hysteria.
Mass hysteria, egged on by the politicians and the BBC, and taken advantage of by the Police.
The BBC completely diverted government policy, with its demagoguery, ‘daily deaths and ventilators’. Ventilators – that’s died a quiet death. It served its purpose. Nightingale hospitals with huge empty wards, NHS hospital facilities empty as normal caseloads have been postponed.
The fact is, if you are in the political class, you demonstrated what you thought your chances of death by COVID-19 was. As loudly and clearly as you possibly could.
Please do NOT do this. For one thing, it might be treated as a ChiComCold death, and then Professor Ferguson would add it to some number he would claim was ‘close enough for government work’. 🙂
(Also what neonsnake said on May 10, 2020 at 7:33 pm – chin up, Paul.)
Allow me to offer one of several ways of seeing the glass as half-full, or at least as filling again.
Do you recall the ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ episode on the prime ministerial broadcast. If Jim Hacker’s policies were making changes then he was to wear an old-fashioned suit, sit behind an Antiques-Road-Show desk and speak Churchillian English to an opening of patriotic music. But after he was defeated by Sir Humphrey into presenting no-change as his ‘daring new initiative’, he was to wear trendy clothes, speak in trendy terms and open to Stravinsky.
Did you check-out any of the beeboid, natz and similar replying coverage after Boris speech. They knew what was coming and had their ‘it’s too risky’ whining ready – as he knew they would – but I (and Guido’s commenters) thought they did a poor job.
The understory of that is that, by a basic rule of politics, the more determined he is to get the economy moving again, the more he will stress his commitment to safety and that his dates are wisely chosen to be the right ones, not the risky ones.
Or in other words, a politician’s words may not be a perfect guide to his intentions – shocking, I know, but in this case offering some room for very cautious optimism.
One thing I did believe Boris meant – when he said not long ago that he really did not want to have another lockdown. Being a politician, he may well be focussed on being able to resist the political pressures he foresees will seek to reimpose it. He looked healthier than before; he may be recovering his energy.
It took three years of hard slogging and luck to get as far as we have on Brexit. Now we have the virus – which has its political upside for us as well as its downside. So I’m sticking with Churchill:
Neonsnake – you may intend your words kindly or you may not, I do not know. But I do not take your words kindly. Most certainly not.
This country, like others, is being destroyed – not be the virus, but by the reaction to it by governments.
If you understand that and oppose “lockdown” – then good.
If you deny it and support “lockdown” – then not good.
The one good thing about this situation is that it has made politics very simple.
People who are against “lockdown” are friends, and people who support “lockdown” are enemies.
Very simple – friends and enemies.
And one thing I agree with the left about is – “the political is also the personal”, at least when it comes to something fundamental as this.
APL and J.P. – quite correct.
And after two months of this tyranny the time for humouring the people who support it (f there ever was such a time) has long past.
No more of the soft talk.
If people wish to take away what freedom we have (and I know only too well that our freedom even BEFORE “lockdown” was quite limited) they should at least NOT pretend they are doing it “for your own good”.
For example a certain person with his “keep safe” and “best regards”.
Let enemies speak as the enemies they are – “let your yea be your yea, and your nay be your nay”.
Well, they were certainly intended kindly. If I articulated myself poorly, and that’s what has led to uncertainty, then I apologise. It has been noted that I’m sometimes clumsy with my words.
If it’s not that, and that they’re coming from me that has caused you to not take them kindly, then there’s not a lot I can do about that, other than to note that Niall echoed them, and that regardless of any differences between us, I’ll still issue (what I intend to be) a kind word to anyone who appears to having a hard time.
“If it’s not that, and that they’re coming from me that has caused you to not take them kindly, then there’s not a lot I can do about that”
It’s not that you expressed yourself poorly, and it’s not because they’re coming from you.
It’s that Paul has some absolute, unshakable beliefs. He can’t or won’t accept that they might be wrong. So if you contradict or disagree with those beliefs in any way, you must be on the side of the enemy.
Some people talk like that purely for rhetorical effect. It’s a way to express one’s passion and emphasise depth of feeling. But it can also be a symptom of other conditions. I obviously can’t tell which it might be over the internet, but if the latter, then the medical advice is not to confront them on their beliefs, or try to help them reality-test. Listen politely if they want to talk. Communicate that you respect their beliefs, which are totally real to them, don’t pretend to share them, but don’t go out of your way to contradict or oppose them.
—
“Let enemies speak as the enemies they are”
We don’t consider ourselves your enemies. We accept that you do.
Paul, whatever you may think, we’re sympathetic with what you’re going through. I would suggest at least waiting to see what happens over the next few months, and not do anything irreversible.
A few random thoughts.
* From what i have seen of Paul Marks, i do not think that he needs a barber. (I use a trimmer myself, for both hair and beard.)
* Let me renew friendly advice to Paul: stop eating anything containing seed oils, refined sugars, or cereal grains, and that will do more good for you than any political change could possibly do.
It is no exaggeration to say that i was slowly losing the desire to live (or more precisely, the will to take care of my health) until i started following the above principles. The poor diet was not my only problem, but improving my diet was a sufficient solution. Plus, brain function has noticeably improved.
(NB: you might need to take supplements of potassium & magnesium, at least while adapting to the new diet. You should probably have taken them even with your old diet!)
* It always seemed to me that Nullius did not adapt his debating style to his opponents, so it is a surprise for me to hear him give debating advice.
But there is a lot to discuss in this:
Let me start with one question: if you have given up on trying to persuade somebody, why not withdraw from the debate altogether?
(NB: this might seem to be a rhetorical question, but it is not meant to be.)
Let me add a philosophical note: we all have beliefs that are totally real to us. Being a skeptic and a survivalist, i try to keep in mind that i might have to revise my beliefs in order to survive. But i am more confident in some other people’s beliefs being wrong than in my own beliefs being correct.
“It always seemed to me that Nullius did not adapt his debating style to his opponents, so it is a surprise for me to hear him give debating advice.”
When I’m debating for the sake of the debate, I don’t. But I sometimes forget that other people are often not merely debating an intellectual point, but expressing deeply held beliefs tied up with their sense of identity and self-worth, about which they can get extremely emotional and irrational. It’s never my intent to hurt or upset anybody. I’m just debating whether the arguments and evidence support a particular point.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that other people can be fragile.
“Let me start with one question: if you have given up on trying to persuade somebody, why not withdraw from the debate altogether?”
I’m giving up now on trying to persuade Paul, because I’m worried it’s going to cause harm. When people who show signs of depression (or worse) start talking about where they can get the cyanide capsules, I don’t want to play any more. That’s not something anyone wants to muck about with.
That doesn’t mean I’ve given up talking to the rest of you!
The point of debate for me is not to persuade other people. It’s to test my own beliefs. “I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.” (Milton, Areopagitica, 1644.)
“Let me add a philosophical note: we all have beliefs that are totally real to us.”
Of course. But most of us are able to accept that other people can legitimately hold different opinions.
You didn’t. You weren’t.
I have a couple of people in my immediate circle who are immuno-compromised.
If they get Corona, they’re going to die, horribly, choking on their own fluids, suffocating on their immune system’s response by filling their lungs up as they try to fight it. They’ll die, gasping for air, and frightened and desperate, not understanding why anyone would do a fucking conga, or open an amusement park, as their minds are gone as they try to draw a single breath that doesn’t satisfy. Maybe, they’ll have enough brain-power as they die, to remember the people that said “the lockdown was done by the enemy”.
Maybe not, maybe they’ll just be too desperate trying to breathe, when every breath doesn’t give them enough to live. Maybe they’ll remember the people that wanted to go to the park, and view those people as true friends.
I reckon not. I reckon they’ll, if they have enough energy, as they’re dying at 35 (or 60) years old, view those people as enemies.
I’ve watched that happen. It ain’t about friend or enemies. At 13 or 14 years old, I might be prepared to have that discussion. Anyone older than that, not so much. They’re a fucking sociopath if they’re prepared to let people die like that for the “economy”. Grow the actual fuck up.