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Just two months after this footpath was completely rebuilt and two new street trees added outside the Bromley-by-Bow Tesco someone has driven a truck over the soft, permeable tree pit surface, destroying it and a flagstone and possibly killing the tree.

Two street trees on a footpath. A clear tyre mark is visible as a severe depression across the tree pit. A flagstone has been split in half in line with the tyre mark on the exit side of the pit.

Reverse view of the damaged street tree and footpath. A clear tyre mark is visible as a severe depression across the tree pit. A flagstone has been split in half in line with the tyre mark on the exit side of the pit. There are yellow pips on the kerb indicating that driving and parking on this footpath is strictly forbidden.

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No expense was spared on these fancy retractable bollards so that emergency services would have easy access to this new development in Tower Hamlets. Concern for prompt access seems to only apply to LTNs however. This is fine.

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Cadent can be hit and miss when it comes to providing safe temporary cycling routes past worksites. On this day it looks they put in considerable effort to make it as bad as possible. They dig up CS2 a lot.

CS2 at Bow, the cycle lane and bus lane are closed by several large signs and orange traffic cones. A yellow sign reads “Cyclists please join live traffic”. A queue of cars and a buss stretch through the work site.

Looking past the “Cycle lane closed” sign, another ten metres of cycleway are usable before what appears to be the actual work site.

There is no work apparent in the work site. The cycle lane seems perfectly usable apart from the temporary fencing across ten metres of its length. A Cadent sign reads “No smoking”. A cyclist is passing the work site in live traffic.

Further up from the earlier work site looking back, there is an access panel on the footpath that has been opened up and some temporary fencing around it. It blocks half of the footpath and none of the cycleway.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

January 22nd. Familiar themes of trucks and vans stopped in the bike lanes on Gower street in Camden.

A small truck parked on the cycle lane and part of the footpath on the opposite side of the road outside the Gresham hotel.

A small truck and a van parked in the marked parking space that interrupts the southbound cycle lane in Gower street. No parking is permitted during the morning rush hour. A cyclist has just moved into the main traffic lane to pass the parked vehicles.

A van is parked blocking the cycle lane and part of the live traffic lane during the evening rush hour. Pedestrians walk past in both directions and a cyclist can be seen on the other side of the road.

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That’s a busy looking intersection at 9:45am these days. Also, bonus handcycle rolling into frame towards the end.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

One set of bike-specific lights I use are only triggered by a nearby pedestrian button. There is no way for any cyclist to trigger it other than going up on the footpath and pushing the pedestrian button. (Connection between CS3 and C10 via Savoy street)

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I find my ire at seeing this is directly proportional to the risk they put others and themselves in. In fact, I don’t think the red light or even any laws are necessary, just people being reckless.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

If we had this all over Newham the closing of the Greenway wouldn’t be a problem. The detours would be safe and convenient.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

January 20th, the worksite from last week is still a worksite. The projected end date of the 18th was evidently optimistic. The Gower street cycle lane has a truck parked in it, on the double yellow blips.

CS2 at Stepney. The worksite from last week is still a worksite, just visible on the far side of the intersection. 9 cyclists are waiting ahead of me for the traffic lights, next to signs that read “Cycle lane closed” and “Cyclists dismount”

Gower street in Camden. A delivery truck has been parked on the southbound cycleway. A cyclist is already in the main traffic lane. The road looks busy with taxis and vans in both directions. Due to the stepped track there is no easy place to join either the road or the footpath to bypass the obstruction. There are double yellow blips along the edge of the cycleway indicating that loading is not allowed at any time, and a sign indicating that traffic enforcement cameras are used in this area.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

January 15th, the minor flooding on CS2 from last week is now a worksite blocking the entire westbound side of the road. Some other roadworks in Westminster have blocked cycleway 27.

C2 at Stepney heading west. A cyclist is waiting at a red light next to a sign saying “Cyclists dismount”. On the far side of the intersection the cycle lane and both car lanes are blocked by temporary plastic worksite fencing and traffic cones.

C2 at Stepney. We are now on the west side of the intersection looking at the worksite. Signs read “Cycle lane closed”, “Cyclists dismount” and “Road closed”. Two cyclists are bypassing the worksite on the footpath which at this point is around 8m wide.

The worksite authorisation plaque which says that Thames Water are making improvements and will be finished by the 18th. Let’s hope that’s true.

C27 in Westminster, underneath the BT tower. Temporary plastic fencing blocks the entire road. There are signs directing pedestrians to go both left and right to avoid the blockage on the road. No thought appears to have been given to cyclists, despite this being one of the primary named routes in the nation’s capital. A cyclist is riding past the blockage on the footpath.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

January 10th, a leisure ride up the River Lea. A flooded railway bridge underpass and a sign for motorists placed in the cycleway (also obstructing bus passengers).

National Cycling Network route 1 going under the railway bridge at Coppermill Fields, Walthamstow. The bridge height is 1.5m, so we have to duck to get through, and on this day it is also flooded. The road is full of potholes which are even riskier when you can’t see them.

Another shot of the flooded NCN1 going under the railway bridge. There’s no drain under here to the best of my knowledge. The water has to evaporate, which usually takes weeks.

C26 at Blackhorse Road tube station. A sign is completely blocking the bus boarder cycleway and is in the way of passengers alighting the bus. It warns motorists that a side road ahead is closed. There was no warning that the cycle lane was closed.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

UK counting council elections: Hold my Stella.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

More from January 8th. Roadworks have blocked the cycle lane CS2 and the bus lane. CS2 carries over 4,000 cyclists each day.

CS2 at Mile End, it’s still dark and raining. Two signs on the footpath read: “Narrow lanes, do not overtake cyclists” and “Bus lane closed ahead”. The road is full of slowly moving queued traffic.

CS2 at Mile End. Two signs on the footpath read: “Cycle lane closed ahead” and “Caution cyclists in carriageway”

CS2 eastbound at Mile End. Cones and signs block the cycleway and bus lane. The remaining lane is full of queued traffic. A cyclist is pedalling up the hill in the bus lane before the point where it is closed.

Final photo of the series showing the cones blocking the bus lane and two cyclists trying to squeeze between the roadworks and the traffic in the rain.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I’m starting a thread for things making the bike lanes on my commute unusable or unsafe. Why? Because if it’s not consistently safe every time you try to use it, a bike lane won’t attract new riders who aren’t comfortable cycling in traffic. January 8th:

CS2 west bound at the Whitechapel markets. A burst pipe is spilling a small amount of water into a few metres of the cycle lane. Cones and tape have been used to section it off.

Transition between C3 Embankment and C10 (old Q1) at the Strand. A large group of cyclists is heading off Waterloo bridge. A truck full of plastic barriers is parked in the intersection blocking the route to the cycleway. The safe options are to run the red light and go around the truck or use the footpath.

CS2 at Stepney Green. It is raining and dark, the cycle lane has flooded up to the top of the kerb. The reflections and mud make it impossible to determine where the kerbs are.

Another shot of the flooded eastbound CS2 at Stepney Green. A cyclist is riding past in the bus lane to avoid the water.

public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Reposted by David Keech

this is the greatest feeling, when the cord box proves its utility to a family member

new yorker cartoon by bernstein. watercolor of a middle aged white dad holding a cord up from the cord box in a heavenly light in triumph. title reads THE BEST DAY OF MY FATHER'S LIFE. caption reads “Did you say you needed a six-pin-to-eight-pin FireWire for a 2006 MacBook?"

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

The rhetoric around this seems more like “Force them to be our specific vision of kids”. As in, I didn’t have social media when I was 14 so 14 year olds now shouldn’t either. I think we should be more clear about the problem we’re trying to solve and more targeted in how we solve it.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I wonder if communities will grow on smaller forums where the age restriction is not enforced. Or is the age of the small forum past and the big social media networks rule now?

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

I had a look at the contract and it appears to include hosting and operating the site for 10 years as well as the rebuild.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I’d much rather see them divorce it from tax relief. Convert it to a rebate or coupon. Make it available to those on minimum wage and allow them to get as much benefit as someone on £100,000.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Or at least if they still do, it will take up less of the footpath leaving more for its intended users. Also less damage because it weighs less.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Even without digging to get the correct data, I know that we didn’t suddenly install five times more solar capacity in 2023 than in all years previously, so Lomborg’s explanation can’t be correct.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Quality street stew by the looks of it.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Oh, they’re doing self-driving Lamborghinis now.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Someone who “settled” for an IT job is going to be outperformed by someone whose passion is computing. And there a lot of the latter out there.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

I wonder what effect it has had on those empty second homes. The outcome that actually matters.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

It’s right there in the first sentence. They think the goal of the tax was to “raise revenue” and since some people sold their second homes to avoid the tax they raised less than expected.

Sarah, manic pixie dream MILF @goatsarah.org · 29/08/2025

Reposted by David Keech

I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset. In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia. In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

"the best overall solution against key considerations of safety and affordability" We saw the cost of building a bridge and decided that a few kids getting run over was acceptable to us.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

So often they demand that we fill potholes instead of building bike lanes. Dude! It’s the same thing. Every cyclist in the bike lane is someone who isn’t making the potholes bigger with their car.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

To avoid that lost revenue they could re-hire back to their former staffing levels, but hiring isn’t cheap either. At one day of labour per hire, a thousand newly hired staff represents three years of man-hours just getting them in the door.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

From the looks of that picture it would mostly flow straight into the sea. During a cyclone I’d imagine that would result in rapid dispersal along the coastline with no possibility of containment.

David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

While I’m in the photo album, here’s one from two weeks ago.

A pedestrian crossing button beside the A10 has been flattened by a car crash.

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David Keech @ladadadada.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

And this one from today. It has been that way for months.

A crash barrier lies across the cycle lane with temporary plastic fencing laying around. The road is unobstructed.