Our council is spending 2 million of our very own pounds to bring Boris Bikes to our borough, but Shepherds Bush is largely forgotten.
Boris Bikes are great. They are a easy way of getting around. They are a bit heavy, but they are also quite solid. It is very liberating to be able to pick up a bike at one location and drop it off at another one, without having to worry about locks or punctures.
Cyclists are not universally popular, and there are definitely a good number of idiots amongst them, but if all cyclists would start driving cars, our streets would be totally clogged up.
All in all - a nice addition to the Hammersmith and Fulham landscape.
However, if you look carefully at the map of the extension you will notice something a bit odd.
Apart from the Green and Westfield, Shepherds Bush is almost completely forgotten. It is almost as if one of the planners cut it neatly out with her scissors. (The map is a bit hard to read, this one is much more detailed - essentially the boundaries are at Shepherds Bush Road and Glenthorne Road - look how nicely Fulham and West Kensington are going to be covered, and we are putting 3 stations in the Holland Park bit if W12)
It is really a shame. To the best of my knowledge, all inhabitants of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham are equal, but I guess some might be just a little bit more equal.
The Hammersmith and Fulham press office have explained that TFL is in charge of selecting the sites, following a consultation. The press office also added that the money was raised via “Section 106” (meaning developers paid for it). That may be so, but any money that the council spends or allocates to a project is our money. The notes of the relevant cabinet meeting do not mention the fact that a big chunk of our borough is not covered.
Which is a real shame.
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