Teenager Knocked from her Bike by Refuse Collection Vehicle in Westbury Park

I was driving into Bristol on Tuesday morning (November 6th) when the traffic ground to a halt. Not at the usual place - north of White Tree Roundabout. And not because of the new now-shortened bus lane on Westbury Road.

The delay was to the south of White Tree and was caused by the large number of cars trying to drive in both directions along Clay Pit Road. Normally, traffic coming up Redland Road does not turn left into this road, continuing instead onto Westbury Park and White Tree Roundabout.   

The reason for the congestion became clear when I reached the end of Clay Pit Road. Westbury Park itself was closed off and there were several emergency vehicles in attendance following a collision between a teenage female cyclist and a large yellow refuse collection vehicle.

The collision had occurred at the top end of Westbury Park, between St Christopher's School and the junction with North View.

The police later released a statement about the incident, saying that the woman cyclist had suffered "serious injuries" and had been taken to Frenchay Hospital.

No further details are known at present.

In the meantime, the terrible incident highlights the risks involved when cycles and lorries are required to share the same congested road space, especially at junctions. Does the present cycle lane at the top end of Westbury Park make this kind of occurrence more or less likely in the future?   

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So Much to Do....

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Well, what a weekend, and how on earth are the good citizens of Westbury on Trym going to fit in the plethora of cultural events taking place across the city over the coming 48 hours?

For a start, there's the Bristol Doors Open Day, an annual chance to see the interior of some of the city's oldest and most interesting buildings.

My highlights from last year were the Redcliffe caves and the Roman villa at Lawrence Weston. Selective planning ahead, I discovered, is crucial to making the most of the day as it is impossible to do even a quarter of the fifty-plus historic venues in one day.

Locally, Elsie Briggs House is open , as is The Concrete House on the Ridgeway, a fine example of "classic modernism", if that's not too much of a contradiction in terms.


Other properties worth a visit, in my opinion, include the Pierian Centre in Portland Square - any house with an indoor well always gets my vote - and John Wesley's Chapel in Broadmead. The study and living quarters upstairs are a particular gem, all maintained in their original C18 style.

Retro-fitted onto the Open Doors Day is Bristol's first Green Doors weekend - a series of open homes where residents will be "showcasing ways they have made their homes more comfortable to live in, more energy efficient and cheaper to run." Sustainable Westbury is a bit less coy about the event's eco-agenda: the homes, according to SusWoT, have been adapted to "reduce energy and adopt low carbon living."

So, if you've always wanted to see a straw bale wall or find out how to build with discarded tyres, or if you have questions about how practical solar panels are in the suburbs, this is the event for you.

Westbury on Trym has several featured properties, including one very close to where I'm typing.

For those wishing to push the boat out a bit further, expand the envelope, think outside the box and entertain a significant paradigm shift in their political worldview, the Bristol Anarchist Bookfair could be just the thing. With sessions on GM Crops and Biofuels, Men Confronting Patriarchy, and Censorship and Free Speech, the event looks like the biggest yet. For the uninitiated, the session on What is Anarchism? looks handy. The best short summary I have read in answer to that question, from a market anarchist perspective, is found here. The event takes place from 10.30 to 6.00 at Hamilton House on Stokes Croft.

The Organic Food Festival, meanwhile, is taking place at the Harbourside (I know, that's come round quickly). Although I've never really recovered from the shock of having to pay for admission (it's £5 this year), the numerous free samples are universally delicious. A food celebrity of some fame, apparently, will be taking part. Go and buy.

Finally... Bristol's first community organised bike festival launches on Saturday with the start of the Bristol to Amsterdam charity bike ride, beginning at 10.00 from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Should be all downhill from there.

Inevitably, the event has some support from the over-hyped and, in my opinion, ultimately disappointing Cycling City initiative, but let's not let that spoil the fun. There are over 100 cycle-themed events running over the two-week event.

A quick look to the top right of this blog will reveal a new poll. Vote now to reveal which event(s) you intend to visit this weekend.

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• Kate Watson's innovation: Bristol Green Doors weekend (guardian.co.uk)

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Learning from the Past

It's a romantic picture, obviously, but the following short film from American producer James Fitzpatrick should be of more than passing interest to those seeking ways of creating more sustainable cities.

Of personal interest is the emphasis on local food (in this case, fish), individual small businesses (in the flower market) and the widespread use of allotments.

Not to mention the cycles. Notice that they are treated as a means of transport, not a sport. No excessive bobbing up and down.

It seems that sometimes we have to look backwards in order to move forwards.

Thanks to The Slow Bicycle Movement for this gem.

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Pay as you go Cycling Arrives in Bristol

The new pay-as-you-go cycle project has been launched (if ten bikes located at UWE may justifiably be described in such grand terms).

Hourbike requires users to register their membership online and then pay £1 by the hour for the use of the bikes, which are kept in secure parking areas and released through an individual PIN. The first 30 minutes are free.

The scheme is the first visible element of the much-publicised plan to spend M £20 of public money on turning Bristol into a cycling city. The plan has to be a good one in broad terms, though the Bristol Blogger, among others, has a much more detailed analysis of aspects of the overall scheme here.

When Hourbike moves to the city centre from its Frenchay base, I'll be signing up.

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