The official launch of a new protected cycle lane, dubbed “the most beautiful bike lane in London” thanks to its unique tulip-shaped wands, didn’t quite go to plan this week, after the opening ceremony was interrupted – by a cyclist angrily complaining that the event was blocking the infrastructure.
Earlier this week, to coincide with the London Cycling Festival, new colourful tulip-shaped wands were installed along the cycle lane in Sussex Gardens in Westminster, as part of a trial by Westminster City Council to “improve safety and to enhance the streets for everyone”.
Designed by award-winning architects Pitman Tozer, the flexible wands are made with recycled plastic collected by the local authority.
They were inspired by the poppies at the Tower of London and the sunflower fields that are a visual staple of the Tour de France, and designed to be a “flexible, attractive, and recycled alternative to standard cycle lane bollards”.
Tulip cycle lane wands (credit: Positive Momentum)
“Traditional black-and-white bollards are clunky, often bent or broken, hard to maintain, and easy to crash into. They clutter the streets and can be almost as dangerous to cyclists as the traffic,” the architects said.
“Tulips bring safety and joy to the street. Bright and playful, they clearly mark the cycle lane and stand out from the grey road, helping drivers and cyclists see and respect the space.”
While the tulips are designed to keep cyclists safe, the brief ceremony held this week to open the joyful new infrastructure wasn’t without its issues, however.
The ceremony saw a section of the bike lane on Sussex Gardens temporarily closed for 20 minutes, as the tulips were officially launched by the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Paul Dimoldenberg, in front of a crowd (which included broadcaster and safe cycling advocate Jeremy Vine) stood on the infrastructure.
But, despite their clear safety objectives, the pomp and ceremony surrounding the launch of the wands proved something of a hazard for one cyclist, who was forced to ride on the road as the speeches took place, much to his clear chagrin.
In a video posted by the Tulip Cycle Wands group, the cyclist can be seen interrupting proceedings by shouting “it’s a cycle lane” as he approached (causing one of the organisers to worry that he was planning on charging through the gathered crowd).
As the cyclist rode past on the road, the organiser informed him that the lane was closed, only for the rider to hit back: “It’s a cycle lane, you can’t just stand in the way!”
Reflecting on the rather ironic incident, a spokesperson for Tulip Cycle Wands told road.cc: “For 20 minutes we temporarily closed a short stretch of the tulip cycle lane for the Lord Mayor of Westminster to officially launch these beautiful new pieces of cycling infrastructure.
“We had a colleague acting as a spotter placed 50 yards ahead of the ceremony to warn cyclists and other road users of the very temporary disruption.
“One cyclist opted to ignore our spotter’s warning and approached the short stretch. While he did so, he energetically exclaimed ‘this is a cycle lane!’, before continuing his journey. The whole incident lasted 15 seconds.
“We couldn’t have agreed with him more, and that was the whole point of planting the tulip cycle wands in Sussex Gardens: to make cycling safer and the street more beautiful for months and years to come. The irony was not lost on us either!”
Tulip cycle lane wands (credit: Positive Momentum)
Before he was shouted at by a passing cyclist, Lord Mayor Dimoldenberg praised the new wands, saying: “Cycling is a fantastic way to travel and an easy way to see the sights in our city. Thank you to Pitman Tozer Architects for inviting me to unveil the first one in London.
“These new Tulip Cycle Wands add a pop of colour along Sussex Gardens, and I hope they bring a smile to cyclists for many years to come.”
And the occasional angry bellow, too, if the opening ceremony is anything to go by…