You are right that they can't compete directly with online shopping, but that's not why people go there. Studies have consistently shown that closing shopping areas to through-traffic is good for businesses, precisely because it makes them easier, not harder, to access. Shops don't benefit in any way from hundreds of cars (or, in this case, buses and taxis) driving past them!

EDIT: Thought I should link to a specific study rather than just vaguely waving at them. There are many to choose from but this one is particularly interesting because it's from the US, where they generally don't have good cycling and public transport infrastructure, but it still shows benefits for businesses:

While we observed some mixed results, we generally found that street improvements have either positive impacts on corridor economic and business performance or non-significant impacts.

It's important to note that nothing always works everywhere ('some mixed results', here), but the balance of evidence is in favour of at least trialling traffic reduction schemes in commercial districts.

I think the assumption that it's customers causing the problems is part of the problem. There's enough evidence to suggest drunk people will kick over perfectly packed bikes and that even people hacking bikes, leave them in the middle of the street. So again, I can public disorder problem, not Lime Bike problem.

Fuck the Nazis, and fuck Germany. No one but them thought this was funny. (and I wait for the peanut gallery to chime in "well i did, it's hilarious, grow up, let it go, it was 80 years ago, fuck off, jew")

edit: someone just posted at mastodon my feelings precisely : https://i.imgflip.com/910k6h.gif

This is the Museum of London, you're thinking of the British Museum

Plans get lost, stuff gets bricked up, there were a number of bombs fell in that area during WWII (http://bombsight.org/?#16/51.5187/-0.1039), it can mean expensive surprises when doing building work.

When they were building the Eurostar tunnels down the road from me they found a load of disused wells that nobody had any idea existed, with unfortunate results.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Motorists who currently benefit from a hefty discount for driving zero-emissions vehicles in London's congestion zones will have to pay the standard charge from the end of next year.Transport for London (TfL) announced that from 25 December 2025, drivers who previously paid £10 for a year's exemption from congestion charges will have to pay the standard £15 daily fee.The move has been criticised by environmental groups and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) but is supported by the Green Party.TfL said the discount had been part of a phased scheme to tackle London’s toxic air.

It said that ending the discount "will maintain the effectiveness of the congestion charge, which is in place to manage traffic and congestion in the heart of London".Currently 112,318 cars and vans are registered for the discount, according to figures obtained from TfL.

Of these, 15,782 are private hire vehicles.Oliver Lord from campaign group Clean Cities called the change "puzzling".

Alex Pierce, from electric car support company GoinGreen, said "environmentally and economically, this makes no sense".He said customers who buy electric cars "because they are cheaper and hassle free when you want to go into central London...will go back to buying diesel or hybrid which is worse for the environment".The FSB said the scheme should be extended to help business owners who already face heavy costs and have invested in electric infrastructure.

But the Green Party said these incentives "were always going to be time limited".Caroline Russell AM said: "If every Londoner drives an electric car we won't tackle congestion, air pollution or the climate crisis.

"The best solution to any concerns about unfairness in changes like this is to move to smart, fair road user charging."

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There's this music video made with OpenAI's Sora model, which is pretty cool but I think also showcases its limitations. It looks quite realistic, but for anything longer than a few seconds, the tech is mostly only good for a stylized fever dream / infinite zoom aesthetic.

It's a better concept than the movie described in this post though, which seems to just be trying to pass off the use of chatgpt instead of writers for the script as some clever critique on the use of AI. You know, by unironically doing what they're critiquing.

For actual coherent long-form AI-generated video, I think something fundamentally needs to change about the approach to training.

Named after a type of wall in a ditch used in English landscaping.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Part of the Tube line that connected central and south-east London 25 years ago is being celebrated by Transport for London (TfL).The Jubilee line extension connects Green Park with the Docklands.All 11 stations along the route were designed by architect Roland Paoletti to herald the new millennium.To mark the occasion, TfL has created 25th anniversary posters that will feature along the Jubilee line over the coming weeks.

As a Tube expansion east and west of the centre was considered immediately before and after World War II, the Jubilee prototype was named the Fleet line, after London's subterranean Fleet River.It was renamed the Jubilee line in 1977 as part of the celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II's silver Jubilee.

The line was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 30 April 1979, with passenger services operating from 1 May 1979.

In May 1999, it was then expanded further adding Stratford, the line’s current eastern terminus and where Stratford International and Westfield Shopping Centre would later open, and North Greenwich, close to the Millennium Dome, now the O2.

It extended further west in the September to Bermondsey via the Canary Wharf financial district, which is now the most-used station for a single line and the busiest station outside central London, serving 40 million people each year.The stations were built all step-free, with lifts, ramps and level surfaces for people with accessibility requirements.

With the new millennium on the horizon, Jubilee's final phase connected Bermondsey with Green Park, creating the line as we know it today.

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London mayor

[...]

Count Binface (Count Binface Party) - 1%

Nick Scanlon (Britain First) - 0.8%

Brian Rose (London Real Party) - 0.3%

How mad would you get if you thought your political attempts were serious, only to be bested by "Count Binface" 😂

There's one at Ergon House.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Video on social media shows a grey and a black horse running through Aldwych, one with blood on its chest and legs.

One serviceman was thrown from his horse in Buckingham Palace Road and one of the loose animals collided with a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel, shattering the windows.

The BBC understands the noise of builders in Belgravia caused the horses of the Household Cavalry to bolt and unseat the riders.

London Ambulance Service says four people were treated by paramedics in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square, and the junction between Chancery Lane and Fleet Street.

Black cab driver Robbie told BBC Radio London he narrowly avoided being hit by the horses.

He added he "nudged out a little bit more" to check it was safe to pull out, and then "another horse came round the corner with a rider on it and just missed my cab and then he disappeared off".

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This is the best summary I could come up with:

A south London pub named in the title of a track on Taylor Swift's new album has described the reaction as "crazy".

Event manager Lily Bottomley described the Swifties' reaction as "amazing" and "overwhelmingly positive".

The Black Dog is the 17th track on The Tortured Poets Department, which last week broke Spotify's record for the most-streamed album in a single day.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Bottomley revealed that Swift had previously come to the pub herself and said the venue was now offering Swift-themed burgers and cocktails.

The lyrics "And so I watch as you walk - into some bar called The Black Dog - and pierce new holes in my heart" appear in the first verse of the song.

The 34-year-old, who has four Album of the Year Grammy awards, sings of spotting an ex - who had forgotten to turn off his location-sharing - going into the venue.

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This is the best summary I could come up with:

There were at least 30 people there to see the artwork at any one time, according to BBC Radio London reporter Anna O'Neill, since it first appeared on Hornsey Road, in Finsbury Park, on Sunday morning.

It shows a "great arterial spray of green paint" across a white wall, accompanied by a "classic Banksy-style stencil", according to James Peak, who created the BBC Radio 4 series The Banksy Story.

The colour of the green paint used matches that used by Islington Council for signs in the local area, which Mr Peak said demonstrated Banksy's famous eye for detail.

Before the artist confirmed it was his piece of work, Islington councillor Flora Williamson said it would be "incredible" to have a Banksy artwork "right in the middle of social housing and one of the poorest parts of the borough".

The elusive artist usually confirms his work on his website and social media, and on Monday he posted images of the artwork on Instagram with no caption.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Peak said that by incorporating a tree into the artwork, Banksy has "solved an emerging problem" of people trying to steal his work.

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Thanks for this. I miss these kinds of posts from /r/londoncycling so nice to see it here.

Edit: inevitably, the excellent Ianvisits has the full story https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/closing-the-gap-as-cycleway-4-connects-greenwich-to-london-bridge-70772/

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Sadiq Khan has hailed what he said was remarkable progress in improving London’s air quality under his tenure as mayor, after a study showed roadside pollutant levels falling faster in the city than elsewhere in the UK.

The expansion of the clean air zone, which requires older and more polluting vehicles to pay a £12.50 daily charge, was fiercely opposed by the Tory central government, and even the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, asked Khan to reconsider the move.

The Labour mayor is keen to push his environmental credentials before he stands for re-election in May seeking a third term, and amid criticism that his flagship infrastructure project, the Silvertown road tunnel under the Thames, could worsen air quality.

Coinciding with the report, Khan’s office has announced additional clean air schemes, noting that pollution levels in the city are still forecast to exceed World Health Organization guidelines even by 2030.

Clean air matters for so many reasons – helping to increase children’s life expectancy, reduce hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions, and enable people to lead longer, healthier lives.”

Henry Gregg from Asthma and Lung UK said: “Despite some improvements to the public transport network in London, more action is still needed in many toxic air hotspots, especially in outer boroughs.”

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“Crossrail”

It's postcode isn't SE, so it's not London. Those are the rules, sorry!