I recently shared a platform with Enrique Peñalosa, the former Mayor of Bogota. I knew nothing of Peñalosa, and the omens were poor. He is a politician, and they are usually very dull to listen to. He was clearly writing his speech in the minutes beforehand. I didn't know if he would speak in English, or whether I would have to listen to a simultaneous translation.
But Peñalosa was outstanding, a real revelation. We were at the OECD International Transport Federation's annual conference, speaking about transport and society. He talked about how pavements were not the poor relation of a highway, but a close cousin of parks. Bogota has 220 people per hectare (twice inner London), and few households have their own outdoor space. Pavements are not primarily a way for the poor to get around, but places that everyone can use to meet and chat, to sit and watch the world go by. They are a place for kids to play, and young people to kiss (and yes, that line is his, not mine). Similarly, a city with good bike paths treats people with a $30 bike equally to those with a $30,000 car. It is about human dignity.
His vision is particularly relevant for a city as dense and as poor as Bogota. But it is relevant to those of us lucky enough to live in rich cities, and lucky enough to have outdoor space of our own. I have a bike and a car. My bike is worth more than $30, and my car much less than $30,000, but either way I am the same person, and I am no better or worse than anyone else in London. Yet I take my life into my hands when cycling, but can sit comfortably in a car when driving.
Peñalosa has written elsewhere that "A bicycle lane that is not safe for an 8-year old is not a bicycle lane." My daughter is 8, and sensible, but I would not be happy with her cycling alone around Kingston, where I live, let alone around central London.
So my challenge to Ken and Boris, and anyone else who stands, is this: can you articulate a people-based vision for my city in the way that Peñalosa did last week? And can you convince me that my daughter will be safe cycling around London? If you can, I will vote for you. If you cannot, then I shall spend next year's London Mayoral campaign wishing that I could vote in Bogota, rather than London.