I may have missed something while on holiday. A press release has just landed in my inbox with Kulveer Ranger chirping about ‘Barclays cycle superhighways’ . I had not realised that the bank was not just sponsoring the London bike scheme but also the so-called superhighways, which are anything but ‘super’ from what I have seen of them.
If this is true, exactly how does it work? How is Barclays getting any kudos from this. And then the all too-painful truth hit me. The superhighways are being painted the Barclays blue. Please, someone, tell me this is not true? Or is this the start of a new trend. Virgin will obviously get the red bus lanes and why stop at roads? Morrison’s can have the amber lights, Lloyd’s the green ones. There are endless possibilities: road crossings will have to change their name from Pelican to Penguin so that they can be sponsored by the chocolate bar, and only destinations on road signs that can support advertising will be repainted when they fade.
It’s Boris’s big plan: London is for sale. Silly me for not realising it. Or someone please tell me that the superhighway blue is a coincidence?