Planning News

1. London Cycle Network +
London Cycle Network Plus (LCN+) is a planned 900km network of radial and orbital routes for cyclists covering the whole of London, which is supposed to be completed in 2009. The aim is to create routes that are fast, safe, comfortable and easy for cyclists to use. The emphasis of this project is on creating a high quality cycling environment that is suitable for all cyclists to use and gives priority to cyclists.

Transport for London (TFL) say that the routes have been chosen because of the already high demand. See www.londoncyclenetwork.org for the ‘official’ version.

But neither TfL (who hold the budget), Greenwich Council (who bid for the funds and do the work) or Camden Council (who oversee the whole process somehow!) have consulted local cyclists. And there are some clear anomalies. The proposed route East-West route through Woolwich is not ‘fast, safe, comfortable and easy for cyclists to use’ by any stretch of the imagination.

The Council’s cycling officer, Dave Moorhouse has provided us with a map of the proposed LCN+ for Greenwich. Routes that are agreed between the Council, TfL and Camden are in yellow on the downloadable map. He has also marked routes that the Council want to be added (in red), and sections that they want deleted (in blue).

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Maps

North - Charlton.jpg

North - Deptford & Greenwich.jpg

North - Plumstead, Abbey Wood & Thamesmead.jpg

North - Woolwich.jpg

South - Eltham Park to Avery Hill.jpg

South - Kidbrooke to Eltham.jpg

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In a recent meeting we told Dave that we do not support certain proposed sections as they are neither direct, not likely to be fast. But we need to make a formal representation to the Council, outlining our views.

Let me know what you think. If you would like me to post or email you a copy of the maps, please email bikepest@hotmail.com

2. Proposed East Greenwich 20pmh zone
The Council is consulting residents on the introduction of a 20mph zone in this area, stretching from The A102m all the way to the University, north of the railway. They are proposing to introduce speed cushion on almost every side street within this are, except for Woolwich Road and Trafalgar Road and those that already have them!

The plans can be seen at Peggy Middleton House, Woolwich during normal office hours by prior arrangement. (Contact is Brain Hanson 020 8921 6114).

I think we should generally respond in favour of the principle of the 20mph zones.

But I would suggest that speed cushions – both the solid and patchwork variety – present us with a problem. They make cycling much more uncomfortable, they can make it harder to steer, especially if you are carrying heavy bags or panniers, and they may reduce our speed. Although the patchwork ones have a space for cyclists to pass through, they seem to encourage car drivers to forget lane discipline and veer into the sides of the road, where the cyclist is also trying to get through.

Unfortunately the London Centre for Cycling Excellence has not yet responded to my request for information about best practice in this area. I would suggest we urge them to consider other traffic calming measures, such as width restrictions with properly enforced (i.e. no parking in front of them) cycle gaps on either side.

Views please.

3. Trafalgar Road accident remedial measures
Accident rates on Trafalgar Road, between Park Road and Maze Hill, are higher than average. In the last three years there have been 58 casualties, including one fatality. 13 of these have involved a pedestrian or cyclist.

The Council proposes to:

• install traffic signals at the Maze Hill junction with Trafalgar Road, including better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists on all arms of the junction (not specified). These would replace the existing lights outside the Arches Leisure Centre.
• Close some roads into Trafalgar Road, specifically Hoskins Street and Greenwich Park Street, south side only (except for cycles)
  
• Install additional traffic signals at Greenwich Park Street and/or Park Row.

We wrote to point out that Trafalgar Road is part of the London Cycle Network Plus (LCN+) and is, according to our monitoring, one of the busiest cycle routes through the borough. In our view, any proposal for this road should be consistent with this LCN+ designation.

The response is quite interesting:

"I can assure you that the Council is committed to developing the LCN+ for Trafalgar Road and we have looked at various options in this connection. Naturally you will appreciate the difficulties presented by the limited road space in many locations and the myriad demands that are made on it by the requirements of bus priority and service access to frontage, in addition to general traffic.

"We feel that there would be little point in providing cycle lanes in the carriageway only for those to be obstructed for most of the day by service access etc. It appears to us that a safer solution on much of this route might be to provide dedicated cycle lanes on widened footways rather than to squeeze cyclists into an already congested carriageway. In some places, we might also consider encouraging less confident cyclists to follow an alternative parallel route through adjacent side streets (eg Old Woolwich Road).

"We would welcome your comments on these suggestions and would be keen to work with you in developing these plans over the next few year."

Trafalgar Road accident remedial measures
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to comment on this scheme. I have now had an opportunity to consult our members and the local Cycle Touring Club representatives about these measures.

Trafalgar Road is part of the London Cycle Network Plus (LCN+) and is, according to our monitoring, one of the busiest cycle routes through the borough. As you know, the objective of the LCN+ is to provide safe, fast, and direct cycle routes that give priority to the cyclist. In our view, any proposal for this road should be consistent with this LCN+ designation.

We are, therefore, very disappointed that the proposal fails to include provision of high quality cycle lanes along each side of this stretch of Trafalgar Road, especially as additional funding would be available from Transport for London to provide this facility. We urge the Council to bring forward plans to provide safe cycling infrastructure along the length of this road and to ensure that any short term remedial measure is compatible with the long term objective of delivering the LCN+ at this point.

In answer to the detailed questions you raise in your consultation, our views are as follows.

• The installation of traffic lights may conflict with the LCN+ objective, which as I have said, is to provide safe, fast, comfortable and direct cycle routes. However, in the case of the Maze Hill scheme we recognise the safety argument and we are prepared to support these as long as they are a replacement, rather than in addition to the pedestrian lights opposite the Arches. We would also like to see advanced stop lines for cyclists at each of the four entries to the junction with ‘feeder’ cycle lanes marked on the roadside to allow cycles to pass to the front of any traffic queue in safety.
• We support the closure of Hoskins Street and Greenwich Park Street to cars, on condition that two way cycle access is not prevented.
• We do not support the introduction of additional traffic lights at either Greenwich Park Street or Park Row at this point in time. We would suggest that the impact of the Maze Hill lights is monitored before further lights are introduced.

Additional Comments
At certain points the quality of the road surface along Trafalgar Road is very poor and, we believe, could easily contribute to accidents involving cyclists. One example is the depression in the road surface at the junction of Park Street and Trafalgar Road. This is very treacherous for cyclists heading West and could easily force cyclists to swerve into the path of faster moving motorised traffic. There has been at least one attempt to fill this hole in the past, but it continues to drop. We believe this deserves urgent attention to prevent further accidents at this point.

We reiterate our view that the council should not miss the opportunity to honour its commitment to deliver the LCN+ along this route as soon as is reasonably practical. If it can be done at the same time as these measures, it will minimise inconvenience to all of the users of the Road and will provide a more comprehensive solution. Moreover, it is imperative that any short term remedial measures are compatible with the introduction of the LCN+.