Westminster Cycling News

Piccadilly / Pall Mall - Two-way at last?

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:31:00 +0000

Westminster City Council has announced a radical £14m overhaul of Piccadilly Circus.

The one-way system and oppressive guard railings which pen pedestrians in were introduced in 1963, and have made crossing the famous site a nightmare ever since. They have also made cycling through the area more difficult and potentially dangerous.

In an effort to replicate the success of the nearby Oxford Circus diagonal crossing more space will be devoted to pedestrians, allowing the listed Eros statute to become a focal point along with the famous neon signs in the background. More than one kilometre of guard railings - "enough to build 800 bicycles" - will be ripped out creating more room for pedestrians.

As part of the improvements a central island will be built along Piccadilly and Pall Mall - giving shoppers more opportunities to cross. The pelican crossing in Pall Mall by St James’s Square will be replaced with a zebra crossing.

The council believes that re-introducing two- way streets from Piccadilly Circus along Piccadilly, St James's Street and Pall Mall should free up Piccadilly Circus and reduce the traffic passing through the St James’s area. It hopes the benefits of the new scheme through reduced congestion on both the roads and pavements will reap similar rewards for the area in the same way as Oxford Circus.

The revamp will also open up the important gateway to St James's Park and Horse Guards Parade during the 2012 Olympics - the venue for beach volleyball during the games; and Pall Mall - the finishing line for several events, including the marathon, triathlon and road cycling - will also be improved.

Engineering consultancy Atkins, which designed the famous Oxford Circus diagonals, has been commissioned to work on the new Piccadilly designs.

The council is currently waiting to hear whether Transport for London will fund £7m of the revamp as part of its Major Schemes project, and it is expected to make a final decision within the next few weeks. If Westminster's bid to TfL is successful, the remaining £7m will be jointly funded by the City Council and The Crown Estate, with additional funding from Fortnum and Mason, who are support the scheme along with the St James’s Conservation Area Trust.

Colin Wing, chairman of Westminster Cycling Campaign, said: "We have been campaigning for many years to turn these streets back to two-way. Not only are fast, wide, one-way streets an obstacle to cycling through the West End but we also need southbound cycling in St James's Street as part of the Regent's Park - St James's Park cycle route. I therefore hope that TfL will provide their share of the funding to allow the scheme to go ahead. I also hope they will get the traffic signs right this time!"

Report Calls for Improvements to Canal Route

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:52:00 +0000

As part of the London Greenways project, a Cycle Route Implementation and Stakeholder Plan has now been published for the Westminster sections of the Regent’s Canal and the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal.

A shared-use path is recommended along Delamere Terrace.

The replacement of these barriers is recommended along the canalside path in front of the Lisson Green Estate,

The aims of the study were:

to provide a continuous east-west route for cycling which is currently not available
to encourage faster-moving commuter cyclists to use the off-towpath route
to make minor improvements to the towpath that will provide more comfortable pedestrian and recreational cycling use
to encourage more people to use the towpath for recreational pursuits
to resolve conflicts with other road and towpath users and ensure they have a greater awareness of cyclists.

The highest-priority recommendations are for contraflow cycling in Blomfield Road and a shared-use path along Delamere Terrace. These schemes will allow the canal route to work in both directions.

Other recommendations include:

improving the lighting and surface of the path under the Marylebone / Metropolitan railway bridges
replacing the barriers along the path in front of the Lisson Green Estate
a staggered cycle path leading from the Toucan crossing of Lisson Grove to the Lisson Green canalside path, with separate entrances for pedestrians and cyclists
improving the route through the streets where the canal runs through a tunnel

The total cost of recommendations made in the report amounts to an estimated £1,676,500.

The executive summary is now available at http://www.westminstercyclists.org.uk/canalcrisp.htm Please email info at westminstercyclists.org.uk for the full 7.4MB report.

Hyde Park now connects to Marble Arch

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 09:49:00 +0000

Following construction of two new gates by the Royal Parks, the cycle route around Hyde Park now connects to the toucan crossings of Marble Arch.

You are advised to use these gates rather than the one onto Park Lane, where cycling is not allowed on the footway and you could be fined - see photo below.

Oxford Circus - signs of sanity?

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:50:00 +0000

Incorrect signs banning cyclists from certain manoeuvres at Oxford Circus have now been replaced successfully - at the second attempt. But there are still prohibitions on certain movements for all traffic and we have not yet been able to verify that these correctly reflect the appropriate traffic management orders.

At the end of November, we reported that a number of cycle movements were now prohibited at Oxford Circus, following the introduction of the diagonal crossing scheme. In particular entry into Oxford Street was banned, except for buses and taxis. We have still to see any evidence of traffic management orders enforcing these restrictions.

Following protests from cyclists, some modification were made. As the photo shows, the 'except buses and taxis' signs were replaced by blue 'cycles, buses and taxis only' signs - see photo. It was anyone's guess what this combination of signs meant - and it almost certainly contravened several guidelines.

We suspected that the blue 'cycles, buses and taxis only' signs were put up in mistake for ones with the words 'except buses, cycles and taxis'. This suspicion was justified - the correct signs have now been installed, exempting cyclists from the compulsory left turn. A number of manoeuvres are still prohibited for all traffic, notably most right turns and the left turn from Regent Street (north) into Oxford Street (east). Law-abiding cyclists remember making these turns before the new scheme was introduced. We have been given the numbers of the traffic management orders allegedly prohibiting these manoeuvres in 1981 and 2005 (numbers 433 and 123 respectively). But we have not yet managed to track down these orders to verify that they have been interpreted correctly.

More signs of insanity

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:39:00 +0000

Eagle-eyed cyclists may have spotted that the 'no entry' and 'cycles only' signs should be on each other's posts at this contraflow in Wardour Street. The current arrangement seems to say that cyclists are not allowed to use the gap on the left but should use the main carriageway on the right - risking collision with on-coming vehicles. And the 'cycles only' sign is facing the wrong way. Sorting that out is the easy bit!

Westminster to combat pavement cycling

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:11:00 +0000

Westminster intends to use its City Guardians to issue fixed-penalty notices to cyclists who ride illegally on the footway.

We believe that the council can do this by setting up a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. These schemes enable chief constables to designate limited powers to employees of organisations who contribute towards community safety. Accredited Persons are identified by a standardised badge, and deal with specific nuisances such as dog fouling, cycling on the pavement, and litter - but not such offences as ignoring traffic signals or traffic signs. A number of police forces have set up these schemes, but not, so far, the Metropolitan Police Service. (Further details)

The LCC believes that enforcement of traffic regulations is vital for all road users and can help to reduce the unacceptably high number of deaths (approximately 3,000) and collisions (approximately 300,000) on the UK's roads, most of which involve motor vehicles. But enforcement of 'moving' traffic offences needs to be carried out by trained officers and allocation of resources needs to be proportionate to the danger posed by different vehicles. The London Cycling Campaign shares the Government's view that the police and police community support offices are best qualified to enforce the regulations on pavement cycling and most other traffic offences. They have the training and the authority to do the work. They can use their judgement when a young child is riding on the pavement and are more likely to be correctly informed as to where cycle users are permitted to use pavements for safety reasons. It is also vital that local authorities address road danger to cycle users by improving the very conditions that force some cyclists to seek the refuge of pavements. Where such improvements have been made, offending falls.

Cyclists barred from Oxford Street

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:16:00 +0000

As part of the diagonal pedestrian crossing scheme at Oxford Circus, cyclists have been barred from Oxford Street.

According to signs attached to traffic signals,

Cyclists approaching Oxford Circus from Regent Street (north or south) have to continue straight ahead and cannot turn into Oxford Street.
Cyclists approaching Oxford Circus from Oxford Street (east or west) have to turn left into Regent Street and cannot continue along Oxford Street.
Cyclists in Harewood Place have to continue straight ahead into Holles Street and cannot turn into Oxford Street.

This cyclist is making a prohibited manoeuvre!

These restrictions came completely out of the blue: they were not included in the original proposals. We have not found them either in the traffic management order covering the Oxford Circus scheme. So we have asked Westminster's Director of Transportation for a copy of the relevant order. The LCC have also told him that it would be most regrettable if this pioneering and welcome scheme were to be undermined by being cycle un-friendly. And the council member responsible for cycling is raising the matter with him.

Westminster's Unitary Development Plan has a policy to "normally allow cyclists to turn at junctions and enter streets where certain movements by motor vehicles are banned as part of a traffic management or environmental scheme, where safety issues permit." But the council sometimes ignores this policy, for example in the recent exclusion of cyclists from Lisle Street and their forthcoming exclusion from the south end of Wardour Street.

Long Acre Contraflow Unveiled

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:22:00 +0000

The long-awaited cycle contraflow lane has now appeared in Covent Garden's Long Acre.

The lane, running from Bow Street to Drury Lane, allows eastbound cyclists to ride against the one-way westbound traffic flow. This facility opens up a new route from the Charing Cross Road to Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The contraflow lane is part of an environmental improvement scheme in Long Acre, which also involved moving car-parking bays to the south side of the street (to the right in the photos). Work is now in progress to replace the mini roundabout at the junction with Bow Street and Endell Street with a pair of T-junctions as part of the same project.

You should note that 'no entry' signs are still in place at the entrance to the contraflow lane. This may mean that it is illegal to ride along it!

Concern has been expressed that the contraflow lane is little more than one metre wide. We understand that the original design was for a 1.5m lane. We are seeking to find out how the width was reduced.

Cyclists would dearly like to have a westbound contraflow lane along the western end of Long Acre. This is more difficult, however, because of the need to modify the traffic signals at the junction with St Martin's Lane. Signals had conveniently been removed from the junction with Drury Lane, making the introduction of the cycle contraflow rather easier.

Plans change for Millbank?

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Transport for London may be changing its plans for a cycle route along Millbank so as to cater both for commuters and for less experienced and leisure cyclists.

Plans nearly 10 years old included:

widening the footway on the river side to accommodate a two-metre two-way off-road cycle track
a 1.5m cycle lane on the opposite side for northbound cyclists.

There are now concerns that these facilities could not handle the growing number of cycling commuters. And the off-road cycle track would be awkward for northbound cyclists to use, especially since TfL believe they could not extend it south of Vauxhall Bridge. Another problem is that, after widening the riverside footway, the traffic lane would be only 3.55m wide at its narrowest, which could produce conflict between cyclists remaining in the carriageway and motor vehicles.

So TfL are now considering other options. Thanks to congestion charging, traffic volumes are not so high among Millbank. It might therefore be possible to restrict motor traffic to one lane, releasing space for cyclists and pedestrians.

Plans also include re-arranging Lambeth Bridge, replacing the existing sub-standard cycle lanes with a 1.5m cycle lane in one direction and a bus lane in the other direction.

Improvements planned for Victoria Embankment

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:11:00 +0000

In November 2008, Boris Johnson said in Way to Go: "It is an utter disgrace that there is no decent cycle lane on the Victoria Embankment." We have now seen Transport for London's plans for Victoria Embankment, though only eastbound cyclists are going to see much benefit.

The main feature of the plans is a two-metre cycle lane for downstream (eastbound) cyclists for much of the road's length. Measures will also be taken to reduce the risk of left-turning vehicles' cutting cyclists up.

Sorry, it won't be like this just yet!

Not much is planned for upstream (westbound) cyclists, apart from cycle lanes along the first section from Temple Avenue.

Westbourne Green bridge removed from Connect2 programme

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Cyclists were disappointed to hear that the new bridge proposed for Westbourne Green has been removed from Sustrans's Connect2 programme. The bridge would have replaced the existing footbridge over the railway, known locally as 'Muggers' Bridge'. This news is particularly disappointing after the scheme was selected by the public to benefit from the lottery-funded Connect2 project.

This scheme would have seen the construction of a new, straight, wider bridge, with ramped accesses that would be at the heart of a network of cycle and pedestrian priority routes, linking to existing networks. Kensington Gardens, Westbourne Green, Kilburn, Kensal Green and the new City Academy would be connected by routes that prioritised walkers and cyclists. The new railway bridge, and its linking routes, as well as improvements to two existing bridges over the Grand Union Canal, would mean journeys through Westbourne Green would often be quicker, and certainly more attractive, when made on foot or by bike.

The location of the new bridge is shown in red.

The bridge, at Westbourne Park, is intended to be built using structures developed as part of the Crossrail project. However, current timeframes for Crossrail mean that the bridge cannot be completed within the five-year life span of Connect2 and so, unfortunately, the scheme can no longer be funded as part of this programme and will therefore not be delivered within the timescale originally hoped.

Carl Pittam, Sustrans’ London Director, explains; ”Major construction projects are liable to changes in timetable and in this case the Westbourne Park Bridge scheme is the innocent victim of circumstances beyond anyone’s control.

“We have been working hard with colleagues at Westminster City Council to salvage the situation and we all remain committed to delivering this project – which would benefit the thousands of Londoners who want to walk and cycle around the area. However we are committed to a tight timeline for the UK-wide Connect2 project and this unforeseen delay to Crossrail, on which the bridge depends, has meant that the development of the bridge, and its accompanying walking and cycling routes is also delayed.”

Cycling along Studio Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:18:00 +0000

The Royal Parks are seeking funding for an 18-month trial to allow cycling along Kensington Gardens' Studio Walk, which runs in front of Kensington Palace.

This path would extend the east-west route across the park, which currently goes no further west than the Broad Walk. Cyclists' ultimate aspiration is to have a route through to Kensington Church street and then up Holland Street and through Holland Park. Allowing cycling along Studio Walk would be the next step towards this aspiration.

Studio Walk, where cycling is not currently permitted.

Atkins Intelligent Space have now produced a Cycling Assessment Report, following consultation with the Royal Parks Senior Management team, Crown Estates, Royal Household, Historic Royal Palaces and the Police (Diplomatic Security section). The report concluded that pedestrians and cyclists could both use the path without getting in each other's way.

Action on Canals

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:19:00 +0000

The path alongside Lisson Grove Estate is currently owned by CityWest Homes and due to be adopted by Westminster City Council. The path will only be adopted by WCC once it has been upgraded to public highway standard at the expense of the current owners.

The path currently has anti-cycling barriers along it, which some cyclists see as a challenge to their balancing powers. In addition, traffic signals have recently been installed at the junction of Lisson Grove and Frampton Street to ensure a safer journey through the streets for walkers and cyclists following the canal where it passes through a tunnel.

The high-level path at Lisson Green may be improved.

There is also to be a Cycle Route Inspection Meeting (CRIM) on the canal. Top of our list will be doing something about the one-way streets that prevent eastbound cyclists from following the canal where it cannot realistically be cycled, namely Delamere Terrace and Blomfield Road.

One-way Delamere Terrace is currently an obstacle for eastbound cyclists.

» More on cycling Westminster's canals

Camden and Brent Cyclists hold Maintenance Workshop in Westminster

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:16:00 +0000

The Camden Workshops

The workshops will take place at Velorution, 18 Great Titchfield Street London W1W 8BD.

First workshop - Saturday October 31 2-6pm

Puncture repair
Brake tuning
Chain repair

Second workshop - Saturday November 28 2-6pm

Tuning gears
Cleaning
Fixing shifters
Headset - visual explanation of how the two main types work

You will carry out most the work on your own bicycle but some other bicycles or material will be available for demonstration and/or practice. Tools will be provided but you may want to consider bringing a small tool kit with you. (Also available for purchasing at Velorution.)

The class will be run by two instructors and there will be a maximum of 12 participants.

The cost for the two sessions will be £50 (payable in advance). If you need small items such as inner tubes, cables etc you can purchase them from the shop. (please note that we are able to offer this low rate only thanks to a grant from the London Borough of Camden whom we gratefully acknowledge)

If you would like to join future series, please

The Brent Workshop

Saturday December 5th, 10am-12 noon

Paddington Arts Workshop, 32 Woodfield Road, London W9 2BE
Street map

Drop-in Maintenance Workshop (followed, for those who wish, by a ride to Grosvenor Square, to take part in The Wave, the demonstration in support of action on climate change, in advance of the Copenhagen talks).

This is a self-help workshop - not a professional training, but they'll make sure that there are a number of people who know what they are doing, and will attempt to fix basic problems with appropriate tools, and help you understand how to do your own basic maintenance.

No charge, but if you want to make a contribution to the cost of hall hire, they'd be very grateful.

Westminster proposes 123 cycle hire stations

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:17:00 +0000

Westminster has now published its list of proposed cycle hire stations. A total of 123 stations are proposed, with spaces for 2728 cycles. Of these, 84 stations will be on the carriageway and 39 on the footway. In addition, there will be a certain number of stations in the Royal Parks and on main roads managed by Transport for London.

You can find details of the proposed sites at www.westminster.gov.uk/cyclehiremap. The council will be pleased to receive any observations or comments on the proposals in writing by 9th October. (Email: cyclehire@westminster.gov.uk ref. 5536/MG.

Holles Street is not one of the proposed sites!

The cycle hire scheme is expected to start in the summer of 2010, with 6000 cycles available at 400 points in central London.

Marble Arch becomes permeable

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:13:00 +0000

The Royal Parks have now opened cycle paths connecting Marble Arch with the cycle route around Hyde Park. The paths line up with the toucan crossings around the Marble Arch gyratory, enabling you to reach the roads radiating from Marble Arch via the central area. Although you avoid the traffic circulating around the gyratory, you may have to stop up to four times to wait for a green cycle signal.

Royal Parks' contractors apply the final touches to a cycle path.

More Dr Bike Sessions in Royal Parks

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Don't miss the opportunity to have your bike checked over by Dr Bike! The doctor will be able to make small adjustments and advise on any more extensive repairs that may be needed.

Following the success of the sessions during Bike Week in June, a further series of Dr Bike sessions has been arranged as follows:

When	Where
Monday 5th October 16:00 to 19:00	Hyde Park Rotten Row / West Carriage Drive »Street map
Wednesday 7th October 16:00 to 19:00	Kensington Gardens The Broad Walk / Mount Walk by drinking fountain »Street map
Thursday 8th October 16:00 to 19:00	Regent's Park The Broad Walk / Ready Money drinking fountain »Street map
Friday 9th October 16:00 to 19:00	St James's Park The Mall (north side) / Marlborough Road »Street map

A Dr Bike session in Kensington Gardens

Stanhope Gate crossing opens

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:21:00 +0000

A new cycle crossing of Bayswater Road bridges the link between two halves of a cycle route.

The crossing, just west of Marble Arch links the southern half of Route 5 (Chelsea Bridge - Hyde Park) with the northern half (Marylebone - Kilburn).

Until recently, cyclists had to dismount to use a zebra crossing at this point. The zebra has now been replaced by parallel pedestrian and cycle crossings, which provide a continuous route for cyclists.

A number of measures have been implemented in connection with the crossing, such as allowing northbound cycling in Stanhope Place. But the right turn from that street into Seymour Street has still to be allowed for cyclists. Some time ago the Royal Parks provided a connecting path from the cycle route around Hyde Park.

A cyclist using the new crossing.
Westminster Cycling Campaign does not recommend carrying bags on the handlebars, looking in the opposite direction to approaching traffic or cycling with flapping clothing!

A crossing at this point was first proposed in 2005 as part of the London Cycle Network Plus project. When council members rejected original proposals for a toucan crossing, engineers literally had to go back to the drawing board. Hence the long delay. This has unfortunately prevented them from making progress with other schemes.

Why LCN+ failed in Westminster

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Despite expenditure of £2.16m on London Cycle Network Plus in Westminster over the three years from 2005 to 2008, very little actually happened to improve cycling conditions on Westminster's roads. How could this come about?

Only £165,000 was actually spent on designing and implementing cycle-specific features on Westminster's roads. So where did the rest of the money go?

£1,053,000	was given to the Royal Parks. This paid for generally worthwhile schemes, including crossings of the North and South and West Carriage Drives of Hyde Park as well as Marlborough Road.
£400,000	went towards streetscape enhancement in Whitehall and Parliament Street, the main feature of which was anti-terrorist bollards. But the wide bus lanes should make cycling easier. (See photo below.)

£248,000	paid for badly-needed surface improvements in Trafalgar Square, on Waterloo Bridge and at Hyde Park Corner - work that we would normally expect authorities to do out of their annual maintenance budget.
£162,800	paid for feasibility studies for schemes that have not materialised, including £57,400 to find out why cycling is not possible across the north of Kensington Gardens.
£87,000	was for Cycle Route Implementation Stakeholder Plans (CRISPs).
£42,000	went on reports to the Cabinet Member.
£2,263	was for preliminary discussions.

Westminster to turn off traffic lights

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:17:00 +0000

The City of Westminster and Transport for London are planning to switch off certain traffic signals on an experimental basis.

The experiment will start with the signals at the junction of Victoria Street and Strutton Ground. It will entail monitoring the junction over a six-week period with 12 closed-circuit television cameras and eight number plate recognition cameras.

For the first two weeks the signals will work normally; for the following fortnight they will be switched off, before being put back on for another two weeks. The behaviour of motorists and pedestrians will be monitored at both this junction and one about 100 yards to the west.

Martin Low, Westminster City Council's head of transportation, said: "We will be creating a bit of indecision in all road users' minds to create a safe environment, When lights are out, we have noticed that drivers are far more considerate and show more care and attention than they are when they have the reassurance of traffic lights. We think there is a huge potential to reduce delay for all road users."

The idea of removing traffic signs and signals began at Drachten in the Netherlands. Road users behaved more carefully, with a consequent reduction in accidents. The concept now appeals to the Mayor of London as part of his policy of smoothing the traffic flow.

Westminster Heads Cycle Theft League Table

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Two wards in Westminster head the league table for cycle theft in London.

According to statistics recently released by the Metropolitan Police Service, 439 bikes were stolen in West End ward in the 12 months to 30th June, closely followed by St James's ward, with 389. The runners-up were Camden, with 348 cycle thefts in Bloomsbury and 336 in Holborn and Covent Garden. Westminster also secured 19th place, with 115 thefts in Marylebone High Street ward.

The Met says the surge, which has led to an additional 182 thefts since April in the City of Westminster, is partly due to more cycles being parked on the streets and partly to a growing market for stolen bikes.

It warns that some cyclists are failing to protect their bike properly and suggests employers could help by providing secure storage for cyclists.

Superintendent Matthew Foley warned that cycle thieves were increasingly active in Westminster. Increased patrols had failed to curb a rise in offending, with 426 cycles stolen since the start of April, compared with 244 in the same period last year - a 75% rise.

He said: "One reason is that there are a lot more people cycling, and another is that, because it's more popular, there is more of a market for stolen bicycles. I am a keen cyclist, so I do feel for people and know how infuriating it must be."

Superintendent Foley said there was growing evidence organised gangs were targeting bicycles. One favoured method is to smash locks with a hammer after putting plumbers' 'pipe freeze' into the keyhole to make them more brittle.

He said cyclists could help to reduce the risk by using more than one lock and removing any easily detachable parts, such as wheels or saddles. He added: "I use three locks myself, but I still see too many, often expensive bikes, with only flimsy locks."

Work Starts on Long Acre Contraflow

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:23:00 +0000

As the photo shows, work appears to have started on a contraflow cycle lane in Long Acre.

The cycle lane will run along Long Acre from Bow Street to Drury Lane, in the opposite direction to the westbound traffic flow. Because of the limited width of the road, the 1.5-metre mandatory cycle lane will not have splitter islands at its entry and exit points. Car parking bays on the north side of the road will be moved to the south side to release space for the cycle lane.

Plans for the junction of Long Acre with Endell Street and Bow Street

The scheme, which is proposed as part of a renovation project for Covent Garden, also includes replacing the existing mini roundabout at the Endell Street / Bow Street junction with two T-junctions, separated by a zebra crossing - see plan above.

Camden has already removed the traffic signals from the junction of Long Acre with Driry Lane and Great Queen Street and to plans to convert the western end of Great Queen Street to a single carriageway, releasing space for a pedestian area.

The new contraflow in Long Acre will open up a new route for cyclists from the Covent Garden / Leicester Square area through to Lincoln's Inn Fields and Bloomsbury. Cyclists have been campaigning for this for many years,

Cycle Warehouse for Paddington?

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:45:00 +0000

A revolutionary 'cycle warehouse' for up to 1,000 bikes could be installed at Paddington station.

If the £750,000 scheme goes ahead it will become Britain's biggest station cycle park, more than double the size of the facility that opened recently near London Bridge.

The concept has been developed by Dutch operator NedRailways, which is building a similar park for up to 500 bikes at Leeds and has 40 in Holland.

The striking glass structure is provisionally known as Cyclepoint — a translation of the Dutch name Fietspoint.

It would be manned until late into the evening and would include a cycle hire, sale and repair shop. A spokesman for NedRailways said it would be secure, accessible only with a swipe card, and would cost about 75p a day with discounts for season ticket holders.

But already Network Rail has ruled out introducing the scheme imminently because of building work at the station.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "It's Brunel's landmark station and 150 years old, so any designs have to be given the go-ahead by English Heritage.

"The other factor is we're doing some repairs on the roof at Paddington and it will probably be next summer before it's finished, so realistically we're not going to begin any works before then because it will be in the same part of the station."

Work Starts on Bayswater Road Crossing

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:20:00 +0000

After many delays, work has started on a new cycle crossing of Bayswater Road, to replace the current zebra crossing near the junction with Stanhope Place..

The new crossing will connect Stanhope Place with a path to the North Carriage Drive in Hyde Park.. The crossing forms an important link in London Cycle Network routes 0 (Hyde Park - Marylebone - Bloomsbury) and 5 (Chelsea Bridge - Hyde Park - Kilburn) and will enable cyclists on north-south journeys to avoid Marble Arch. In addition to the new crossing, two-way cycling will be allowed in Stanhope Place and cyclists will be allowed to turn right from Stanhope Place into Seymour Street.

A plan of the new crossing.

A crossing of Bayswater Road was first proposed in the autumn of 2005. Following a council member's objection to the original design for a toucan crossing, engineers prepared new plans for parallel pedestrian and cycle crossings.

The project was further delayed when Thames Water dug up the road. As is customary, the council then waited a few weeks in case TW needed to dig the road up again.

An unfortunate consequence of this delay is that the budget for this project could not be carried over from 2008-9 into the current year. Because it will have to be funded from the 2009-10 budget, the council will have less money to spend on other projects.

More Dr Bike sessions than ever before

noreply@blogger.com (Westminster Cycling Campaign) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 09:28:00 +0000

There were an unprecedented number of Dr Bike sessions in Westminster this summer. The councils of Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster and Camden worked alongside the Royal Parks, British Waterways, the Metropolitan Police, the CTC and the LCC groups in the three boroughs to provide these sessions. About 500 people had their bikes checked and were given cycling information.

Dr Bike Venues included Hyde Park Corner (above) and Kensington Gardens (below).