Feeling exposed as bike lane removed
DECISION LEAVES CYCLISTS ‘IN DANGER EVERY DAY’
CYCLISTS and green campaigners said they were disappointed after politicians decided not to reinstate a controversial temporary bike lane put in during the pandemic in Kensington High Street.
Better Streets Kensington and Chelsea said the decision was “depressingly predictable.” They said the council’s decision amounted to “do nothing with warm words. Meanwhile thousands are in danger every day”.
They said support for the bike land continues “to flood in” and that “now over 80 organisations are in support across our society, from Waitrose to the NHS to 17 schools to universities to the Royal Albert Hall as well as thousands and thousands of Londoners”.
Kensington and Chelsea Green campaigner Fabian Frenzel said the temporary bike lane, which was scrapped last December, just as the council was holding a debate about it “provided long-needed safety improvements for cyclists on one of London’s deadliest roads.”
He said campaigners were “deeply disappointed” by the decisions.
The bike lane was put in as part of the response to the pandemic in a bid to make the road safer for cyclists and pedestrians as social distancing remained.
But it was removed within seven weeks after emergency services said “wands” used on the bike lane could make access difficult.
Last week the council’s leadership team opted not to install temporary cycle lanes but consider an alternative scheme in the longer term, with research beginning “in the summer”.
Other options they looked at were putting the lane back as it was, adjusting it with segregated lanes where the road was widest or doing nothing.
Some businesses feared congestion after the lane was put in last year and said lost parking spaces could affect them as they aimed to bounce back from the pandemic.
The council decided to look at the issue again after it received a legal challenge from Better Streets Kensington and Chelsea.
However Transport for London, which helped fund the £320,000 bike lane, told the council that the majority of residents it surveyed were in favour of the scheme.
Some motorists said they were concerned about turning off the High Street into Kensington Church Street.
Councillors received thousands of emails and letters from residents and cycling campaigners and Kensington and Chelsea Council’s leadership team said they had each received a huge postbag on the issue.
According to council figures an average of 3,000 bike journeys were made each day along the temporary bike lane in one of Kensington’s most popular shopping streets. And 25 residents associations, said they welcomed the decision to take away the bike lane.
They said the council needs to consider “the nature of our shopping and residential streets, the trading of our various businesses and shops, bars and restaurants.
“We must make it a priority to encourage a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians, while maintaining the flow of transport for our buses and taxis, delivery
We don’t want a shoddy cycle lane put in, we want a properly planned and safe cycle lane
vans and lorries, for our emergency services and those with disabilities in our community. We can’t allow any future implementation to result in the experience we have all just endured.”
At their meeting the Leadership team discussed the options as the council prepares for the post lockdown recovery period.
Catherine Faulks, whose ward is adjacent to High Street Kensington said: “Residents of Camden ward were completely exasperated by the cycle lane.”
And councillor Anne Cyron said one resident told her they “saw two buses plough into barriers, many talked about anxiety turning left and right for fear of hitting cyclists.”
Opposition leader Pat Mason, for Labour, said something had to be done to improve traffic in the street, especially as the borough has called a climate emergency.
“When it’s not Covid it’s like a pollution arena,” he said. And he criticised the temporary “shoddy” bike lane.
“We don’t want a shoddy cycle lane put in, we want a properly planned and safe cycle lane put back in.”
Councillor Mary Weale said: “I do not think this was a shoddy scheme at all. This was a scheme that was put in as a quick reaction.”
But she said it had provoked strong feelings on both sides of the argument.
Council leader Elizabeth Campbell said when the bike lane was put in there was only 15 per cent of the normal traffic on the road. She added: “We have inconclusive data.”
The decision had to include the views of people who travel through the borough as well as those who live there, she said.
And councillor Campbell said she wanted a comprehensive survey, perhaps working with academics as well as residents and other stakeholders before deciding on the next step.