Cycle lane touted as model for low-traffic scheme less than half as busy as claimed
IT WAS hailed as a shining example of Grant Shapps’s active travel scheme and evidence that the low-traffic experiment is working.
But a spot check has cast doubt on claims in a Department for Transport (DfT) report about how busy the cycle lane, in Chiswick, west London, is.
The 39-page report, published last month with a foreword by Boris Johnson, declared: “Up to 2,700 people a day are cycling along the route, including children and families.”
It also claimed the number using it on weekdays between February and April 2021 had risen 72 per cent, citing figures from Hounslow council and the DfT. But on Wednesday two Sunday Tele
graph reporters counted the number of cyclists using the lane on Chiswick High Road. Between 7am and 7pm just 1,026 bikes passed through, less than half the figure claimed in the report.
In November, a cycle lane in Harrow was being used by one cyclist per hour. Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Fuel for motorists and Hauliers, said last night that cycle lanes were an “ill-conceived” part of an “anti-motorist battle”.
“I’m all for a new dedicated space for cycling and walking but not at the expense of other road users,” he said.
“At a time when public finances are under severe stress, I cannot see that hundreds of millions of pounds for these schemes represents either value for money or a sensible use of funds.”
While Hounslow council, which introduced this particular cycleway, is Labour-run, all six of the councillors representing Chiswick are Conservatives, leading to claims the Labour administration is forcing green schemes on areas that do not affect their voters. Sam Hearn, a councillor in Chiswick Riverside, said: “People are not being offered the opportunity to be properly consulted as the council goes for streetspace ‘engagement’ plans.
“This scheme has a negligible impact on air pollution and the High Road is one of the most polluted streets in London. Shapps has said the schemes must balance the needs of cyclists with other road users, but they’re not doing that.”
Julian Mayo, a cyclist who lives in Chiswick, said the lane was “flawed” and had created “greater animosity between cyclists and other road users”. He criticised the timing of its opening last December as “insensitive” when residents were struggling financially. The Government has provided more than £220million to local authorities to create cycling routes and low-traffic neighbourhoods since May 2020.
Sam Monck, Transport for London’s (TfL) head of healthy streets delivery, said: “Our cycle count data is robust and it shows how this vital cycle route is both popular and keeps people safe. The number of people counted along a route can vary depending on the date and exact location, and we’re confident that this route continues to be well used by people of all ages.”
Hanif Khan, member for transport at Hounslow council, said: “There are different views on cycling infrastructure, and engaging with that range of opinion is part of the democratic process. However, traffic data isn’t a political opinion.
“That’s why Hounslow uses an independent contractor. Cameras monitor traffic on Chiswick High Street 24 hours a day, continuously each month. This allows the council and TfL to accurately assess the impact of new infrastructure on our transport network.
“We’re delighted to see the increase in cycling on Chiswick High Street, and we hope this trend will continue.”
1 The number of cyclists counted by this newspaper making use of an exclusive cycle lane in Harrow, north-west London