1. Brent Cyclists
and cycling in Brent
David Arditti
coordinator@brentcyclists.org.uk
Presentation to Brent Sustainability Forum 23 July 2012

2. Who are we?
The local group of the London Cycling
Campaign (LCC) in Brent.
LCC is possibly the largest urban cycling
organisation in the world with over 10,000 members
Brent Cyclists represents the ~300 LCC members
who live in Brent, but we work for the interests of
all who wish to cycle in this part of London

3. Text
www.brentcyclists.org.uk

4. Brent Cyclists’ Activities
• Responding to consultations on traffic and roads
issues from Brent Council
• Proposing ideas to the council and TfL; meeting
politicians and officers
• Lobbying through the press and online
• Organising meetings and socials
• Organising leisure rides
• Promoting cycling at community events

5. Showing Jenny Jones AM difficulties at Neasden junction

7. Meeting Sarah Teather MP at our stall at Gladstonbury Festival

8. “Scenic Brent” ride last month by the Welsh Harp, with Cllr. Butt

9. LCC’s “Go Dutch”
Campaign
• 40,000 people signed the petition:
“We want the mayoral candidates to pledge to make
London more liveable for everyone by making our
streets as safe and inviting for cycling as they are in
Holland”
• 10,000 came on The Big Ride on 28 April 2012 to
press these demands home
• Boris johnson and all the other major candidates
to be Mayor signed up to “Go Dutch”

10. The Big Ride before the mayoral elections, in Piccadilly

11. What are we talking about in Go Dutch?
Simple: conditions in which people of all ages can ride around
without fear, like these children leaving school in Assen, Netherlands

12. Proportion of children who cycle to school
• Assen: close to 100%
• Dutch average: around 50%
• Brent: 0.3%
Modal share of all journeys by bike
• Assen: 40%
• Dutch average: 30%
• Brent: 1%

13. It’s all about planning (or not) for the bike
In Assen the cycle paths in this new development were laid out
before the development was built

14. School is still housed in prefabs but bike paths complete

15. In Brent a new school is built by a big, hostile road (Bridge
Road, Wembley), fenced off from it, with no attempt to
create routes the children can use to cycle to school on

16. What happens in the Netherlands when a route cyclists
need to use crosses a major road

17. What happens in Brent when a route cyclists need to use
crosses a major road (North Circular)
Cyclists have to mix with fast traffic in a motorway-style
system that is very unsafe for them...or....

18. ...they are directed to an awkward facility shared with
pedestrians that is completely inappropriate for cycling

19. Change is possible with political will
Image: David Hembrow
Assen town square in the 1970s: car dominated

20. Image: David Hembrow
Assen town square today: completely redesigned to favour
pedestrians and cyclists: traffic and parked cars removed

21. In Brent we have an environment totally cluttered-up with cars, as
they had in the Netherlands in the 1970s, before they changed
policy: Edgware Road in Colindale

22. In the Netherlands now, the space on main roads is just
used completely differently: Assen

23. Part of the Go Dutch campaign is having concrete proposals for
how London’s major roads and junctions can be made cycle
friendly: LCC’s proposed design for Blackfriars

24. Sometimes only a small change is necessary: road leading
to One Tree Hill Rec. in Alperton that is no-entry for all

25. ...when it could easily have been provided, like King Henry’s
Road, Camden, with a no-entry bypass for bikes

26. But many other roads in Brent require major re-engineering to make
them work for cycling: the A5 at Staples Corner

27. Most cycle “facilities” in the UK don’t work: they are bad
designs ands in the wrong places: Staples Corner West

28. But decent-quality provision for cycling in the right places is possible
in London, and has been done: Royal College Street, Camden

29. The cycle network in Brent is well-intentioned, but it’s too sparse, large parts e.g. on the A5 are
purely theoretical, and major physical barriers (e.g. North Circular Road) are not solved.

30. Official cycle routes in Brent on minor roads are often very
unsatisfactory because of restricted width and too much parking:
Chapter Road, by Dollis Hill tube

31. Even wider residential roads are hazardous because of parked cars
and the danger of opening doors: Mollison Way, Queensbury

32. Compare with a residential road in the Netherlands
of very similar width to Mollison Way

33. Much traffic calming on residential roads is not good for
cyclists as it creates extra hazards: road in Wembley

34. In Brent, cycle paths are generally not present even where they
would be easy to provide in open spaces: Fryent Way, Kingsbury

35. The Mayor’s Cycle Superhighways have potential to change things for the
better but they have not been consistently well-done: CS3, Barking

36. Brent has potential as a “Biking Borough” but needs far better
planning and far more investment: Old Church Lane, Kingsbury

37. More information
• www.brentcyclists.org.uk
• www.lcc.org.uk
• www.cycling-embassy.org.uk
• www.sustrans.org.uk
• www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com