Brent Cyclists presentation to Brent Sustainability Forum July 2012

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

Who are we?The local group of the London CyclingCampaign (LCC) in Brent.LCC is possibly the largest urban cyclingorganisation in the world with over 10,000 membersBrent Cyclists represents the ~300 LCC memberswho live in Brent, but we work for the interests ofall who wish to cycle in this part of London

Textwww.brentcyclists.org.uk

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

Showing Jenny Jones AM difﬁculties at Neasden junction

Meeting Sarah Teather MP at our stall at Gladstonbury Festival

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

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”

The Big Ride before the mayoral elections, in Piccadilly

What are we talking about in Go Dutch? Simple: conditions in which people of all ages can ride aroundwithout fear, like these children leaving school in Assen, Netherlands

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%

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

School is still housed in prefabs but bike paths complete

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

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

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....

...they are directed to an awkward facility shared withpedestrians that is completely inappropriate for cycling

Change is possible with political willImage: David HembrowAssen town square in the 1970s: car dominated

Image: David HembrowAssen town square today: completely redesigned to favour pedestrians and cyclists: trafﬁc and parked cars removed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brent Cyclists presentation to Brent Sustainability Forum July 2012

by David Arditti on Jul 24, 2012

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