Hackney Council has opened a consultation regarding a planned segregated cycle lane on a road in Stamford hill where it says cyclists are “tailgated aggressively” by motorists who are unable to overtake because of the cars parked on both sides.
The road, West Bank, is one way for motorists, who can only drive northbound along it. It forms part of the route of Transport for London’s Cycle Superhighway 1, and cyclists can ride in both directions.
However, the council says that means that cyclists riding southbound have to avoid motor vehicles being driven towards them.
It has decided to create space for cyclists by removing parking from the east side of the road, which is flanked by trees and bushes and is adjacent to a railway line.
Instead, a two-way cycle lane separated from the main carriageway by ‘Armadillos’ or similar means.
The council said: “People have raised concerns with the Council about the volume of vehicular traffic and the difficulty to negotiate this particular road in both directions.
“West Bank is a busy, narrow road with vehicles parked on both sides and queuing, mostly northbound, during peak hours.
“People cycling northbound are often tailgated aggressively by drivers trying to pass where there is no space.
“People cycling southbound have to avoid oncoming vehicles travelling at relatively high speeds for the road and are in danger of being hit.
“Taking these concerns on board, we are proposing to install a protected cycle track along the whole length of West Bank.
“A key objective is to create a safer, more pleasant environment for cycling on the CS1 route along West Bank.”
Hackney’s Liveable Neighbourhoods Plan, contained in its Transport Strategy, “recognises that streets like West Bank are not just places to park vehicles or drive, walk and cycle on,” the council says.
“They are also the places where we socialise and live our lives.
“An aspiration is to reclaim Hackney’s streets from parked vehicles and motor traffic congestion and transform them into the most attractive and liveable neighbourhoods in London.
“This can only be achieved by reducing the dominance of the private vehicle,” the council adds.
The consultation is open until 26 January 2018 and can be found here.
15 thoughts on “Protected cycle lane planned for Hackney road where riders are “tailgated aggressively” by drivers”
It is a welcome surprise to
It is a welcome surprise to hear such logical comments from a council spokesperson.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
It has to be noted that at probably ~2.5m wide for a two directional ‘Cycle Superhighway’ it’s not exactly that generous & I doubt to Dutch or Danish standards; but so much better than nothing.
I love my bike wrote:
so much better indeed but I would rather have a clear 2.5 metres of motorised and pedestrian free tarmac which would equate to approx the same width for the aforementioned.
It must have been their day
It must have been their day off…
Given the demographic of
Given the demographic of Stamford Hill it’s quite amusing that there is a conflicted area called West Bank.
This needs to be a default
This needs to be a default policy, applied to a minimum number of routes.
Relatively progressive boroughs should show others how it needs to be done.
Let the backward boroughs keep all the through traffic for themselves if they’re so intent on placating the rat runner.
Once a sufficient number of schemes are up and running, demonstrating the results of a bit of awareness, intelligence and common sense, the motorphile boroughs will be shown up for their negligence and obstruction of justice.
Something like the experience of cycling from Camden’s Tavistock Place across the border into the congested wasteland and impossible labyrinth of one way rat runs that is the borough of Westminster.
So, how about the police sit
So, how about the police sit in an umarked car and prosecute the drivers for dangerous driving?
hawkinspeter wrote:
How about the police ride a bike and prosecute drivers.
Grahamd wrote:
How about the police do their job?
Gosh! Too narrow because of
Gosh! Too narrow because of private cars parked on both sides of the road and the proposed solution is to abolish parking on on side and narrow the street even more? Are the residents not up in arms of the proposed plan? “Where are we going to park our 3 family cars now?”.
I do think that this is the solution to reclaiming neighbourhoods (at least a step in the right direction) and I hope that the residents embrace it but I somehow doubt that they will see the benefits.
Not sure how long “armadillos
Not sure how long “armadillos” would last, a decent kerb would be better. But top marks for the non- motor centric thinking!
How can it be part of the
How can it be part of the Superhighway if there ain’t nothing super about it?
why not simply ban parking
why not simply ban parking completely and then ban motor vehicles from using it at all, ZERO cost infra solution which could and should be replicated in every town and city.
An unusally brave move from a
An unusally brave move from a council to remove parking for a cycle lane (or even to remove parking at all). Probably needs a curb rather than armadillos, and good parking enforcement to stop the people who will still park in it.
I cycle on that road almost
I cycle on that road almost daily, but I wouldn’t necessarily single out just that stretch of road. Currently, the pitiful amount of segregated cycle paths on CS1 is a joke and there is far too much competition for road space with impatient drivers doing their rat runs. CS1 is not much more than a re-badged quietway, and with all the motor traffic during rushhour it isn’t quiet at all. Perhaps that’s why they stopped calling that.