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Transport for London looking at taking control of roads where boroughs block cycling infrastructure

Deputy mayor for transport accuses obstructive councils of “holding the city to ransom”

Transport for London (TfL) could take control of roads where boroughs are blocking planned safe cycling infrastructure with Heidi Alexander, the capital’s deputy mayor for transport, accusing certain councils of “holding the city to ransom.”

Last month, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) announced it would not support a planned cycleway along Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate, both roads for which it is responsible, despite the fact a public consultation into the proposals was still ongoing.

> Pressure mounts on Kensington & Chelsea to explain cycleway “opposition”

A section of the route from Wood Lane to Shepherd’s Bush roundabout will be built, and lies on ‘Red Route’ roads which are controlled by TfL rather than RBKC.

Elsewhere in the borough, a planned cycleway from Brentford towards the city centre will finish where it meets the RKBC boundary at Olympia, rather than proceeding along Kensington High Street and ultimately linking up with the Cycle Superhighway 3 at Hyde Park.

In February this year, the Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision from last September which found in favour of the City of Westminster regarding the planned Cycle Superhighway 11 from Swiss Cottage to the West End.

> Court of Appeal upholds Westminster's legal block to Cycle Superhighway 11 - campaigners brand council's action "shameful"

The borough had successfully argued that TfL had acted unlawfully in starting work at Swiss Cottage before necessary consents had been obtained for the entirety of the route, part of which was also planned to pass through Regent’s Park, effectively scuppering the scheme.

The Evening Standard reports that Alexander has now asked TfL to examine whether it would be feasible to add Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate to the capital’s network of Red Routes.

She told TfL’s Programmes and Investment Committee: “What is so upsetting is how premature the decision was on the part of Kensington and Chelsea.”

Part of the opposition to the scheme was due to the planned removal of a number of trees on the route, but Alexander said: “While we can always replace trees, we can’t replace limbs when people are injured in very serious collisions.

“We need to find a way to stop central London boroughs from holding the rest of the city to ransom when it comes to delivering safer cycling routes.”

Adding roads currently under individual boroughs’ control to the Red Routes network may not be straightforward, however, with the Evening Standard pointing out that it would need to be approved by the secretary of state for transport, as well as being likely to be agreed by the local authority itself.

A spokesman for RBKC said: “Our position represents the clear view of residents. The Mayor and TfL would be ill-advised to ride roughshod over those views.

“Our door remains open for further discussion on a project if it can win the support of local people and local businesses.”

Last month, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised three south-east London boroughs – Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich – for their support for segregated cycling infrastructure, on the same day he sent a strongly worded letter to the leader of RBKC regarding its decision not to support the cycleway through Holland Park and Notting Hill.

> Work to start on London’s Cycleway 4 with Sadiq Khan praising supportive boroughs

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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7 comments

Avatar
Pub bike | 4 years ago
1 like

High Street Kensington is awful for motorists, pedestrians, bus passengers, and cyclists alike.   Do the residents and local businesses really think this scheme could actually make it worse? 

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
1 like

I think we're now entering a time of peak political illusion - no-one has any control, but pretends they can exert a beneficial influence whilst showering empty words upon us.

Avatar
handlebarcam | 4 years ago
4 likes

Get ready for more "Sadiq Khan is a communist/terrorist/evil-spirit-from-Arabian-Nights" comments from the far-right/new-Tory-leadership.

Avatar
Rick_Rude replied to handlebarcam | 4 years ago
0 likes

handlebarcam wrote:

Get ready for more "Sadiq Khan is a communist/terrorist/evil-spirit-from-Arabian-Nights" comments from the far-right/new-Tory-leadership.

Khan is that bloke at work that gets promoted onto a project, fucks it up and then leaves with a payout for being shit.

Avatar
burtthebike replied to handlebarcam | 4 years ago
1 like

handlebarcam wrote:

Get ready for more "Sadiq Khan is a communist/terrorist/evil-spirit-from-Arabian-Nights" comments from the far-right/new-Tory-leadership.

They'll probably abolish it like Maggie did with the GLC when Ken Livingstone was its head.

Avatar
brooksby | 4 years ago
2 likes

Didn't Heidi Alexander want Charlie Alliston lynched? (kind of) I'm sure she's gone on record supporting stricter enforcement of laws on cycling. I wonder when she decided that supporting cycling infrastructure was a vote winner...?

Avatar
zanf replied to brooksby | 4 years ago
6 likes

brooksby wrote:

Didn't Heidi Alexander want Charlie Alliston lynched? (kind of) I'm sure she's gone on record supporting stricter enforcement of laws on cycling. I wonder when she decided that supporting cycling infrastructure was a vote winner...?

So you cant support stricter enforcement of cycling laws and also want better infrastructure?

 

If Khan actually wants to do something then immediately reimpose the western section of the congestion charge. That will piss off LBKC no end.

And as for their bullshit about considering the needs of all their residents... tell that to the people of Grenfell

 

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