Cyclist explains why riders "aren't very grateful for tiny painted cycle lane" on notorious route where council ripped out segregated bike lane; Pothole "roads emergency"; The incredible lengths London bike thieves will go to steal + more on the live blog

You might remember the cycle lane saga on Kensington High Street that is coming up to its four-year anniversary this winter. For those who don't, here's a 30-second recap... 

The major route had a segregated cycle lane [pictured above] installed during the Covid pandemic. However, come December of 2020, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea's (RBKC) Conservative-controlled council decided to remove the protected cycling infrastructure, returning the road to its old state after pressure from the area's Tory MP and actor Nigel Havers over congestion concerns. To nobody's surprise, the congestion the bike lane was apparently causing was not addressed by scrapping the scheme and long queues of backed-up stationary traffic can still be seen at almost all times of the day, the cyclists who use the route questioning for what benefit their journeys have been made more dangerous and less accessible.

Now almost four years on and the council, in its heart-warming benevolence, decided to give cyclists a thin strip of painted cycle lane instead, a decision that Jeremy Vine told the council it can "shove up their exhaust pipe" and prompted the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) to accuse the local authority of prioritising drivers.

Well, courtesy of Ryan Wilson, here is a cyclist's experience of using the new infrastructure, a cycle lane that RBKC councillor Cem Kemahli claimed "strikes the right balance between keeping our major through roads moving while allowing space for everyone"...

Q: Why are cyclists not very grateful for the tiny cycle lane @RBKC have painted on High Street Kensington?

A: Here are a few reasons from today’s pretty typical commute. pic.twitter.com/itUCBjNzDs

— Ryan Wilson (@rhwilson83) October 1, 2024

Vine said the footage was of an "average" day too, implying it can be worse still. 

When the former segregated lane was ripped out, the decision was branded "shameful, callous and retrograde" by the LCC, with more than 200 joining a protest ride against its removal. Among those in attendance were parents, children and staff from nearby Fox Primary School who said the infrastructure had allowed them to travel to school by bike.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was said to be "ballistic" at the scheme's scrapping, while an analysis of Transport for London (TfL) traffic cameras on the route suggested congestion had actually worsened in the month after the local council removed emergency bike lanes.

Sadiq Khan too appealed for the cycle lane to be reinstated, something the council rejected before campaigners lost a High Court challenge against the decision to rip out the protected infrastructure.

In July of 2023, the council announced the painted cycle lane plans, prompting even more criticism and taking us up to the present day where cyclists' experience of the route is the video shared by Ryan.

Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at the LCC, said: "This is still a borough where the approach to cycling still seems to be doing the least possible and revving up residents to perceive cycling as an issue for their driving rather than an opportunity to cut car use and climate emissions."

However, when the paint plan was announced, Councillor Kemahli insisted: "It's heartening to see that people are open to the idea of some cycling infrastructure on our streets and this scheme strikes the right balance between keeping our major through roads moving while allowing space for everyone.

"Making our roads safer as well as greener is a priority for us."

A quick bit of news next...

The Evening Standard has reported that Transport for London is to have three single-decker buses converted into "bike buses" to take cyclists through the Silvertown tunnel, with Stagecoach East being awarded a three-year contract for the service which will be free for at least the first year of use.

Silvertown tunnel is expected to open in the first three months of 2025, the bike bus the only way for cyclists to travel through (from North Greenwich to Canning Town), with "at least" five services an hour in each direction during operating hours of 6.30am to 9.30pm seven days a week.

Another huge day in the saddle although, given some of the 400km+ days Lachlan's been bashing out, this may be a rest day... 

> Collapse of major UK cycling distributor "huge shock" after investor pulled out of Orro Bikes deal "at the very last minute" – but hope "someone in the industry" will rescue business

Shimano confirmed to us overnight that the reports out of Japan are indeed correct and we can expect to see this tech hit the market next year. Read all about it here...

> Shimano's Q'Auto automatic shifting technology touted to launch in 2025, as cycling components giant admits it "can't break Bosch's hold on e-bikes"

We're starting the day's news in Staffordshire where members of the Stafford Borough Council have backed the formal declaration of a "roads emergency" in the county due to the "worryingly poor state of repair" of potholes. StokeonTrentLive reports that the declaration comes as one councillor presented the motion by pointing out cycling with his two daughters is "dangerous at the best of times" but has been made "very nerve-racking" by the state of the county's roads.

Green Party councillor Scott Spencer continued: "On his way to the station last year, my friend who lives in Stafford and commutes to Birmingham and cycles to the station hit a pothole and broke his shoulder. He then claimed against the county council and got £6,000.

"I ride a motorcycle and I also cycle with my two young girls. Both of these activities are dangerous at the best of times, but the conditions of our roads make it very nerve-racking as a parent. I'm even told by some residents that they fear driving, cycling or even walking and in some cases no longer opt to drive due to potential damage or injury to themselves or their vehicles."

> Remember when you knew where the potholes were? Nowadays, cycling on British roads is a constant, crater-ridden skirmish

However, in response, county council member Jeremy Pert blamed the weather for the issues and claimed the council had put "really impressive" funds and effort into fixing road defects.

He said: "We've just come through the wettest winter in the last 130 years and the problem with the weather wasn't that it was cold, but the dampness and rain fundamentally undermined the quality of the road network that we have not just within Stafford Borough but the county.

"To me it's not what you deal with, but it's how you respond to it. Back in May the county council put an extra £8m into fixing the county's roads; they currently put £42m into operational repairs and £83m into capital schemes. We've seen £5.6m spent across six schemes in Stafford Borough, including Radford Bank, Weeping Cross, Gaol Square and Newcastle Road in Cotes Heath. But the bit I think is really impressive is the 191 locations where over £5m has been spent doing patching and repair work."

He also suggested that "some of the motion is backwards" and "relates to something that has been a problem the county (council), which is the highways authority, has dealt with and done". Sounds like there'll be no problems with fixing potholes in Staffordshire this winter then...

Images for illustration purposes only and aren't Staffordshire potholes... these belong to some other lovely part of the UK road network...