Royal Parks cancels Richmond Park time trials over fears cyclists will break 20mph speed limit, after inquest into pedestrian fatality in “speeding” cyclist collision “brought this activity to people’s attention”

Two time trial events set to take place in London’s Richmond Park over the next month have been cancelled by the Royal Parks, after the charity claimed that the media coverage surrounding the death of an elderly pedestrian hit by a “speeding” cyclist in Regent’s Park “brought this activity to people’s attention”, and that the time trials will “encourage cyclists to go faster” than the park’s 20mph limit for motorists.

The Royal Parks, the charity that manages London’s eight royal parks, has said it will “pause” the popular events while it evaluates its position, despite organisers and local cyclists arguing that the long-running time trials “pose no harm to anyone” and that any alternative routes comprise of “mostly busy roads and fast-moving cars”.

The Richmond Park Time Trials, organised by the London Dynamo cycling club and first run in 2009, until this year provided the only opportunity for cyclists to race against the clock in one of the capital’s royal parks.

Covering a 10.4-mile circuit in the south-west London park, the races – which were due to take place on 23 June and 7 July this year – have been praised for their inclusivity and for providing a gateway into the sport, enabling beginners to compete on road bikes and on almost traffic-free roads due to their 6am starts.

> Strava urges cyclists to “prioritise everyone’s safety” following pedestrian fatality on popular segment, states “hazardous” segments can be flagged

However, it was confirmed last night by London Dynamo that this year’s time trials will not go ahead, after the Royal Parks decided to “pause” the events in the wake of the media coverage surrounding the inquest into the tragic death of an elderly pedestrian following a collision with a cyclist in Regent’s Park in June 2022.

Last month, a coroner’s inquest heard that cyclist Brian Fitzgerald was part of a group riding laps of Regent’s Park’s Outer Circle and travelling at between 25-29mph when he hit the 81-year-old pedestrian, causing her to suffer several broken bones and bleeding on the brain, injuries she died from in hospital two months later.

Fitzgerald was not prosecuted, however, for his role in her death, with the Metropolitan Police deeming there was “insufficient evidence for a real prospect of conviction”.

Following the inquest, the Royal Parks contacted Strava to request that the park’s Outer Circle segment be deleted, believing that this may deter cyclists from riding the route at high speeds, and prompting the ride-sharing app to remind its users and the public that “hazardous” segments can already be flagged and urging cyclists to “prioritise everyone’s safety”.

> Cyclists blast proposals to introduce 10mph speed limit on Richmond Park hill

And now, the Royal Parks have moved to cancel the long-standing summer time trials in Richmond Park, due to the charity’s belief that “such events encourage cyclists to go faster than the 20mph motorist speed limit” in place in most of the park (despite those speed limits not applying to cyclists).

But the event’s organisers, who carry out a detailed risk assessment for the event alongside governing body Cycling Time Trials (though the Richmond Park time trials are notably exempt from CTT’s new guidelines concerning 20mph speed limits), say the decision has been clouded by “very irresponsible journalism” surrounding the recent coroner’s inquest.

> All cyclists must adhere to 20mph speed limits during time trials in Britain – as governing body cites safety concerns and risk of causing “public outrage”

“We are very upset about this decision as we have been arranging this event for 15 years and it has become one of our key events,” London Dynamo’s Andy Taylor told participants in an email sent on Wednesday night, informing them that full refunds will be sent out in the coming days.

“We also feel sorry for all of the entrants, sponsors, support staff, and volunteers who have been making plans to participate in these events. The TTs have become very popular within the local cycling community, offering an opportunity to ride in the unique environment of the park in relatively traffic-free conditions.

“We have worked very closely with TRP since the inception of our Club over 20 years ago and like to think that we have a close, collaborative relationship with them. The Time Trial events are operated under a license that we have with TRP and they have been kept fully informed of our plans and provided with all the relevant documentation in relation to the events.

“We are passionate about safety and risk management and put this at the centre of everything we do. As part of the planning for the events, we put together a very detailed risk assessment that was developed in conjunction with the national body for cycling time trials – Cycling Time Trials (CTT).”

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Taylor continued: “However, we became aware several weeks ago that TRP was having some reservations about such events in the light of, in my opinion, some very irresponsible journalism following a coroner’s inquest into the tragic death of a pedestrian in Regent’s Park two years ago that involved a cyclist.

“At that time, we submitted a written case to TRP for the retention of these events and offered to make any changes that they considered necessary to make these events even safer.

“Unfortunately, they have taken the decision to cancel the events with one of the key reasons being that they believe such events encourage cyclists to go faster than the 20mph motorist speed limit that is in place in most of the park.”

This morning, local campaign group Richmond Park Cyclists claimed that Royal Parks manager Paul Richards, explaining the decision to cancel the event, told them: “The cyclist involved in the fatal cycling crash was carrying out a time trial/speed laps. This has brought this activity to people’s attention.”

Richards is also claimed to have said that the Royal Parks “required a pause” in the events “to evaluate our position aligned across all [our] parks”.

“Richmond Park Cyclists learned of TRP’s intentions a month ago and we attempted to get them to change their decision,” the group said.

“London Dynamo, which has been running the RPTTs for 15 years, does a risk assessment for the events in conjunction with Cycling Time Trials, and there have never been any serious safety-related incidents to our knowledge.

“The RPTTs are inclusive events – anyone with a just basic road bike can take part. They are incredibly popular with all sections of the cycling community, pose no harm to anyone, and we will continue to make the case that the events should be reinstated next year.”

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Speaking to road.cc, London Dynamo chair Taylor again expressed his disappointment at the decision to cancel the races, which according to him the Royal Parks claimed was based not only on the time trials’ apparent “encouragement” of excess speed, but also the “threat” posed by the park’s deer population to the participants – but which Taylor believes owes more to the anti-cycling sentiment surrounding London’s parks in recent weeks.

“We’ve had a very longstanding, good relationship with the Royal Parks,” Taylor told road.cc. “While we’re very disappointed and upset with the decision, we understand where they’re coming from – but I still disagree with it.

“I think they’ve come under a lot of pressure following that media storm around the coroner’s inquest. There was a lot of anti-cycling sentiment around it, so I can see why they did it.

“We offered to meet them and collaborate with them. We did a very detailed risk assessment – every bump and corner in the park was assessed, we have lots of marshals.

“And there’s barely any traffic – most of the time we’re out before the gates have even opened for car traffic. So it’s very frustrating that they didn’t really engage with us and just decided to cancel it. I think they didn’t want to see themselves associated with an event linked to excessive speed in the park.”

Taylor said he first “caught wind” that the Royal Parks were raising concerns about the time trials last month, when the media coverage around the coroner’s inquest was at its height, leading to London Dynamo – along with the Richmond Park Cyclists group – deciding to lobby the charity to ensure the races could go ahead.

However, despite a prolonged back-and-forth exchange over email, Taylor claims the Parks’ board of directors declined the opportunity to meet face-to-face to discuss the issue.

The cycling club chair notes that one email he received from the Royal Parks claimed that the time trials were “promoting” cyclists riding faster than the 20mph speed limit for motorists and that the park’s deer “posed a danger” to those taking part.

“The deer can be a hazard, but that’s something all the riders are warned about,” he says. “It’s not a new thing, everyone knows the deer are there.

“Neither of these things are new – the 20mph speed limit has been there for quite some time. So you have to question the timing of the decision. They didn’t mention the Regent’s Park incident to us at all, but the two are clearly closely linked.”

With caterers, volunteers, and marketing commitments lined up, Taylor says he pushed the Royal Parks for a final decision this week, leading to the events’ cancellation last night – a decision the London Dynamo chair fears may prove permanent and extend beyond this year.

Responding to the event’s cancellation this morning, the time trials’ founder, Rebecca Slack, said she was “utterly fuming” at the news.

“It was to be my 17-year-old son’s first TT,” she wrote on social media. “The alternatives involve mostly busy roads and fast-moving cars – that’s why I founded them.”

A number of cyclists have also pointed out the irony inherent in the charity’s stance on an event that takes place in the early morning and twice a year.

“On that basis driving in the park should’ve been banned a long time ago,” one X, formerly Twitter, user wrote.

Taylor, meanwhile, is focused on securing another venue for the annual time trial events.

“I asked the Royal Park if this was all just a temporary reaction to current events, but they said it was likely to be permanent,” he says.

“We’re just thinking about what we do next. We’d like to keep a time trial event on our calendar, but it’s unlikely to be in Richmond Park. We’ll have to look elsewhere for another venue.”