Strava rejects call to remove Richmond Park and Regent's Park cycling segments, insists critical Royal Parks "have directly acknowledged Strava is not root cause of issues"

An "open dialogue" between Strava and the Royal Parks charity that runs London green spaces Richmond Park and Regent's Park has seen the ride-sharing app ultimately reject calls to remove cycling segments in the parks.

It is the latest chapter in the long-running and ongoing story about cycling in the Royal Parks, whose Richmond Park and Regent's Park green spaces are popular with the capital's cyclists and attract a large number of two-wheeled visitors throughout the year.

However, the Royal Parks has raised safety concerns following a May inquest into the death of a pedestrian who was hit by a cyclist riding laps of Regent's Park back in 2022.

In the months since, the charity has been outspoken about cyclists riding "at excessive speeds" and causing crashes, subsequently reviewing its cycling policies and cancelling early-morning time trials and the London Duathlon — as well as more recently calling for government to pass new laws so cyclists can be prosecuted for exceeding 20mph speed limits in the parks.

It is to that context that the latest Royal Parks cycling story emerged in the Telegraph this weekend, the newspaper having published multiple previous articles on this year's events.

> Press regulator rules Telegraph breached Editors' Code with inaccurate claim cyclists hit 52mph chasing London Strava segments

The latest update is that Strava is not removing segments from Regent's Park and Richmond Park, the ride-sharing app rejecting the Royal Parks' claim that they encourage cyclists to ride dangerously and as fast as possible.

In fact, a Strava spokesperson pointed out that there has been an "open dialogue" with the Royal Parks and "they have directly acknowledged that Strava is not the root cause of the issues".

"We have also shared with them how to mark a segment as hazardous, which remains the most effective tool for flagging safety concerns," the spokesperson added.

In emails reported by the Telegraph, the Royal Parks reportedly asked Strava to prevent segments in the parks as it creates a "competitive element to those seeking to better their last lap or segment".

Responding, Strava rejected this and said removing segments "would not accomplish" the Royal Parks' "intent to reduce cycling competition".

"Strava does not remove segments created by the community as to do so would destroy their efforts and go against our goal to inspire the community to be active while remaining safe," the email response reportedly said.

Strava also explained how "hazardous" segments could be flagged to "warn users of risks" and "remove the element of competition".

The final email, a reply from the Royal Parks, said: "Royal Parks themselves are owned by the sovereign in right of the Crown and none of the roads or footpaths is a public highway. It is the considered view of the charity as land manager that the cycling segments on the Strava app are encouraging significant numbers of sports cyclists to compete with each other and is thus encouraging them to cycle at excessive speed which endangers other parks users.

The charity "instructs" Strava to remove all segments as it is "unreasonable" for them to "flag probably hundreds of segments on your app". Its lawyers are writing to Strava's chief executive Michael Martin.

Media and political discussion around cycling in the Royal Parks began back in May, following the widely reported inquest into the death of elderly pedestrian Hilda Griffiths, who died in hospital in 2022 from injuries sustained two months earlier in a collision involving a cyclist riding laps of Regent's Park as part of a group ride travelling at between 25 and 29mph.

Ms Griffiths' son, Gerald, commented that Strava had "shown contempt by ignoring to remove the parks from their app".

He told the Telegraph: "I think the competitive nature Strava creates breeds an attitude of entitlement among some cyclists, especially in Regent's Park where people compete for faster lap times. The repetition of doing laps breeds a familiarity that then breeds contempt for anyone who dares to get in the way of some cyclists. 

"Strava has shown similar contempt to Royal Parks by ignoring their requests to remove the parks from their app."

In May, Strava was asked to remove the lap of Regent's Park segment from its app by the Royal Parks. The tech company urged users to "prioritise everyone's safety" and pointed out that "hazardous" segments can be flagged.

A spokesperson told us at the time: 

We are aware of the tragic cycling incident which occurred in London's Regent's Park in June 2022 and our condolences go to the victim's family.

At Strava, safety of our active community and those around them is a priority, and we have community standards that note that 'sports happen in dynamic environments that we share with motorists, pedestrians, other people, equestrians, pets and wildlife'. Strava expects those in our community to 'prioritise everyone's safety and enjoyment of our shared resources and respect the law'. The behaviours related to this incident violate Strava's 'community standards'.

At the end of last week, we received a request from Royal Parks to discuss the cycling route segment where the incident occurred. The ability to flag a cycling route segment as hazardous already exists in Strava. Anyone can report a segment that they would deem as hazardous. If segments are flagged as hazardous, achievements are not awarded for that segment and leaderboards are disabled. Any Strava community member who cycles on that same route segment will receive a warning of the hazards on that segment.

At the end of that week Strava segments were further thrust into the spotlight when a bizarre piece made it onto the Telegraph's front page, the reporters responsible told "check your research" after claiming cyclists are hitting 52mph chasing London Strava segments... despite that being faster than Olympic track cyclists.

In August, the press regulator IPSO ruled that the Telegraph breached its Editors' Code with the inaccurate piece and that "further steps should have been taken to either verify the figure – for instance, by contacting Strava – or to appropriately distinguish it as an unverified figure".

> "Mums, dads, sons and daughters being labelled as killers. It’s just got to stop": Chris Boardman comments on Telegraph '52mph in a 20mph zone' article as it emerges co-author is former BBC fact-checker

Last month, a column titled 'Let's get tough on the scourge of rogue cyclists' appeared in the newspaper, accompanied with a blurred picture of cyclists that attracted accusations of manipulating photos of "law-abiding people exercising".

The Royal Parks' interest in cycling in its parks has continued throughout the second half of 2024, the charity recently asking the Labour government to pass new laws to "set speed limits for cyclists" in its parks and for riders above 20mph limit to be prosecuted.

Discussion around speed limits in the Royal Parks, notably Richmond Park, has been long running. Despite initially suggesting speed limits did apply to cyclists, in 2021 it was confirmed that the park's speed limits (which range from 5mph to 20mph) do not apply to cyclists, a stance in line with the wider law.

Then, in the summer of 2022, The Royal Parks said that even if the speed limits do not apply to cyclists, riders would still have action taken if they ride "recklessly".

In July, we reported that a group claiming to represent cyclists who use the park (Richmond Park Cyclists) had clashed with the charity over its speed limit advice for riders using the park.

This summer's Richmond Park Time Trials were also cancelled by The Royal Parks. Organised by the London Dynamo cycling club and first run in 2009, they were due to take place on 23 June and 7 July this year – and had 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.

However, the Royal Parks cancelled this summer's events over fears riders would break the park's 20mph speed limit, a decision which left organisers "fuming" and arguing the decision had been clouded by "very irresponsible journalism" and that the alternative is "busy roads and fast-moving cars".

"Following several cycling-related incidents, it is our duty to take action to minimise the risk of accidents and our priority to ensure the safety of all cyclists together with other visitors," Richmond Park's manager said. September's London Duathlon in the park was subsequently also cancelled.

> Telegraph publishes "dossier of collision data" involving "rogue cyclists" in London parks, as Royal Parks continues campaign for new laws to prosecute 'speeding' cyclists

The Royal Parks has received plenty of criticism over the years for its approach to improving road safety in its parks. Many, including the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), have repeatedly asked why through-traffic is still allowed to use Richmond Park as a shortcut, the campaign calling the cancellation of well-organised events "weak" while "daily rat-runs" continue.

While some of Richmond Park's roads are closed to motor traffic on weekends, during weekdays the green space, which the Royal Parks proudly calls an "extraordinary landscape" that is also London's largest Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve, is used as a cut-through for motorists driving between Kingston upon Thames, Richmond and Roehampton.

[Queue for parking on a sunny summer weekend in Richmond Park]

The LCC has campaigned for the park to be closed to through-traffic for years, arguing it would improve road safety and make them "far better for people walking, cycling and relaxing in".

Specialist cycling insurance provider ETA Services Ltd recently called it an "ongoing embarrassment" that the Royal Parks "allows this nature reserve to be used as a rat-run", the comments coming in response to the incident below.