Today I took a class of children to cycle the backstreets of Lambeth, only to find that all traffic, cyclists included, is being diverted off Upper Ground, the quiet National Cycle Network route 4, by the National Theatre, onto Stamford Street to tackle the the Imax roundabout junction that rates 4th on TfL's list of locations in London with the highest number of cyclist casualties. And this might continue for 18 months!!
On 11th October I wrote to Lambeth's Cycling Officer saying,
"This week's 'Lambeth Weekender'has a Lambeth Council advert about Temporary Road Closure permitted for upto 18 months on Upper Ground for the National Theatre to carry out works. It appears to be for information only with no contact given to comment.
Will cyclists be obliged to divert via Stamford Street and Waterloo Road (A Roads) during these times or will there be a shared pedestrian/cyclists route on Upper Ground or a dedicated cycle diversion route on Upper Ground? Are the contractors undertaking the closure given obligations to provide clear signage relating to this?"
Lambeth's Cycling Officer replied, "Nobody seems to know anything about this."
This is just not good enough for a council that prides itself on pursuing Road Danger Reduction rather than Road Safety.
