Huge amounts of capacity on Lambeth Bridge

This post is a follow up to one I did a couple of days ago about TfL's plans, which are under consultation, to change the roundabout at the northern end of the bridge, in Westminster.

This morning I stood on Lambeth Bridge for forty minutes, from 8.25 to 9.05, analysing the motor traffic going towards Westminster (except motor bikes).

In that forty minutes 358 motor vehicles passed me and, whilst I wasn't counting them, I'd be very surprised if it wasn't a similar number of bicycles.

The thing is, every bicycle I saw had full occupancy -  a bicycle designed to carry one, with one person riding it.

By comparison, most of the motor vehicles were hugely under capacity - in fact over half of the taxis/mini-cabs didn't have even a single passenger.

The type of motor vehicle; total number of that type; and occupancy was as follows:

Car: 118 of which 81 (68%) only had a driver leaving all passenger seats unoccupied. Of the few cars with passengers, most appeared to be on the school run.
Van: 104, most with one or two occupants, and an unknown quantity of essential, heavy items to move..
Taxi/cab: 87 of which 49 (56%) were empty, bar the driver. 32 of the cabs with passengers had just one (84% of cabs with passengers had just a single passenger).
Lorry: 24, most with one or two occupants and, presumably, stuff to carry around.
Bus: 19 (mainly single deckers), of which 10 were roughly full, 3 half-full, 6 quarter-full
Small coaches: 5, all empty bar the driver (okay, one had a driver's mate too)
Big coaches: 1, empty bar driver and his mate.

So, I'm not going to suffer any nonsense from TfL about putting in a cycle lane on Millbank roundabout affecting motor traffic capacity adversely. It's clear that a huge amount of the motor traffic straightforwardly needn't be there, and assigning it loads of space at the expense of clear, safe space for cyclists is a ludicrous thing to do given the CO2, health, pollution, economic  etc. reasons to promote cycling, never mind its comparative efficiency in terms of space use..

Act now! Tell TfL half-hearted change isn't enough

Transport for London is consulting on the first of 100 dangerous junctions they are to redesign, with construction work scheduled to start in just four weeks time. It's the roundabout on the Westminster side of Lambeth Bridge and TfL's design just isn't anyway near good enough, so there's no time to lose. As soon as you've read this post please, please send an email to STengagement@tfl.gov.uk.

Rather than introduce a serious Dutch style street design, like the one above that allows cyclists to glide along in their own lane, TfL plan to give cyclists two options: either mix in with the lorries and taxis as now, or weave in conflict with pedestrians on the pavement and zebra crossings :

Cycle Superhighway 8 along Millbank will still just fizzle out as you approach the roundabout. And the cycle lane over the bridge from Lambeth will also fizzle out just as it does now at the start of the zig-zags to the zebra crossing, but with the option to cycle onto the pavement if you wish to irritate the pedestrians.

TfL's design allows three options should, for example, you wish to go straight on from Lambeth Bridge.

1) Stay where the cycle lane was, but has gone because of the zig-zag starting, and go straight ahead hugging the left hand side of the roundabout. Expect to get left-hooked by a driver turning left.

2) In accordance with cycle training advice, move from the cycle lane to take the centre of the nearside lane. Expect a driver to run into the back of you as they've forgotten you're there (as happened to me). Also expect to be shouted at for not being on the pavement.

3) Cycle onto the pavement and cross on the zebra crossing with the pedestrians (it's not clear from TfL's drawing if you're meant to dismount), then cycle along the pavement and join Horseferry Road at some unspecified and seemingly unprotected place. Expect conflict with pedestrians and a tricky merger back into the main traffic lane.

I agree with London Cycling Campaign's view that, if the roundabout is to remain, this is a perfect location for a Go Dutch roundabout like the photo at the top, which I copied from the LCC blogpost. I can see teenagers, tourists and commuters happily and safely using the cycle lane as it is segregated from drivers, doesn't have pedestrian conflict, and is no slower than using the general traffic lane..

There can be no better place to start top quality cycling infrastructure than adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, where any MP not sensible enough to have cycled in the Netherlands yet can see for themselves what the future should be. Let's also remember that this roundabout forms part of this year's Diamond Jubilee Walking and Cycling Greenway - even more reason why it should be inspirationally good rather than badly compromised.

Now please email STengagement@tfl.gov.uk, with the heading Lambeth Bridge Northern Roundabout Consultation and tell them you don't like their plans but, if the roundabout is to remain, want a proper Dutch style design along the lines that London Cycling Campaign proposes.

If we accept a feeble, watered-down pastiche of 'Going Dutch' at this point, the next 99 dangerous junctions will be dealt with by TfL just as feebly. So please write!.

Also, check out the results of my snapshot survey, showing a very low occupancy level of the bulky motor traffic on Lambeth Bridge

Aargh! Where's the cycle lane gone?

Or 'Why I fear that Going Dutch could screw up in London', Take my word for it, it'll screw up if our highway engineers slavishly follow  the D(a)fT standards.

Westminster Council have just resurfaced the roundabout on Sutherland Road in Maida Vale, with the cycle lane just as it was before, and today a taxi-driver, turning left, and myself, going straight on, shared one of those London 'who goes first?' frisson of fear moments.


For amusement I'd taken the cycle lane that skirts the edge of the roundabout, and comes off, as shown, in the direction I was travelling:

The cycle lane then appears to come to an abrupt stop at the T-junction, where the taxi was adjacent to me and wanting to turn left. I'm wondering if he expects me to give way to him now now I've (seemingly) run out of lane and from the look on his face and the movement of this vehicle I can see he's thinking the same;

The thing is, I know that the cycle lane markings have disappeared because the powers that be stupidly say you don't have them where there are Zig-Zag markings for a Zebra, and I know they reappear after it (not that you can see it at this point).

However, this is clearly a subtle distinction of the type that the average road user will, quite understandably, have no idea about - it just looks like the bike lane's ended and the traffic's merging..

So I give a Paddington hard stare at the driver and pedal forwards in an assertive fashion, while subtly slowing in case the driver decides to turn and I need to stop.

Tomorrow I could take my primary school cycle trainees to this spot and see if they can grasp the nuances of using this cycling lane, but I don't think I will.

If you don't want to go to Maida Vale to experience this confusion, simply cycle over Lambeth Bridge towards Millbank Roundabout and ask yourself whether the cycle lane continues invisibly to the left-hook position on the roundabout or stops at the end of the white line where the zig-zags begin - I'll bet even TfL can't tell you what they intend here or why.

Aaargh.

Will TfL's junction review be feeble or robust?

Transport for London have started a cycle safety review of some 200 junctions. The first batch they've started work on include several in our backyard and there's a commitment to implementing change as a result of the review so it's really important to get involved.

Once a preferred option is agreed we'll start design and construction work, subject to our consultation and approval processes.

The immediately local junctions are:
Lambeth Bridge (northern roundabout)
Albert Embankment (Lambeth Bridge/Lambeth Road), aka Lambeth Bridge (southern roundabout)
Waterloo (inc. IMAX roundabout – York Road / Stamford Road / Waterloo Road / Waterloo Bridge)
Oval triangle
St George’s Circus (Blackfriars Road / London Road / Borough Road)

My biggest fear about the review is that TfL will concentrate on making the junctions safer for those who cycle, rather than making the junctions desirable for those who aren't currently cycling but would like to.

Putting aside actual casualty statistics for a moment, the reality is that all of these junctions feel bloody horrible to use as a cyclist. Parents are hardly likely to encourage their teenage children to cycle across Lambeth or Waterloo Bridges as things stand, and the children are hardly likely to feel inspired to cycle there in the first place.


For a review and subsequent works to have any validity, the minimum outcome must be that teenage cyclists are routinely using these junctions and bridges, and that their parents feel it's safe for them to do so.

TfL also need to be mindful that while being hit by a truck is one way of lessening life quality and/or length, another way is being obese and unfit. If our population are too scared of the road network to choose active means of travel then TfL's junction review will have been inadequate.

With the current mega development and high-rise residential growth of Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea as one specified area, Waterloo as a second, and the Elephant & Castle as a third, it must be made clear to our politicians that it is time to fundamentally change the way our road network operates in this patch of central London in favour of the pedestrian and cyclist and against the hegemony of the motorist.

Should cyclists cycle up this cycle lane?

Vulnerable road users are being seriously injured or killed as a consequence of large lorries, designed in such a way that drivers can't see other traffic, being driven in our city . As a consequence TfL are encouraging cyclists "Never cycle up the left side of a lorry stopped at a junction.". 


You envisage that TfL mean don't squeeze up the inside of a lorry in the kind of narrow situation below (at the junction coming off Lambeth Bridge into Lambeth - though why on earth TfL recently painted the cycle logos where they did is quite beyond me), 

 But do TfL really intend that a cyclist shouldn't continue in a clearly provided mandatory cycle lane they've installed such as the one in this video? 

If vehicles or lanes are so poorly designed that a driver just can't see whether a neighbouring lane is clear or not then there's clearly a huge problem and I don't believe it should be the responsibility of the cyclist to resolve it. I know the cyclist is the one who will lose in a collision, but I believe that we should have a society where children, adults with learning difficulties and executives in city banks should be able to cycle around without having to second-guess whether a lane provided for their use is usable. 

Conditions for cycling and walking in London have got to improve. That's why I'll be at the vigil taking place this Tuesday 20th December from 6pm at Kings Cross. Please come along too.

12 Nov: Kennington start for tour of TfL's collision hotspots

Kennington residents live within a couple of miles of seven of TfL's top 10 collision hotspots, according to a recent response at a Mayor's Question Time. The Cyclists in the City blog is arranging a tour - please read his blogpost and join in:

A tour of Transport for London's 10 most dangerous junctions for cycling in central London - in honour of Elephant & Castle roundabout
10.30am Saturday 12 November
Meet by the stairs at the front of St. Mark's Church, The Oval, Kennington, SE11 4PW

Here's the question to the Mayor, TfL's response and my comments in brackets and italics thereafter:

Question No: 2996 / 2011 Valerie Shawcross:


When asked at MQT about the 9.2% increase in cycling accidents in the previous year you referred to the TfL Cycle Safety Action Plan. Has TfL identified within the Cycle Safety Action Plan where and when collisions involving cyclists are most likely to occur? Please publish a table showing the ten most dangerous locations to cyclists in London, say which is the highways authority at that location and what actions TfL are taking to reduce the dangers to cyclists at each?.

Written response from the Mayor :

The locations with the highest number of cycle collisions in the GLA area between 2008 and 2010 are shown in the table below. These are on some of the busiest cycle routes in London and, as such, the number of collisions is generally proportionate to the number of cyclists in these locations. No fatal collisions occurred at any of these locations and at least 85 per cent of the collisions at all ten locations resulted in slight injuries, which did not require hospital treatment.

The table below indicates the specific infrastructure improvements which are taking place at each location. However, infrastructure improvements alone are not enough to improve cycle safety as collisions involving cyclists are not always concentrated at particular locations. TfL is therefore working with the London boroughs and the Cycle Safety Working Group to deliver other safety improvements such as education campaigns, better vehicle safety technology for freight vehicles and cycle training.

Location Borough Highway Authority Action being taken


1. St. George's Road/London Road/ Elephant & Castle Junction Southwark TfL An alternative route for cyclists was implemented at this location as part of Cycle Superhighway 7. (The alternative route implemented was a repaint of half of the existing but inadequately marked cycle bypass. If you want to test your urban orienteering skills try to get from Newington Causeway to Walworth Road on the eastern half of the bypass. It's a disgrace that this wasn't upgraded as complimentary works to CS7. Appallingly, the Heygate consultation plans don't show a significantly improved route.)

2. Clapham Road/ Kennington Park Road/ Camberwell Road Junction Lambeth TfL Safety improvements were introduced at this junction as part of Barclays Cycle Superhighway Route 7 (CSH7). Barclays Cycle Superhighway Route 5 will run east-west through Oval junction on the A202, and will deliver further safety improvements for cyclists. (My views haven't changed since I wrote this )


3. Strand/Northumberland Avenue/Whitehall Junction Westminster Borough Westminster City Council has identified £878,000 of Local Implementation Plan funding for safety schemes throughout Westminster. I have asked TfL officers to engage with the borough to ensure that this location is considered for improvements. (TfL and Westminster '30mph' Council - I'm not holding my breath)

4. Waterloo Road/ Stamford St/ York Road Junction Lambeth TfL Plans are being developed to improve signage in this area in order to provide cyclists with information about safe routes to Waterloo station that provide an alternative to navigating the roundabout at this junction. (The alternatives are so convoluted you'll need a quality of signage I've yet to see in London.)

5. Mansion House St/Princes St/ Threadneedle St Junction City of London Borough The City of London has three funded programmes in its Local Implementation Plan which will contribute to improving safety for cyclists throughout the ‘Square Mile’. I have asked TfL officers to liaise with the City of London to determine whether this location should be prioritised for improvements.

6. Elephant & Castle/Newington Butts Roundabout Southwark TfL Works to convert the roundabout to a signalised junction were undertaken between June 2010 and May 2011. Advance Stop Lines, Toucan crossings and shared use pavements were provided on all arms of the junction. (This has definitely been an improvement. I haven't explored all the shared use options, but for example, turning left from Walworth Road to Newington Butts you can simply hop onto the pavement and then off again to bypass the traffic lights)

7. Hyde Park Corner Westminster TfL As part of the Barclays Cycle Superhighways (CSH) Programme, cycling improvements are being considered at Hyde Park Corner, which will see Route 9 terminating at the roundabout. These proposals are still in the early stages of planning and are not yet confirmed. (Working on one route that terminates there is hardly sorting out every exit. Removing the filter off the gyratory to turn left to Constitution Hill so cyclists and pedestrians can cross to the middle from Green Park in one, rather than two, goes would be great. I understand TfL have ruled that out in favour of multi-lane motor traffic flow.)

8. Millbank/Lambeth Bridge Junction Westminster TfL CSH 8 has been implemented on Grosvenor Rd and Milbank, and mandatory cycle lanes installed on entry and exit at the Millbank arm with Lambeth Bridge to improve cycling safety at the roundabout. In addition cycle measures were incorporated in the recently resurfaced Lambeth Bridge. These included widening the westbound mandatory cycle lane. (CSH8 onto the roundabout is hardly helpful if you want to turn right over Lambeth Bridge. The cycle measures introduced on the bridge were done following pressure from outside and ignored most recommendations)

9. Clerkenwell Road/Farringdon Road Junction Islington TfL Cycle measures have been implemented at this junction primarily by London Borough of Islington catering for the heavy east to west cycle movement.

10. Albert Embankment/Kennington Lane/ Wandsworth Road Junction Lambeth TfL CSH 5 will run through Vauxhall Gyratory on the A202 and will provide a safer route for cyclists. Planned improvements include new sections of cycle lane, blind spot visibility mirrors, and changes to traffic islands and kerblines to reduce traffic speeds and improve safety. (We'll wait and see. It's not going to be much use if you want to go from Vauxhall Bridge down South Lambeth Road, or from Kennington Lane to Nine Elms Lane)

One final thought - do you ever see teenage girls and boys cycling on their own at any of these?

Lambeth Bridge and gutter cycling

 I've finally had occasion to nip over Lambeth Bridge and back. I much prefer the wider cycle lane, shown above, going towards North London over the unbelievably narrow predecessor. It's a shame that TfL couldn't take the opportunity to improve the approach to the cycle lane, though I suspect it'd be a larger project than could be encompassed in a resurface and repaint.

However I think TfL could have done better going towards south London. To achieve a wider northbound cycle lane they've removed the southbound one, which was also stupidly narrow. The Bus Lane going south gives a useful space for cyclists. So far so fair. Lambeth Cyclists saw the draft plans for the layout and made the following comments:


GOING TOWARDS LAMBETH

a) The bus lane to be the correct width to discourage buses from trying to squeeze past cycles.
b) The Bus Lane marking must be amended to Bus and Cycle Lane, and should have cycle logos in the middle of the lane to encourage cyclists to take the lane rather than hug the pavement. The cycle logos are particularly important where the private motorist can enter the nearside lane towards the end of the bridge, reminding drivers that they must not squeeze in on cyclists in their lane.
c) We applaud not having a feed in lane to the ASL.

We look forward to your feedback on the points we have made.


Despite chasing TfL, Lambeth Cyclists didn't receive any feedback or revised drawings before the work was undertaken.
The works are done but there are no cycle logos (on this cycling section of the Jubilee Greenway!) encouraging cyclists to 'take the lane'.

 though riding in the gutter may encourage an unpleasantly close pass by a bus or taxi

 Towards the end of the bridge the bus lane ends and general traffic can enter the lane. Here TfL have painted cycle logos over the red lines encouraging cyclists to approach the roundabout on the far left even if going straight on or right and suggesting they should be out of the way of motorists joining their lane.

Lambeth Cyclists believe the cycle logos should be in the centre of the lane reminding drivers that they are entering a lane where they can expect to find cyclists continuing from the Bus Lane.

Finally, below shows why this is not the place that a cyclist going straight on or right wants to be when the lights change. This van driver is indicating left, but a worrying number of left-turning drivers don't bother.

 

I think these works graphically demonstrate how TfL marginalises cycling when they should be going full-out for modal shift towards it.

For geeks, below is the correspondence history that suggests TfL's original resurfacing plan didn't even include widening the northbound cycle lane.
--------------------------------------------------------

Shortly before Christmas 2010 I heard that Transport for London intended to resurface Lambeth Bridge between Christmas and New Year. I quickly emailed London Streets at TfL saying, "Please can you let me know whether the works will include widening the cycle lane on the northbound carriageway? If not at this time, is there an intention to do in the very new future?"

I received a quick and encouraging reply, albeit one which suggests it wasn't in the original plan, "It now appears the predicted temperatures will be too low for us to carry out the resurfacing works on Lambeth Bridge as planned. We will re-programme this work for when the weather has improved, and we will include the replacement of the failed expansion joints within a re-scoped scheme instruction.

We now have a little time in which an assessment of the possibility of a slight widening of the northbound cycle lane can be carried out. We are not currently able to give a date, but if it proves to be possible, we will adjust the width of the cycle lane as part of the resurfacing works."

At this point I wrote to Lambeth and Westminster Cyclists, and Lambeth Council suggesting they push for improvement to be made, adding, "I favour getting a full width lane northbound by removing the southbound cycle lane and moving the bus lane across. The southbound cycle lane is dangerous in my view because it too is narrow but also it encourages cyclists going straight on or right at the roundabout to approach in the cycle lane where they are at risk of being left-hooked by vehicles turning left to South Lambeth Road.

This bridge forms part of the Jubilee Walking and Cycling Greenway so it is crucial that it is made very cycling friendly."

Lambeth Council's Transport Policy Manager wrote to TfL saying, "Lambeth would very much support the comments he has made" and received a reply in late January saying, "The resurfacing project will include amendments to the road markings over the bridge, to improve the width of the northbound cycle lane. I attach for your information the current proposal, which is currently being safety audited (which again suggests it wasn't in the original plan)."

That proposal was discussed by Lambeth Cyclists who were particularly perturbed that, while wider, the new northbound cycle lane was shown as Advisory (dotted line) where the existing lane (solid lane) was Mandatory. Mandatory, by the way, in this context means motor vehicles are not allowed in it rather than cyclists have to use it.

Lambeth Cyclists wrote to TfLraising the following points:


1. Can we check that these works are relatively small scale remedial and resurfacing works to the bridge and not part of a full redesign of the bridges layout? Our recommendations are made on the basis of a minor rather than major fix on this understanding. We note the significant increase in cycling traffic across all London bridges (http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.com/2011/02/2011-more-bicycles-than-cars-will-cross.html) and the need to nurture modes of transport that are greener and less space consuming per head.than the private car. In the near future it is important that the problems with the roundabouts at each end of the bridge are also resolved.


2. Provided that these are only remedial works and not a redesign that a MANDATORY 1.5m cycle lane is installed on the upstream side of the bridge going towards Westminster, and going towards Lambeth the current cycle lane is removed and the bus lane becomes a 24 hour bus and cycle lane

GOING TOWARDS WESTMINSTER:
a) The cycle lane towards Westminster MUST remain Mandatory rather than be changed to Advisory as shown. It is absolutely unacceptable for this to become Advisory given there is no frontage (shops, houses), no parking requirements, plus adequate general lane width.

. b) Consideration is needed on how to to prevent motorists cutting into cyclists at the entrance to the bridge as they do at the moment. At the start of the1.5m mandatory cycle lane at the Lambeth end of the bridge a tiny bit of segregation is required. The exact length needed can be seen from the length of the current mandatory line that has been worn away by motorists driving over it.This could either be physical segregation or time segregation via the traffic signals having a cycle phase.

c) We would like to see the plans showing where the line between the cycle and general traffic lane ends and how the merger of the two is facilitated. The faciliation is needed to avoid the tendency of cyclists to continue to hug the left towards the roundabout; to facilitate cyclists turning right; and to counter the assumption motorists tend to have here that they have right of way over cyclists wishing to merge here. Is there a policy on 'merge lanes' markings within DfT/TfL?

GOING TOWARDS LAMBETH
a) The bus lane to be the correct width to discourage buses from trying to squeeze past cycles.
b) The Bus Lane marking must be amended to Bus and Cycle Lane, and should have cycle logos in the middle of the lane to encourage cyclists to take the lane rather than hug the pavement. The cycle logos are particularly important where the private motorist can enter the nearside lane towards the end of the bridge, reminding drivers that they must not squeeze in on cyclists in their lane.

c) We applaud not having a feed in lane to the ASL.

We look forward to your feedback on the points we have made.


Despite chasing TfL, Lambeth Cyclists didn't receive any feedback or revised drawings before the work was undertaken.

Blackfriars Bridge Flashride - first of the Bridgeheads

This Friday morning (tomorrow!) London Cycling Campaign report there'll be a  Flashride over Blackfriars Bridge - meet at 8.30am by Doggett's Pub on the southside of the bridge.

London's bridges are going to be core to the future of cycling in London. Currently they're dismal to approach and ride across.

Under Boris's regimeTfL are mucking around at the edges rather than dealing wholeheartedly with the motor traffic sick centre of London.

It's time for pedestrians and cyclists alike to reject motorway style urban planning for the Capital's core and force a move towards non-polluting, slow, quiet, clean and healthy travel.

It's time to mobilise! See you tomorrow. First Blackfriars then Waterloo, Westminster, Lambeth and Vauxhall.

Read more about Blackfriars here

Lambeth Bridge today

While sat waiting for a break in the traffic on the roundabout on the Westminster side of the bridge

Promising intent from TfL and Lambeth Council

Well done to Lambeth Council's Transport and Highways department for taking up my suggestion to minimise one way paint signage when they resurface Wincott Street / Reedworth Street shortly to avoid having to redo the paint when the streets are made two-way for cycling. And well done to them for planning to make the streets two-way for cycling!

Thanks also to Cllr. Steve Morgan in Prince's Ward for pursuing this.

 Thanks also to Lambeth Council's Transport Planning and Strategy department for eliciting fantastic news from TfL that they are looking to improve Lambeth Bridge's scarily narrow northbound cycle lane, making it 1.5m wide when they resurface this summer through removing the very dodgy narrow cycle lane southbound in favour of the shared cycle/bus lane.

Lambeth's Olympic route set to fail

Lack of funding is threatening the Jubilee Greenway, a 60km walking and cycling route connecting all nine of London’s 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games venues with many of the capital’s finest attractions, parks and historic landmarks.

At its launch, Boris Johnson said, "Few capitals of the world can boast such a superb asset for walkers and cyclists".

But the Chief Executive of Walk England, Jim Walker, has replied to my concerns about the route in Lambeth saying,
"We have marked a cyclable path for information on the map/text on our site but don't actively promote the cycling potential of the path because - as you say, on advice from several competent cyclists sadly there are limitations to the quality of the current experience in several places.

Sadly we don't have funding for improving the cycling offer either so we have some challenges."

Within Lambeth the cycling 'Greenway' (which is currently unsigned, unlike the walking part) is mainly on busy A roads that many families fear cycling on. It comes behind the Southbank Centre to York Road, swinging onto Westminster Bridge roundabout, then takes Lambeth Palace Road, before approaching the roundabout (above) onto Lambeth Bridge.

An obvious, and cheap, solution (with decent views) would be to combine the cycling and walking routes along the wide Thames Path except that, contentiously and contrary to Transport for London's opinion, local politicians recently arranged for 'No Cycling' signs to be installed on the Jubilee Greenway section (below on Saturday 16 Jan at 1pm) despite it having been a shared space for years and there being no Traffic Management Order banning cycling. Campaigners from Lambeth Cyclists and the local Living Streets groups would prefer to see signage emphasising pedestrian priority and considerate cycling, with enforcement activity focussed on reckless cyclists.

An alternative scenic option, sensible for the future development along the South Bank, would be to develop Guy's and St Thomas' service road (below) as a cycle path, running parallel to the Thames Path, linking Lambeth Bridge to Belvedere Road:

Fortunately our MP, Kate Hoey, is the Mayor of London's Commissioner for Sport, and should have the clout to get the necessary funding for the cycling part of the Greenway to be up to the standard of the walking part ready for the Olympics and as a legacy beyond.

She shouldn't face an uphill task. After all,
"The Jubilee Greenway is being supported by a partnership including senior representatives from central government, The Mayor’s office, Royal Parks, The Olympic Delivery Authority, Transport for London, British Waterways, Thames Water and all the relevant local authorities."

You may wish to write to Kate Hoey with your views on the best solution(s) at hoeyk@parliament.uk .

Email TfL now about Lambeth Bridge

There's a narrow window of opportunity to get TfL to improve the cycle lane going northbound on Lambeth Bridge while resurfacing it, so please email them now: londonstreets@tfl.gov.uk to let them know that it would be a shocking waste of money to resurface and repaint the bridge without improving the northbound cycle lane which in its current width is horrendous to use and dangerous. My view on what needs to be done are here.

It seems the imminent works may be briefly postponed, going by the following reply I've received to my email to TfL asking whether they plan to improve the cycle lane while doing essential works between now and the new year:

As a result of the cold weather and having looked at the weather forecast, we are currently carrying out a review on what works can realistically be undertaken between Christmas and New Year.


It now appears the predicted temperatures will be too low for us to carry out the resurfacing works on Lambeth Bridge as planned. We will re-programme this work for when the weather has improved, and we will include the replacement of the failed expansion joints within a re-scoped scheme instruction.

We now have a little time in which an assessment of the possibility of a slight widening of the northbound cycle lane can be carried out. We are not currently able to give a date, but if it proves to be possible, we will adjust the width of the cycle lane as part of the resurfacing works.

Maybe a happy new year on Lambeth Bridge?

Our local councillor's blog has news of essential maintenance works overnight on Lambeth Bridge between Christmas and New Year.

These essential works will not only give road users, especially cyclists, a smoother drive, but they will also help reduce carriageway noise and the need for disruptive maintenance closures, benefiting local residents and businesses.


The essential thing to do on Lambeth Bridge is widen the cycle lane from South to North London to a sensible width so that people on bikes aren't passed scarily close by lorries while twitching between red lines, white lines, kerb edge stones and expansion joints

It's simple enough to create the extra carriageway space for this, by removing the equally narrow cycle lane southbound and moving the bus lane across. The bus lane is preferable for cyclists to use here, not least because at the south end of the bridge buses and other traffic often turn left putting them in conflict with cyclists going straight ahead.

I've got my fingers crossed that they'll not only do this but also sort out the deadly approach I've mentioned before

TfL's invitation to die

There is a cycle lane (above) along the Albert Embankment on the approach to Lambeth Bridge. Although well below the recommended width, it's inviting to cyclists - after all it's been designed for their benefit and has a solid white line along the edge meaning motor vehicles aren't allowed in it. A further inducement to use it is that the criminally narrow cycle lane (that motor vehicles aren't allowed in) conveniently continues over Lambeth Bridge towards Westminster (below, looking towards Lambeth).

Here's a cyclist using the cycle lane, with a van in its lane, going around the corner together. Ahh, bless them.

Now, to be pernickety, the lane isn't really continuous (just like a Cycling Superhighway really). There's a tiny section, just a few feet long, where the cycle lane disappears. It's here, where the potholes are and the high edge kerbing.

Funny, I didn't think cycles had enough weight over the axles to cause potholes. Now, what could cause potholes here, where the cyclist's flow line is, in this incy-wincy distance between mandatory cycle lanes?

Maybe one of these going round that corner could cause a little bit of damage?



So, either TfL could seriously attempt to help cyclists at this crucial point (eg having a segregated lane), or they could ignore the issue save an attempt to limit their legal liability by carefully not painting a white line for a few feet. Here it's clearly the latter.