A London Councils Member briefing June 2014

A Summer of Cycling in the City

London is preparing for a summer of major cycling events. The Tour de France arrives in London on 7 July and the Ride London Festival event takes place on 9-10 August. The Tour de France is the largest annual sporting event in the world and attracts 12 million spectators along the route. The Ride London festival weekend is one of the largest mass-participation sports events worldwide and last year attracted 66,000 professional and amateur cyclists.

Overview Major sports events bring substantial economic benefits to the host city, but also require resources to manage road closures, security and cleansing services. These events help to showcase the city and can also inspire residents to exercise more and adopt healthier lifestyles.

This briefing provides information on two major cycling events taking place in London this summer, the Tour de France (7 July) and Ride London (9-10 August) and looks at how they may support borough cycling, health and economic development policies.

Analysis The Tour de France - Stage 3, Monday 7 July In 2007, London hosted the Tour’s Grand Départ (stage 1) and seven years later, the Tour de France comes back to the UK, with the first three stages:

• Stage 1 the Tour’s ‘Grand Départ’, on Saturday 5 July, will start in Leeds and finish in Harrogate; • Stage 2, on Sunday 6 July, will race from York to Sheffield; • Stage 3, on Monday 7 July, starts in Cambridge, through Essex and travels through north, east and central London, passing along the Thames and finishing late after- noon on The Mall at St James’s Park.

The UK stages of the 2014 Tour de France form part of UK Sport’s Gold Event Series which, building on the legacy of London 2012, aims to bring 70 world class events to the country by 2019.

On Monday 7 July, the route will start in Cambridge City centre at around midday, going through Cambridgeshire, then Essex before heading to Epping.

The route then reaches Greater London, where the world’s greatest cyclists will ride close to Woodford Green, Chingford, Walthamstow and Snaresbrook before approaching central London via, Leyton, Stratford, West Ham, Plaistow, Silvertown, Leamouth, Poplar, Wapping and Shadwell.

Once past the Tower of London, the final kilometres of the route will take them along the Thames on Lower and Upper Thames Streets and Victoria Embankment before riding past the Houses of Parliament, around St James’s Park and finishing, with Buckingham Palace as a backdrop, on The Mall in St James’s Park between 15:30 and16:00.

Ahead of the race, spectators will also be able to enjoy the Tour’s Publicity Caravan – a convoy of 170+ vehicles which arrives two hours in advance of the cyclists, distributing promotional items and merchandise.

Estimated arrival times for the Caravan and the fastest cyclists are:

Locations Caravan Race Epping Forest (The Sprint) 12:56 14:43 Woodford 13:09 14:55 Walthamstow 13:19 15:04 Leyton 13:25 15:09 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 13:26 15:11 West Ham Lane 13:26 15:11 Tower of London 13:52 15:35 Embankment River 13:52 15:35 Westminster Bridge 13:58 15:40 Houses of Parliament 13:58 15:40 The Mall (The Finish) 14:00 15:42

Detailed maps of the route are available at tfl.gov.uk/tourdefrance

The roads on the route through north, east and central London will be closed from 10:00 and for most of the day on Monday 7 July. Parking restrictions will also be in place and, while the roads are closed it will not be possible for vehicles to cross the route. This will have a major impact on road transport, including buses across the capital, and Tube and rail stations along and around the route will be busier than usual. As long as it is safe to do so, all roads will be reopened by 18:00. Walking or cycling will be the easiest way of getting around; however Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations in and around the route area will also be suspended.

A map showing the affected areas inside the M25, with advice to drivers, public transport users, cycle hire, freight and spectators is available at tfl.gov.uk/tourdefrance

Prudential Ride London, 9-10 August The Prudential Ride London festival of cycling, sponsored by the Mayor of London and other partners in London and Surrey, will take place on the weekend of 9-10 August 2014. The key events are:

Saturday 9 August: • Free cycle race: up to 50,000 cyclists of all ages and abilities will take part in a traffic- free route featuring many of the capital’s famous landmarks. • Grand Prix: a professional women’s event and youth races will take place on a circuit around St James’s Park.

Sunday 10 August: • Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100: up to 24,000 amateur cyclists will follow a 100- mile route on closed roads through the capital and Surrey. The event will start at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, travelling out of the capital into Surrey’s countryside before returning to London for a finish on The Mall. • Ride London-Surrey Classic: 150 of the world’s best professional men’s cyclists will ride along an extended 200km version of the amateur route.

Roads on the event routes will be closed from the early hours of the morning of Saturday 9 August and again on Sunday 10 August. Roads will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so that day. Bus diversions and parking restrictions will also be required on the event routes across both days.

More detailed information, including a map, will be available on the Prudential Ride London website.

Many other major cycling races will be taking place in London this summer, including London bikeathon (31 August) several London to Brighton bike rides, and many others sportive and charity rides starting or finishing in London. Commentary The Tour de France and the Prudential Ride London race are great news for London and its economy as, once again, the city will welcome visitors from around the world and the nation to experience first-hand two major sports events.

These events will see huge numbers of people lining the streets to see some of the greatest names in cycle racing. While the routes feature many of the capital’s famous landmarks in central London, this will be an opportunity to bring people and activities in local high streets along the routes. Sporting and leisure events such as these are critical to the local economic vitality of London’s high streets and town centres. As traditional retailing has decreased (increasingly moving online) boroughs have had to find innovative ways to diversify what is on offer on their local high streets. Experiences such as these cycle races will ensure that London’s residents continue to recognise their high streets as diverse, vibrant centres. At the same time, London is experiencing a rise in the number of people cycling to work and for recreational purposes. A recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO) has quantified the benefits of investing in green and healthy transport for economic profitability, job creation and public health. The report states that if London achieved the same modal share of cycling as Copenhagen (26 per cent), it would save more than 500 lives annually and create 8,000 additional jobs.

The hope is that the successes in major cycling competitions such as the Tour which saw the first two consecutive British wins in 2012 and 2013 (Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome respectively) will inspire young and older generations to practice more sport and adopt healthier lifestyles.

Those boroughs which will see the races going through their local areas this summer, may want to consider how to capitalise these events to benefit their cycling and economic development policies. However, to optimise the full potential impact of these events, national government, the Mayor and London boroughs will have to play their part to support safer cycling and promote healthier lifestyles.

Author: Jorgina Cuixart, Principal Policy and Project Officer (T: 020 7934 9829) Click here to send a comment or query to the author

Links:

Le Tour Stage 3 website TfL Tour de France website Prudential Ride London website WHO report: Unlocking new opportunities: jobs in green and healthy transport Walking and Cycling In London - What Residents Think Streets Ahead - putting high streets at the heart of local economic growth

This member briefing has been circulated to: Portfolio holders and those members who requested policy briefings in the following categories: Transport, Economic Development, Health

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