Written Submissions Provided for the Transport Committee's Review Into
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Submissions from the public for the Transport Committee’s investigation into cycling in London This document contains tweets and emails received from members of the public on cycling in London. The submissions have been grouped by themes: however, please note that many emails contain information relevant to a number of themes. Submissions from stakeholder organisations will be published with the final report in the autumn. Theme Page number: 1. Changing road junctions and traffic regulations to benefit cyclists 1 2. Cyclists’ conflicts with other road users 34 3. The cycle superhighways and segregated road space for cyclists 57 4. Other measures to improve cyclists’ safety 94 5. The concerns of people who choose not to cycle 132 Any other issues raised by the public 140 1. Changing road junctions and traffic regulations to benefit cyclists Tweets: I'm pretty sure being able to legally turn left at red lights would help to reduce collisions at intersections Allow cyclists to turn left at red lights. Easing cycle/car congestion and accidents at busy junctions I'd also suggest "green wave" traffic light sequencing Why new 1-way at Midland Road NW1? Now murderous death trap for cyclists, but only way to avoid Kings Cross death trap Most one-way streets exist to regulate congestion from cars. I'd suggest changing the law to make them two-way for cyclists We have cyclists able to go 2 ways on one way streets in Belgium works perfectly Roadworks often don't take into account cyclists, so force us into dangerous situations Any junction where you have to pull out across lanes of fast-flowing traffic just becomes a barrier Hello Most cyclists who are killed are stuck at the lights next to a lorry which then turns left over them. It would be safer if red lights meant 'give way' for cyclists like in Paris or Amsterdam. Matt I am writing to you to let you know my thoughts on cycling safety in London. I commute from Merton to central London and back regularly (3 times a week). I am a parent of 2 children (11 and 13 years old). A bit about my background. I would class myself as a confident but cautious cyclist. I have been commuting for over a decade. I've refined my commuting route over some years to use the least heavily- trafficked roads, and as a consequence it is considerably longer (11.5 miles) than the most direct route (9 miles). In terms of training, I am an experienced motorist and motorcyclist, I've done the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists training and read Cyclecraft (the Bikeability manual), although I've not had any cycle-specific training since Cycling Proficiency many years ago. In general my experience of cycling is London is that it requires an extremely high level of skill in order to be able to anticipate and deal with hazards, both features of the highway and other road users. I have found that London's roads are simply not designed with cyclists in mind - and that includes roads that are designated as LCN cycle routes. Highway design often incorporates features where the effect on cyclist safety has either been ignored or not properly assessed. Road narrowings can be formed by combinations of features such as car parking bays, chicanes, pedestrian refuges, kerb buildouts, and so on. These present a particular - and very common - hazard. Many motorists don't anticipate very far in advance, and will often attempt to overtake a cyclist only to see - too late - that a traffic island will force them into a collision course with the cyclist. Speed cushions - that is to say road humps with a split design - both distract drivers and encourage them to take a road position that aligns their wheels with the channels between the cushions, thus avoiding the need to slow down, but endangering cyclists. It is no 1 exaggeration to say that many 'traffic calming' features may make the roads safer for pedestrians, but actually make them more dangerous for cyclists, by creating 'pinch points', narrowing the carriageway, distracting drivers and bringing cyclists and motorists into conflict. Another problem is sight-lines at minor junctions - often there is car parking right up .to a junction, which puts cyclists at risk from drivers who cannot see properly into the junction and are gambling on the assumption that their way is clear. There are issues with the LCN 'quiet' routes. These are often very complex to navigate and poorly signposted. The junction priority is usually against you on these routes: even at quiet junctions, no attempt is made to give cyclists the right of way, which makes the routes slow. My chief gripe about the 'quiet' routes is the way some motorists assume that they have the right to overtake even on the narrowest of roads. I have had a number of near misses caused by this. I have used the Cycle Superhighways, both CSH7 and CSH8. While they provide some advantages in terms of reserving a cycle lane that is relatively clear of vehicles, they have a very high number of hazards. The chief problem in my experience is the smaller side-roads. Because the lane puts cyclists left of the general traffic, this creates the potential for left-hook collisions where a motor turns left into a side-road across the path of a cycle. Another very real risk is that a driver attempting a right-turn from the major road into a side-road has a very poor sight-line into the cycle lane. At busy times the opportunities for such traffic to execute a right-turn are few and far between, and the result is that a driver may see what they think is an adequate gap, accelerate into it, and discover too late that they couldn't see the cycle lane was clear. Major junctions also have serious safety issues, which are well-documented. Perhaps the worst feature of the CSHs is that the operating hours of parking and bus lane restrictions end at 7 PM. I quite often don't leave the office until 6:30PM or later, so I'm commuting after 7PM, and I have to deal with a route that is a lot more dangerous just as it's getting dark. The TfL road network suffers from a number of problems. The issues with the CSHs are common to other TfL roads. The biggest problem in terms of safety must be the state of major junctions like Parliament Square, Trafalgar Square, and most of the junctions at the central London bridges. Almost without exception, these have no safety features for cyclists, and require a very high level of skill and bravery to negotiate. At Trafalgar Square, the advance stop lines are usually occupied by motor vehicles. Approaching the junction from the Mall, it is quite often impossible to get in front of the motor traffic, which means you are forced to the left of the general traffic -dangerous if you want to continue east up The Strand, because you have to somehow negotiate across five lanes of traffic. The casualty statistics at these junctions tell their own story. In addition to the junctions, there is a general problem that there is no attempt to build a continuous level of provision for cyclists, and as a result we see cycle lanes that cease to exist just when you need them most, or contain random parking bays. My children's opportunities for cycling are very limited. Although we live in a quiet residential area with a 20MPH limit, the reality is there is a large amount of through-traffic, much of it travelling considerably over the speed limit and behaving in a way that gives no consideration to the fact that there may be young pedestrians or cyclists around. My son visits a tennis club which is less than 1KM away along 20MPH residential roads, but as parents we don't have the confidence to allow him to cycle. I'll illustrate why. About a year ago, my wife took both our children to Wimbledon Park by bike, which is a journey of about 2 miles along LCN 'quiet' cycle routes. She returned home white-faced and shaking with fear and anger at the way a number of motorists had acted: overtaking at speed leaving no room for error, putting the children in danger. It's my belief based on my experiences that no amount of training or encouragement will get significant numbers of people cycling because conditions both on 'official' cycle routes and on the roads system in general are simply too hostile. Too hostile for parents to trust their children to cycle, and too hostile for a lot of adults to try cycling. While most motorists are considerate and reasonably patient, there are enough 2 distracted, inconsiderate or sometimes downright reckless drivers to make the roads very intimidating. Put simply, there is no general expectation for motorists to behave any differently in residential areas or on cycle routes than on any other road. Motorists in general don't feel any obligation to moderate their speed, give cyclists any more room, give way to cyclists, avoid overtakes, or consider that there may be children or inexperienced cyclists who may be endangered by fast-moving traffic. I do not make this statement as a judgement on motorists: the rules of the road are the same on all roads, and enforcement is hardly rigorous. We are not giving any signals to people that better, more considerate driver behaviour is expected on cycle routes.