Category Archives: News

News

Healthy Streets

COUNCIL ELECTIONS 3rd MAY

LCC and London Living Streets members and supporters will be requesting that the main party leaders commit to:

Submitting a high-quality and safe, Liveable Neighbourhood bid, based in an area with high potential for walking and cycling, that provides big wins for both and that takes major steps to prioritise people walking and cycling over private cars in the area during the course of your term.

My Liveable London Candidate Brief

http://hfcyclists.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MLL-candidate-brief-FINAL.pdf

My Liveable London Policy Brief

http://hfcyclists.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/My-Liveable-London-policy-brief-FINAL.pdf

LCC Campaign Guide

http://hfcyclists.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/My-Liveable-London-Campaign-Guide-FINAL.pdf

Healthy Streets for London

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/healthy-streets-for-london.pdf

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Old stuff below

Hammersmith and Fulham Council have a new Draft Cycling Strategy which is now in the final days of consultation, with comments due by this Friday, 16th January – Now Extended to 2nd February 2015.

You can review the strategy in full here and complete the council questionnaire. The strategy has taken on board briefings made by hfcyclists but does not yet contain firm commitments on how to deal with every barrier to cycling in the borough as identified in Space For Cycling. There is support for tackling major junctions, providing space for cycling, filtered permeability and 20mph so the tools are in discussion.

A proposed cycling network is also shared at the current high-level stage where not all alignments have been finalised. A positive sign is that there are two east-west superhighways proposed but unfortunately only the northern one is likely to continue all the way into town. The indicative quietways are likely to be many years away, and the junction improvement at Hammersmith Broadway by June 2017. Out most likely early change is to be 20mph and changes around Hammersmith Bridge.

Screenshot 2015-01-13 14.41.48

Let us know your thoughts below, here is a quick summary of the key items in the council’s strategy aims, but you should review the full strategy here.

The primary purpose of this Strategy is to increase the number of journeys made in the Borough.
The key objectives of the Cycling Strategy are:

  1. Enhance and extend cycle routes to create a comprehensive network
  2. Create more space for cycling to improve cycle safety
  3. Improve interactions between road users to reduce the perception of the risk of cycling
  4. Provide more cycle parking and cycle hire locations within the Borough

This will be achieved in a number of ways:

  • Collaborating with TfL on the development of Cycle Superhighways to extend the cycle network;

  • Implement a network of Quietways building on the existing cycle network;

  • Working with TfL on creating more space for cyclists through the Better Junctions programme;

  • Create a safer environment for cyclists by introducing 20mph speed limits across the Borough;

  • Provide cycle training for children and adults to increase participation and confidence in cycling;

  • Provide training to increase awareness between different road users and cyclists;

  • Increase the number of cycle storage and parking options;

  • Develop and expand the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme within the Borough; and

  • Ensure that new developments are designed to encourage cycling and provide adequate parking.

News

Space For Cycling – The Final Push

Our space for cycling campaign has now been contacting candidates for the local election for some weeks. Using feedback from over a hundred involved local campaigners we have devised a particular proposal for every ward in Hammersmith and Fulham. These ideas each use a theme which relates them to the Space For Cycling campaign throughout London.

You can check the proposal for your local ward, see which candidates support it and contact your candidates to urge further support.

[standout-css3-button href=”http://action.space4cycling.org/”]Search for your ward by postcode[/standout-css3-button]
or

[standout-css3-button href=”http://action.space4cycling.org/data/borough/54″]Browse the borough[/standout-css3-button]

You can also ride with us on Saturday 17th May. We are meeting at 10AM on Brook Green at foot of Dunsany Rd. Experienced cyclists will lead cyclists of all ages including accompanied children to a ride on closed roads starting on Park Lane. Join us on the ride to show your support.

At the time of writing we appear to have support from the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Labour across the borough. We remain optimistic that there is further support to be had, as there are some very important issues on road safety and enabling cycling as a choice for transport locally. For both candidates and those seeking to better influence them we have produced a detailed guide to the entire campaign and the issues we feel it can address.

News

Ride with us to call for Space For Cycling

As part of Space for Cycling there is a Big Ride in the centre of London on Saturday 17th May. We will be leading a ride from our usual spot on Brook Green by the tennis courts (foot of Dunsany Road) with experienced cyclists providing a safe route to and from the ride itself which will be on closed roads, free of motor traffic and at a sedate, campaigning and enjoyable pace.

[osm_map lat=”51.496″ lon=”-0.222″ zoom=”15″ width=”400″ height=”400″ marker=”51.49681,-0.22139″ marker_name=”wpttemp-red.png”]

We will aim to gather by 10AM then set off shortly thereafter. The main ride gathers at Park Lane around 11AM then from Mid-day will depart for a ride along motor traffic free roads towards the Embankment where there will be a rally from 1PM to 2PM. We will aim to provide a ride back to Brook Green upon completion of these events, due back by around 3PM latest. People are free to leave earlier should they wish, or to join us there, though given that last time saw 10,000 riders brave rain and we’re hoping for sun, it’s vital to be distinctive…

LCC Big Ride Route 2014

Please tell your friends, bring your family and help us make the biggest possible push for Space for Cycling. You can sign up to this ride on FaceBook or send an email to your friends about it linking them to this page. The more the merrier.

This is about sending a message, so whilst we will have flags, leaflets and other materials to distribute we’d like you to bring a message. It may be a slogan of your own, or one we can help provide, but the important thing is to represent why you’re on the ride in the clearest possible way. Your message can be fun, especially if you’re young or young at heart. We will doubtless be ringing bells and making noise along the way.

We’ll be printing out and laminating a range of slogans on A4 for distribution at the start of the ride, and we’re taking suggestions for slogans.

A flag from a rider on recent rides - photo by iBikeLondon
A flag from a rider on recent rides – photo by iBikeLondon (as is photo at top of cyclists with banner)
News

Help Us Help You Win Space For Cycling

hfcyclists is the Hammersmith and Fulham Branch of the London Cycling Campaign. Our three key aims are to encourage more people to cycle, improve conditions for cyclists and raise the profile of cycling.

Our Space for Cycling campaign is only one borough’s part of the whole London Space for Cycling Campaign, please refer to the wider campaign’s Space for Cycling site to see the whole campaign and search for wards by postcode.

We are seeking commitment from candidates in the council elections to a detailed demand in every ward, all of which would improve the local area and provide for increased levels of cycling. We have also made a mini-manifesto to help provide a set of more general borough wide goals that we feel need to be met to enable cycling to be a genuine option for many more in the borough. This campaign is not just about making things better for existing cyclists but rather to enable a better street environment as seen elsewhere in the world in urban centres. We strongly believe that this will provide for many more possible journeys by bike and build on changes already seen here in recent years.

Alongside our pages on each of the wards we have provided some statistics that we feel provide some support for our aims. It is notable that car ownership and car use are declining in our borough even though the population as a whole has risen. In some wards as many as 65% of households have no access to a car or van, and in most wards a third or residents who used to commute by car no longer do so. We will continue to add to our pages on each ward with more detailed imagery and explanation of each demand in the next few weeks.

The key thing is that we ask you to take the following three actions:

  1. Look at our mini-manifesto and details on the demands in each ward.
  2. Support your local ward’s demand. Either search by postcode on the main site, or find your ward on the map of the borough.
  3. Tell your friends and family to take part as well!

If you live outside London, CTC are helping run a wider campaign in the rest of the UK targeting local councils.

If you are interested in helping with the campaign in the run up to the election we have a list of ways you can help. Alternately, if you’d like to get in touch as a local resident, worker or even (prospective) candidate drop us a line.

News

Serious collision on the Uxbridge Road

There has been a serious collision on the Uxbridge Road between a 46 year old on a bike and a skip lorry. They collided at around 4:45PM on Wednesday 9th April whilst the skip lorry was turning left from Uxbridge Road into the Askew Road. According to the Evening Standard the cyclist was trapped under the lorry for an hour and has received life changing injuries to their chest and legs. Other eyewitness accounts stress a high risk this collision could have been fatal, and we hope the cyclist is able to recover as fully as possible from their injuries. There have been three other serious collisions involving cyclists receiving similar injuries since 1999, and in the past five years we have seen serious injuries at one location or another along the Uxbridge Road. The junction currently has no cycling facilities that prevent such a left hook from having such disastrous consequences.

This section of the Uxbridge Road sees around 3000 cycle journeys per day passing along it, and around 500 movements per day of the kind of vehicle like the skip lorry or larger that present a major danger to vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists). There are many cyclists who avoid this road because it is considered too dangerous. It presents a barrier to increasing the numbers who cycle.

Our thoughts are with the rider of the bike and their family. We remain concerned that there are too many junctions without safe space for cycling in the borough and beyond, and encourage everyone to look at our Space for Cycling campaign to push for change.

Hammersmith Broadway, News

Hammersmith Broadway, funded for change

On Wednesday last week the Mayor of London’s office issued an announcement of the 33 junction across London which were to share in major funding to make them safe for cyclists. This had been widely trailed, to the extent that Andrew Gilligan, cycling commissioner had specifically said Hammersmith Broadway was on the list in December.

The section concerning Hammersmith was a single paragraph:

At other intimidating gyratories, such as Hammersmith and Vauxhall, safe and direct segregated cycle tracks will be installed, pending more radical transformations of these areas in the medium term.

This is still not a full announcement but we now know the following things. The junction review for major infrastructural changes for cycling will now focus on only 33 junctions rather 100. Of the original 100 list only one was in Hammersmith and Fulham, which was Talgarth Road / Gliddon Road on the A4 by Baron’s Court. The new plans share about £290m between 33 junctions or an average of £9m per scheme. These should not be small changes. Actual funding will vary by scheme but it is fair for us to have strong expectations of the changes for Hammersmith Broadway. TfL’s own comments are explicitly talking of segregation. It also sounds likely given the phrasing that Hammersmith is in an initial set of 10 junctions where there will be changes by 2016.

Of our neighbouring boroughs, Hounslow has a pair of junctions at Kew Bridge and Chiswick Roundabout carried over from the 100 junction list, and Wandsworth have the town centre in Wandsworth up for review. Kensington and Chelsea have no major junction in this scheme, so no improvements here for Earl’s Court or their side of Holland Park Roundabout for example. With the demise of Superhighway 9 looking almost certain to be confirmed that also means junctions such as at Olympia where Hammersmith Road/Kensington High Street cross the A3220 on Holland Road / Warwick Road and Addison Road/Warwick Gardens may linger without change for some time.

Therefore we cautiously welcome this development, as it does sound like the right level of investment and scale of change necessary to change Hammersmith Broadway.  It should help reduce the collisions that continue to take place there and also unlock cycling as an option for many more in the borough and beyond by removing a key barrier to cycling. We look forward to seeing proposals and hope they do deliver a step change, using segregation to permit 8-80 cycling through this crucial junction. Our key concern is to see how these changes on the Broadway can deal well with approaching roads and help deliver real changes to the cycling environment and town centre of Hammersmith in the coming years ahead of any prospective Flyunder.

For the other key gyratories, junctions and roundabouts in the borough and beyond that need to be addressed, we shall continue to campaign. They range from the  pair at Shepherd’s Bush and Holland Park Roundabout to other junctions along the A4 and Westway to simpler T-junctions, crossroads and roundabouts.  The model of funding being adopted by TfL using major schemes and developer funding alongside cycle funding can be reused to help deal with these major junctions. We will start to make that case as part of our Space For Cycling campaign in the coming weeks.

We continue to study plans around the Flyunder and how in the longer term Hammersmith Broadway might return to two-way traffic and cease to be a gyratory. We hope to share more detail on this in the coming week.