Decision details

7.1 This item was discussed after item 8 New waste & recycling services update.

7.2 A presentative from Lewisham Cyclists introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         According to the 2011 census, 2% of journeys in the borough were done by bicycle. The strategy sought to identify and evaluate existing barriers to people cycling to see how they could be improved.

·         The strategy established three main principles to guide future cycling projects: a fully joined up cycle network, safer cycling, and cycling for everyone.

·         There was little provision of cycling routes in the east or south of the borough, as shown on the schematic map on page 61. Lewisham Cyclists had also identified a lack of capacity on the cycling routes between the north and south of the borough.

·         The main aim to improve cycling should be segregated cycling super highways. The A21 road would have space as it was a very wide road. This would be a big project to undertake.

·         The Council was deemed to be good at softer measures to improve provision for cycling in the borough, such as the cycle hire scheme.

7.3 Simon Moss (Transport Policy and Development Manager) and Nick Harvey (Cycling Programme Manager) answered questions from the Committee. The following key points were noted:

·         Redesigning the A21 would be an ambitious project. It was not clear how much funding Transport for London (TfL) would allocate to such a scheme. The manifesto of the new Mayor of London had mentioned an increased provision for cycling in the capital including prioritising Quiet Ways. Some good ideas about the A21 could be presented positively to TfL.

·         A pinch point in redesigning the A21 to improve provision for cycling would be intersection with the A201 (South Circular). It would also be good to include links with the existing cycling networks in the borough.

·         The strategy was an excellent starting point for improving provision for cyclists in the borough. The Lewisham Cyclists’ strategy presented at the meeting could be used to start the process of developing a Lewisham Cycling Strategy to be formally adopted as Council policy and also referred to in the local development management plan.

·         The Council’s current cycling strategy was contained in the Council’s 2011 Local Implementation Plan (LIP), which was the approach taken by TfL at the time. Now, boroughs were producing separate cycling strategies. The Council’s third LIP was due to be developed in 2017-18 so the timing of this strategy document was excellent.

·         In the meantime, the Council could do some small interventions, such identifying sites for and installing bike hangars. Currently, there were 32 bike hangars across the borough, mostly on land owned by social housing providers. If bike hangars were placed on the public highways, than a change of traffic management orders would have to take place which were very costly to arrange. The Council was building up a list of request for bike hangars that could be used in the future to evidence demand for bike hangars.

·         The maps presented in the cycling strategy did not show the entire network of cycling routes, just the Quietway type routes and the Waterlink Way. There were a number of quiet streets in the borough that were suitable for cycling as well but not shown.

·         Officers advised that it would not be possible for the Council to promote under 11s to cycle on the pavement, as cycling on the pavement was an illegal offence regardless of one’s age.

7.4 The Committee made a number of comments. The following key points were noted:

·      The design of the A21 was 20 years old, and needed to be adapted for cycling beyond the provision of white lines as was mentioned in the Committee’s Modern roads review.  

·      Local assemblies could be approached about their views of having bike hangars in their local area.

·      Train stations could provide excellent locations for bike hangars as they often have CCTV and lots of people around so are seen as safe and are often placed close to town centres and easy to reach.

·      The south of the borough was seen as poorly served in cycling provision, so if any quick wins were identified there, they should be considered a priority.  

·      The map of the cycling network presented in the strategy showed a lack of connections between well-established cycle ways such as between New Cross and Brockley and between Sydenham and Bell Green. This seemed to show that people needed to move up and down the borough on cycling routes for what otherwise could be a quick way across.

·      The Council’s cycling champion should be involved with local community cycling events.

·      The Wheels for Wellbeing scheme should be promoted more.

7.5 RESOLVED: That the Committee thanked Lewisham Cyclists for their work, that the report be noted, and that the following views of the Committee be referred to Mayor and Cabinet:

The Committee commends the Lewisham Cyclists’ Lewisham Borough Cycling Strategy to Mayor and Cabinet.

The Committee recommends that the strategy be formally adopted as Council policy and is also referred to in the local development management plan.