Cycling UK prepares for legal challenges to bike lanes’ “unreasonable” removal | Cycling UK
By Sam Jones Friday, 11 December 2020
Cycling UK today (Friday,11 December) has announced that through its Cyclists’ Defence Fund it is seeking urgent legal advice about whether councils’ decisions to remove schemes designed to promote walking and cycling are “unreasonable”. This drastic action follows in the wake of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s removal of a well-used cycle lane on High Street Kensington in London last week citing the lanes caused congestion. According to BetterStreets4KC chair Justin Abbott “Levels of congestion were unaffected by the cycle scheme.” There are now no separated cycle lanes and there has been no discernible benefit in terms of congestion reduction.
Cycling UK today (Friday,11 December) has announced that through its Cyclists’ Defence Fund it is seeking urgent legal advice about whether councils’ decisions to remove schemes designed to promote walking and cycling are “unreasonable”. This drastic action follows in the wake of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s removal of a well-used cycle lane on High Street Kensington in London last week citing the lanes caused congestion. According to BetterStreets4KC chair Justin Abbott “Levels of congestion were unaffected by the cycle scheme.” There are now no separated cycle lanes and there has been no discernible benefit in terms of congestion reduction.
Cycling UK is also alarmed by West Sussex Council’s plans to remove a popular cycle lane introduced during lockdown along Upper Shoreham Road in Shoreham.
This cycle lane recently featured in a short film produced by the Department for Transport, showing the benefits cycle lanes can bring to local communities. Cycling UK has written to the council requesting a pause in these plans, and a clarification of the process which led to this decision.
The national charity is concerned this pattern of behaviour of removing cycle lanes and traffic calming measures, is not just increasing but is being done without adequate evaluation of their benefits, and without sufficient time to conduct effective trials.
