Newsletter September 2024

The Camden Transport Strategy (CTS) Delivery Plan 2025

Please respond to shape the priorities in the CTS Delivery Plan 2025 – 2028, Camden’s long-term plan to make our streets safe, accessible, and inclusive for all via 3-year delivery plans:

(i) Priorities (ii) Types of projects (iii) Where to focus efforts
Projects can include:
• Improving walking & cycling infrastructure
• Bus priority projects to improve journey times
• Reducing road casualties plus real & perceived road risk projects
• Healthy neighbourhoods & healthy streets projects
• Travel behaviour change projects to encourage a shift from car use

View the map here.

Haringey Streets For People

In Haringey, three sets of of low traffic schemes need urgent support.

The schemes have been hard fought for over several years.                                   Please take 20 minutes to do as much as you can from the list below; with enough support they will become permanent.

Please complete the SURVEY for the three schemes below:

1. Bounds Green

2. Bruce Grove West Green

3. St Ann’s

If you can, please add any extra thoughts via a very short
separate email to:

1. BoundsGreenLTN@haringey.gov.uk

2. BruceGroveWestGreenLTN@haringey.gov.uk

3. StAnnsLTN@haringey.gov.uk

This extra step will help ensure officers hear your views and positive support.

Dartmouth Park Area Healthy Neighbourhood

In last month’s newsletter, we shared the public engagement on Dartmouth Park and while this has now closed, the next step will be a public consultation. We support the improvements this Healthy Neighbourhood will bring but it looks like there will be opposition to the proposed changes, notably from the Highgate Society.

With this in mind, we’re looking for people who live in the Dartmouth Park area and are supportive of the scheme so we can put you in touch with one another. When the opposition is strong, having a group of like-minded people to lean on is invaluable so if you’d like to connect with fellow residents, email camden@lcc.org.uk.

Cycling@Tea-time – (twice!)
One on infrastructure; the other on measurement

Tuesday, 17th Sep: infrastructure and the kerb, with Tash Hartke of Lambeth on their kerbside strategy and Professor Patrick Rérat on his latest research into the impacts of new infrastructure. More info and booking for Cycling@Tea-time here.

Thursday, 26th Sep: what is measured is managed?
Lucy Saunders on her free, new online Healthy Streets tool and Dr David Fevyer on his development of a cyclability tool More info and booking for Cycling@Tea-time here.

Venue: University of Westminster’s Marylebone Campus, 35 Marylebone Rd, NW1 5LS

London Walking and Cycling Conference 2024
Leaders in the field come to share the boldest ideas in sustainable transport.
Hackney Council and the City of London Corporation.                                                  Thu, 19 Sep 2024 09:00 – 17:30
Register for the London Walking and Cycling conference here.                                Event lasts 8 hours 30 minutes                                                                                       Guildhall, 71 Basinghall Street London EC2V 7HH

20’s Plenty Online Conference: Delivering 20mph
Oct 9, 2024 11:00 Free to attend event
11am – 1pm online
Registration for 20’s Plenty Conference here.

20mph is a popular and proven road safety and health improving policy that is UN & WHO best practice. Hear inspiring presentations by officers and councillors delivering 20mph including: Andrew Gant, Anna Semlyen, Duncan Knox, Scott Lester & Adrian Berendt

Aims: To share education on current best practice, popularity levels, prioritisation methods, project learnings, pricings and cost effectiveness tips on wide area 20mph schemes.

Lambeth Car Free Day/ Kidical Mass – Autumn 2024

Sun 22nd September 2024 – Free
Gathering at the South Bank outside the National Theatre, London, SE1 9PX at 11:00, and setting off at approx 11:45.

IBikeLondon will be bringing their epic bike party back to the streets of central London with a kids disco twist. This is a fully marshalled ride, with experienced IBikeLondon Cycle Marshals.

THEME: ‘The Natural Environment’: dress up!/decorate bikes!-maybe as a tree, panda, or lion! There’ll be face painting stamps for everyone to use too

More information on Kidical Mass here.

Next Critical Mass London 27th September 2024

On the last Friday of every month, meet from 6.30 – 7pm under Waterloo Bridge at Southbank

There are no organisers or planned route – just a spontaneous free expression of cycling en masse, flowing like a murmuration of starlings. Sound systems, demonstrations of cycling prowess and a relaxed atmosphere. Suitable for confident riders. More info on Critical Mass here.

Camden Cycle to School Week Ride – Sunday, 29 September

Cycle to School Week (23rd-27th September) encourages children and their families to choose cycling as a fun, healthy, and environmentally-friendly way to get to school.

We are celebrating the event with a fun and friendly ride around Camden. We’ll be trying out some of the routes you can use to cycle to school or activity clubs and there are two route lengths to choose from!

Register for the Cycle to School ride here.

Kentish Town monthly Cycle Buddies Ride – Saturday, 5 October

On the first Saturday of each month, CCC collaborate with local NHS GP practices, to lead a short and social bike ride from 10am–12pm. Meet at Peckwater Centre, 6 Peckwater Street, NW5 2UP.

Ideal for adult ‘returnees’, newbies or to gain confidence. Complete beginner? Free lessons from Camden Council here.

Stronger riders also welcome and can contribute to marshalling or ride leading. Arrive 30 minutes early if your bike needs a check-up. Contact: Suzanne Weller ktride@camdencyclists.org.uk.

Register for the Cycle Buddies ride here.

Kentish Town Bike Workshop – Monday, 14 October

Kentish Town Health Centre, Bartholomew Road, NW5 2BX – second Monday of each month – 6:30 to 8:30pm.

One participant’s response: “As well as making me feel welcome, they helped fix the problems with my bike and I learnt a few things as well. This is a really good initiative and it takes the stress off doing the mechanics. Plus it makes my cycling a lot safer, now the brakes are working properly. It felt like I was cycling on a brand new bike this morning :)”. And free of charge. Sign up for monthly KTBW notifications.

View more details about Kentish Town Bike Workshop.

News from the Streets September 2024 – Jean Dollimore

Fourth instalment in a regular series of updates about Camden’s progress with building cycle infrastructure: developments in Procter Street,Tavistock Place, Chalk Farm Road, York Way and Maria Fidelis School

Progress on major projects under construction

•Procter Street – High Holborn: completed

•Tavistock Place: almost all work has completed at the remaining junctions Marchmont Street and Judd Street.

Other Major Projects

•Chalk Farm Road: work has also started on the big junction at Regents Park Road/ Adelaide Road/ Crogsland Road.

•York Way: wand-separated cycle lanes replaced by stepped tracks.
Work seemed to be underway between Canal Reach and Agar Grove over the summer and at last a beautiful smooth surface has been applied.

Finishing touches and smaller projects

•A School Street and permeability at Maria Fidelis School

•Brunswick Square: in 2019, the former roundabout was removed to return Brunswick Square to a Square and the south side was closed and replaced by a cycle track. The extensive planting had now matured and the autumnal colours look very attractive.

View the News from the Streets post in full here.

• When Wales introduced a near nationwide 20mph speed limit last September the number of KSIs on 20 & 30mph roads in Wales from Jan––March 2024, fell by over 25% compared with 2023 …

• Last month’s positive statements for the future of UK Cycling & Walking from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh have been endorsed by former London cycling-tsar, Andrew Gilligan who also advised that councils should:
  implement schemes well to get funding, and ensure schemes maximise road-danger reduction and numbers of new cyclists.
  
  
• Transport Action Network’s drive to scrap former government’s multi billion new road schemes was backed in this article by LCC’s Christian Wolmar, who explained that 100 years of road-growth-based transport policy is a pointless, Sisyphean task.
  
  
• Prioritising rail, bike & bus over traffic-inducing new roads, was amongst UK-wide recommendations, by LCC’s Simon Munk – in his argument for London to be a national Active Travel benchmark.
  
  
• The UK government has yet to grasp the nettle that stems the loss in fuel duty revenue to E Cars. Campaign for Better Transport is urging Rachel Reeves to charge UK E car drivers per mile.
  
  
• “As anyone who has ever expressed a tentative opinion in favour of LTNs somewhere on the internet could tell you, cars drive people mad” says John Elledge; “Labour’s not declaring a 20mph war on motorists … maybe it should”
  
  
• In line with that sentiment are more stats to show 70% of Londoners want more LTNs 60% want a 20mph speed limit for ALL roads across the city
  
  
• It was just over 6 months ago that former PM Sunak’s report (inconveniently!) found that low-traffic neighbourhoods work… and are popular
  
  
• And, another excellent case for LTNs was made last year by Tanya Braun of Living Streets; she argued for an area-by-area approach to reducing the impact of traffic.

Many thanks,

Camden Cyclists