Newsletter June 2025

URGENT

Camden are proposing major changes to Fitzjohn’s Avenue and roads in the vicinity, including:

• College Crescent Healthy School Street                        • Separated cycle track (900m)                                     
• Junction improvements                                                   • New and upgraded crossings                                        • Planting and greening.

These proposals will further strengthen Camden's burgeoning cycle network, Fitzjohn's Avenue being a key link. Our support is needed here, and not least since car storage space is to be reallocated – so opposition is expected.

Our summary is here with links to the plans & response form;

or head here to respond directly in support of the plans, and if you can, urge Camden to remind TfL that Swiss Cottage gyratory system is long overdue for attention.

Deadline: Sunday 6 July

Email any comments on the proposals for inclusion in CCC's formal response to john@camdencyclists.org.uk

One of our volunteers has mapped where our membership resides within Camden (GDPR in place). Darker blue, higher membership. Lighter blue, lower membership. See the Camden Cyclists Bluesky post here.

We hope to have an agenda item on engaging people across our borough and with our existing members at the next Camden Cyclists meeting. We ideally need people to help in every ward, to encourage specific councillors to support action for safer streets more strongly. Backbench ward councillors are only answerable to people in their ward. 

If you want to join us to help us campaign to make your streets safer we do, click on the red button below. (This will take you to the London Cycling Campaign – please select 'Camden' as your borough at the appropriate point.)

• July 5th (+ Aug 2nd) – monthly KTPedals ride

• July 13th -12pm–6pm – Camden New Town Festival, Camden Square. CCC will have a Dr Bike and information stand. (Help on the stand would be greatly appreciated if anyone has an hour or two to spare).

• July 14th (+ Aug 11th) Kentish Town Bike workshop

• July 19th – Geoff Stilwell's Ice Cream Ride from Sidings – Register with LCC here (+possible feeder ride from Highgate Road).

• July 21st – Next CCC Monthly Meeting. 7:30pm – 9:00pm. Check nearer the time for agenda items.

'Get Cycling' – CNJ June 13th edition has over four pages of cycling related news and articles, and asks the question “why don't we all get on two wheels?”

The editorial reports on how Camden has become one of the capital's more cycling-friendly boroughs, wit e leading headline – “Isn't it time to look at the bigger picture on bikes”!

Camden are consulting on changes to Raveley and Lupton Streets to upgrade the 20 year old ‘Home Zone’ at Eleanor Palmer School to remove motor traffic. The long-standing bollards on the west arm of Raveley Street and south arm of Lupton Street don’t stop car-users taking a short-cut from Lady Margaret Road to Brecknock Road leading to confrontation and some congestion.

Deadline – 20th July; Reply – safetravel@camden.gov.uk

Meet at Battersea Park, SW11 – car park, Carriage Drive North (Chelsea Bridge entrance)

10:30am for an 11am start – ends 12pm Garratt Lane Old Burial Ground opposite Southside Shopping Centre, SW18 4AD

The family-friendly ride with stewards aims to highlight:

• Air pollution dangers: even GPs are speaking out now.

• Rise of SUVs & car spreading (aka autobesity)

• Need for safe cycling infrastructure & car-free streets.

People who can’t take part in the cycle ride can join us at the end of the ride for outreach and speeches.

•• Amsterdam update:

Following last month’s report on the planned closure of part of Amsterdam’s A10 ring road for its 750th birthday festival, Marco Te Brömmelstroet tweets that  what many feared would cause gridlock turned into a joyful, car-free celebration with 250,000 attendees.  

• No chaos.
•⁠ No traffic collapse.
• Just music, sun, and a reimagined city”

•• @jonburkeUK tweets:

“The cycling revolution is alive and well in Paris but, contrary to all those car-free Rue de Rivioli videos, there are still far too many motors. That’s because Ann Hidalgo has mainly focused on supply-side measures – bike lanes etc. The time has now come for car restrictions.”

•• The UK meanwhile, is making even more space for motor vehicles.  

George Monbiot reports on how the Lower Thames Crossing – is to get £590m on top of its £9.2bn allocation for 14 miles of road. With a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) showing a net loss of 52 pence for every pound spent, you would think a better use for the more accurate £16bn figure (from Transport Action Network) might be found.

Campaign for Better Transport suggest:                      • 9 years of “reasonable level” bus services, or
•⁠ ⁠11,400 miles (18,400km) of cycle lanes, or                 •⁠ ⁠5,700 miles (9,200km) of bus lanes                          

•• Note that TAN and others won their 2 year court battle to prevent the (former) government’s planned active travel funding cuts).

•• “We spent a lot of time making sure that when you stand in front of this thing it looks like it’s going to come get you.” As if we needed reminding, a GM truck designer gives another reason why UK roads ‘feel’ so hostile, and why SUVs receive a justified portion perhaps, of contempt from those with an aversion to militaristic-style trucks on local streets? We're also interested in how Bikeability training can get kids and nervous cycle users to 'up their game' around these vehicles…

•• On speeds, it's @fietsprofessor in Amsterdam again! One year after Amsterdam reduced speed limits to 30 km/h on 500 streets:

• injury-related crashes dropped 11%

• single-vehicle accidents fell 18%   

 • support rose to more than 60%

•• That's Space, Size, Speed and…what about Noise? Noise pollution now harms over 110 million people across Europe. In the UK based research finds 40% of the UK population are exposed to harmful transport noise.

•• Which leads to..                                                    Tarmac! More cars, bigger sizes and means more tarmac…which also means more heat. Here's another Twitter post from @fietsprofessor (Marco): 'It's hard to design a space that will not attract people. What is remarkable is how often this has been accomplished.' A recent measurement in Amsterdam showed that tarmac for cars adds around 13°C compared to green spaces.

•• “It is 39°C in Lisbon today” writes @adamtranter writes, “The same in Madrid. In Paris next week it will also be 39°C. Given trees take decades to mature and many don’t survive, cities need to plant many more. And urgently.

@createstreets adds: “Nearly everything we’ve done to our towns & cities for the last century has heated them up… We’ve cut down street trees to let cars drive faster, & to make highway officials' lives easier. The result? We’ve lost shade and “evapotranspiration” effect (water transpires & evaporates from greenery and soil cools us down). Streets without street trees on a hot day can be anything from 5 to 15ºC warmer….”.

Enough said!

Apart from some good news north of the border..

•• Scottish councils could receive powers to charge drivers for using roads as part of a new strategy to cut car use.

•• and finishing off in London, Bolt are set to launch an e-bike service in the capital this summer. Contrasting with Lime's pay per minute model, Bolt's service will be pay per mile.. and watched with interest.

Camden Cyclists is the local group of the London Cycling Campaign. Our members enable the work we do and receive a whole host of great benefits.

Join as a member today and choose from free lights, lock or a pump!*

Already a member? Refer a friend and you'll both receive gifts.

*Offer applies to Individual and Household membership purchased via Direct Debit.