Newsletter September 2025

Jean Dollimore’s latest report on the continuing progress of major projects under construction in Camden.

The report covers the latest batch of completed and near completed schemes including:

• Chalk Farm Road (including Crogsland Road & Regents Park Road): completed: major upgrade to Adelaide Road junction; stepped tracks; bus stop bypasses near Crogsland Road and Hartland Road.

• Crogsland Road and Regents Park Road.

• Crowndale Road: stepped tracks between Royal College Street and Bayham Street, two new bus stop bypasses and one new shared use bus boarder.

• Gray’s Inn Road: stepped tracks (full report in next News from the Streets).

• St Pancras Way: permanent upgrade reached Pratt Street in July this year.

The focus of the ride is to call for greater safety measures for walking, wheeling, and cycling in Dartmouth Park and wider area.

A gentle 30-40 minute marshalled ride through neighbourhood streets, finishing at Parliament Hill , suitable for young children on pedal bikes and new cyclists of any age. Decorate your bike in autumn themed colours if you wish. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Bring: a roadworthy bike ; weather-appropriate clothing; a lock and snacks/drinks if needed; whistles, bells, or music.

Meet at Navigator Square (Archway Tube, by Archway Tavern at 11:00am for an 11:45am departure. See you there!

Camden Council has engaged with the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly known as Sustrans) and others on how best to allocate the £2.4m HS2 Safety Fund that aims to mitigate the increased danger from road traffic during construction.

The proposals include:

• Seven new/upgraded crossings including a pedestrian/cycling parallel crossing on Robert Street
• Reducing through-traffic on Osnaburgh and Stanhope Streets
• New cycle lane plus ASLs on Robert Street; cycle parking; dockless bike & scooter hire bays
• Pavement widening; side-road crossing improvements
• Planting, greenery and trees
• Regent’s Park estate connectivity improvements

More details on the Regent’s Park Area (South) Safe & Healthy Streets proposals here.

The survey is quite long and slightly off-putting, so you might want to answer questions 9 and 15 (in summary).

August saw two letters from CC members published in the Camden New Journal, on the subjects of reducing road traffic, and differences in cycling provision around bus stops.

The first from Ema Arvati on 21st August 2025:

• Traffic reduction is the way ahead

The second from Jean Dollimore on 28th August 2025:

• Bus stop designs for passengers and cyclists

…punned E-Bike company Lime, in a series of adverts around the city on the final day of the Tube strikes in early September. Lime, Forest and Santander bikes all reported record breaking figures, as overall journeys by bike in London rose by 32% over the week of action.

We reported seeing “an incredible amount online about non-cyclists riding bikes for the first time.. with Clerkenwell Road seeing 12,500 riders (usually 7 to 8000).

‘Moments like these reinforce how vital shared bikes have become’ reported Cycling Weekly, while LCC’s Simon Munk suggests ‘The Tube strike offers a vision of a bike-friendly future… we already see 1.33 million cycle journeys a day – a third of all tube journeys and 4.5% ‘mode share’. That feels like we’re already far beyond the point at which cycling in the capital is a ‘mainstream’ transport mode.”

New Lime and YouGov data, published in a recent Evening Standard article shows 28% of Londoners are more likely to consider cycling in the future … 21% saying they cycled during the strikes.

Everything else – place, time and duration – will be the same: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm; Kentish Town Health Centre, NW5 2BX

Experienced mechanics will help you to check and make minor repairs to your bike.

Refreshments will be available.

The workshop is free and donations are welcomed. You can donate at a workshop or online here.

If you have any questions, please send an email to ktbw@camdencyclists.org.uk.

The next three KTBW dates are:

1st October, 5th November & 3rd December.

Monthly meetings take place on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 pm. usually online.

Check back nearer the time for details of the agenda.

Anyone interested in cycling in Camden is welcome to attend.

Along with Covent Garden and Islington, Camden very nearly became obliterated by more than the WWII bombing that razed much of these areas. Plans to build a cluster of ‘urban motorways’ was only thwarted by the conservation movement that was roused to act in the seventies.

Euston Road (notably the junction with Tottenham Court Road to Portland Place), lost a vast swathe of space to  the demolition of people’s homes for through-traffic, showing that this blight on Londoners lives today might have been even worse!

As summers get hotter, the shade of kerbside trees makes certain routes more desirable, as well as being cooler places to spend time.

Kerbside-stored cars though, do the exact opposite, raising temperatures by nearly 4ºC.

Possible are working with councils to plant trees in old car parking spaces – to clean the air, green streets, and provide safer temperatures during future heatwaves.

Use this map to find out where kerbside trees and urban greenery are most needed to protect communities during heatwaves and use Possible’s webtool to email your councillor.

Nearly 1000 cyclists rode to Hammersmith on Friday evening (26/9/25), where flowers and flares contributed to the commemoration of a female cyclist killed in August on King Street.

The London Mass meets at 7:00pm, on the last Friday of every month on the South Bank under Waterloo Bridge, by the British Film Institute.

“Everyday, all over the world, people are resisting the problem culture of the car by getting on their bikes and riding, instead of driving. Critical Mass is a celebration of the alternatives to cars, pollution, [collisions] and the loss of public spaces and freedoms. Not an organisation or group, but an idea or tactic, Critical Mass allows people to reclaim cities with their bikes, just by getting together and out-numbering the cars on the road”

Police make arrests after female cyclist killed in cycle lane hit-and-run crash with moped rider

First off this month,

++ a short video posted by Yeah But Cyclists from the city where actual cultural change is tangible, as the extraordinary transformation set in motion by the force of nature that is Mme Anne Hidalgo continues apace.

POV: the great feeling of not having to dress like you’re working on a construction site just to ride your bicycle, since your city has great cycling infrastructure.

++ From Japan, Melissa & Chris Bruntlett report on Osaka’s plans to fully pedestrianise its main arterial in a shift from car-centricity to world-leading people-centric street.

The target date 2037, seems far off, but Osaka officials want to ensure implementation meets their lofty goals. “get the details right and Midosuji is a blueprint for taking back streets not just for their city, but for those across the globe.”

++ A short trip away, 45 km of dedicated cycleways, and 2-in-3 residents owning a bike (1-in-3 own a car), make Kyoto a leading contender in the field of Japanese cycling, which is on the rise for all ages especially 65+, with cycle-to-school rates amongst Japan’s highest.

Kyoto’s declining population means car-ownership should drop 6-10% p.a. while bike ownership should grow 7% p.a. making cycling part of a strategy to involve aging residents in their city.

++ Returning to Paris briefly, a change in the weather inspired the following to Tweet:

Brice Perrin – Paris, ce matin. A vélo il n’y a pas de mauvais temps, que de mauvais vêtements. Paris, this morning. On a bike there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

++ In Wales (not averse to a bit of rain of course) the new 20mph limit has seen casualties in people on bicycles cut by a very substantial 28%, and 900 fewer road traffic injuries…

++ … but while the significance of these figures move those of a more socially benevolent persuasion to call for wider adoption of 20mph, over in Canada, usually a somewhat more level-headed neighbour of the U.S., Doug Ford has announced plans to ban speed cameras in Ontario, describing them as an out-of-control “tax grab” in his latest populist appeal to suburban voters.

++ The last word comes via our Dutch friends at the Urban Cycling Institute:

“Dear cyclists, make sure you can be seen; obey all rules; don’t be distracted, and wear protective gear at all times. Road safety is a shared responsibility after all! Thanks, The car industrial complex”

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.