The Mall - Time to Act

I wrote in a recent post about the need for a docking station on the Mall, to increase cycle hire access for tourists and workers in Westminster, to plug a gap in an area whch has too few docks, and to improve the provision of sustainable transport in a historic part of Westminster.

Today I received a reply from TfL to my query - the Mall is indeed being considered as a possible location for a dock. So this is the moment to make the voice of Boris bikers heard - please sign a petition (supported by this blog and Two Wheels Good) calling on TfL and Royal Parks to work towards a Mall docking station. In my previous post I gave details of how to write in support of a dock here. If you have 5 minutes, please do.

In other news ...

The proposed docking locations in Wandsworth have been revealed, to a mixed reception. A series of roadshows will be held in the coming weeks. Go if you can, and support the docks.

Bring Boris bikes to NW5

Here's the latest petition from locals in NW5 to get Boris bikes to their area. I've signed, hope you will too. It's great to see local communities taking the initiative to get the bikes on their patch.

Time Out have an article on the southwest extension of the scheme. Nothing new in it, but great to see an article in a magazine which quite a few people will be reading.

UPDATE: Here's a news report on the NW5 petition.

Two snippets of BB news

I have been alerted to this very interesting visualisation of Boris bike journeys by TWG George. It shows that the most popular routes for Boris biking are to and from Kings Cross / St Pancras and Waterloo stations, and also across Hyde Park. What interests me is that fewer journeys seem to be made through Westminster. One can only guess reasons, but is it because the density of docks is insufficient, or perhaps because the cycling routes aren't as good? Comments welcome.

The residents of Lille Road have got in a fluster about Boris bikes coming to Normand Park. 'Nimbyism' in action, or a genuine concern? There is a wider question here about how much influence residents should have to block the expansion of cycle hire. It is just a guess, but I imagine the lack of docks in historic Limehouse stems from resident pressure against a docking station - they have already fought the presence of CS3 in their neighbourhood.

The Mall - Time for the Bikes?

Boris bike on the Mall - no docks here

I have written extensively on this blog, and others have elsewhere, about the Cycle Hire scheme. But never in all that time have Boris bikers been approached by TfL to ask us where we would like to see a dock situated. Having commented on the Royal Parks, it is time to make a case, that being for a docking station on the Mall.

Back in 2009 Boris bikes were still in the planning stage. TfL submitted an application for a docking station on the Mall. It would have been quite big. But it was rejected. You can view the paperwork here. Remember that this all happened before the scheme was up and running. Since then a lot has changed, but the Mall still has no docking station. In fact, a quick look at a map of docking stations shows that the Mall is part of a really quite large area of London with no docks at all. This is despite it being an area popular with tourists and workers alike.

The arguments made against the docking station centred around the 'special character' of the area. Now, having worked in an office overlooking the Mall for nearly 8 years, I understand the Mall's character very well. On a normal working day, it is a dual carriageway, ferrying huge numbers of motor vehicles, mainly taxis in fact, through central London. It is noisy and polluted. Many cyclists also use the Mall, but it is not a tale of equals; motor traffic moves quickly and aggressively. On Sundays only the Mall excludes cars, and pedestrians and cyclists rule; it is, comparatively, a haven.

Considering the unpleasant state of the Mall at present, with its noisy and polluting traffic, what possible reasons might prevent installsation of a docking station for cycle hire? One reason advanced is that it may clutter the 'special character' of the Mall. But, as the Palace rightly points out in its submission (which supported a dock) as long as these can be removed on ceremonial occasions (which they can), there is no objection. This has happened seamlessly for Olympic events this summer in fact. The docks themselves are less than a metre high. The tallest part of the set-up is the terminal, but as this incorporates maps, it would actually benefit those using the area. In short, the docking station would clutter the Mall far less than the current noise and pollution of constantly moving traffic.

Now that the objections to a Mall dock have been set aside, let us turn to the benefits of a cycle hire dock, and the reasons why the Mall in particular is an appropriate location:

- there is ample space for a docking station.
- a docking station at this location will have very high levels of useage from local workers and tourists alike. Visitors to the Mall, St James's Park and the Palace neeed a dock which is in clear view.
- more BCH cyclists will help reduce motor traffic through the Mall area by getting more people on bikes. Therefore the whole area will be safer for pedestrians, have cleaner air, have less noise pollution, and be less congested with motor traffic.
- There is no docking station convenient for the Mall at present, restricting use. The nearest are towards Wellington Arch (at some distance) and in Waterloo Place (try carrying your bike up all those steps).

In the years since the original application was submitted, there has been a shift in perceptions of the economic and environmental benefits of cycling. Cycle hire has been embraced, and almost 40,000 journeys are made each day. The Olympic and Paralympic Games have inspired us to lead more active lives, and created a positive vibe for cycling. With expansion of the Boris bike scheme due in 2013, this is the moment to seize to bring the bikes to a key part of historic and cultural Westminster.

Please support the call for a Boris bike dock on the Mall - 'Two Wheels Good' is calling for the same. Write to the Royal Parks (cycle@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk), TfL (ENQUIRE@tfl.gov.uk) and also your local London Assembly representative. If you're in Westminster, let your MP and councillors know your views. Together we can make a change.

Boris bikes going south and west

TfL has today released further details of the next phase of expansion of the Boris bikes scheme. Read all about it here. Late 2013/early 2014 is a little later than I think most people were anticipating, but it is still good news.

UPDATES

A map of the expansion area is available here

A map of proposed locations in Hammersmith and Fulham is available here

If anyone has further details, please post a comment

Around the Royal Parks on a Boris bike - part 3

Endangered species - docks at London Zoo

We've only waited a year since part 2, but off we cycle to the Regent's Park for our final instalment. And we're in for a disappointment.

I started my trip around the park by entering through Hanover Gate and turning left onto Outer Circle. This large road runs right round the park. It is wide and doesn't carry too much traffic. However, the cars on it are quite fast-moving, and there is no continuous cycle lane. You'd think, being the main route round the park, there would be many docking stations. In fact the only one is in the carpark of London Zoo, with another a little off the Circle in Gloucester Slips carpark.

The Broad Walk

Regent's Park contains one cycle route. Yes, just one. It's a shared pedestrian/cycle route running north-south, the Broad Walk. So I took it, and a few minutes later you're done. What should I do now, go back again? To give it a bit of credit, Broad Walk is very pleasant, but it hardly represents a network of cycle routes through the park. I turn right onto Chester Road then left onto Inner Circle, which is like Outer Circle, only smaller. There are no docking stations on Inner Circle.

To avoid circling endlessly, I turned south towards the only docking station which is actually fairly centrally located, in the carpark of the Tennis Centre. The entrance to this carpark is quite hidden, so many a Boris biker I'm sure has sailed past the dock. Continuing past the tennis courts and over York Bridge, we're back onto Outer Circle. I turned left and exited the park.

The cycling infrastructure for Boris bikers in the Regent's Park is dreadful. The Royal Parks website tells you that 4.5 miles of park roads are available for cycling. Yes indeed, but these aren't really in the park, they are roads bordered by hedges, and are mainly two large circles.

I would like to see at least one more cycle route through the park, probably across the large open green area of sports pitches to the north of the boating lake. Outer Circle deserves at least two large docking stations, and one on Inner Circle, probably close to the Broad Walk cycling route, would be useful.

Since I wrote about the other parks back in 2011 the Royal Parks have done almost nothing to improve conditions for cyclists. No new docks, no new routes. The crossing from Wellington Arch into Hyde Park has been remodelled so that the conflict between cyclists and pedestrians is possibly worse than before. Triangle carpark dock in Hyde Park has been removed for the Olympics for most of the year, I believe it will be back by next month. There is a new docking station at Green Park station, but you cannot access the park itself from here because there is no cycle route in.

Political will is needed to make the Royal Parks better for cycling. If you're bringing your family or friends to London to cycle, take them to Hyde Park, the other parks have a long way to go before they're fit for cycling.

Preparing for the Bikes to Go West

On Sunday I met up with fellow blogger George (Two Wheels Good) and we took Boris bikes from Notting Hill down to the Fulham Road via Brompton Cemetery, then back through The Boltons and Kensington Gardens, eventually docking on Campden Hill. It was a warm afternoon, and cyclists were out in force.


"I love Boris Bikes": George of 'Two Wheels Good'

This area is right on the border of the current cycle hire area (some of it part of the mini western expansion to Westfield back in April). The 2013 expansion will, all being well, take in the rest of Kensington and Chelsea and push out to Hammemsith and Fulham. It is a beautiful part of London, and has some good streets for cycling. I have no doubt Boris bikes will prove popular in this part of west London.

K&C borough are currently consulting on increasing the permeability of more streets. Often it's as simple as adding an 'except cyclists' sign under an existing no entry sign. Bigger streets require a little more work, but it can be done. To maximise the benefits of cycle hire in K&C and elsewhere, this is an important development, allowing access to docks from both directions, and maximising the journeys which can be made by Boris bike, both in terms of shortening routes and avoiding busier roads.

It's easy to get your view to the borough, simply email cycling@rbkc.gov.uk

Iconic west London: St George's on Campden Hill

You could suggest individual streets, but I suggested a bolder set of principles: all smaller streets to be two-way by use of the 'except cyclists' sign; an ongoing programme of opening up larger streets starting with those most used by cyclists; all roads containing docking stations to be earmarked for immediate two-way access.

The expansion of cycle hire in K&C and beyond is good news, but we need infrastructure on the streets to allow as many people as possible, both experienced and novice cyclists, to get the most out of it.