The following is our response to this scheme (consultation closed 7 August 2017) involving new and improved cycle lanes in Park Royal.
This is the response from Brent Cyclists, the local group of the London Cycling Campaign.
We support this scheme, but would make the following points:
1) The contraflow cycle lane on Rainsford Road and new connection from the canal towpath, via a cycle crossing of Twford Abbey Road, are very welcome. However, the junction of the proposed southbound cycle lane on Rainsford Road with Whitby Avenue does not look safe: it simply terminates, leaving cyclists to the right hand side of traffic turning out of Whitby Avenue. It may be better if the cycle lane were taken left round the corner and then crossed over Whitby Avenue on some kind of crossing.
2) A desired manoeuvre is for cyclists travelling south over the canal bridge, on the cycle track or shared pavement on Abbey Road, to then turn right into the bus lane on Twyford Abbey Road. There is no clearly-designated method of doing this. Although a right turn is permitted for cycles on the carriageway, getting into this, with railings in the way, even if there is no traffic, is impossible. This scheme does not appear to solve this problem.
3) While welcoming any upgrade of advisory cycle lanes to mandatory status, and recognising the budget of this scheme is going to be limited, we need to point out Abbey Road is such a busy road that the cycle lanes should really be truly segregated throughout. The best way to achieve this in the limited road width would be though construction of stepped cycle tracks, differentiated from pavement by a level change (similar to Camden’s solution on Pancras Road). The existing fragments of paint-segregated pavement-level cycle lane around the junction of Abbey Road and Twyford Abbey Road are poor-quality infrastructure, and will remain so even when ‘refreshed’. (Though the principal of minimising unnecessary cycle stops at traffic lights is correct.)
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