CYCLE LANE MADNESS
Mr Mackinlay, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, said: “The UK’s 37m motorists and delivery vehicles should not be demonised as they often are.
“The car is one of the most liberating inventions ever, and our transport network has shown itself to be resilient and fundamental to keeping the show on the road during this pandemic. Low taxes on fuel are a benefit to us all, unlike poorly thought through road schemes – of which there have been too many.
“We are calling on the government to stop the uncalled-for war on the motorist.”
Howard Cox, FairFuelUK’s founder, added: “Grant Shapps seems hypnotised by a small minority of ill-informed politically driven well financed greens, who pathologically hate the motorist.
“They are hell bent on making cars, taxis, vans, and trucks obsolescent. Shockingly a Tory minister is grounding road transport decisions on emotion, not common sense or pragmatic data.
“Businesses and local communities are being devastated, not by a Chinese bug, but by myopic local authorities, without any consultation and funded by the DfT.
“Strangulation of our city roads by new vacant cycle lanes and road blockades is intensifying congestion, escalating pollution, and risking lives by delaying emergency services. All this, so that fit well off young cyclists can enjoy their fair weather pastime at the expense of economic common sense.”
YET ANOTHER HORNET’S NEST IN THE SMOKE
Meanwhile, a row has reignited over a flagship London cycle route in the latest controversy to hit emergency Covid “pop-up” schemes designed to discourage car use.
Residents and traders are asking the High Court to send Hounslow council back to the drawing board on the changes it is making to upmarket Chiswick High Road.
Across London, almost 100 “low traffic neighbourhoods” (LTNs) that discourage through traffic in residential areas have been installed since April, with 89km of new or upgrad- ed cyclelanes and more than 300 “school streets”, which ban non-residential vehicles at the start and end of the school day.
Several LTNs have been axed or modified, such as those in Tooting, Redbridge and Lewisham. One of two temporary cycle lanes in Euston Road is due to be removed “in the coming weeks” after delaying westbound buses.
DECEMBER 2020
The row in Chiswick comes as the High Court prepared to hear a judicial review application on 25 November from taxi drivers opposed to a Transport for London “Streetspace” scheme that restricts weekday vehicle access to Bishops- gate and surrounding streets in the City of London. The outcome was not available at the time of our press deadline; PHTM will bring you details as soon as they are known.
But the Standard has learned that the spread of schemes to make roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians will continue, with a further £95million due to be spent across the capital in the next six months.
Campaigners from the Walking and Cycling Alliance say there is a “silent majority” across the UK in favour of “people-friendly streets” but too often support is “drowned out by a vocal minority”.
Business owner Mike Ormrod, one of the parties who submitted the Judicial Review application, said that businesses feared the disruption would hinder their chances of a bounce in trade once lockdown was lifted on 2 December.
He said: “I just feel strongly that it’s highly unsafe, and especially for cyclists. I think it’s going to be a very serious problem. I think the council took the opportunity during these emergency times to foist this on us. It’s been a lot cheaper for them to do it this way.
“It has made the congestion really bad. The feedback we are getting from customers is very negative. Chiswick High Road is one of the routes the police use when they’re moving VIPs around. Even the Queen got stuck in traffic a couple of times.”
Jane O’Donnell, of the One Chiswick campaign group, said 8,500 people had signed a petition against the cycle lane and 1,700 people had joined its Facebook group. “We feel they have used Covid to push through these things without consultation,” she said.
TfL, which is working with Hounslow on the scheme, said the aim of Cycleway 9 was to tackle a “significant casualty hotspot” with 81 cycle collisions on the A315 corridor in the three years to December 2017.
EVEN CYCLISTS ARE DIVIDED BY CONTROVERSIAL SCHEME
The controversial cycle route in Chiswick High Road has provoked strong reactions — with even cyclists having mixed feelings about it. Cyclist Maria Suluva, 29, from Acton, said: “This is the first time I have used it and I do feel safe. It’s nice there aren’t buses and it is completely segregated. But … I can see it’s also obviously building up a lot of traffic which means you’re breathing in lots of fumes.”
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