Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the mailout that we sent in May 2020. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section - you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here. Have a look at our first bulletin to find out more about how RPC was formed and why we are progressing the idea of reducing traffic in the park by charging for shortcut journeys.
TIME OUT
Are you missing riding in Richmond Park as much as we are? While the suspension of cycling under the current circumstances of the pandemic is understandable, witnessing the absence of riders flowing daily through the roadway and the Tamsin Trail still seems strange to many who would usually include it in their normal everyday life. One small positive aspect of the situation is that many more fans of riding bikes in the park have now discovered Richmond Park Cyclists and signed up to our monthly bulletin or started following us on social media. Thank you if you are one of the new recruits to our merry band, and a big hello to you!
The park may be closed to all cyclists, save NHS key workers and children under 12, but our small organisation has never been busier. In a bid to get the suspension lifted, we have been in regular contact with key people in charge of the park, culminating in a phone call yesterday with Tom Jarvis, who is the head of all eight royal parks. Despite our best efforts, Tom told us that The Royal Parks is keeping the temporary cycling suspension in Richmond Park. You can learn more about what was discussed and the outcome further on in this bulletin.
It’s worth remembering, though, that the very nature of the cycling suspension is that it will not last forever – and long before it began, wheels were set in motion to implement changes that will ultimately make Richmond Park an even better place to ride your bike once those five magnificent pairs of wrought-iron gates finally swing open for us all again. So let’s go back to those heady far-off days before the lockdown started for an update on The Royal Parks’ Movement Strategy – the ambitious, far-reaching plan to prioritise the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS
Regular subscribers will already know that the second and final phase of the Movement Strategy’s public consultation finished at the end of March. Any individual was able to email TRP with their thoughts on the ideas that had been generated by the survey which formed the basis of the first phase. Additionally, TRP invited stakeholder groups to respond – and RPC was one of them.
In our submission, we reiterated that Richmond Park Cyclists has long argued for the implementation of Intelligent Road Charging – a cost-effective means of reducing traffic by levying a fee for shortcut journeys made in motor vehicles. We would also like to see family-friendly car-free days that would be suited to children learning to ride a bike, and suggested using the day of the Prudential RideLondon for a trial as the park’s roadway has always remained closed to motor traffic after participants in the event have all passed through.
Some park riders have been injured by dogs straying into their path, so we proposed all of them should be kept on a lead within 100 metres of the roadway.
Our letter to TRP also included ideas that could benefit everyone – not just cyclists. A proactive joint effort from RPC and TRP to improve the behaviour of those who ride inconsiderately would create a more welcoming environment, while shared space zones near the gates and car parks would make it easier for pedestrians to cross. But we also warned against traffic calming measures that would impact cyclists who train in the park as it would discourage them from using it and push them on to roads outside which are less safe.
TRP now hopes to get the Movement Strategy signed off at a board meeting this month, although it is currently experiencing issues with cash flow that may take priority.
After the strategy is signed off, an opportunity may also arise to consult with us and other stakeholders on the positive lessons learned from the access restrictions. The ban on motor vehicles and the subsequent brief period where all kinds of cyclists appeared in greater numbers, as well as the current influx of pedestrians, have been an unplanned, real-world experiment in how visitors move around the park – which has always been the focus of the strategy. TRP’s observations on whatever successes these unusual circumstances produce should, we hope, shape its long-term goals.
MAINTAINING DISTANCE
We published our letter to Tom Jarvis, TRP’s Director of Parks, on social media last week, in which we encouraged a trial reintroduction of cycling on Richmond Park’s roadway and offered assistance to make sure the two-metre rule is observed. The key messages were that many ordinary people still do not feel safe cycling on regular roads, particularly as some motorists are now taking advantage of low traffic levels to speed, and riding in the park – exploring its unique environment at distances not achievable by running or walking – creates a brief sense of escape that is vital for mental wellbeing in these testing times.
But TRP was not convinced. It argues that removing pedestrians from the road, where currently they are allowed to walk, would lead to social distancing problems on the paths. We suggested discouraging the use of the roadway for serious training, which could make it more attractive to families and other groups of cyclists whose presence is less typical in normal circumstances. TRP does not believe that we would be able to persuade enough sporty cyclists to use roads outside the park, and some cyclists who visit at busy times would breach social distancing rules when the roads are more crowded.
Obviously, keeping the suspension in place is disappointing for many people who ride a bike in the park, especially as no one knows when social distancing restrictions will be relaxed. Government advice will change as Covid-19 is eventually brought under control. We have offered our support and advice to TRP in advance of Richmond Park being opened once again for cycling.
BACK OF THE KEW
Those of you who would usually enter or leave the park by cycling through Ham Gate will probably not have seen that Ham Gate Avenue and Church Road now have shiny new signs saying “20mph”. They are, of course, part of Richmond Council’s year-long rollout of the new borough-wide speed limit which began last August and which this humble bulletin reported on three months prior to that. The scheme seems to be making good progress – judging by information on the council’s website and the map it references, Kew is the only area that is still waiting to get its 20mph signage.
In February, neighbouring Kingston ended its public consultation into a proposed blanket 20mph limit. Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, Wandsworth already has a 20 limit in all residential areas which is likely to soon become borough-wide (with the exception of roads under the control of TfL, which is also the case for Richmond and Kingston). It’s full speed ahead for low speeds!
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
Thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox. If you enjoyed this bulletin, please share it with your cycling friends – and if they like what they read, encourage them to sign up to our mailing list too. The more subscribers we have, the bigger our voice.
All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists
website: richmondparkcyclists.org
twitter: twitter.com/richmondpkcycle
facebook: facebook.com/richmondparkcyclists
instagram: instagram.com/richmondparkcyclists