Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in December 2022. 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.
IN THIS ISSUE… +++ Our sponsor line-up unveiled +++ Goodbye, Code of Conduct – hello Safer Riding Guide +++ Trial to ban through traffic? We put the question to Royal Parks boss +++ Accessibility study for cargo bikes and disabled people +++ ULEZ expansion – a plus for the park +++
Visit our sponsors: Bella Velo, Cycle Exchange, Kingston Wheelers, London Dynamo, Look Mum No Hands!, Pearson Cycles, Richmond Cycles
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Say hello to our seven brilliant sponsors! We are proud to announce that Bella Velo, Cycle Exchange, Kingston Wheelers, London Dynamo, Look Mum No Hands! and Richmond Cycles have all renewed their sponsorship for the next 12 months, and a new name has come on board – none other than Britain’s oldest bike shop Pearson Cycles. All of them value the park as London’s No1 free cycling resource, and we thank them for supporting our work. Show your support for them by visiting their websites – just click the links on their names above!
A QUESTION OF TIME
Two weeks ago, a representative from RPC attended the biannual Richmond Park Stakeholders’ Meeting hosted by The Royal Parks. We thanked TRP for its decision to make the traffic trials permanent, and asked the following question:
"Since the Movement Strategy trials were introduced, TRP has recorded an increase in traffic on the road between Richmond Gate and Kingston Gate of 36 per cent on Sundays and 80 per cent on Saturdays. The vast majority is demonstrably through traffic. Will TRP consider trialling weekend closure of this road to through traffic at some point in the future? If so, would they speculate on a timescale?”
Tom Jarvis, the Director of Parks, responded:
"We have no plans for further traffic restriction trials in the immediate future as we are focusing on increasing the pedestrian safety and amenity across the park. This will include the introduction of permanent infrastructure to enforce the recent traffic restrictions and a number of new and improved pedestrian crossing projects.”
The infrastructure and crossings Tom refers to are the projects we outlined in February’s bulletin. The park’s management has shown us the outline of the designs which we are happy with so far.
Penny Frost, Lib Dem councillor for Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside, took a rather different view of through traffic to us, telling TRP: “You are part of the infrastructure of the roads in the area.” But Tom stated: “The role of the park roads is not to provide transport links.”
While TRP has no plans for trialling restrictions on through traffic in the immediate future, it has now clearly restated its stance on the use of the park as a shortcut for journeys made by car. So we are confident that they could engage with our proposal for a weekend-only trial carried out by impartial external consultants once the works have been completed.
NARROW QUESTION
One more item from the Stakeholders’ Meeting. Following a question from our friend Tim Lennon of the Richmond Cycling Campaign about the difficulties of cargo bike riders and disabled people exiting and entering through the narrow pedestrian gates when the main entrances are shut, Tom Jarvis revealed that the park’s management will be carrying out an “accessibility audit” to look into such problems. That’s good news for our subscribers with cargo bikes who emailed us about their difficulties after we highlighted the issue in last month’s bulletin. We will speak to park manager Paul Richards about the study at our next quarterly meeting, which takes place next month, so there is still time for you to let us know about any cargo bike-related issues you may have had.
IN THE ZONE
From August next year, there could be fewer polluting vehicles in Richmond Park following Transport for London’s plan to expand the area of its Ultra Low Emissions Zone from the North and South Circular roads to the boundary of the Greater London Authority. Drivers with the most polluting vehicles will be discouraged from driving in the zone by the levy of a £12.50 daily charge. You can read more about the initiative here.
While we remain committed to removing through traffic from the park, the ULEZ expansion is a step in the right direction. Indeed, some commentators believe it is a precursor to London-wide Road User Charging – a smart fee for driving in areas where congestion and pollution is highest. Check out the London Cycling Campaign’s informative overview of RUC and ULEZ to find out more.
SAFER GROUND
The updated version of the cyclists’ Code of Conduct is now on our website, and it has a new name – the Safer Riding Guide. You can read it here.
We decided to change the title chiefly to avoid confusion. The term “code” led some to wrongly assume that it was a set of enforced or policed rules when it is actually just basic guidelines for safe, courteous riding, and the word “safer” now correctly implies that most cyclists already ride reasonably safely.
Reflecting conversations we have had with women who ride in the park, and a recent debate on social media, one new item has been added since we published the draft in September’s newsletter. It reads as follows:
Be a gentleman. Guys, if a cyclist ahead of you appears to be a woman, avoid the temptation to draft. Being in close proximity to a male stranger could be disconcerting for that person.
Here is a reminder of the other changes, all of which which appeared in September’s draft:
New advice on riding in the centre of the lane and riding two abreast is in line with the recent changes to the Highway Code.
Guidance on speed now reflects the agreement between The Royal Parks and the parks’ police that the limits in the park regulations do not apply to cyclists, while also acknowledging that speed can be a contributory factor in prosecutions of inconsiderate cycling.
Riding on the left-hand side of the road now includes a focus on the restricted stretches of road in the park. This comes after some instances of cyclists riding on the right on Broomfield Hill, thinking this would not be an issue as it is closed to traffic, only to find that they were in the path of oncoming emergency vehicles trying to get to incidents.
Please note that the current Safer Riding Guide is still in provisional form. The Royal Parks and the park’s police will provide some input, and, of course, we would like your feedback before it is formally launched early next year. Like the first edition, published in January 2021, there will be a credit-card sized version for distribution in bike shops and local businesses once the wording of the guide is finalised.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
As ever, thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox, and let us know what you think about anything related to cycling in Richmond Park – we reply personally to every email you send us. 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