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Cycle Forum
Tuesday, 21st March, 2017

Cycle Forum Minutes

Date:
Tuesday 21st March 2017
Time:
6:00 p.m.
Place:
Room F5 in the Town Hall, Katharine Street, Croydon CR0 1NX
 

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillor S Mann, Councillor P Ryan

Absent:
Councillor Dudley Mead
Apologies for absence:
Councillor Dudley Mead

Item Item/Resolution
MINUTES - PART A
A1/17 INTRODUCTIONS, APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST

Apologies were received from Cllr Dudley Mead and Austen Cooper.

 

Councillors in attendance confirmed that they had recorded their pecuniary interests on the Council's register of interests.
 

A2/17 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 15 NOVEMBER 2016

The minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

A3/17 CROYDON AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN UPDATE

A presentation was given by pollution team manager Linda Johnson on the plan for 2017-2022. It included the following information:

- An overview of air quality in Greater London, where it is estimated that 9,400 deaths occur each year due to illnesses caused by long-term exposure to air pollution
- Data on air quality in Croydon, which continues to exceed the air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) along busy roads and where it is estimated that 155 deaths occur each year due to illnesses caused by long-term exposure to air pollution

A4/17 SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS ON TRAM LINES

Nick Baker, Head of Stakeholder Relations at London Trams, gave a presentation on current initiatives to improve safety when cycling on or near the tram network.

 

He explained that on average, there was an incident once or twice every quarter where tram operators have had to apply the brake due to a cycle or cycles ahead on the track and that cyclists needed to ride carefully on or around the tram network.

 

London Trams have worked closely with Croydon Council on developing the Cycle Highways and improving road junctions and crossings in hotspots such as Wandle Park, Reeves Corner, Wellesley Road and Cherry Orchard Road, so that cyclists meet tram tracks at a 90o angle. The organisation is planning to refresh the cycling safety leaflet produced a couple of years ago and sought panel members' advice on how to improve it. In addition, the organisation is holding briefings at "Junior Citizen" events for school pupils to inculcate good riding habits and an appreciation of the risks riders have to manage on the road.

 

Cycle Forum members were advised that a review of street track infills had been conducted and that many organisations had been consulted. Unfortunately, the investigation did not lead to any satisfactory conclusions and this issue remains unresolved.

 

The above-mentioned incident statistics were challenges as a number of incidents involving cyclists on tram tracks in the Addiscombe Road area had been reported to Cycle Forum members. This was corroborated by council officers. The Head of Stakeholder Relations stressed that he was happy to record any incidents which may have been left unreported. It was pointed out that a website had been set up in Edinburgh to enable people to record any incidents on tram tracks in that city.


A Cycle Forum member pointed out that in his experience, what made cyclists fall was an attempt to turn while on the tram tracks.

 

A Cycle Forum member highlighted the risks to cyclists at the junction between George Street and College Street. Officers stated that they were working on a solution, linked to the plans for the new Dingwall Road Tram Loop.

 

Nick Baker was thanked for his presentation. He in turn asked for his e-mail address, NickBaker01@tfl.gov.uk , to be circulated to Cycle Forum members.


 

A5/17 CYCLING AND WALKING STRATEGY WITHIN THE COUNCIL'S WIDER TRANSPORT STRATEGY

Cycle Forum members noted that an update to the strategy had been circulated the previous week and were informed that the Environment, Streets and Homes Scrutiny Sub-Committee was likely to consider the updated strategy at their June meeting.

 

Cycle Forum members were informed that the updated strategy was strong on structure but less so on cycle training, which needed to be strengthened. Officers are working on a network of cycle routes into Croydon town centre, which they are hoping to deliver within the next five years. CCC representatives offered to work with the council on further work on the strategy.

 

Cycle Forum members suggested that there should be more circular cycle rounds around the borough and that they should connect better with district centres. The south, in particular, appeared to have no cycling infrastructure whatsoever. Officers stressed that routes into the town centre would be prioritized to tap the significant potential for untapped cycling journeys into work and back home.

A6/17 FUNDING SOURCES FOR LIVEABLE COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT

In response to a forum member's question, officers highlighted three possible sources of funding for which they might bid in the next financial year:
- "Liveable neighbourhoods" funding
- "healthy streets" funding
- L.I.P. funding, some of which can be used for walking and cycling initiatives
 

A7/17 CROYDON MINI-HOLLAND BID - LINKED TO OPPORTUNITIES TO CAPITALISE ON ROAD CLOSURES

Cycle Forum members observed that following the drawing up of the detailed Mini-Holland initiative and proposals for Norbury Avenue, and recent road closures brought about to carry out gas maintenance works, opportunities were presenting themselves to implement some elements of these initiatives.

 

Officers confirmed that the Mini-Holland bid had been very well received and scored second of all bids. Unfortunately, it had not been funded. The plans for Norbury Avenue had formed part of the quietway from Waterloo. Officers stated that they would be seeking funding for "liveable streets" to implement some of the above-mentioned proposals if the bid for funding was successful and consultation on liveable streets could be organised. Cycle Forum members also suggested that cycle-friendly initiatives might be considered for Auckland Road in Upper Norwood.

 

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment reacted positively to the principle of exploring and testing cycle-friendly initiatives while a road was closed for maintenance works. Officers informed panel members that the council had a forward plan of road works which they could share with panel members.
 

A8/17 CYCLING SPACE ON CROYDON'S BRIDGES

Council officers invited Cycle Forum members to work with them on this issue and to identify all the problems relating to space for cycling on Croydon's bridges. Forum members explained that the problem usually involved narrow bridges dating from the 19th century and said he had already compiled a list of 60 or so bridges that presented a challenge for cyclists. Officers stated that the list would be very useful when time came to finalise the cycling strategy.

A9/17 BLACKHORSE LANE BRIDGE CYCLE OPTIONS AND LINKS TO NEIGHBOURING ROADS AND PARKS

Officers announced that the council had received funding from TfL to investigate the feasibility of widening the bridge. Officers explained that they were examining the existing structure and looking to future-proof it for cyclists. They were also working on designing a ramp down to the tram stop which would give wheelchair access to tram platforms. Thirdly, they had to ensure that designs did not create problems for local cycling networks.

A10/17 CYCLE PARKING

Officers admitted that this constituted a gap in the cycling strategy. The council had received TfL funding for cycle parking in residential estates where there was no cycle parking in place. The council was also thinking of installing CCTV in key locations to deter bicycle theft.

A11/17 ISSUES AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS AROUND THE BOROUGH
- LEBANON ROAD: ONE WAY RAT-RUN
- PARKING ON THE CYCLE LANE ON WHITEHORSE LANE
- THE DANGEROUS JUNCTION BETWEEN COLLEGE ROAD AND GEORGE STREET NEXT TO THE CYCLE HUB

Cycle Forum members highlighted the difficulties experienced on Whitehorse Lane, where there is a cycle lane but cars are parked on it. They also reported problems on South Norwood Hill, where advisory cycle lane are largely ignored by car drivers.

 

Forum members highlighted problems on Lebanon Road, where the move to going one way only had speeded up the traffic and made the cycle contraflow dangerous. The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment announced that issues relating to Lebanon Road were due to be discussed at the July meeting of the Traffic Management Committee as traffic had been diverted to neighbourhood streets. He encouraged Cycle Forum members to attend the meeting.

 

The risks to cyclists at the junction between George Street and College Street were discussed at this meeting under agenda item 4.
 

A12/17 CYCLE FORUM MEMBER PARTICIPATION IN VELO-CITY 2017 , A EUROPEAN CYCLING CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE IN ARNHEM, NETHERLANDS

Isabelle Clement (Wheels for Wellbeing) stated that she intended to attend this event.

A13/17 UPDATES FROM CYCLING GROUPS

Rob McLean announced that British Cycling has obtained sponsorship from HSBC UK to run guided rides. A priority for the organization is to raise the profile of women who cycle through their rides.

 

The representative of Cycle Instructor stated that training was going very well and that the organization was trying to engage more with secondary schools and working with Quest Academy and Meridian High School to train their pupils to cycle safely. The organization was also running training for adults and stated that Croydon could boast the first or second highest numbers of adult trainees in London. It was also hoped that training for lorry drivers might take place in Croydon in 2017-18.

 

Isabelle Clement and Jim Bush gave an update on the activities of Wheels for Wellbeing:
- joint sessions with "Cycling Instructor" with disabled children after school from late April onwards
- working with Croydon Vision to help children and adults with impaired vision to cope with cyclists on the highway
- Hoping to attend the Pearl Izumi cycling races and bringing disabled children to the races after school
- 300 responses to a survey of disabled cyclists
- The organisation's forthcoming 10th anniversary of its foundation
- 175 riders and their carers involved in the last three riding sessions
 

A14/17 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

None.

A15/17 DATES OF FUTURE CYCLE FORUM MEETINGS (ALL ON A TUESDAY):
- 6 JUNE 2017
- 12 SEPTEMBER 2017
- 28 NOVEMBER 2017
- 20 MARCH 2018

A16/17 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2016 EGENDA
MINUTES - PART B
  None
The meeting ended at 8.02pm.