Andy Bebington nominated Cllr Stephen Mann as Chairman.
Cllr Pat Ryan seconded this nomination.

Austen Cooper nominated Andy Bebington as Vice-Chairman.
Jim Bush seconded this nomination.

Cllr Stephen Mann and Andy Bebington were therefore confirmed as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively.

Apologies were received from Cllr Dudley Mead and Sue Ritchie.

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

The minutes were approved and signed.

Cllr Stuart King, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, gave an overview of his portfolio, with covers the public realm, the streetscene, parking, lighting, strategic transport and a number of other areas. He stated that Croydon town centre had been identified by TfL as having great potential for cycling.

He was keen to see the introduction of 24/7 cycling on North End and welcomed the forthcoming trial for a contraflow in Drummond Road.

Cllr King paid tribute to the work of his predecessor, Cllr Kathy Bee, who had worked enthusiastically to introduce measures to make cycling safer, such as the 20mph zones in residential streets.

Cllr King was thanked for his presentation and invited to attend future meetings of the Cycle Forum.

Jeff Page, representing Croydon Vision, an organization providing support to the blind and partially sighted, was in attendance for this item.

He spoke of the results of Croydon Vision's campaign on cycling and expressed his disappointment at cyclists' approach to the concerns of blind and partially sighted people. However, he highlighted the need for cyclists and visually impaired residents to continue discussions in order to find mutually satisfactory ways of sharing the public realm, and suggested going on a walkabout to illustrate the problems faced by visually impaired pedestrians.

Jeff Page outlined the following points for cyclists:

1- Cyclists are requested to dismount if a street is busy
2- Many blind people have poor hearing too and get frightened when they feel cyclists speeding past them. As a result, many have stopped shopping in North End
3- Guide dogs are trained to stop at kerbs - if there are no kerbs, they do not stop, and are therefore vulnerable to collisions
4- Cyclists are requested not to zigzag speedily around pedestrians - this can be very frightening

Jeff Page praised the suggestions made by officers and forum members to mitigate conflicts between the needs of visually impaired people and cyclist, such as components in cycle training on sensory impairment, effective use of the bicycle bell and stressing the importance of not cycling on the pavement. The Chair expressed the hope that these steps would be implemented. It was also suggested that Croydon Vision should meet with Wheels for Wellbeing to discuss how best to manage mobility and visual impairments in Croydon's busy town centre.

Jeff Page was thanked for attending the meeting.

Susanna Davies (TfL) gave a presentation on the preferred option for improving the junction at Fiveways. She explained that the project supported the borough's plans to develop Waddon as a local centre.

Forum members heard that cycling was currently hampered by a range of issues including heavy traffic on the A23, difficult junctions and minimal segregation.

Susanna Davies explained that the preferred option for improvements to Fiveways, would involve transforming the Fiveways corner, widening and upgrading the bridge over the railway and making Epsom Road a two-way thoroughfare. This option, which is supported by TfL and Croydon, would benefit all users and in addition bring about an integrated and accessible cycle network which would overcome existing barriers to cycling.

Forum members were advised that consultation on designs would take place in autumn 2016 and that formal approval was scheduled to come in spring 2017. Construction is due to commence in early 2019.

Forum members concurred that cycling in the area was currently difficult. It was suggested that cycle lanes might be fashioned from part of the wide pavements running along certain streets in the area and that the timing of some traffic lights might be changed to enable people to cross junctions without having to rush.

Forum members also remarked that it was difficult for cyclists to access Waddon railway station. TfL representatives replied that this was being examined in order to draw up designs for better connectivity.

TfL representatives stated that one of the greatest barriers to cycling in the area was fear, and that they were working with the London Borough of Sutton to draw up designs for safer streets to cycle on.
 

 Forum members heard that representatives of Croydon Cycling Campaign had met with the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment and relevant council officers to examine the site where a woman had been fatally wounded in a cycling accident. Forum members were advised that there was a sign at that location stating "maximum gross weight 18 tons", and that the relevant stretch of road was regularly used by heavy goods vehicles.

Austen Cooper stated that the suggestions for safety improvements made by council officers were good but would also benefit from the following:
- prohibiting overtaking once a vehicle is on the bridge
- using a "cycling level of service " assessment to ascertain how best to improve safety at the location of the fatal accident

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment stated that the above-mentioned meeting had been productive. He announced that an immediate review of signage to highlight restrictions for HGVs had been called for and that a localized 20 mph speed restriction was being considered. He also stated that a coroner's report would be produced.

An update was provided on the previous fatal accident involving a cyclist, which had taken place in East Croydon on TfL-owned infrastructure. Officers explained that additional signage had been put in, a redesign of the area had been undertaken as a result of which the junction was due to be reconfigured.
 

Officers explained that there was no change to the plans which had previously been presented to the Forum but that the proposals had to go through various legal processes in order to be approved.

In connection with this agenda item, Members heard that Cycling Instructor had had to pay for the use of Wandle Park for training courses and that using school premises for such courses also had a cost, as schools charged for the use of their premises.

Officers explained that while some proposed quietways had turned out to be something of a disappointment, discussions were being held on a quietway between Croydon and Greenwich. It was remarked that the success of Hackney's quietways had been due to their focus on "liveability" rather than cycling and that it was essential to engage well with local communities for such schemes to succeed.

Forum members heard that the implementation of 20 mph speed limits had been approved in two areas, and were thanked for their contribution to the campaign to secure support for these schemes. Officers added that consultation on speed limits in Area 3 would commence in the autumn.

Forum members acknowledged that connectivity for cyclists was improving gradually, although there was still a great deal of room for improvement.

The Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment stated that he had raised the need to make central Croydon more accessible to cyclists with senior transport officers. He highlighted the fact that the Old Town Masterplan had been the first to integrate the needs of cyclists into its designs, leading to the creation of the Drummond Road contraflow. He added that an officer was due to be appointed to use relevant funding to design a coordinated approach to cycle routes in the town centre.
 

This ride had been suggested by Austen Cooper to identify problems and opportunities for cyclists in the borough, to be fed into future bids and into the Local Improvement Plan (LIP). It was suggested that a Brompton bike could be hired by those participants who did not own a bicycle. The idea was supported by the Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment.

Austen Cooper undertook to organize such a ride in the summer.

Forum members stressed the need for more cycle parking in Croydon. It was suggested that this should be discussed during the above-mentioned cycle ride.

Forum members stated that the Gazetteer did not appear to include private roads e.g. cul-de-sacs built in the 1970s. It was observed that "private roads" did not need to be built to the same exacting standards as adopted roads.

Forum members asked for such private roads to be adopted in order for the lighting in such streets to be upgraded.

Forum members commented that there had been a lot less incidents than in the previous year and stated that the marshalling had improved significantly. Thankfully, the main races had been unaffected by the weather.

This year's race route had also made access to the town centre far easier than the previous year's. Because of its proximity to restaurants, it had brought in more trade. Forum members expressed an interest in hearing feedback from local businesses regarding the impact of the races.

Forum members were reminded that Croydon, Merton and Sutton Cycling Campaigns had explored the possibility of putting in facilities to make the common more accessible to cyclists wishing to travel through it, and that the power to complete such improvements was in the hands of the London Borough of Merton. Croydon officers were urged to liaise with this council's officers to coax them to finish the work and "join up the dots".

Forum members were informed of a forthcoming "bikeability+" ride, which it was hoped would involve a good number of children as well as their parents.

Forum members were invited to use the Planning Portal to contribute their feedback on a proposed BMX track, which was due to go before the Planning Committee on 30 June.