Emergency providers may be delayed by cycle lane “wands”, though they’re designed to let autos drive over them.
The declare was made in a Kensington and Chelsea Council report forward of a gathering subsequent week on whether or not to reinstate a controversial cycle lane.
The Kensington High Street cycle lane, which used the “wand” bollards spaced 4 metres aside, was eliminated by the council in early December, solely seven weeks after it was put in.
The council eliminated it after a barrage of complaints about added congestion from native companies and residents’ associations within the famously prosperous a part of West London.
Transport for London, which helped fund the £320,000 cycle lane, say that their very own survey of residents discovered {that a} majority have been in favour of the lane. TfL additionally stated bus visitors information confirmed no distinction in journey instances earlier than and through the cycle lane’s implementation.
The Kensington High Street cycle lane, earlier than it was because of be eliminated on December 2, 2020
(Image: Owen Sheppard)
But a report back to be thought-about by council cupboard members on March 17 states that “the London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade (LFB) raised considerations in regards to the scheme and famous that their autos wouldn’t use the cycle lanes.”
This was as a result of the wands – regardless of being designed to spring again up if run over – may be intimidating to ambulance and fire engine drivers who aren’t acquainted with them. And as a result of the design of those wands can differ in numerous boroughs.
The council report goes on: “[LFB] drivers feared being blocked in in the event that they used the lanes. The Borough Commander believed that cycle lanes London-wide have been inflicting important delays to LFB responders in addition to when coming back from routine work within the borough, suggesting in some instances it was taking in extra of an hour for autos to return to station.”
The London Ambulance Service apparently “shared considerations relating to response instances and general ambulance journey instances with the LFB above”.
“Additionally believing that the implementation of cycle lanes would trigger pinch factors. The LAS additionally felt that the wands would forestall ambulances parking up with the intention to entry properties alongside the route simply and safely,” the report stated.
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During 2020 the wand bollards appeared in different components of London such because the A25 between Tooting and Balham, and Station Road in Wood Green, North London.
When Kensington and Chelsea’s cupboard meet subsequent week, they are going to determine between 4 choices:
- Re-installing the cycle lane in full. The council stated this may once more be on a short lived foundation “to hold out additional monitoring of the cycle lanes” earlier than a conclusive choice is made.
- Installing components of the non permanent cycle lanes. This would contain offering segregated cycle lanes within the outer sections of the route, “the place the highway is widest”.
- Do not set up non permanent cycle lanes however think about another scheme in the long term, with analysis starting “in the summertime”.
- Do nothing.
Many councils constructed comparable cycle lane schemes to the one eliminated final 12 months beneath instruction from the Government. Ministers wished to encourage strolling and biking whereas public transport had grow to be harmful within the pandemic, and requested councils to implement them “inside weeks”.
The lead member for planning and transport, Johnny Thalassites, will recuse himself from the assembly subsequent week and not vote on the ultimate choice.
Council chief Elizabeth Atkins introduced in January that the council would evaluate the problem after it obtained a authorized problem over its “emergency choice” to take away the cycle lane. The menace of courtroom motion got here from the Better Streets Kensington and Chelsea marketing campaign.
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