‘Where are the cycleways?’ asks Westminster campaign group

A London cycling campaign group has slammed its local council for “delay after delay after delay” in delivering safe cycling routes.

Westminster Cycling Campaign, a local group of London Cycling Campaign, accused the Labour led Westminster City Council of being “indistinguishable” from the previous Tory leadership.

“Before the May 2022 elections, you pledged to build a high-quality cycle network across the City if Westminster Labour won,” the group’s coordinator, Dr Mark Smithies, wrote in an open letter to Cllr Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, and Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, cabinet member for city management and air quality.

“It’s been over two years now. Where are the cycleways?” asked Smithies.

A spokesperson for the council said Westminster is “absolutely committed to extending and improving our cycling network”, and that it is “making progress” on delivering three new cycleways.

In the group’s letter, Smithies wrote the Labour administration made a “promising start” after winning the council for the first time in 2022. This included an announcement of £35mn in active travel and sustainable transport, and three consultations on new cycleway infrastructure.

“We were pleased to see that these all received broad support from the public,” Smithies wrote. “But rather than get on and build them, we’ve seen delay after delay after delay.”

He claimed that two of the schemes, Cleveland Street and Cycleway 51, are not due to begin construction until two years after the consultations ended, while Cycleway 43, proposed to connect Hyde Park with Gloucester Place, is being “watered down”.

Smithies further queried whether Westminster will have completed a protected cycleway by 2026, or increased the percentage of residents living within 400m of a high standard cycle route.

“The City of Westminster is, shamefully the borough with most people killed and seriously injured while cycling in London in recent years. Londoners have waited decades for a council willing to challenge the car-first status quo. We thought that moment had arrived, but the failure to deliver in the last two years and the foreseeable future is in danger of making you indistinguishable from the previous administration.

“Please act now to change our minds and show residents you care about road danger, active travel, climate emissions, air pollution, and will make our streets healthier and inclusive in delivering your vision of a Fairer Westminster.”

Smithies held up other London boroughs as an example to follow, saying: “Look at nearby Camden and Islington for inspiration.”

A Westminster City Council spokesperson said the local authority is “absolutely committed to extending and improving our cycling network, and encouraging cycling and active travel across our city. Cycling is a great way to get around Westminster: it’s fast and efficient, it’s good for the environment, and it’s good for people’s health. As a council, we want to make it as easy as possible to own a bike, ride a bike, and walk around our city.”

They added progress is being made on cycleways 40, 43 and 51, all of which are scheduled to be delivered by 2026.

“None of these routes, each through the heart of Westminster, is straightforward and we have been listening closely to residents, businesses and cyclists. Our aim is to create safe routes for cyclists while making sure residents and businesses have access to appropriate parking and delivery arrangements. Following consultation, we are making changes to our initial proposals to respond to public feedback.

“In addition, we have consulted on a number of cycle routes including Abingdon Street, Portland Place, Bayswater Road, Westbourne Terrace, Buckingham Palace Road, and Northumberland Avenue. And we are beginning construction on Harrow Road, Queensway and Lupus Street cycle routes early next year.”

The spokesperson said beyond cycleways, improvements had also been made on schemes from new stands and hangars to e-bike parking spaces.

According to Transport for London’s (TfL) road danger reduction dashboard, there were a total of 4,757 collisions involving cyclists in 2023 across London, eight of which were fatal. Westminster recorded 423 collisions, the most of any of the capital’s boroughs.