Local cycling groups have urged the council to finish six-year-old cycleway works on Kingston Road and penalise cars parking on bike paths
The Kingston Cycling Campaign have expressed concerns about a cycleway construction on Kingston Road that has been ongoing since 2021. Separately, another local cycling group, the Full Bike Community Project has complained that cars usually “get away” with parking on bike paths.
Jon Fray from the Kingston Cyclist Campaign said that the bike path on Kingston Road is their “priority”, since it is the main connection between Kingston and New Malden for cyclists.
“The idea is to take cyclists off of the road and put them on a separate cycle track for their safety,” he said.
The campaigners have been meeting with the council since the construction started, in a bid to finalise the bike path so cyclists can feel safe when traveling through Kingston Road.
“That is one of the busiest roads,” Fray added.
According to the council, the project was started in 2021 but had to be paused in early 2022 due to financial struggles Transport for London (TfL) faced after the pandemic.
“The council used the pause to review the schemes already implemented. When further funding was identified, it was necessary to redesign the proposals to satisfy new design standards from TfL,” a spokesperson for Kingston Council told The Kingston Courier.
The bike path is expected to be completed in early 2027.
“This ensures the route can continue to be used safely,” a spokesperson added.
Gary Lee, founder of the Full Cycle Community Project, has said they would also like to see more separated cycleways in the borough.
“One of the biggest barriers people tell us stops them from cycling more, is the fear of having to cycle alongside fast, heavy traffic. This is why continuous, physically separated cycle lanes are so critical,” he said.
When asked about the cycleway construction, he said it has not affected their operations significantly, but said the project’s main issue has been cars “getting away with parking on bike lanes”.
“Customers often tell us they’ve suddenly been forced out of dedicated bike paths into busy traffic due to drivers who have decided to go shopping, collect a takeaway or visit a friend,” he said.
Lee said the car parking interferes with the safety a cyclist should have when traveling though busy places, such as Kingston Road.
The council said parking enforcement will be implemented as soon as the work is completed “to ensure that drivers do not park or obstruct pedestrians and cyclists using the new cycleways and footways”.
