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Hospital admits it didn't research bike lane it tried to block

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust says it didn't research dangers it claimed "floating bus stops" would pose to patients and visitors...

A top London hospital that tried to block a protected bike lane on the premise of safety has admitted it did no research into the risks it claimed the infrastructure could pose to patients.

In May St Thomas’ Hospital started a petition calling for Transport for London to review designs for a bike lane across Westminster Bridge because it claimed vulnerable visitors would be put at risk by proposed “floating” bus stops, also known as bus stop bypasses, outside the hospital, in which pedestrians cross a cycle lane to reach the bus stop.

In response to a Freedom of Information request by blogger James Avery*, however, a Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust spokesperson admitted the “serious concerns” it referred to regarding patient safety were merely opinions and it hadn't looked into the evidence.

Top London hospital tries to block segregated cycle lane

A Trust spokesperson said: “The trust has undertaken none of the research or tests enquired about. It does not oppose the introduction of bus stop bypasses in general; it has a specific set of concerns about the proposals for Westminster Bridge. The legal responsibility for putting proposals, testing them and consulting about them rests with the Transport for London; they are the experts.

“The trust professes no professional expertise in transport planning but it is aware of and has an opinion about the potential hazards and dangers that this particular proposal may pose and believes there are alternatives that would be safer for all vulnerable road users.”

It added: “The trust Chairman visited and observed the bus stop bypass outside the Royal London Hospital.”

Originally the Trust said in its petition, which had 1,149 supporters: "We have serious concerns about the risks TfL’s plans pose to the safety of vulnerable road users - patients, many of who may be elderly or disabled or parents with children in buggies, cyclists and pedestrians."

It complained Transport for London (TfL) provided no evidence of the impact of bus stop bypasses or "any consideration of an alternative scheme".

The scheme, which will link the new East-West Cycle Superhighway with the Central London Cycling Grid in Lambeth, was given the green light in March after receiving 74 per cent support for protected cycle infrastructure. Construction work to build the 1.8m wide protected bike tracks is scheduled to begin in the Autumn, subject to negotiation with Network Rail on taxi ranks by Waterloo Station.

The consultation response document, produced by TfL, noted that: “As part of the ongoing design process we will also continue to work with stakeholders to address concerns raised regarding the bus stop bypasses.”

As we reported last year, according to TfL’s 2013 cycle census, almost a third of morning peak-hour traffic on the bridge is bikes.

This week London Green Assembly Member, Caroline Russell, said in a City Hall transport meeting that fear is a big driver for acceptance or otherwise in cycling schemes. She said some fears regarding the potential negative effects of cycle infrastructure never come to fruition and urged the Mayor not to allow fear alone to scupper cycling schemes, but to seek evidence. She made the comments as announcements on the future of the Cycle Superhighways programme, and the identity of the capital’s new Walking and Cycling Commissioner, are expected.

*Avery's questions to the Trust were as follows: 

In respect of the trust’s opposition to bus stop bypasses (BSBs), also known as floating bus stops:

  1. What research has the trust conducted, in order to determine that bus stop bypasses are unsafe?
  2. To which locations, if any, have trust staff made visits, in order to see examples of bus stop bypasses in action?
  3. What research has the trust conducted into cycling as a form of mass transit that is open to all users, regardless of age, gender or disability, as opposed to the cycling demographic in the UK?
  4. What scientific tests have been applied to this research, for example:
    1. Peer review of available data.
    2. Published studies showing accident rates at locations with and without BSBs.
  5. What studies, if any, has the trust undertaken, to determine the risks of conventional bus stops, in respect of:
    1. Their usage by pedestrians, including vulnerable pedestrians.
    2. Their usage by cyclists.
    3. The risks to bus passengers from onboard accidents, including trips due to harsh braking by the driver to avoid passing cyclists.
    4. The risk to boarding bus passengers from cyclists under taking buses.
  6. How has the trust equated the risk between the claimed dis-benefits of BSBs, and the advantages they offer to each party?
  7. What methodology has been applied to all of the above, to ensure that the claims made against BSBs are robust, and subject to the same intellectual rigour that the trust would apply when ascertaining the risks to patients from procedures carried out inside the hospital?

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12 comments

Avatar
Donnachadh McCarthy | 7 years ago
0 likes

Brilliant work James Avery - thanks.
It is ridiculous having a hospital try to block protected infrastructure for cyclists on its own doortstep.
The number of its own patients who are being treated for serious life-threatening and life-style impacting diseases from transport pollution and inactivity diseases due to fear of cycling due to lack of protected infrastructure is enormous.
 

Avatar
kitsunegari | 7 years ago
0 likes

So a large institution has been dishonest with the public. What repercussions will they face, I wonder?

Avatar
WillRod | 7 years ago
1 like

To be fair, many hospitals are understaffed and feeling the strain just looking after patients.

 

Imagine a freedom of information request for hospital spending showed it had spent £20,000 on wages and expenses to find out about cycle paths and visit existing floating bus stops plus the meetings etc.

The Daily Mail would have had a field day!

Avatar
bikebot replied to WillRod | 7 years ago
3 likes

WillRod wrote:

To be fair, many hospitals are understaffed and feeling the strain just looking after patients.

 

Imagine a freedom of information request for hospital spending showed it had spent £20,000 on wages and expenses to find out about cycle paths and visit existing floating bus stops plus the meetings etc.

The Daily Mail would have had a field day!

They're threatening a legal challenge, that will cost a lot more than £20k.

Avatar
PaulBox replied to bikebot | 7 years ago
0 likes

bikebot wrote:

WillRod wrote:

To be fair, many hospitals are understaffed and feeling the strain just looking after patients.

 

Imagine a freedom of information request for hospital spending showed it had spent £20,000 on wages and expenses to find out about cycle paths and visit existing floating bus stops plus the meetings etc.

The Daily Mail would have had a field day!

They're threatening a legal challenge, that will cost a lot more than £20k.

They'll probably cover it with the sponsorship money that cyclists raise for them doing Ride London later this month...

Avatar
Donnachadh McCarthy replied to WillRod | 7 years ago
0 likes

WillRod wrote:

To be fair, many hospitals are understaffed and feeling the strain just looking after patients.

 

Imagine a freedom of information request for hospital spending showed it had spent £20,000 on wages and expenses to find out about cycle paths and visit existing floating bus stops plus the meetings etc.

The Daily Mail would have had a field day!

to be fair, a hospital standing in the way of healthier patients is the real story here....

the  lethal consquences of London's transport pollution and lack of protected cycling infrastructure is a staggering estimated 12,000 dead every year and another 120,000 living with lifestyle impacting diseases.

NIMBYism of the worst order.

Having a cycle lane in front of the hospital protects kids and pedestrians from the worst effects of pavement pollution.

Avatar
Donnachadh McCarthy replied to WillRod | 7 years ago
0 likes

WillRod wrote:

To be fair, many hospitals are understaffed and feeling the strain just looking after patients.

 

Imagine a freedom of information request for hospital spending showed it had spent £20,000 on wages and expenses to find out about cycle paths and visit existing floating bus stops plus the meetings etc.

The Daily Mail would have had a field day!

to be fair, a hospital standing in the way of healthier patients is the real story here....

the  lethal consquences of London's transport pollution and lack of protected cycling infrastructure is a staggering estimated 12,000 dead every year and another 120,000 living with lifestyle impacting diseases.

NIMBYism of the worst order.

Having a cycle lane in front of the hospital protects kids and pedestrians from the worst effects of pavement pollution.

Avatar
HarrogateSpa | 7 years ago
0 likes

I'm not sure the second paragraph of the article makes sense. Has the hospital started a petition calling for the introduction of a bike lane across Westminster bridge? The rest of the piece makes it sound as though the petition opposes a bike lane, or at least floating bus stops.

Avatar
brooksby | 7 years ago
6 likes

Hospital trust says, "Sorry, yes, we were a bit stupid. But in our defence: we didn't think anyone would find out..."

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

Signed

Avatar
bikebot | 7 years ago
3 likes

There's a counter petition to support the construction here -> https://www.change.org/p/transport-for-london-build-safe-bus-stop-bypass...

Avatar
burtthebike | 7 years ago
6 likes

Why doesn't this surprise me?

I wonder what would happen if this hospital were to carry out procedures  without doing any research about whether they were successful?  Incredible that someone in the medical profession prefers opinions to facts.  Wait a minute, no it isn't: cycle helmets.

Reminds me of the "Cyclists Dismount" sign in the car park of a Bristol hospital.

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