Campaigners hit out at plans for non-protected cycle lanes on part of Kensington High Street

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, which in December 2020 ripped out protected cycle lanes on Kensington High Street just weeks after they were installed, has revealed plans to put new cycle lanes on part of the major west London thoroughfare, although not the central part where safe infrastructure is most needed.

However, they will not be separated from the main carriageway, instead being marked out in paint, leading the broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who commutes on the route daily, to say that the council “can shove this up their exhaust pipe."

The proposals have also been criticised by the London Cycling Campaign, which has accused the borough or prioritising drivers over people on foot and on bikes and claims it is at odds with government guidelines.

They're not permanent, and they're not cycle lanes. They can shove this up their exhaust pipe.

📜“Permanent cycle lanes set for Kensington High Street after legal row” https://t.co/HZyhCGstuT

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) July 20, 2023

The decision to install the cycle lanes, which will be advisory only, marked out by broken white lines, was taken following a consultation which closed last month. It found that around 66 per cent of respondents were in favour.

The Highway Code advises motorists not to “drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable,” as distinct from mandatory cycle lanes, delineated by a solid white line, where they are told they must not drive or park within their hours of operation.

In contrast to the former cycle lanes protected by wands, which during their brief period of operation ran the length of Kensington High Street from close to the Royal Albert Hall in the east to Olympia in the west, the new cycle lanes will only cover part of the route.

In the east, they will run from the junction with Kensington Palace Gardens to the border with Westminster at Queen’s Gate, a distance of around a quarter of a mile, where riders can head into Kensington Gardens to head towards the protected Cycleway 3 in Hyde Park.

At the western end, the lanes will cover a similar distance, from the junction with Addison Road close to Olympia and the border with Hammersmith & Fulham, to the one with Earls Court Road, opposite the southern entrance to Holland Park.

The central section of Kensington High Street, lined with shops and restaurants and covering more than a quarter of a mile between those two sections and where cyclists have to contend with heavy traffic including buses and taxis, parked cars and the junction with Kensington Church Street, will have no cycle lanes whatsoever.

> Campaigners lose High Court case against council over “premature” cycle lane removal

Simon Munk, infrastructure campaigner at London Cycling Campaign, told the London Evening Standard that the plans conflict with guidance from the government, and that the Conservative-controlled council continued to prioritise motorists over active modes of travel and reducing reliance on motor vehicles.

“This is still a borough where the approach to cycling still seems to be doing the least possible and revving up residents to perceive cycling as an issue for their driving rather than an opportunity to cut car use and climate emissions,” he said.

“The approach that is now proposed is ‘advisory cycle lanes’ not physically protected cycle tracks – which goes against the government’s guidance on cycle safety and scheme design – and the schemes proposed still have big gaps and safety issues.

“RBKC say they haven’t included the central section of Kensington High Street or proposed work on dangerous junctions because of resident ‘concerns’ and risk of further delays.

“But the council itself has already delayed action here for decades and TfL and other councils in London have been able to deliver better schemes on similarly congested and contested roads in weeks or months,” he added.

But Councillor Cem Kemahli, RBKC’s lead member for planning, place and environment, defended the proposals, saying: “It’s heartening to see that people are open to the idea of some cycling infrastructure on our streets and this scheme strikes the right balance between keeping our major through roads moving while allowing space for everyone.

“Road safety auditors made some suggestions to make the scheme safer and discourage close passes.”

He added: “I’m happy to have accepted these, as making our roads safer as well as greener is a priority for us.”

West of Kensington High Street, the protected Cycleway 9 now enables cyclists to ride safely from Olympia through Hammersmith and along King Street and Chiswick High Road to the northern end of Kew Bridge, and works are currently under way to extend it further to Brentford.

To the east, Cycleway 3 provides a quick, safe protected route towards Parliament Square and onwards to Blackfriars, the Tower of London and beyond that, Stratford.

Kensington High Street therefore remains the missing link in what should be an uninterrupted, safe route for cyclists of all ages and abilities, with the council – which also scuppered TfL plans for a segregated cycle lane on Holland Park Avenue, which runs parallel further north, from the Shepherds Bush Roundabout to Notting Hill – insisting that it prefers to focus on quiet, non-segregated back street routes, which by their nature involve often lengthy detours away from the routes that cyclists actually want to use.