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Conservative mayoral candidate warns of cycle lane "traffic chaos"... using photo from Canada

Croydon Conservatives' campaign page against a proposed segregated cycle lane uses a photo from 5,000 miles away in Vancouver...

A Conservative mayoral candidate's campaign proposal to scrap a cycle lane to "stop traffic chaos" is illustrated online using a photo from Vancouver in Canada, 5,000 miles away from south London.

Inside Croydon spotted the Croydon Conservatives' campaign page, which asks readers to sign a petition to protest the Labour-run council's plans to build a segregated cycle lane on the A235 Brighton Road, uses Dylan Passmore's photo, taken in April 2020, of a Canadian cycle route segregated using cones in response to the pandemic.

The page titled "Stop the Brighton Road Traffic Chaos!" is signed by Cllr Jason Perry, Croydon Conservatives' mayoral candidate for the upcoming election in May, and says:

We have been contacted by large numbers of residents about Labour’s proposals to segregate the cycle lane and bus lane, with barriers, along the entire length of Brighton Road. The cycle lane will be separated with orange barriers, and will run all the way from Purley, up to the Swan & Sugar Loaf.

This will cause huge amounts of congestion and damage local businesses by removing parking & loading bays - even at 'off-peak' times of day, which is even more impacted by the decision to make the existing bus lanes 24/7.

Labour's candidates think these measures are "extremely welcome", but we are calling on the Labour Council to scrap these plans. If you agree, please turn over and sign our petition!

We think that it’s time the Labour Council started listening to Croydon.

 The "barriers" referred to above, as per Croydon Council's letter notifying councillors of the proposed changes, will be plastic wands.

As part of the experimental traffic order the council explained it intends to introduce experimental changes to the the Brighton Road Corridor between Purley High Street, including converting the "existing advisory cycle lanes" to "protected mandatory cycle lanes".

This will see the dashed white line cycle lane markings [below] replaced with a continuous white line and vertical plastic wands, "extending the length of cycle lanes and space for cyclists at junctions to provide protected safe space for cyclists, helping people choose to cycle."

Brighton Road cycle lane (Google Maps)
Brighton Road cycle lane (Google Maps)

Bus lane operating hours are also to be extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as increasing footway space and improving crossings.

As part of the experimental traffic order framework the changes can operate for up to 18 months while it is monitored and assessed. 

Unlike other traffic projects experimental orders are constructed first and then the consultation happens during the opening six months of it being operational, after which a decision is made on whether to make the changes permanent.

Cllr Perry and Croydon Conservatives have made transport issues central to their mayoral campaign, opposing low traffic neighbourhoods too.

Croydon's residents will go to the ballot box on 5 May to elect their next mayor, a choice likely to be between Tory Cllr Perry and Labour candidate Val Shawcross who will be looking to keep the borough under her party's control following their 41-29 seat success in 2018.

Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.

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14 comments

Avatar
The Giblet | 1 year ago
0 likes

Have I missed something or is the A23 under the control of Transport for London? Would the new mayor of Croydon not have any actual ability to stop TfL from implementing the cycle provision?

Avatar
mdavidford | 1 year ago
1 like

Well I was convinced, so i turned over to sign the petition. But all I found was the back of my laptop screen.

sad

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squired | 1 year ago
5 likes

The markings for the new lanes are already in place. I'd estimate that they are at least 50% wider than the previous lanes, but as mentioned in another comment the road is only wide enough for one lane of cars.

There are plenty of side roads, so parking is still easy. However, the once famous GB Cycles was on that road, with off street parking and still struggled to get business, so let's not pretend the parking spaces are an issue.

The biggest issue with the new implementation is that the solid lines are constantly broken due to side roads or driveways (albeit with no dropped kerb). When I cycled along it on Sunday it seemed that car drivers had taken the solid white lines as meaning they could now park the length of the road.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 1 year ago
3 likes

That stretch of the A23 is very busy and very prone to traffic tailbacks. It has one lane in either direction and there's no space for overtaking. The road is wide enough for a proper cycle lane on either side though. That would not inconvenience motorists as it's single lane anyway and they can't overtake as I've said. And new cyce lanes might just make driving better, as it might just reduce traffic volumes.

Avatar
chrisonabike | 1 year ago
5 likes

Quote:

"existing advisory cycle lanes" to "protected mandatory cycle lanes".

Good.  There's almost nothing as pointless as an advisory cycle lane.

Quote:

Bus lane operating hours are also to be extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as increasing footway space and improving crossings.

This is great. Although I'm not a big fan of mixing buses and bikes * this is currently how we get a lot of our infra.  In most places bus lanes suddenly wink out of existence at various times, sometimes even turning into parking!

* they've got very different requirements in terms of speed, stopping and starting etc. and many people don't feel comfy cycling around buses.

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Mybike | 1 year ago
5 likes

I see more bike traffic then car traffic

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Wales56 | 1 year ago
7 likes

is this the same Councillor who built the lanes, who in 2010 as the council’s lead member for transport said:

"To make cycling more attractive and appealing we need to create an environment that allows easy movement “

“With our population set to increase significantly over the next 20 years, cycling offers the means of addressing climate and health concerns while relieving pressure on road, rail and tram systems. We are delighted that being selected as a ‘biking borough’ will help encourage even more residents to take up cycling.”

I think we should be told....

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eburtthebike replied to Wales56 | 1 year ago
9 likes

Couldn't possibly be; we all know the tories are straight, honest and true and would never be so two-faced and hypocritical.

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nosferatu1001 replied to eburtthebike | 1 year ago
2 likes

Absolutely, no councillor has ever been a completely hypocritical vote chasing twunt. Ever 

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brooksby | 1 year ago
6 likes

Quote:

... converting the "existing advisory cycle lanes" to "protected mandatory cycle lanes".

This will see the dashed white line cycle lane markings replaced with a continuous white line and vertical plastic wands, "extending the length of cycle lanes and space for cyclists at junctions to provide protected safe space for cyclists, helping people choose to cycle."

So they won't be taking up any more space for these cycle lanes, simply defending them.

What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a mayoral candidate who wishes to defend people who park illegally...  Nice 

Avatar
chrisonabike replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
4 likes

brooksby wrote:

Quote:

... converting the "existing advisory cycle lanes" to "protected mandatory cycle lanes".

This will see the dashed white line cycle lane markings replaced with a continuous white line and vertical plastic wands, "extending the length of cycle lanes and space for cyclists at junctions to provide protected safe space for cyclists, helping people choose to cycle."

So they won't be taking up any more space for these cycle lanes, simply defending them.

What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a mayoral candidate who wishes to defend people who park illegally...  Nice 

Unfortunately given current realities this could be a vote winner.  Many people would decry illegal parking of course - but maybe not their own illegal (or at least inconsiderate) parking ("but we've always parked there, never caused any issues...").

Avatar
IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
14 likes

It's werid that he's chosen a picture of a busy cycle lane and very little traffic - looks like a great ad for bike lanes.

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
10 likes

About to mention the same thing. I wonder if someone in his campaign is trying to sabotage him by using that picture instead of one showing lots of traffic in a queue without mentioning it is down to a car broken down a mile away.  The latter is the normal one used by DM and other haterags when having ago at cycle lanes. 

Avatar
AidanR replied to IanGlasgow | 1 year ago
2 likes

The cycle lanes on the A23 are a dangerous joke. It's one of the only direct, flat(ish) ways into London from the south, and so is fairly popular with cyclists. Or it would be if it was safer.

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