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It’s time to fix Kensington High Street

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Lockdown is easing, and the traffic is coming back. Kensington High Street hasn’t been the flagship destination it should be for years and years. Now it’s back to being a traffic despositary that people visit only reluctantly. It’s time to fix this.

In fact according to some studies, traffic is coming back worse than before, with public transport capacity drastically reduced. Hence the Department for Transport offering to fund emergency safe space for walking and cycling in every local authority in the country.

What about RBKC?

The council has made some initial efforts to take space from motor traffic for safer walking, such as timed closures on two shopping streets and a proposed low traffic neighbourhood. But we haven’t seen the pop-up bike lanes in RBKC that the Department for Transport has called for, unlike other boroughs – new protected bike lanes in Hammersmith & Fulham stop dead at the border.

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A family-friendly bike ride from Hammersmith stops where the safe bike lanes stop – at the border with RBKC (image: Michiel Broker)

Ask for immediate pop-up bike lanes on Kensington High Street

Why?

  • Kensington High Street is in obvious need of wholesale rejuvenation. It’s not the destination “High Street” that it could be but rather an unpleasant four lanes dedicated to motor vehicles where understandably people don’t want to spend time
  • And it’s deeply unpleasant to cycle along, especially during busy hours which is precisely when most people need to travel by bike along it, or would if it were safe and pleasant
  • It acts as a block between the safe cycling routes across town from Hammersmith and Fulham who have a pop-up route taking people to Olympia, and then the cycle lanes in Hyde Park leading to the West End and City
  • Even now though it’s used by thousands of people travelling by bike every day as they have no choice. They need to be safe, and we need to encourage thousands more to use it, whether to travel beyond or to visit. Studies show bringing more people by foot and bike is better for business than focusing on people in cars
  • We can fix this – across the world there are thriving boulevards with strong retail and hospitality, welcoming people on foot and bike
  • It’s happening across Europe now in response also to Covid-19 – the most prestigious high streets of Paris and Brussels are examples now transforming into flourishing neighbourhoods, putting in place safe infrastructure for cycling

If you agree with us that it’s time to fix Kensington High Street, rejuvenate the high street and create safe space for people on bikes, please take a couple of minutes to tell the council your view – you can see the council contacts here or just write directly to the people below – please do cc us in your correspondence at betterstreets4kc@gmail.com, and do tell them whether you’re a resident and/or have other connections to the area, whether it be work, study or just spending time.

Transport Lead, Councillor Johnny Thalassites, email: cllr.johnny.thalassites@rbkc.gov.uk

Council Leader, Elizabeth Campbell, email : cllr.elizabeth.campbell@rbkc.gov.uk

Our dangerous roads

Act now for a safer RBKC

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The trees are saved. What about the people?

Transport for London has listened to residents’ feedback on the proposed walking and cycling improvements for Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate. In their revised plans, only three trees will be removed (with more replanted nearby) on Notting Hill Gate.  No trees will be lost on Holland Park Avenue. Other changes include keeping loading bays for businesses that were due to be removed.

Injuries from collisions – click on the map for more details. Credit: Andy Beverley
Eilidh Cairns, 30, was run over by a lorry and killed while cycling on Notting Hill Gate in 2009

The trees are saved, but the threat to people remains. These two busy roads saw 128 collisions in three years, with people on foot or on bikes getting injured the most. It’s only a matter of time before a collision leads to another tragedy like the death of Eilidh Cairns, aged 30, in 2009. 

Do you want Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate to remain dangerous and dominated by motor traffic? 

Or do you want safer, healthier streets that work for people, not just for traffic? 

Now is the time to speak up!

Tell the council it must approve these vital safety plans.

RBKC councillors know about the hundreds of injuries on these roads and have seen the revised plans – but are still wavering. 

Please act now and tell them you want a safer RBKC!

 

Why do we need this scheme?

  1. Local authorities have a duty to keep people safe. To ignore these roads’ appalling safety record would be immoral. As well as RBKC residents, thousands of Londoners use these roads daily as their most direct route to work.
  2. It will allow all ages and abilities to travel actively. Fifteen new pedestrian crossings, safer side roads and protected bike lanes will mean that elderly people will more easily reach bus stops and shops and children will be able to pedal safely to school. More physical activity will mean healthier residents.
  3. Our roads are dominated by motor traffic. We need to move away from ‘car as king’. Any main direct road should cater for people walking, cycling and spending time, not just for motor traffic. This is the definition of a ‘healthy street’.
  4. It will improve air quality. Transport for London’s modelling shows the scheme will have very little negative impact on congestion – and that’s the ‘worst case scenario’, if no journeys shift from cars to active travel. Other cycle infrastructure in London, such as CS3 on Upper Thames Street, has delivered an improvement in air quality.
  5. The council has declared a climate emergency. We can’t begin to decarbonise our roads without providing safe, direct walking and cycling routes as an alternative to motorised transport. Electric vehicles on their own are not the answer.

What are the objections?

These are the objections raised by various residents associations.

  1. Bikes should use a ‘parallel’ route on quiet streets. Except there isn’t one. The council’s proposed quietway north of Holland Park Avenue is so wiggly and indirect, it won’t encourage anyone to take up cycling – and certainly won’t tempt current cyclists off their direct east-west route.
  2. It will cause more congestion and pollution. Transport for London’s modelling shows very little difference to journey times except a slight rise in the westbound morning peak – and in fact most walking, cycling and bus journeys should be faster. Bike lanes are much more efficient than motor traffic lanes at moving lots of people, and don’t pollute, so they will ease congestion and pollution in the long run even as London’s population grows.
  3. There will be more rat running on side streets. There doesn’t have to be. Side streets could be closed to through traffic to prevent this, or even area-wide low traffic neighbourhoods created, with huge benefits for residents.
  4. Fast cyclists will endanger pedestrians. Cycle lanes elsewhere in London, including those going past ‘bus stop islands’, are not seeing more pedestrians injured by cyclists. Safe bike lanes also encourage a more diverse mix of people on bikes – women, children and elderly – diluting the faster riders.
  5. Residents ‘don’t want’ the scheme. Which residents? Certain residents associations have been very vocal with their negative views, but they only represent a small minority. What about those who may not have the time or resources for association meetings, like those working long hours, or families with young children? Their safety and well being matter too.

Is the council listening to you?

We believe there are many people who live, work, study or have children at school in the borough who would welcome a safer RBKC.

Does that describe you?

As Better Streets for K&C, we are trying to give you a voice – please join us and take action now!

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Open Letter to the Council

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As residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, we are deeply disappointed with your decision to reject Transport for London’s (TfL) plans for safety improvements on Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate. We were hoping for safer and healthier streets. We were looking forward to crossing the roads more easily with our children and anyone being able to ride a bike. Now this idea seems to have been just a pipe dream.

Why did you reject the scheme before the consultation ended?

We were invited to respond to a consultation and discuss it in a meeting. We were told that you would be neutral and consider all the responses before any decision.  But you had decided to reject the scheme before the consultation had even closed. And far from being neutral, it appears that your lead member for this project campaigned against it.

How did you reach that decision? You claim, “The vast majority of our residents do not support these proposals”. This statement turns out to be based on 450 emails in a borough of over 150,000 residents.  How could you know the views of the residents who participated in the TfL consultation, which had not even finished at that point? How much effort did you make to listen to views from across the borough and not just from the well-organised few who orchestrated the meeting?

A flawed conversation

Many of the borough’s most vulnerable residents are in the silent majority – families with young children, those working long hours, people struggling on a low income, or elderly or disabled residents. All of these groups stand to gain from safer and healthier streets but lack the time and resources to make their voices heard.

You repeat residents’ concerns, but have not tried to address the myths behind them. You talk about trees, which can be replaced (and were to be replaced under the plan), but not about human lives, which cannot. You talk about pollution, when the evidence shows that cycle lanes do not worsen it (and can reduce it). You talk about congestion without admitting that the only way to reduce motorised traffic is to reduce capacity for it and provide sustainable alternatives. This is exactly what the scheme will do, even if journeys slow down marginally in the short term.  You need to listen to evidence, not anecdotes, and seek to allay the unfounded fears of some residents.

Better Streets for Kensington & Chelsea

Our new group, Better Streets for Kensington & Chelsea, will give a voice to residents who want safe streets and clean air in our borough. We’re calling for urgent action which will enable more people to walk and cycle. This will result in healthy and thriving communities.  There is overwhelming evidence from major cities around the world that it can be done – so surely it can be done here, in one of London’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Making walking and cycling safer and easier benefits everyone. However, as long-time residents, we’re frustrated by the lack of any meaningful progress to improve our streets.  The Quietway network you refer to is not a solution. This patchy network does not enable convenient and direct journeys to where people want to go. You need a bold and comprehensive plan which will deliver better streets across the borough. Let’s turn the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea from laggard to front runner in safe, clean and active travel!

The Transport for London scheme is a crucial part of the change we need. It will allow more people to travel actively. It will open up our streets to those who don’t own cars and those who are keen to start using their bicycles. It will make this important public thoroughfare a place for young and old, regardless of income, status and mode of transport. It will make the difference between people coming home safely – or, like Eilidh Cairns, never coming home at all.

By all means sit down with TfL and discuss keeping trees and the locations of bus stops. But please – don’t outright reject these important safety improvements for our streets.

We would welcome a meeting to discuss these issues in person.

Sincerely,

Sara French and Jonathan Kelly

On behalf of Better Streets for Kensington & Chelsea

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Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate scheme axed

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The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has said no to plans to make Holland Park Avenue safer for all road users. They made this decision even before the consultation had finished, responding to objections from a tiny but influential minority.

See the story in The Guardian

TAKE ACTION

Do you agree with the council’s decision? Or do you think the improvements would save lives and make this route much healthier for everyone? The council needs to hear from Kensington & Chelsea residents who want better streets – and also from those who work in, travel through or take children to school in the area.

Two ways to make a difference

  1. Write to Kensington and Chelsea Council. Contact the Leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell: cllr.elizabeth.campbell@rbkc.gov.uk and Transport Lead Cllr Johnny Thalassites: cllr.johnny.thalassites@rbkc.gov.uk. Explain your connection to the area and why you think the scheme is needed.
  2. Support this group. We’re tiny and we need more local members with commitment, passion and ideas. Let us know you’re in via the form below.

Why should I support it?

This important investment would make walking and cycling safe and attractive for all ages, including school children. People would have the option to travel safely without a car for short journeys, reducing congestion and pollution and boosting public health. And renovated town centres would help the local economy.