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Cycling up a one-way street will soon be legal in Chelsea
Rashid Razaq, Evening Standard4 Jun 2008
Cyclists will be permitted to ride the wrong way up one-way streets to encourage more people to give up their cars.
Kensington and Chelsea council is testing two-way access for cyclists on several residential roads with the scheme set to be extended across the borough if there is no increase in collisions.
New signs will advise cyclists where they are allowed to cut through and avoid the long circulatory one-way routes motor vehicles must take.
Road surfaces will not be changed and there will be no dividing line between cyclists and oncoming vehicles - instead they will be left to navigate their own paths.
The changes have been introduced partly because hundreds of cyclists were found to be regularly flouting the rules of roads.
Conservative leader David Cameron was photographed taking a detour up the one-way Dawson Place in Kensington in March.
Daniel Moylan, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea council, said: "If this is what cyclists want to do and they are able do it safely, then we see it as our responsibility to adapt the legal position to allow them to do it legally.
"We are recognising the reality that cyclists prefer to take the shortest route through quieter streets. The alternative of having a policeman standing on the road to catch cyclists breaking the rules would be foolish and unworkable."
Mr Moylan said he would lobby the Department of Transport to alter its rules to allow no-entry signs to be adapted with the words "except cyclists". Currently the council will have to use blue signs indicating bicycles are permitted to travel, with the danger that they could be misinterpreted.
He added: "Cyclists are offered very little in terms of safety and convenience. I hope that our trial will encourage other boroughs and as a result cyclists will be much freer to travel around.
"It is absurd that we are being forced to put up signs showing flying motorbikes which are much less well understood and may result in more drivers disobeying them."
Roger Geffen, policy manager of the Cyclists' Touring Club, welcomed the scheme, saying it was unfair to force cyclists to comply with oneway systems designed to slow down or divert motorised traffic.
He said: "The alternative to cycling the wrong way down a one-way street is often to use a much less safe busy road."
The roads affected are Victoria Grove W8, Thackary Street W8, Old Court Place W8, Holland Street W8, and Gilston Road SW10.
The move is the latest radical measure the council has carried out in traffic management.
It completely rebuilt Kensington High Street, removing dozens of traffic signs and barriers keeping pedestrians from crossing the road in an attempt to reduce both congestion and accidents.
Research suggests the changes have been largely successful and the council is now pursuing a similar scheme for Exhibition Road.
Reader views (24)
Dark residential roads in the middle of winter when it's raining and the street lights are dim and you want to allow a bike to go the wrong way down a one way street heading towards a car. Another stupid idea, obviously the people that are making these decisions do not drive.
As a motorist I don't care whether cyclists drive forwards backwards sideways or upside down. What I do care about is that THEY PUT LIGHTS ON THEIR BIKES so that I can see them.
- Mr S. Port, London, 05/06/2008 12:17
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The signs used need to be clear and used sparingly. The current sign 619 - looks like a flying motor bike over a car which few people understand.
A new simple sign adapted from the existing no entry would be far clear and therefore safer. Sign 616 with the 'except cycles' sign 954.4.
- Alison Lucy, Surrey, 05/06/2008 11:13
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Be careful ! There's going to be a lot of 'staged' accidents and claims on the motorists' insurance. The cyclist is always right.
- Bob, London, 05/06/2008 11:12
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Hey Hey, it's open season on cyclists! Are they still worth one point each if going the wrong way?
- Martin H. Watson, Teddington, 05/06/2008 09:43
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Shoot all cyclists and force everybody to drive 4x4s. That seems to be the opinion of some on this discussion. Some very reactionary comments here, clearly made by people who have probably never ridden a bike. Car drivers need to remember that we were here long before they were.
- Michael Cooper, London, 05/06/2008 09:17
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I used to cycle all the time in London before I moved to Copenhagen. Cycle facilities in London are poor compared with Copenhagen. In Copenhagen there is a bike path on every major road ( Bike paths are on both sides of the road separate cars, bikes and pedestrians).
On residential roads and also shopping streets bikes alone can go down a one way street. The fatality rates are very low and there is acceptance from pedestrians and drivers.
It really is about time that London got better cycle facilities. A major difference is that in London both cyclists and drivers are a lot more aggressive.
- Dicky Pimms, Copenhagen Denmark, 05/06/2008 09:06
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Many of the one way roads in Kensington and Chelsea have cars parked on both sides of the streets. This makes it too narrow for cyclists and vehicles to pass each other at a safe distance. So who has right of way ? Cyclists don't forget to use your headlight at night because there's a great number of you that don't.
- Neil, London UK., 05/06/2008 01:47
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Very sensible idea from K & C. The DfT regulations allow what they are intending to implement (which happens in many parts of continental Europe). Most drivers are quite good at seeing what is in front of them and so this shouldn't be a safety issue. There are often higher risks attached with using the longer one way system (which, normally, is implemented to stop motor traffic 'rat running' rather than stopping cyclists.
I guess the people who don't realise why some local authorities are trying to promote sustainable modes of transport like cycling (legal and considerate cycling) should try reading about CO2, climate change and the danger of over dependence on motorised transport (not to mention the obesity issue).
- Roger Stocker, London, UK, 04/06/2008 23:17
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We've been doing this at Ealing for years, when funding and local opinion permit. I'm happy to say that the cyclist collision rate on existing schemes is too low too measure. This is not surprising: it's safe enough when done illegally, so it's even safer with signs to alert everyone. What's dangerous is the alternative route if there is no cycle exemption. As a general rule you go further, on busier roads, passing more junctions. Most cycle collisions happen at junctions.
What we really need, though, is London-wide cycle exemption from one-ways unless signs say otherwise.
This is a totally different issue from pavement cycling and traffic light jumping, and NOT the start of a slippery slope towards allowing cyclists to do those as well.
- Colin Mckenzie, Ealing, 04/06/2008 18:01
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Safety on the roads and the pavements is a matter of concern to all users. It is also a matter of responsibility of all users.
To say as Counsellor Daniel Moylan states that "We are recognising that cyclists take the shortest route through quieter streets. The alternative is having a policeman standing on the road to catch cyclists breaking the rules, this would be foolish and unworkable." This means that it is irrelevant that the Highway Code is being broken by cyclists as is the danger to those pedestrians and drivers attempting to use the pavements/roads carefully. It also beggars belief that he thinks that it is the "quieter" streets where the Highway Code is flagantly abused by cyclists. I suggest he take a tarip around London. I certainly have seen pedestrians hit by cyclists going the wrong way. And who pays? The pedestrian.
The cycle lobby is obviously very strong. Perhaps they should insist upon some discipline and road/pavement safety. Otherwise the result of the 31st May 2008 events spring to mind.
- Mary, London, 04/06/2008 17:50
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This is a complete cave in to the demands of cyclists and a potentially dangerous decision made by the councillors of Kensington and Chelsea. The only excuse given for this trial seems to be that "Cyclists prefer to take the shortest route"
If just one cyclist is killed as a result of this hair brained trial I hope these councillors will abandon any further ideas of expanding the scheme.
Mr Moylan of K&C states "cyclists are offered very little in terms of safety", surely then, by encouraging cyclists to go up a one way street the wrong way cannot be the best way of making the roads safer for cyclists or any other road users.
By appeasing the cyclists in this way Mr Moylan will be bringing, in my opinion, yet more danger and confusion to the streets of London and he may well soon discover that it will not only be the cyclists who "prefer to take the shortest routes".
- Andrew Protheroe, London,UK, 04/06/2008 17:32
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Very common in Germany. Late again GB.
- Kit Reed, London England, 04/06/2008 17:23
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If cyclists get their law-breaking "reality" recognised by this scheme, why not people who litter, or fare-dodge? Hey, they're doing it anyway, so why not make it lawful? The worst part of this scheme is that the cyclists won't stop doing it at the boundaries of the borough. Every single one-way street in London just got twice as dangerous for pedestrians.
- Freya, London, 04/06/2008 16:53
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What an absolute disgrace !! Bike riders are road users and should obey the present road rules, which mean that a one way street is just that One way! Many already disobey the rules such as riding through red lights etc and the poor car driver has to have eyes at the back of his head to keep track of them ...this will only serve to strengthen the idiots who think that the law does not apply to them. Again Disgraceful!!
- London Driver, Ealing UK, 04/06/2008 15:58
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A recipe for disaster as London's roads are already overcrowded.
- John, London, 04/06/2008 15:51
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I have lived in Chelsea all my life and this happens all the time so nothing new here. Cyclists are never challenged as you never see any police walking about so I don't think this is a "Radical Measure" just everyday life in Chelsea!
- Linda Cliff, London, 04/06/2008 15:31
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Has this been done by a Tory Council, purely to appease its friends Boris Johnson and David Cameron?
- Gary, London, UK, 04/06/2008 15:15
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Changing the law because so many people have been flouting it has to be a very dangerous precedent.
- Paul, London, 04/06/2008 14:46
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Did these council people think about the pedestrian. What happens when the person crossing the road knowing it's a one-way street gets knocked down by a cyclist coming in the opposite direction, you can't hear a cyclist coming, but you can hear a car or motorcycle. So if there are no road markings indicating a cycle lane in either direction and there are going to be no change to road markings to tell motorists that cycles are coming the wrong way there are going to be many more accidents.
- Belinda Kendal, London UK, 04/06/2008 14:18
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This is the daftest thing I have heard for ages. And is any motorist who might hit a cyclist who is hurtling down the road the wrong way, on either side of the road according to your article, to be prosecuted? Let's just ban cars and pedestrians so cyclists can do whatever they like wherever they like with no other road users to get in their way.
- Nigel, London, 04/06/2008 13:53
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The safest and most sensible conceptualization must be for all users of the road to act within the same set of rules so everyone understands what everyone else is at least supposed to be doing. Maverick cyclists flying about the place is, as has been proved, a recipe for very nasty accidents. There are pedestrians or traffic and nothing in between.
- Chris Naylor-Smith, Brighton United Kingdom, 04/06/2008 13:02
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I am a London cyclist, but I do not believe this to be good idea unless the streets are clearly marked that traffic can expect oncoming cyclists. There are already many one-way streets that have marked - but not necessarily segregated - cycle lanes, and this could be extended to all those deemed necessary.
- Patrick Griffin, Dalston, 04/06/2008 12:58
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Sounds great - we have had these near where I live in North London for a while now, and they seem to work fine. Everyone just gets on with going about their business.
It makes no sense to force cyclists to go all round the houses because a quiet road was made one-way to cut down on rat running by car drivers.
- Richard, Hackney, London, 04/06/2008 12:50
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As a cyclist, I welcome any measure to free myself and fellow riders from rules that are not designed or suited to us. However allowing cyclists to navigate their own paths is very likely to lead to conflict and possibly collisions. Where motorists are expecting a flow of traffic in one direction, it would only be reasonable to let them know where to expect cyclists to be travelling in the opposite direction, even if its only in ghost lanes.
- Andrew Rodgers, Peterborough, UK, 04/06/2008 12:25
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