Camden aims to grow ‘stagnant’ cycle levels

CYCLING

The London Borough of Camden has voiced disappointment with the cycling mode share of its residents. 

Camden has delivered numerous schemes to benefit cyclists in recent years, including innovations such as segregated stepped cycle tracks, light segregation on Royal College Street and early release cycle signals at junctions. Further investment is taking place through multiple programmes, such as the central London cycle grid, Cycle Superhighways, and Quietways. Stepped track cycleway provision will be delivered on Gower Street, and Tottenham Court Road is to be made bus and cycle only during the day.   

“While these initiatives help to encourage cycling, there is significantly more to be done,” says the borough. “The mode share for cycling in Camden has stagnated at an extremely low level of just 4 per cent [the precise estimate is 3.6 per cent] of all residents’ trips for the last three years, a rise of just 1 per cent since 2009.

“Other inner London boroughs have caught up with, and in some cases exceeded, Camden’s cycle mode share in that period.”

The borough says TfL analysis “shows that Camden, along with two other central London boroughs (Lambeth and Westminster) have the greatest overall levels of cycling potential across the capital”.

Cycle flows in the north of the borough are “particularly low”. “Residents in the north of the borough are further away from the majority of the new high quality cycle infrastructure being delivered, such as the central London grid and the Cycle Superhighways.

“There is therefore a need to push cycle routes further north to ensure they form part of a comprehensive network. E-bikes could ... help people overcome the hills particularly in the north of the borough ... where car ownership is highest.” 

Camden wants to double the residents’ cycle mode share by 2024/25, and double it again by 2041.