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A heavily used bike path in London that was removed because the local council said it impeded the flow of motor vehicles has been blocked by parked cars up to 80% of the time, according to a study by a campaign group.
Computer analysis of the traffic cameras on Kensington High Street has also shown that average car travel time appears to have increased since officials removed the bike lane just seven weeks after it was installed.
The Kensington and Chelsea council ripped out the £ 320,000 lane on the busy east-west thoroughfare in December, citing complaints from 322 people, about 0.2% of the district’s population.
The conservative authority said that eliminating the bike lane, which was used by up to 4,000 cyclists per day, would add additional space for motor traffic and thus ease congestion and speed up travel times.
But the study, which involved analyzing video images from Transport for London’s traffic cameras using Google’s artificial intelligence tools, found that the space had been largely occupied by parked cars.
The Bike is Best analysis, which groups together a number of organizations and companies in the cycling industry, found that in the week 21-28 December, what was previously the eastbound cycle route was blocked by parked cars during the 63.6% of the time.
At other times, even greater use of the space was found for illegal parking. The most recent data, from December 29, found that between 7 a.m. M. And 7 p.m. M., The eastbound bike lane was blocked by parked vehicles for 81.6% of the period, with some parked on double yellow lines for more than 10 hours.
Analysis of traffic camera images from when London was still on the looser level 2 coronavirus restrictions, during the daylight hours of December 14-18, showed that the old lane was blocked for 52.9% weather.
The study evaluated average car travel times on a sample 1.1-mile stretch of street using real-time traffic data from Google Maps, and found that these had increased after the bike lane was removed.
He calculated that average eastbound travel times increased from 5min 39sec to 8min 14sec, while westbound travel times increased from 5min 48sec to 6min 27sec.
The study will reinforce critics’ complaints that Kensington and Chelsea City Council is institutionally hostile towards safer cycling plans, and London’s Cycling and Hiking Commissioner Will Norman previously accused it of “putting the comfort of drivers of automobiles on the lives of local residents “.
In 2019, the council unilaterally vetoed a separate flagship east-west cycle scheme amid a public consultation, citing complaints from 450 residents, or 0.3% of the district’s population.
Bike is Best submitted a Freedom of Information request asking how the council had formally assessed the success or otherwise of the Kensington High Street plan. The council responded: “No criteria or metrics were developed by which the scheme could be evaluated.”
The campaign group is pushing for municipalities to use data analysis to properly assess the effectiveness of bicycle infrastructure.
Adam Tranter, the founder of Bike is Best, who plays the role of Coventry’s Bicycle Mayor, said: “Active travel is probably one of the only modes that can be eliminated based on local opinion without data or research; You wouldn’t build a new highway and close it a month later because it didn’t seem like it was at full capacity. “
The Kensington High Street bike path was now “occupied by a handful of illegally and inconsiderately parked car drivers,” he said, adding: “The same councilors and residents who were up in arms by a bike path don’t seem too upset. that’s why. It was never about capacity, it was about something new that upset the status quo. “
A council spokesperson said it was examining alternative schemes, including so-called school streets and 20 mph zones.
He said: “Since the decision, we have received a letter signed by 25 neighborhood associations, representing 3,400 households, welcoming the decision to remove the lanes. We have received more than 1,300 emails from residents and 85% were against the bike lane. “
This updated total of 1,300 residents represents 0.8% of the municipality’s population.
