More than 1,000 people sign petition against cycle lane plans in Rosendale Road, West Dulwich
Residents say they have been made to feel “small-fry” by a town hall after more than 1,000 people signed a petition against plans for a cycle lane.
Locals say they were not properly consulted about the planned changes in the Rosendale Road area in West Dulwich, although Lambeth council has ended its consultation period.
Residents on the cycle lane side say they have fears about cyclists’ safety as it will be directly outside their driveways.
Business owners in the road and in the surrounding area are also worried about their customers’ parking spaces being removed to make way for the cycle lane.
“No one collects their Christmas turkey by bike,” said Penny Fitzpatrick who runs Scotch Meats Stores, a butchers shop in Rosendale Road.
“We’re a family business that’s been here since 1976 and customers come from far and wide in their cars. We have a lot of elderly and disabled customers. We think it’s discriminatory to them.
“There’s 12 family businesses here who are concerned because there’s no parking for customers which would be a great detriment to our business.”
Penny led the petition for the council to rethink its plans and took 769 signatures to Lambeth Town Hall on February 28 before the consultation period closed.
On Lambeth council’s e-petition portal there were more than 299 signatures, taking the total of opponents past the 1,000 mark.
Penny added: “Lots of people in the area were not even aware of what’s happening until we went round with the petition.
“We don’t have a problem with a cycle lane but we feel Lambeth council could come down, consult with us properly and tweak their plan. It could help to reduce costs.”
The plans form part of Lambeth council’s project to build a 4km-long cycle lane from Gypsy Hill to Herne Hill.
The petition said residents of Lovelace Road, which connects to Rosendale Road, did not receive any consultation letters from the council and management of Turney School, a special needs school in Turney Road which feeds into Rosendale Road, were not informed.
Keith Waldegrave, a Rosendale Road resident, said: “The consultation process as a whole has been shambolic and incompetent.
“Residents with off-street parking will have to cross the pavement and two opposing lanes of cycle traffic before gaining access to the road.
“Hazardous enough in daylight but extremely dangerous at night and in adverse weather conditions.”
A Lambeth council spokesman said: “Our plans for a healthy route from Gipsy Hill right up to Brockwell Park will make the area much safer for people walking and cycling, with 11 zebra crossings along the route and much safer junctions to enable people to move about the area much more safely.
“It will also link the community with their local amenities, such as schools, workplaces, the park, and shops in a much safer fashion, whilst encouraging people to travel actively and increase tree canopy cover with the planting of an additional 35 trees.
“A huge amount of work has gone into developing the proposals and a great deal of engagement with the local community continues to be had, including holding drop-in sessions for residents to attend, ask questions and let us know their views.
“Following the closure of the engagement period, the proposals will be progressed to the detailed design stage, after which there will be a statutory consultation.
“We would encourage all businesses, residents and people who use the streets in the area to have their say.”
This is a very unbalanced story. You have not represented the other side at all. There is huge support in the area for these proposals, which will make Rosendale Road hugely more attractive to families getting to school and nursery, or just visiting local shops by walking and cycling. We are living in an unprecedented age of climate change, where air pollution is the biggest global environmental and health risk for us all. 57 parking spaces will be lost across TWO KILOMETRES of road here. Parking IS NOT DISAPPEARING. The council visited every business. It’s outrageous that residents with off street parking are raising objections to this based on the fact that they have to cross a pavement and a cycle lane. Do they not have eyes in their heads? We all need to do our bit and prioritise children and the elderly’s health over car driving. There is a huge amount of evidence out there about improved cycling and walking provision INCREASING trade at local businesses. These people opposing a cycle lane – who say they aren’t yet don’t propose an alternative and are clearly just scared of the status quo changing – need to examine their behaviour and think about the future. Let’s make the world better, not prioritise cars over children and the vulnerable.
I live in this area and think we need to make it much safer for walking and cycling. Rosendale Road is very wide and there is plenty of room for a cycling lane. At the moment it is not safe to cycle on as cars speed past and close pass cyclists. There is no safe space for children to cycle.
I find the objections disingenuous: they say they don’t have a problem with a cycle lane, and yet are objecting. One objection in your article above states: “Residents with off-street parking will have to cross the pavement and two opposing lanes of cycle traffic before gaining access to the road” – yet they already have to cross the pavement and you’d hope they were already looking both ways and out for cyclists when they exited from their driveways.
I’m suspicious of 1000 signatures. Surely this is mostly people signing on paper to be polite – it’s interesting that there are no way near as many online signatures (and have you accounted for people signing both online and on paper).
This article is a joke. Barely any parking is being removed from outside local businesses and the consultation process has been ongoing since 2015.
Remember when children used to play in the street? That can happen again if we choose to support schemes like this.
http://bit.ly/RosdendalePetitionMyths
What a hack job article. My mum has been hit-and-run by a motorist while on her bike on this road. You don’t think to present the facts about the safety of schoolkids and residents at all, whether from dangerous motorists or poison fumes. Our right to go to-and-fro without breathing in toxic particulates or being flattened by drivers trumps the entitlement to free on-street vehicle storage.
What a pity you didn’t take the time to engage with community members such as the children who’ll have a safe route from schools to the Rosendale playing fields. As for Scotch Meats I know that’s a load of hokum as I pick up bits from there all the time. What a let down.
It is unrealistic to think that anyone is going to abandon the car. The provision of the cycle lanes we have already seen has made travelling fraught with danger. We all know how diligent cyclists are about observing traffic regulations. Any bus or car journey will show that the average cyclist denies the existence of traffic lights or zebra crossing, and these include those who insist on carrying around young children in flimsy baskets, attached to bikes. Cars and bikes don’t mix. It is madness to try to accommodate both on heavy traffic routes.
‘Cars and bikes don’t mix.’ I agree. So separate them using segregated cycle lanes.
this scheme will cause loss of parking i don’t like the idea
I watched an accident this morning on Rosendale Road, a child crossing from Brockwell park to go up Rosendale. Due to the mess of a junction and appalling sightlines caused by so many busses and street furniture, the poor kid cycled out over the crossing between two narrowly spaced busses. The car going the other way, was trying to negotiate contraflow roadworks, bike lanes and a congested junction, and wasn’t able to react as the bike shot out in front of him. This is not the cars fault, its not the Childs fault. This is a combination of factors, but point being this junction is a mess and simply not safe for pedestrians or cyclists despite being redesigned with them in mind. The council need to do better. This accident was their fault with their slapdash and poorly conceived plans. We all need to move around this city better, but right now the council are not approaching this in a consistent and intuitive manner.