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Waltham Forest Mini Holland scheme the first to break ground - and it's ahead of scheduleOrford Road visualisation

Waltham Forest Mini Holland scheme the first to break ground - and it's ahead of schedule

But other schemes under threat
by Laura Laker
Fri, May 08, 2015 09:55
9

Waltham Forest is the first of London's three £30m Mini Holland schemes to break ground, with work running ahead of schedule in its "massively ambitious" scheme that campaigners are calling a triumph of political will.

The news comes as the two other Mini Hollands, Kingston and Enfield, intended to showcase Dutch-inspired schemes to reduce motor traffic in outer London, have yet to get out the spades, with Enfield looking likely to see dramatically watered down designs.

Waltham Forest council divided opinion last year with trial road closures before a successful public engagement programme got local businesses and residents on side by promoting the scheme as benefiting everyone, not just cyclists. Two residential roads have now been closed off to motor traffic since work on the 'village' scheme started in March, while work to close high street Orford Road to all motor traffic except for one bus route, is running ahead of schedule.

Paul Gasson, of Waltham Forest Cyclists, said: "All in all I'm pretty pleased with the way the council has responded. There is a feeling that most people want to see safer, quieter streets and that is what we are going to get in the village - there is going to be less through traffic.

"Already I am seeing a huge reduction in traffic volume and speed and there's only two road closures in place."

Gasson said after early "ramshackle" consultation the North East London council has made significant in-roads.

He said: "They are making clear the benefits for the whole community, not just for cycling, saying it is going to be much quieter, much more pleasant for everyone."

Gasson praised councillors' political leadership and council officers' commitment to the scheme, as well as a popular microsite providing information on the scheme.

He said: "This has got the money, it's got the vision to deliver something radical and different and [Waltham Forest] are going to deliver what we bid for. I think it is a different political situation from other boroughs, which means the vision has a chance of working."

In the Walthamstow village scheme two residential streets, East Avenue and West Avenue, are now closed to through traffic, while work has started on re-paving shopping street Orford Road, which will be closed 10am-10pm to all traffic except one local bus, cycles and pedestrians.

Work has also started on Ruckholt Road, a junction scheme where pavements have been widened to create a large green space and segregated cycle routes will be installed with bus stop bypasses.

Ruckholt Road Mini Holland improvements

Bike hangars have started appearing, and speed cushions are being replaced with 'sinusoidal' sleeping policemen to prevent the problem of speeding rat runners. Half of the £30m will be spent within a mile of Walthamstow Central, a station at the Northern end of the Victoria line.

A council spokesman said he is unable to comment in detail due to the election but provided details of work carried out and said: "We are very proud to be the first of the three boroughs to break ground on a Mini Holland project."

Thanks to the scheme's success council officers from Waltham Forest are now apparently being head hunted to join TfL's superhighways scheme.

Consultation opens soon on Waltham Forest's own segregated superhighway along Lea Bridge Road, where two cyclists were seriously injured within days of one another last year. Council officers want to trump TfL's superhighways, something Gasson believes they will acheive.

In the other two Mini Holland schemes things look less promising. Enfield council only held its first consultation on the scheme in February, with no work planned for this year and the original scheme looking likely to be watered down amid business concerns a loss of parking will harm trade. In Kingston upon Thames, the Portsmouth Road scheme, which was originally watered down from a segregated two-way route to a painted white line, looks to have been improved dramatically with 60% support of the scheme, to feature kerb and armadillo segregation, but work is not due to start until the end of the year.

Three successful Mini Holland bids were awarded £30m in March 2014 with the most ambitious bids getting the Mayor and cycling commissioner, Andrew Gilligan's attention.

Walthamstow
Mini Hollands
London
cycle infrastructure
Laura Laker

Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.

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9 comments

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PsiMonk | 9 years ago
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Lukas, I'm more than happy to meet Haringey CC people and see if we can work out a way to push them. I know Hackney would also. And I'm pretty sure there's a bunch of other people. I've already met with one other borough CC on exactly this issue - winning over officers and engineers to "filtered permeability".

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captain_slog | 9 years ago
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Quote:

'sinusoidal' sleeping policemen

Does that mean they sound like they're holding their nose?

Whatever, they've got to be better than speed cushions, which are the instrument of Satan.

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alotronic | 9 years ago
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PsiMonk - I suspect you are Simon of family cycling day fame?! You will know exactly what I mean when I say that really all I want is a safe way for parents to get their kids on bikes to Coppermill Lane. I am well used to riding around the hood as a commuter, but as a parent my heart-rate goes through the roof as 'quiet road' and 'rat run' are currently synonyms!

I was pleased with the way the council dug itself back out of it's poor start. Like you say, devil in details, but good work - and thanks for you part in it.

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PsiMonk replied to alotronic | 9 years ago
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Alatronic, Paul helps run the Walthamstow Family Bike Club. I can annoyingly rarely make it with mine - we're normally off mountain biking or (shhh) driving somewhere or whatever. So I doubt that is me. If anything, rather than famous, I'm becoming infamous locally as "that guy from the cycling campaign who's constantly on social media chipping in on the endless mini-Holland debates"!

Coppermill Lane is due to be part of the QuietWay and it's also on the key High Street Ward #Space4Cycling ask, as well as being on the Wetland2Wetland route. So it should definitely see some improvements. But quite how we deal with the Thames Water lorries and vehicles is the big issue.

And please consider getting involved with the WFCC. More hands the better we can do, basically.

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Rome73 | 9 years ago
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Can anyone come to Haringey and sort something?
Haringey worships the rat run. Any attempt by residents or the local cycle campaign group to get something done about the huge amount of rat running in the borough is met with indifference, incompetence and lies.

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PsiMonk | 9 years ago
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gussieboy. Yes, in short. Longer answer:

The Waltham Forest mini-Holland bid is combined of four elements:

1. "Villages" - these take the residential streets across around a square mile of central Walthamstow and cut ratrunning/through traffic with road closures etc. - like Hackney, only much more and faster arrival. The villages stretch from Lea Bridge Road to Forest Road/Markhouse and Blackhorse Roads to Wood Street.

2. Main roads - Lea Bridge Road is the flagship scheme. But Ruckholt Road, Forest Road, Markhouse Road, Blackhorse Road, Selbourne Road, Hoe Street and others are due to get proper treatments also.

How much of this is full segregation, how much semi-segregation etc. remains to be seen. But the cycling campaign and council team are generally in agreement on the principles - all-ages/all-abilities, must feel safe, junctions dealt with as well as straights.

In terms of junctions, that may well include innovative stuff like all-green scrambles, Copenhagen-style "blended" crossings, "Cycle Separated Junctions" etc. A lot depends of TfL approval, bus lane widths and all that kind of finicky stuff. But initial stuff on Hoe Street (a short bit completed early), Ruckholt Road and Selbourne Road are good. A bit on Blackhorse Road less good - but with potential workarounds (and also arrived early from section 106 funding, rather than main mini-Holland funding).

3. Key routes - beyond the villages and main roads, key routes will stretch to join Walthamstow to Leyton, Leytonstone, Highams Park and Chingford. Again, we'll likely see semi-segregation on main roads, closures on quiet routes and other measures. Again, the detail to come, but council officers and campaigners so far working together. We wait and see...

4. Complimentary measures - massive secure parking hubs at rail and tube stations, loads of stands anywhere cyclists might want to stop, bike "hangars" on residential streets for people who live in flats to park bikes etc.

5. On top of those, we're also going to have a QuietWay running from central Walthamstow through Hackney and on to Bloomsbury. Initial drawings/designs were woefully unquiet. But there are some signs this is being dealt with.

Together, that means people will be able to get bike out of front door, ride to shops, tube, hospital etc. through quietened "villages" and across/along safe-feeling main roads.

We're seeing lots of pushback and worry from some residents (particularly elderly/vulnerable/carers and professional drivers), but the council and campaign are actually working well together to bring people on board, hear their concerns and explain the plans. So far, so good. But a long way to go yet...

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PsiMonk | 9 years ago
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Alongside Paul, I'm one of two "Council Liaison Officers" for the Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign.

Couple of points on this:

1. Lea Bridge Road - we believe there were five seriously injured cyclists within one week. It's the most popular and dangerous road for cyclists in the borough.

2. If you want to see all the schemes in more detail, hit up the council's microsite. And get in touch with the campaign - we need more support to ensure these schemes go through!

Cheers,

Simon Munk

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gussieboy replied to PsiMonk | 9 years ago
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Forest Road was twice my nemesis when I lived in Walthamstow, a left hook going down the hill before Lloyd Park and a right hook outside Walthamstow College. Any plans for this road?

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alotronic | 9 years ago
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I live there and all I can say is - hooray!

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