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Motor traffic could be banned from Royal ParksRichmond Park (via StreetView)

Motor traffic could be banned from Royal Parks

Park roads are “not for commuters travelling through the parks”
by Alex Bowden
Sat, Jun 08, 2019 15:44
11

Cars could be banned from London’s Royal Parks as part of a new movement strategy. The Royal Parks charity says that growing congestion, deteriorating air quality and lack of access to high quality open space has encouraged it to set out proposals to try and reduce the impact of motor traffic.

“Our park roads are not intended to be commuter through-routes for motor vehicles,” states one of the ‘movement principles’ within the document. “Park roads are primarily for the use of park visitors coming to the parks, not for commuters travelling through the parks. Over time, we will discourage the through-movement of motor vehicles within our parks.”

The London Evening Standard reports that options up for consideration range from speed humps and speed restrictions to full closure of roads. Proposals are due to be finalised by December.

Mat Bonomi, head of transport for the Royal Parks, said: “London’s population is projected to grow to 10 million residents by 2035 so more and more people are going to be using our parks to seek refuge from the busy city. We need to be prepared for this.”

The eight Royal Parks are Hyde Park, Regent's Park, Green Park, Kensington Gardens, Richmond Park, Greenwich Park, St James' Park and Bushy Park.

Last month, an unelected Georgian quango that manages certain roads in and around the Regent’s Park was accused of failing in its duty to ensure public safety by prioritising rat-running motor traffic over park users by keeping park gates open at rush hour.

Regent’s Park’s Outer Circle currently sees three times more collisions than the central London average, but the Crown Estate Paving Commission (CEPC) keeps gates open from 7am to midnight.

London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, said: “Closing the gates would save lives. It would mean less collisions, less pollution in the park. It would give Londoners a safe route to get to work or to see their family. It would mean Regent’s Park becomes a park again, as it was originally intended by John Nash when he designed it.

“He would be horrified if he knew what the park had become – a dangerous cut through for impatient drivers to get into central London a few minutes faster in their cars.”

Royal Parks
Regent's Park
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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11 comments

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Cyclax Maximus | 5 years ago
0 likes

I couldn't agree more. I use Richmond Park a lot, and my beef is with rat runners, especially from Kingston gate to Richmond gate. They try to overtake you when you are already doing 20 MPH, and the speed limit is 20 MPH anyway! WTF?

Which normally means as the impatient fucks are overtaking you, they're sometimes heading for cyclists riding in the opposite direction. Which can be quite daunting.

A good idea I think would be to impose a scheme where cars collect a timed ticket from a gate, then for example if they leave by  another gate within a small time gap, that will prove they've been rat running. Hammer the fuckers. If it's over 30 minutes say; then no charge.

I have absolutely no problem with people coming in and enjoying the park, for family walks, picnics etc.  But on sunny days and bank holidays, the place comes to a stand still.

My belief is as a cyclist, and yes I also drive a car, is that I should be able to go somewhere to enjoy my cycling in a quiet environment. Too much to ask?

Yes very healthy, noxious gases venting into the atmosphere. And that's just the car drivers...

Avatar
kingleo | 5 years ago
1 like

I look forward to the day when Richmond park is made the same as Windsor great park - no public motor traffic and no car parks.

Avatar
Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
1 like

I was stopped and fined £60 by two police officers who watched me stray unwittingly from a path you are allowed to cycle on in Hyde Park to one you are not....all whilst ex-journalists sniff cocaine streets away!

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Chris Hayes | 5 years ago
3 likes

Chris Hayes wrote:

I was stopped and fined £60 by two police officers who watched me stray unwittingly from a path you are allowed to cycle on in Hyde Park to one you are not....all whilst ex-journalists sniff cocaine streets away!

Sounds like you need to keep within the white lines.

Avatar
CanAmSteve | 5 years ago
1 like

You know what's funny? It is illegal to cycle into Kensington Gardens at Orme Gate (toward the Orangery) but it is perfectly OK to drive a vehicle (including large trucks) through.

That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the Royal Parks and how much they care about ordinary people. Watch out for the horse poop!

Avatar
MrGear | 5 years ago
6 likes

I've thought for some years that it would be beneficial to bollard the roads in Richmond park so cars can only access the carpark closest to the gate they have entered by. This would massively reduce the number of people cutting through the park as a rat run.

Then, narrow the remaining roads for motor vehicles and create well surfaced segregated cycle paths in those areas, and voilà! Problems solved.

Avatar
dassie | 5 years ago
1 like

Just do it!

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mitchibob | 5 years ago
3 likes

Richmond Park was SO much nicer the other week when Kingston Gate was closed to traffic.  Wish that could be a regular thing.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to mitchibob | 5 years ago
0 likes

mitchibob wrote:

Richmond Park was SO much nicer the other week when Kingston Gate was closed to traffic.  Wish that could be a regular thing.

 

It _is_ a regular thing.  Unfortunately, only after sunset!

Avatar
cycle.london | 5 years ago
3 likes

This won't happen in Greenwich Park, either.   In 2017, I had a driver deliberately try to run me off the road when I was climbing the Avenue, and when I yelled, he pointed to the left. 

When I asked Royal Parks if they intended to ban motor traffic, and they replied that they didn't, since my complaint was the only one that they had received.

This was about the time that they were seeking to ban cyclists from part of Bushy Park after complaints, so I made a FOI request, asking them how many complaints had been made.

Two.

Avatar
Zebulebu | 5 years ago
6 likes

Zero chance this will happen round Regents Park. The Good Rich Folk Of Swiss Cottage and Hampstead won't allow it. What's more likely to happen instead is speed humps, which will ruin the route for cyclists and not make any difference to the volume of traffic

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