B&D Cycle Benchmarking - tour of borough

I went to one of the two days of the benchmarking exercise at B&D council. Nick Davies (Cycling Officer) was in the chair and cycling officers or similar from neighbouring LBs were there, along with facilitators from CTC.

Nick had planned a ride to look at several aspects of cycle routes in B&D. We didn't see them all, owing to pressure of time:

1. A13 underpass (to Charlton Crescent, TVE). Demonstrates the severance shown by the A13 and efforts to make this crossing more attractive (A13 Artscape project).

2. Thames View School Access. We didn't visit this path. Nick says more work is needed.

3. Maplestead Road. This road joins Goresbrook Road to Lodge Avenue, but was pedestrianised in a cycle-unfriendly way. Fixing this had some momentum from the CRIM/CRISP in 2003 and Nick has now drawn a design to allow cyclists through and improve the route parallel to the A13 in the doing.

4. Goresbrook Road shared unsegregated path. The stretch from Gale Street to Dagenham Ave was completed in April 07 and this is currently being extended to Goresbrook Park. B&D council has chosen an off-road solution on the grounds that the Ambulance Service's objections to extending the 20mph zone could not be overcome. Off-road routes are also popular with local schools.

5. Chequers (Heathway / Ripple Road / New Road / Chequers Lane junction). Detrunked when the new A13 was opened east of Goresbrook interchange ("Madonna's Bra" location) this junction has lost its dreadful subway and accessibility will be improved by adding Toucan crossings. Currently at the drawing stage. (Action point from CRIM/CRISP)

6. Old Dagenham Park. New path across park (N-S) in place; funded by Cycling on Greenways.

7. Ballards Road. Funding has been secured through the LIP for the Local Cycle Network to gain a toucan crossing from Old Dagenham Park to The Leys across the road, which itself should get a Cycling on Greenways type route.

8. Salisbury Avenue / Upney Lane. Funding was withdrawn from this project as it is not on the LCN+. It now won't get the Toucan crossing suggested by the CRIM/CRISP back in 2003; some jiggery pokery will take place to connect the cycle track with the Toucan, whereon cyclists are intended to cross as pedestrians. (The plug that was here originally predates my time as a cycle campaigner, dating from the 1980s I think. My main issue with that was the left turn being too sharp. The whole thing has turned into an overblown infrastructure project which has had to be toned down for want of the usual £. Back when the plug was first put in they could have just whacked in a couple of bollards and job done.)

9. London Road. In a classic piece of unjoined up thinking (to be kind) or official vandalism, the cycle lanes here were deleted in favour of car parking. Nice one. Nick put in a lane inside the car parking bays in August 07. Well done to Nick but a waste of time and £ overall. We didn't visit the location.