Legal Challenge On London Cycle Super Highway Could Affect CS9

Westminster Council to take judicial review citing concerns on congestion and air quality

Just weeks after it blocked the Mayor of London's plans for the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, Westminster City Council has stepped in with a legal challenge over Sadiq Khan's plans for the new Cycle Superhighway 11 (CS11) - also over residents' concerns. The Council is to seek a judicial review of the proposed highway from Swiss Cottage to the West End.

Westminster asserted that it supported the provision of safe cycling but stressed that residents were "overwhelmingly opposed" to the proposals, with particular concerns over the knock-on impact of congestion and air quality for nearby streets.

The news has left Chiswick groups opposed to the Cycle Superhighway 9 (CS9) in its current form wondering if a decision against the CS11 could have an impact on the controversial CS9 through Chiswick.

Although the consultation exercise into the scheme held by Transport for London (TfL) showed a majority of respondents in favour, TfL have refused to release a detailed breakdown of where the responses came from. They declined a Freedom of Information of request from ChiswickW4.com for this data. Opponents of the scheme believe that these numbers will show that a large proportion of people directly affected were against CS9 with the favourable majority being secured by support from outside the area.

Hammersmith Council is believed to favour the highway going along the A4 but it has not yet made its position clear. The Hammersmith & Fulham Labour Party election manifesto said, “We are lobbying the Mayor to run the CS9 cycle route down the A4, not King Street or Hammersmith Road.”

Chiswick Conservatives have opposed CS9 in its current design, while Hounslow Council has not yet revealed its definitive response, following its promise to make it known after the local elections.

While the issue of the CS9 has been put on the back burner locally in recent weeks, the news that Westminster Council will seek a judicial review of the local cycle superhighway be closely watched in Chiswick by those both for and against the project.

A 'walk' along Chiswick High Road, with TfL cycling 'commissioner' Will Norman, local MP Ruth Cadbury, and others, which was intended to view the site, was cancelled last week. Meanwhile Ruth Cadbury recently said that they should "get on with" the project.

In recent weeks, teams of people have been spotted apparently counting cyclists going along the High Road. TfL has said the final report on the scheme will have to address a number of issues including the impact on pedestrians particular outside the Catholic Church, access arrangements for side roads off Chiswick High Road, loading provisions for businesses and consideration of wider parking and traffic management measures if the scheme is implemented to deal with likely knock on impacts from the scheme.

Caroline Russell Green Party London Assembly member said this week that the Mayor was failing in his promise to get the cycle super highways built and that only 10km of cycle lanes have been built under his Mayoralty.

“The Mayor pledged to London Cycling Campaign (LCC) he would triple these protected cycle lanes but progress so far is painfully slow – 10km in two years isn’t anything to be proud of.

“To meet his pledge LCC calculate that the Mayor will have to build the six new routes he announced in January, as well as cycle superhighway 4, cycle superhighway 11 and cycle superhighway 9.”

June 23, 2018