The London Borough of Sutton is looking at the possibility of introducing a shared-use cycling/walking route along Green Wrythe Lane between Middleton Circle and Bishopsford Road. There is a school on the route the route is largely residential, but the road is busy and carries a bus route.
Sutton Living Streets has issued this reply:
“Thanks very much for consulting Sutton Living Streets about the Green Wrythe Lane – Shared pedestrian/cycle improvement scheme. We did check with our Living Streets Head Office and were directed to a statement issued by Tompion Platt, Head of Policy at Living Streets (LS). https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/who-we-are/press-media/should-cycling-be-allowed-on-the-pavement.
The statement said that Living Streets believes more people cycling is good for people walking and society more generally. LS agrees that whether on foot or on bike, by far the greatest threat is motor traffic. However, walking and cycling are two very different modes: mixing them together inappropriately can cause fear, anxiety and even serious injury.
The statement says that improving cycle safety and convenience should not diminish the safety and convenience of people walking. And any change to the street environment must take into account the accessibility needs of all kinds of users, including the blind and visually impaired.
“Local highway authorities shouldn’t be let off the hook from building good cycle infrastructure by simply pushing the conflict onto the footway,” the statement concluded.
In the light of this statement from our Head Office I think that we would not be able to support this proposal in its present form. But if the decision is taken to go ahead with the scheme perhaps signs asking cyclists to be aware of pedestrians would be a good idea.”
A draft plan of the proposals is shown here: green-wrythe-lane-t30108-dd-01
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