Painted cycle lanes installed on Fulham Road amid 'terrible rate of casualties' in borough

Cycle lanes will be painted onto the west London road from November 6
Cycle lanes were installed on Kensington High Street in August
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
Miriam Burrell3 November 2023

Cycle lanes are to be painted onto Fulham Road, a busy thoroughfare in west London, but cyclists say physical barriers are needed to keep them safe.

Dashed white lines will be painted onto the major A-road that runs through Chelsea and Fulham from November 6 and is expected to take up to 10 nights to complete.

Cyclists have criticised Kensington and Chelsea Council for using the "advisory" lanes – which use a broken white line to indicate the lane but does not stop cars from entering – instead of physically-protected tracks.

Kensington and Chelsea Council promised the cycle lanes will "allow space for everyone" and the borough will become "safer", but the London Cycling Campaign said the lanes won't solve the "terrible rate of cycling casualties on their roads".

A spokesperson told the Standard: "The advisory cycle lanes on Fulham Road are a step in the right direction, but on an A-road with such a high volume of motor traffic, a dotted line in paint is nowhere near adequate to keep people cycling safe or to encourage new people to start cycling.

"We want to see these lanes upgraded as soon as possible with physical protection, such as bollards or wands.

"Kensington and Chelsea Council has a long way to go to tackle the terrible rate of cycling casualties on their roads, the worst in inner London, so in our view this work can’t start soon enough."

Work by the council's contractor will begin on November 6 and will take around 10 nights, between 9pm and 6am to minimise disruption.

Fulham Road will be open for the duration of the works. Minor traffic restrictions will be in place.

The cycle lanes on Fulham Road are being rolled out after a council consultation found that 71 per cent of survey respondents support or partially support the initiative.

Councillor Cem Kemahli, lead member planning and public realm, said: "This new painted cycle lane allows space for everyone who uses our roads as we aim to become a greener, safer and fairer borough.

"We’ve had a good introduction on Kensington High Street with a similar scheme, where there has been very little impact on traffic.

"As with any works, there may be some minor disruption while we get the paint on the ground, but the design has been created to strike the right balance between making room for cyclists and keeping Fulham Road moving."

The cycle lanes follow the council's efforts to improve safety at the junction of Beaufort Street, Drayton Gardens and Fulham Road.

New pedestrian crossings and advanced stop lines for cyclists on all four arms will be completed by mid-November, the council said.

Across London, a total of seven cyclists have been killed in 2023, six in road collisions.

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