Wednesday 18th August. A Mostly grey but dry day, after 1 cancellation, saw 10 Cyclists in 1 group, leave via Kingston Bridge, Bushy Park, Hampton, Hanworth, Sunbury, Ashford, Staines, Hythe End to Wraysbury, with a a few false starts to find the best view of the Windmill (Photo) before lunch at the very hospitable Perseverance, with a speedy delivery of our pre-ordered food :-), Poyle, Stanwell Moor, the much improved Cycle path in Stanwell, Bedfont, Feltham, Leitrim Park, Crane River, to Kneller Gdns for Tea & Refreshments, Strawberry hill, Teddington, Hampton Wick, Kingston Bridge to finish. Total 30 Miles. Thanks to Mike for back marking.
Wednesday 11th August. A Bright Evening, after 1 cancellation saw a Bakers Dozen (13) Cyclists in 1 group leave via the new Station Bridge, London Rd Track, Norbiton, Kingston gate Richmond Park, the Tamsin Trail, Petersham gate, Ham House, Thames towpath, Teddington Footbridge, Teddington to the very hospitable Lion for refreshments, with a brand new feature- Hampton Wick, Kingston Bridge to finish back at the start. Total 10 Miles, 4, yes Four new faces, thanks to John E for back marking, thanks to Jon W for marking corners.
Our new feature; enjoy a Swing with John, predicted to come to TV screens very soon. Roger
Sunday 8th August. A Drizzly Morning, with 1 or 2 heavier showers & A drier Afternoon, until just before Tea, with 2 cancellations & 2 no shows, saw 17 Cyclists, gather at the Fountain Roundabout, split into 3 groups, -alas, group 3 had navigational issues, so group 2 agreed to wait, then continue as a ‘Super group’-, leave via Motspur park, North Cheam, West Sutton, Carshalton Beeches, Oaks Park, with 2 more Cyclists joining group 2, Woodmansterne, Coulsdon, Farthing Down, Chaldon, Brewer Street, Bletchingley, to Godstone, – but what’s this, no Pub, a Farm ? But wait, ahh, now I see, we have a Brewery attached, with possibly the biggest Pub Garden anywhere, the Flower Farm also has a superb Farm shop, if only I’d brought the Trailer 😉, then the delightful Woldingham Valley (Photo group 1)
Group 2 & 3 Super group, after lunch, Flower Farm: BaiGroup 1 with somewhat boisterous cattle, Woldingham: Lindsay
Manor Park, Whyteleafe, Kenley, South Croydon, Duppas Hill, Beddington, – with a sudden heavy Shower -, to Beddington Park for Tea & Bread pudding, Hackbridge, the Wrythe, Benhill, Sutton, North Cheam, Motspur park, to finish back in New Malden. Total 40 Miles, 1 new face, special thanks to Bai & Carl for group leading, thanks to Mike F, John E & Amy for back marking duties, thanks to John D for the BP.
Sunday 25th July. A mostly dark day, with 1 light shower in the Morning, a few rumbles of Thunder & light Drizzle as we approached Tea, with steady Rain for the last part, saw 18 Cyclists split into 2 groups, leave via Kingston Bridge, Bushy Park, Fulwell, Twickenham, Whitton, Isleworth, Osterley Park, Norwood Green, (Photo’s), Southall, Northala Field to Northolt for an al-fresco lunch at ‘the Crown’, (Sizzle Pubs), Greenford, Hanwell, West Ealing, South Ealing, Brentford to Syon Park for Tea & Bread pudding,, at the newly opened Garden centre, Isleworth -with a short dismount section due to Roadworks-, St Margerets, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, Hampton Wick, Kingston Bridge to finish. 30 Miles, 1 new face, Special thanks to Bai for leading group 2, thanks to Ralph & Toni for back marking duties, thanks to John D for the BP.
Wednesday 21st July, A hot Sultry day saw 9 Cyclists leave via Portsmouth Rd, Thames Ditton, Molesey, Walton, Weybridge, Addlestone, Bretlands, Lyne to Thorpe Green for lunch at the ‘Rose & Crown’ (Barons Pubs), Virginia Water village & Lake, Totem Pole (Photos),
Totem Pole fenced off, awaiting restoration
Egham Wick, Egham, Staines Bridge, – with the Back marker suffering a broken gear cable, hence a deputy Tail ender took the rear-, Staines, Thames Towpath past Penton Hook, Laleham, Shepperton, to Sunbury for Tea & Refreshments at the Walled garden, Hampton, Bushy Park, Hampton Wick Kingston Bridge to finish. Total 36 Miles.
A warm bright Evening saw 8 Cyclists, in 1 group leave via Lower Marsh, Berrylands, New Malden, Old Malden, Auriol Park- with loose Dogs, & ‘trainee Cyclists’ almost bringing the leader to his knees-, Stoneleigh, Nonsuch Park, East Ewell to Ewell village for refreshments at the very welcoming ‘Wheatsheaf’, West Ewell, a short bit of Hogsmill Path, Tolworth, Surbiton, to finish back in Kingston. Total 13 Miles, thanks to John E for back marking.
Sunday 11th July. A surprisingly Sunny Morning, with more Cloud later, after 2 late cancellations, 1 no show & with 1 surprise guest saw 20 Cyclists in 2 groups leave via Kingston Bridge, Bushy Park, Fulwell, River Crane path, Whitton, Hounslow Heath, West Hounslow, Cranford, Harlington, Sipson to Harmondsworth for lunch at the ‘Crown’ with a few electing for the ‘Five Bells’, also stopping to admire the ‘Great Barn‘, (Photo group 2),
Group 2 with the Great Barn, Harmondsworth: Bai Kamara
then Harmondsworth Moor (with a few ‘slippery patches’), Poyle, Stanwell moor, Stanwell -with new Cycle path 🙂-, Ashford, Feltham, Hanworth, Hampton to Bushy Park (Photo group 1),
Group 1 with a few Deer in the background, Bushy Park: Lindsay Webster
for Tea & Bread pudding at the Pheasantry, Hampton Wick, Kingston Bridge to finish. 29 Miles, special thanks to Bai for leading group 2, thanks to John E & Mike F for back marking each group, Special thanks to Christine for the gorgeous Bread pudding.
Kingston Council ran a Borough wide consultation in early January/February 2020 proposing to make the Borough’s roads safer by introducing a 20mph speed limit on all residential roads. Due to Covid, the outcome from the consultation was delayed and has only recently reached Kingston’s four neighbourhood committees.
Whilst many have been focussing on the Euros championship in the past couple of weeks, we’ve instead been closely following the result of the neighbourhood committees and how they have voted on the further roll-out (or otherwise) of 20mph limits in their area. We’ve set out below what has been decided and what might happen next but before we kick-off, a quick reminder of why the Council wanted to introduce 20mph speed limits:
There are three main reasons why the council feels 20mph would be great for our roads:
Improved air quality: by lowering and evening out acceleration.
Fewer casualties: lower speeds give drivers and others more time to react.
Better health: more people walk and cycle, as they feel safer.
There is also evidence from other areas of the UK that shows a reduction in average speeds when area-wide 20mph is introduced, even if there is no enforcement or traffic calming measures in place.
What’s been decided?
Kingston Town Neighbourhood (Tudor, Canbury, Grove, Norbiton wards) – decided to introduce 20mph limits on a handful of additional roads near Sainsburys (Sury Basin). Prior to the final vote, an amendment was proposed by Cllr Wehring and seconded by Cllr Tolley. This amendment would have extended 20mph limits to a number of additional roads (Portsmouth Road, Queen Elizabeth Road, Cromwell Road, Wood Street, Horse Fair, Tudor Drive, Coombe Road (junction with Wolverton Ave to London Road)). However, the amendment fell after the vote was split evenly (plus one abstention) with the chair of the committee making the casting vote to block the amendment. The committee also agreed that residents may be consulted in the future (on an undetermined timeframe) if they would like 20mph limits on their roads (which roads these might be is not specified…). KCC Summary – Kingston Town started at the top of the table (currently 70% of roads have 20mph limits in the neighbourhood) but will be overtaken by Surbiton’s plans (see below). Losing the amendment after extra time means Kingston Town goes home with little to show for it despite some excellent shots on target by some of the Councillors present.
Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood (Coombe Hill, Coombe Vale, St James, Beverley wards) – Disappointingly there will be no immediate extension of 20mph limits anywhere in the Maldens & Coombe neighbourhood. Though again, residents on specific roads (unnamed) will be consulted in the future (no specific timeframes) on whether they would like 20mph limits on their roads. KCC Summary – nothing can hide the disappointing result from this committee – there were few attempts on the target (of making roads in the neighbourhood safer) here with supporters leaving before the final result as it seemed to be clear that a win wasn’t going to be forthcoming this night.
South of the Borough Neighbourhood (Tolworth & Hook Rise, Chessington North & Hook, Chessington South wards) – As with Maldens & Coombe, there will be no immediate extension of 20mph limits on roads fully within the South of the Borough despite only 36% of the neighbourhood’s roads currently having 20mph limits. However, the committee voted to commit highways officers to investigate reducing the speed limit on roads which currently have speed limits in excess of 30mph in the neighbourhood. This means that part of Jubilee Way could reduce from 40mph to 30mph and parts of Rushett and Fairoak Lanes could reduce from 60mph (the only 60mph roads anywhere in the Borough!) to 40mph. In addition, the committee voted to allow Red Lion Road and Herne Road (and, by implication, Thornhill Road) which are shared with Surbiton neighbourhood, to change to 20mph if Surbiton neighbourhood voted for this (which they did). The neighbourhood has also committed to consult (without specified timeframes) with specific roads (which, spot the theme, are unnamed) in the future on whether they would like 20mph limits introduced. KCC Summary – again, a disappointing result but with a small silver lining of following Surbiton’s decision on moving to 20mph shared roads and looking into reducing the speed limit on roads with a limit of 40mph or above in the neighbourhood. Room for improvement in future outings.
Surbiton Neighbourhood(Alexandra, Berrylands, St Marks, Surbiton Hill wards) – After an amendment proposed by Cllr Sumner and seconded by Cllr Green, Surbiton neighbourhood committee voted unanimously to introduce a 20mph speed limit on ALL Borough controlled roads within the neighbourhood boundary. Highways officers have also been asked by the committee to ask Transport for London to consider lowering the speed limit on the A240 as well as the A3 slip roads which are in TfL’s control (the A3 itself wasn’t included in this request). KCC Summary – full roll out with unanimous support, clearly had eyes focussed on the goal (of safer streets) resulting in being the standout neighbourhood champions. All Surbiton neighbourhood Councillors should be proud of the part they played in the result. Other neighbourhoods look on at what might have been.
Existing 20mph limt on Wheatfield Way in Kingston Town neighbourhood. Introduced as part of the Go Cycle improvements.
What’s next?
Surbiton neighbourhood is clearly leading the way in introducing comprehensive 20mph limits in the Borough by committing to rolling out this limit to all of the roads controlled by the Borough in its area. Traffic orders will now need to be prepared by highways officers and it is likely these will go to committee again in September for final approval. We’d hope the 20mph limits could then roll out by early 2022. This is also the likely process for the handful of roads in Kingston Town that are proposed to move to 20mph. The timings for a review of the roads in South of the Borough which currently have a speed limit of more than 30mph is uncertain.
What about roads which are not going to be 20mph? Well, this is where it gets very unclear. None of the (non-Surbiton) committees discussed this in detail though it was mentioned in one committee that residents could create petitions for their roads to move to 20mph. The problem with petitions for this are:
that it will require residents to be organised and know about the ability to petition for safer streets
it will require time to be scheduled at a neighbourhood committee to discuss the petition
it will require a traffic order for each set of proposals agreed
is more expensive than making a wider 20mph limit (as officer time will be required to assess each petition and the roads contained with the petition, more traffic orders are likely to be required and additional boundary signage will also be needed)
Unfortunately Transport for London is currently in the middle of cut-backs and has reduced grants to local Councils (including Kingston). Kingston Council also does not have a strong track record of investing additional sums in Healthy Streets initiatives beyond those given to it in grants from Transport for London or from funds from developers. This means that any future extension of 20mph limits beyond those agreed in recent Committees could be some time away.
Kingston Cycling Campaign is a strong believer in 20mph limits being an important step in creating safer roads and we will therefore continue to campaign for the rest of the Borough’s roads to move to 20mph. As per the consultation documents, 20mph roads are safer (lower speeds reduce the number of collisions and when collisions do happen their severity is reduced too), they encourage more people to walk and cycle and can also reduce air pollution as less acceleration/braking is required.
All local Councillors were given the opportunity to vote on the roll-out of 20mph limits in their neighbourhood. If you therefore share our disappointment in the outcome of the 20mph consultation in three of the neighbourhoods (or if you live in Surbiton neighbourhood and want to congratulate someone!), why not let your local Councillor know?
How to find out more about 20mph
Transport for London map showing all the speed limits in London. This shows the widespread 20mph roads (green) in neighbouring Richmond, Merton and Wandsworth. Kingston shows lots of blue (30mph) roads. Only the roads in Surbiton neighbourhood are likely to have significant changes on this map for the Borough of Kingston in the next 12 months.
20sPlenty website – want to find out more about the benefits of 20mph limits – here’s the site!
Kingston Council 20mph consultation – want to find out more about the original Borough consultation together with maps of all the collisions resulting in injuries on Kingston’s roads in a 5 year period – this is where you’ll find them.
Current Kingston 20mph speed limit map – want to see which roads are currently in 20mph and what the average speed of vehicles on roads near you are, helpfully, Kingston Council has the map for you.
Malden and Coombe – map of all collisions causing injuries (and deaths) in a 5 year period on the local road network. The cluster of injuries (and deaths) on main roads show why 20mph limits are required on all roads in the Borough
Simon Sinclair and friend Sam are soon setting off on an epic bike ride raising awareness of oil extraction in Surrey and inspiring people to cycle as they go. We asked Simon some questions to find out more:
Sam riding an earlier tour
Hello Simon. What’s this challenge then?
My friend Sam and I will be cycling from Kingston to Barcelona on Saturday 3rd July. We’ve given ourselves a month to complete the trip, and we plan to do around 50 miles a day (with the occasional day-off, of course). We are expecting it to be pretty tough, what with the heat and mountainous terrain!
What causes are you promoting?
So we have two related causes. The first is to raise awareness of oil and gas exploration in Surrey, which most residents aren’t aware of, and to raise money for the legal challenge against the permission to extract oil from the site at Horse Hill (Horley, Surrey) for the next 20 years. A good overview of this challenge can be found here.
The second is a general promotion of cycling; we’d love to inspire more people to take up cycling for a variety of reasons – the physical and mental health benefits, saving money, tackling air pollution and reducing carbon emissions to tackle theclimate emergency, to name a few. We hope to do this by bringing people to join us(<Facebook Events link) on our first 20 miles and by sharing on our Facebook page tips and inspiration throughout our journey to get more people on their bikes. To join Sam and Simon on their departure on Saturday 3rd July please sign up on the Facebook Events link above. It’s a 9am meet-up for 9:30 departure from Kingston’s Memorial Square (Postcode KT1 1RJ)
How did you plan your route?
Our original preferred route was similar to one that Sam has done a couple of times previously; Kingston to Horse Hill (we will be visiting the oil site and hearing from locals about the campaign against it) down to Brighton, across to Hastings (where we planned to do a talk at a school where we have previously worked) and back to Newhaven, over to Dieppe via ferry, along the spine of France, including Paris, and through the Pyrenees to Spain. Along this route we had planned to visit various sustainable communities and renewable energy projects and interview people involved.
However, we have had to come up with a plan B due to restrictions on Brits entering France. This involves cycling from Kingston to Brighton (as above), then to Portsmouth to take the ferry to the north-west coast of Spain, west to Santiago de Compostela, then back across the centre of the country, finishing in Barcelona. We hope to find similar communities and projects to visit as per plan A!
Have you done other long bike rides?
I (Simon) have never done a long distance bike trip before! I only really started getting into cycling at the end of last year when I got my first proper road bike for my birthday, and I have been slowly building up my distances over the year. I’ve done three or four 20 milers so far – so still a long way to go to get to the 50 miles we will be doing on day 1…but hopefully this will show that if I can do it, anyone can!
Luckily, Sam is much more accomplished. He cycled from Ireland to Japan with his Dad when he was 18, which took a year. He has also cycled to Spain and Italy. So I feel more at ease knowing we have his expertise to draw on…
Sam and Simon on their trial ride
Tell us about your bike/ luggage
Sam will be taking the same bike he used on his Ireland to Japan trip – a Dawes Super Galaxy touring bike. Unfortunately, my road bike won’t be suitable for the extra weight and longer distance. Luckily, Sam’s Dad, Mark has kindly lent me the bike that he used on their trip to Japan – a Dawes Sterling tour bike – for which I am eternally grateful. Thank you Mark!
So fairly old bikes but we tested them out on a 20 mile trial ride from Canterbury to Folkestone the other day and they’ve still got it.
On loan: Mark’s Dawes Sterling Tour
Where will you stay?
“We plan to camp for most of the way, so it will be a mix of campsites and free camping, which is allowed in France and Spain. We are paying all the expenses out of our own pockets so trying to keep them to a minimum, however we will no doubt be grateful for a proper bed every now and then so I am sure we will visit the occasional hostel too”
What foods do you like to keep your energy up?
We are determined to eat and drink healthily for the entire trip, and starting now. So no more alcohol, caffeine or processed sugar. No doubt we will be needing a lot of carbs – pasta, rice – and fruit. Personally, my go-to energy food will be porridge with banana, whilst for Sam its banana, peanut butter and date sandwiches.
KCC wish Simon and Sam the best of luck with their adventure.
Wednesday 23rd June. A mostly Sunny Evening, with 2 late cancellations, saw 10 Cyclists in 1 group leave via Kingston Bridge, Bushy Park, Fulwell, Twickenham, St Margerets, Richmond Bridge, to Richmond Hill for refreshments at ‘the Roebuck’, also meeting up with the ‘unofficial Merton group’, the big question, would we get to enjoy a Sunset ? not quite, but pretty good all the same, (Clouds appearing just after the Photo)
Approaching Sunset from the Terrace, Richmond Hill : John E
then with a slight delay for a minor Mechanical problem, via Richmond Park, Kingston, the new Station Bridge to finish. Total 11 Miles, Special thanks to Ralph for Back marking.
Kingston Cycling Campaign 