cycle parking

Mini-Holland: Progress in 2020

As we reach the end of 2020, we’ve taken a look at the progress that was made on Kingston’s Mini-Holland programme (also known as ‘Go Cycle’) during the year and finish with a look towards 2021.

Kingston to Kingston Vale

The Kingston to Kingston Vale cycle route is the longest in the Mini-Holland programme and started main construction in 2019. It was due to be finished this year but events of 2020 caused this timeline to become unachievable. Despite the difficulties of 2020, during the year the 2-way track along London Road between Queen Elizabeth Road and Manorgate Road was completed as well as the cycle tracks between Manorgate Road and Queen’s Road. Some ‘snagging’ (fixing minor issues) also took place on Kingston Hill and Kingston Vale on stretches of segregated cycle track constructed in 2019.

The reconstruction of the junction between Kingston Hill and Wolverton Avenue finished this year (new and before photos)
Cycle tracks added to Kingston Hill (between Queen’s Road and Manorgate Road) finished this year (before and after photos)
New 2-way cycle track along London Road completed this year

The only sections outstanding on this route are the junction of Kingston Hill with Queen’s Road and the separate junction with Galsworthy Road. These should be constructed in Spring 2021, and along with finishing the ‘snagging’ items, this will complete the 4.5km route from Kingston Town Centre all the way to the A3 which is close to the Borough of Kingston’s border with Wandsworth.

Surbiton to Tolworth

The Surbiton to Tolworth scheme along Ewell Road will link these two areas with a safer cycle route and started main construction at the beginning of 2020. The majority of the route was due to be completed by the end of the year. However, again timelines have changed and only Phase 1 was completed (St Mark’s Hill to Browns Road). Phase 2 (Brown’s Road to Tolworth Broadway) has had its plans tweaked to fit within a reduced budget provided by TfL and its construction could start early in 2021 subject to TfL’s final approval and funding. Phase 2 could then be completed in 2021 creating a safer cycle route from Tolworth all the way to Kingston Town Centre via Surbiton.

First phase of Surbiton to Tolworth cycle route along Ewell Road completed in 2020. Photos of new and prior layout.

Kingston Station

Kingston Station is the ‘hub’ of the new Mini-Holland network of safer cycle routes and has seen a lot of associated construction activity in recent years. The main progress this year has been continued construction of the Kingston Station bike storage hub which will have space for 450 bikes as well as bike maintenance facilities, lockers as well as a space for a cafe.

Photos of the new cycle and walking bridge which will take people from Kingston Station towards the Thames and the new Kingston Station bike storage hub which will have capacity for up to 450 bikes

Next to the hub is a new bridge which is approaching its final stages prior to opening. This bridge will better link Kingston Station to the Thames and towards Ham. Together with the Low Traffic Neighbourhood along Lower Ham Road and the due to be completed Surbiton to Tolworth link, this will mean there is a 7km safer cycling route (almost!) all the way from the Borough of Kingston’s border with Richmond upon Thames (at Ham Cross) to its border with Epsom & Ewell (near Tolworth).

Both the bridge and bike storage hub should be open by the end of January 2021.

Anything else?

Right at the beginning of the year, the finishing touches were added to the Kingston to Surbiton route (along Penrhyn Road) though that feels a long time ago now…

Outside of the Mini-Holland programme, due to reduced funding and other obvious priorities, there were few infrastructure improvements to the Borough’s cycle network outside of the Mini-Holland (and Streetspace) programme. However, we were pleased that Kingston Council listened to our suggestion and found time to install a dropped kerb next to a ‘toucan crossing’ (for people cycling and walking) near Kingston Station to make it easier for people to get to/from the cycle path underneath Kingston Railway Bridge.

New dropped kerb near Kingston Station making it easier for people cycling to get to/from the cycle track under the railway bridge

Finally, the excellent and very popular New Malden to Raynes Park walking and cycling paths had its first birthday in 2020!

The future

As above, there are bits of the existing Mini-Holland programme to finish off which should be completed in 2021 with the main construction activity due to be along Ewell Road as the second phase of Surbiton to Tolworth is completed. This leaves the proposed Kingston to New Malden cycle route as the only scheme that would remain outstanding….

Kingston to New Malden is the final part of the Mini-Holland programme but is yet to start construction. We understand that this scheme is ready to start construction as soon as Spring 2021 (it received approval from Kingston Council at the beginning of 2020) but it is currently unfunded. We understand Kingston Council continue to lobby TfL for the funding to be provided but until this is happens, the final critical link in the Mini-Holland programme will remain unbuilt. This is despite large housing developments being built along the route as well as its dismal record for safety for people cycling and walking. We will continue to campaign for this vital cycle route and hope TfL will be able to fund it at some point in 2021.

As a final note, we would like to thank everyone involved in the Mini-Holland programme (designers; project managers; construction crews; cycle lane sweepers; Councillors; TfL sponsors; members of the public who have provided feedback; Kingston Cycle Campaign volunteers and many more) for their hard work and contributions during a very difficult year.

Wishing everyone a happier 2021.

Further reading

The Council’s Go Cycle website

Our map of Mini Holland routes open, in construction and proposed

Our guide to new cycle infrastructure in Kingston

Support New Cycle Hangars in Kingston

***October 2021 UPDATE – 16 Cycle Hangars are being installed – find out the latest news here: https://kingstoncyclecampaign.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/16-new-secure-cycle-hangars-being-installed-across-kingston-and-surbiton/***

We regularly campaign for additional cycle parking in the Borough as we know many people struggle to find space to park their bike when they are out and about or choose not to purchase a bike as they have nowhere to keep one securely at home.

We were therefore really pleased to hear that Kingston Council were successful in a bid to Transport for London (TfL) for funding of 20 new Cycle Hangars for the Borough’s residential streets.

Each of these Cycle Hangars allow 6 bikes to be securely stored on the street. Each person who hires one of these spaces receives a key to access the Hangar and can store their bike there for as long as they keep hiring the space. Many Cycle Hangars have already been installed on Kingston’s housing estates and have been successfully used for a number of years.

A Bike Hangar already installed on one of Kingston’s housing estates

This funding from TfL will allow them to be placed on the Borough’s residential streets for the first time. Many people do not have space in their home (including lots of those who live in flat conversions) and this will give them the opportunity to keep a bike securely for the first time.

This consultation is now closed. There is currently a traffic order out for consultation on the introduction of these Cycle Hangars. You can support their introduction by emailing TMO@kingston.gov.uk quoting reference ‘KingMap0041’ and stating your support (as well as any comments you have) by Thursday 18th June 2020.

We will be responding to the consultation strongly supporting their introduction with the following comments:

  • They will allow many residents the opportunity to store a bike securely for the first time supporting an increase in bike ownership in the Borough and therefore helping more people to cycle.
  • Encouraging more cycle use is essential to help the Borough’s air quality problems, reduce congestion and assist the Borough’s residents with becoming more active.
  • The Cycle Hangars are very efficient use of street space as 6 bikes can fit in less than the space needed for a single car.
  • This limited introduction should just be the start and Kingston should be aiming to catch up with other London Boroughs such as Hackney which now have several hundred Cycle Hangars installed.

The provisional list of roads where Cycle Hangars may be installed are:

  • Adelaide Road, Surbiton
  • Anglesea Road, Kingston
  • Berrylands, Surbiton
  • Bond Road, Surbiton
  • Cadogan Road, Surbiton
  • Claremont Road, Surbiton
  • Elm Road, Kingston
  • Grayham Road, New Malden
  • Hampden Road, Kingston
  • Howard Road, Surbiton
  • King Charles Road, Surbiton
  • Lovelace Road, Surbiton
  • Maple Road, Surbiton
  • Oakhill Crescent, Surbiton
  • Princes Road, Kingston
  • St Andrew’s Square, Surbiton
  • St Mark’s HIll, Surbiton
  • Surbiton Hill Park, Surbiton
  • The Avenue, Surbiton
  • Warwick Road, New Malden
  • Windmill Rise, Kingston 

From information published by the Council it seems that there will be an annual charge of £70 for the hire of a space in a Cycle Hanger. This will cover the maintenance and administration of the Hangars and is likely to be payable to Cyclehoop who install and maintain Cycle Hangars across London.

It is yet to be confirmed how applying for a place in the Cycle Hangars will work but keep an eye on our Twitter page and we will publish any information we get as soon as we know more.

If you would like a Cycle Hangar on your street but your road isn’t on the list above, why not contact your Local Councillor or the Sustainable Transport team to ask when Kingston Council will be installing more? Ask your neighbours if they would be interested as well and get them to contact the Council or Councillors too. The more demand that is shown for the Cycle Hangars on your street, the more likely that you will get one!

The Traffic Order for the Cycle Hangars can be found here which has more information on the proposed location of the Cycle Hangars on each road.

We hope that this is just the start of the installation of more Cycle Hangars in the Borough. We will continue to campaign for more Cycle Hangars to be installed as well as more of other types of cycle parking across the Borough.