The South London borough where residents say they 'have to be brave' to cycle

Cyclists in Merton have said they have concerns over their own safety when cycling on roads in the borough. Responses to a recent consultation into the borough’s active travel have revealed Merton’s ‘lack of political will’ towards protecting cyclists, campaigners claim.

After years of what some have called a lack of joined-up thinking, Merton Council is moving towards its first comprehensive plan to bolster active travel in the borough. The Walking and Cycling Strategy, to be published next year, will see the council lay out a plan for improved cycling and walking infrastructure until 2030.

In a preliminary consultation, which attracted 1000 participants, the council heard the current concerns of residents who cycle around the borough. It revealed that the largest barrier to people cycling in the borough was their concerns over the danger posed to them on the road.

READ MORE: The 400-year-old Hounslow manor house with a beautiful lake and free to visit that received award

READ MORE: 'We need £100K by Christmas to keep our East London charity from shutting down for good'

While 26 per cent of respondents thought this was the most important barrier, unsurprisingly, measures protecting cyclists were equally seen as the biggest enablers for future uptake. Measures like segregated cycle lanes, traffic-free cycle routes, and lower traffic volumes and speeds were among the most popular ways to encourage cycling.

However, residents and campaigners who have long called for better cycling infrastructure say these findings are no surprise. The head of Merton Active Travel, Luke McCarthy, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “It has not really told us anything we didn’t already know about cycling in Merton; it’s not great.”

He added: “We know 2030 is a big step forward from what the council has had before, which is has been a very piecemeal approach. They would put in a pedestrian crossing here and a few hundred metres of cycle lanes there.”

When pressed for some examples where Merton had shown previous consideration for cyclists, McCarthy gave two examples in recent years. The Merton High Street stepped cycle track was highlighted as a success, but he qualified that it was ‘quite tightly geographically focused.’

The other example was the improved cycle infrastructure in the redeveloped Plough Lane area. Altogether, McCarthy admitted that the cycle element came as an ‘afterthought’, which he feels cost the borough more time and money.

He added: “There is just no joined-up strategy. Beyond that, most of the rest of the borough is pretty poor for cycling.”

Morden was identified by both McCarthy and fellow cyclist Jim Wagner of the Merton Cycling Campaign as a particularly dangerous spot for the borough’s cyclists. Even Labour Councillor Eleanor Stringer, one of the Council’s apparent proponents of cycling, admitted in a question time meeting last month that she avoids cycling through central Morden during rush hour.

The alleged danger posed to cyclists in Morden, in particular, stems from the high volume of traffic generated by the Northern line Tube terminus, extensive bus routes, and car routes to Central London. This, coupled with ‘inadequate’ cycling infrastructure, has led many to avoid the area when on two wheels.

During a visit to Morden earlier this year, the LDRS spoke to Wagner and Green Party activist Pippa Maslin about what makes Morden so dangerous. They also discussed how the council could start beefing up its active travel credentials.

Maslin told the LDRS: “I will not cycle through the centre of Morden because it’s just far too dangerous. I do see some brave cyclists trying to make their way through, but to me, it doesn’t look like a very appetising experience.”

Wagner added: “It’s not great. It’s quite confusing and the signage a quite spotty. Someone coming here for the first time wouldn’t know whether they could cycle on the pavement or on the road. Which areas are shared and which aren’t.

“It’s pretty hostile in terms of the amount of traffic and lanes. In parts you will have to scooch to or three lanes to get to the lane you want to turn off to.”

Visitors to Morden will know the town centre's large gyratory system, which includes the tube station and Merton’s Civic Centre. Wagner believes this gyratory is a danger to cyclists in its current form.

He described removing the gyratory as the council's ‘job number one’ and called for more space to be taken from the central reservation to accommodate cycle routes.

However, Morden’s future cycle schemes and wider development are still being held up by the long-delayed town centre redevelopment scheme, which has been on the cards for the past 20 years. While the council is still committed to going through with the scheme, it has so far struggled to find a financial backer and recently admitted it will not happen any time soon.

Maslin, who lives in Morden, told the LDRS of her frustration with this long-delayed ambition. She said: “The so-called regeneration of Morden has been on the cards for over a decade now, and we’ve got some kind of runners-up prize of £300,000 to improve the streetscape at one end.”

“I understand the difficulty with finding a partner who will take on the million pounds, but it’s a bit insulting to have these cosmetic changes that won’t make any difference.”

She added: “At the moment, this town centre and other places in the borough are such that people are unlikely to be incentivised to make that change (to cycling) that not just this borough needs but the country and the world needs. I would really like to see the political will at the civic centre to be bold about this.”

McCarthy shared the sentiment that the Council had so far lacked political will in its approach to cycling. He and Wagner agreed that during their time cycling in Morden and across the borough, they had not seen much improvement and were often stuck by the ‘sudden’ appearance of proper cycle lanes when they went into the borough north of Merton.

Merton has recently introduced e-bikes like Forest and Lime to the fold. Last week, they confirmed they will soon deliver 300 designated e-bike bays, providing space for 2,400 e-bikes across the borough.

However, in an indication of how ‘behind the curve’ Merton was in terms of cycling in London, Councillor Stephen Alambritis told Wagner and McCarthy that the council delayed delivering cycle-friendly infrastructure because it was ‘struggling to recruit traffic planners.’

Wagner told Alambritis that this was ‘not surprising because Merton is so badly regarded from an active travel perspective.’

Alambritis, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Cleaner Streets, told the LDRS: “Switching to cycling helps clean up the air we breathe, lead healthier lives, and reduce the borough’s carbon emissions too. That’s why we’re determined to make cycling and other forms of active transport easier, safer and more enjoyable for everyone to take up.

“Over the last two years, we have installed 45 new cycle hangars, overseen the introduction of Forest bikes, and reduced the traffic impact in our neighbourhoods with schemes that cover around 30% of our roads – but we recognise that there’s still more to be done.

“This summer, we launched our Walking and Cycling strategy engagement programme, in which over 1,000 people told us about their transport habits and what might make it easier for them to use active travel more often. We have listened to this feedback and we’re using it to design proposals for new infrastructure and policies that meet the needs of our residents.

“These proposals, which include significant investment in cycle infrastructure and the safety of cyclists, will be launched in our new Walking and Cycling Strategy in the new year.

“Once it’s launched, we’ll be holding a further consultation so that the public can tell us what they think of our proposed solutions. Any resident who wants to receive a reminder when the consultation opens can sign up to our email updates at merton.gov.uk/newsletter. "

Don't miss out on the biggest South London news. Sign up to our MySouthLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more.