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Draft Croydon Cycling Strategy 2017-22

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FOREWORD [To be added]

OUR VISION FOR CYCLING

We have a clear vision for Croydon and cycling’s role in achieving that vision.

We are aiming for:

Croydon’s cycle routes and facilities being as good as the best in London

All our cycle facilities can be used by all cyclists including those with disabilities

Croydon will have an extensive network of attractive and safe cycling routes covering all corners of the borough.

There will be high levels of cycling amongst residents from all backgrounds and communities in Croydon.

Every household in the borough wanting to access secure cycle parking shall have it.

Cycling will be considered a safe form of transport for everyday journeys for people of all ages.

Real or perceived conflict between cyclists and other street users will be minimised

Zero cyclist road casualties as part of a wider ‘Vision Zero’.

Cycling is part of our Croydon Promise supporting sustainable growth in the Borough.

It links with the Mayor’s Healthy Streets challenge to re-examine our streets to use the

space taken up by cars more efficiently with priority to walking, cycling and public

transport. We cannot deliver a step change in cycling in isolation: it will be part of a

wider transport agenda and link to the emerging Mayor’s Transport Strategy.

‘We will raise the status of cycling as a means to travel around the borough aiming eventually to put Croydon on a par with the most cycle-friendly cities in Europe. Investment is already taking place via the Connected Croydon programme and Quietway initiatives but much more needs to be done. We will improve the cycle network across the borough by providing new dedicated routes, cycle hubs encouraging facilities for cycle hire and servicing and by supporting cycling schemes at schools and places of work.’ (The Croydon Promise: Growth for All 2014)

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This strategy sets out how we intend to take cycling in Croydon towards that vision

and to enable it to play its full part in achieving our vision. The strategy is clear as to

the reasons for wanting to achieve our vision.

At the core of the strategy sits a network of high quality cycle routes focussed on the

Growth Zone helping to support and achieve a better not just bigger town centre.

Our plans are ambitious. Delivering many elements means overcoming major

challenges. It will require taking opportunities as they arise, but also making

opportunities. Depending on resources, opportunities and the willingness of our

partners, completing the journey may take 20 years (although the strategy will be

refreshed after 5). We will be detailing a costed programme through a separate

Delivery Plan and provide an annual report on progress.

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WHY CYCLE? SETTING OUT THE BENEFITS

Convenience

Travelling by cycle gets you from A to B quickly and in a reliable time. It is cheap,

easy and available to almost everyone of any age and ability. It is a fun way to

explore the borough and beyond.

Efficiency of road space

Cyclists are able to make more efficient use of space than all road users except

buses. Cyclists can generally use road space which is not available to other larger

vehicles.

Value for Money

As well as being relatively low cost, DfT research into the costs and benefits of recent

cycle schemes have shown these offer “high” to “very high” value for money stating

that “targeted investment in cycling can bring very strong returns to society”.

Health Benefits

Cycling makes you healthier and improves your well-being. It can lead to positive

mental health as it connects people to the outside world and reduces the stresses

often felt sitting in a traffic queue.

Inactivity is having profound health effects and is a major contributory factor to the

levels of obesity in Croydon. In Croydon, more than one in three children aged 10-

11 are overweight. For adults the situation is more serious. Almost two-thirds of all

adults are overweight. This equates to over 185,000 adult residents. Children in

Croydon are growing up in a borough where it is normal to be overweight.

From 2007 to 2015, the estimated annual cost of obesity to the NHS in Croydon is

predicted to rise by 24% (£11.2 million). Data from TfL shows that if people walked

or cycled 20 minutes a day then the NHS would save about £1.7bn over 25 years.

Moreover, a new study by Glasgow University shows that regular commuter cycling

can reduce the incidence of cancer by 45% and heart disease by 46%.

Economy

Cycle parking, wayfinding and new routes to improve access to town centres can all

make it easier for people to make local journeys by bike. This in turn can benefit

local shops and services. A survey by TfL of 15 town centres found that those who

arrived on foot or by cycle spent more per month than those who arrived by any

other mode of transport.

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On average, employees who are physically active take 25% fewer sick days than

inactive employees.

Air Quality

More cycling can be achieved by people using private transport less. Road traffic is a

prime source of the most damaging pollutants which affect health of all residents but

particularly young children, older people and people with health problems. Currently,

road based transport in London is accountable for 54% of NOx and 48% of PM10

emissions. Poor air quality is a major issue for parts of the borough but particularly

for people living along the major roads in the borough.

Climate Change

Greenhouse gases are one of the most pressing environmental issues facing

London. TfL data shows that 21% of CO2 emissions are from transport. Around 80%

of these emissions are from road based transport.

Changing Behaviour

It is important that the benefits of cycling and walking are embedded in children as

there is evidence that if children cycle or walk then they carry on doing so as adults.

Moreover, studies have shown that children who walk or cycle to school have

significantly improved behaviour, attendance and learning ability.

How much cycling at present?

Current levels of cycle activity in the borough are low. Indeed there was a 10%

reduction in the number of cycle trips between 2008 and 2013 in contrast to the

growth shown across London. Only around 1% of Croydon’s population cycle for at

least 30 minutes five times a week. Croydon has fewer regular cyclists than many

other parts of London. Only 1% of Croydon residents regularly cycle compared to 2%

in outer London and 3% across London as a whole. Croydon residents also have

relatively low cycle ownership.

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Table 1 Proportion of London households with a cycle available

Relative to the distance travelled, cycling in Croydon is safe compared to other parts

of London. As with other types of road casualties cycle casualties mainly occur on

the main thoroughfares with concentrations along the London Road [A23], A212,

A222 and the town centre area. Nevertheless cycling has to be made safer and

appear to be made safer if we are to release the potential for more cycling across the

borough.

How much potential for cycling?

Although there is currently a low level of cycling in the borough there is enormous

potential for much more cycling. As an example during weekdays the majority of car

journeys into the Town Centre are less than 5km in length, a journey length most

people are well capable of cycling. TfL has undertaken an analysis of the potential

for cycling based on an assessment of the number of cycleable trips. This indicates

that Croydon as a borough has the highest potential for cycling of all London

boroughs with 400,000 daily cycle trips that could be made by residents. Currently

only 6,000 daily cycle trips are made, representing only about 1% of the potential.

TfL estimate that more than 300,000 of these potentially cycleable journeys are

made by car. The centre of Croydon has particular scope for much more cycling.

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Table 2 Number of potentially cycleable trips in a 15 minute cycle time radius of the

Growth Zone

Croydon Town Centre / Growth Zone Study

Area

Potentially Cycleable Trips

With an origin in the study area (outbound) 114,700

With a destination in the study area (inbound) 124,000

With an origin and destination in the study area (within)

68,700

Total cycling potential in study area 307,400

The TfL report “Delivering the Benefits of Cycling in Outer London” identified a

number of barriers to cycling in outer London:

The report identified how these barriers could be overcome.

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TfL has adopted a new methodology to assess ‘propensity’ to cycle through a

Transport Classification of Londoners [TCoL] including Census and London Travel

Demand Survey [LTDS] data. This analysis classifies London’s population into nine

segments, identifying households most amenable to cycling in the future and those

currently cycling more than average. Those most likely to cycle are “Urban Mobility”,

“Suburban Moderation” and “Affordable Transitions” segments. These households

are concentrated in the north and centre of the Borough.

Croydon is a location where couples move to from central/inner London to start

families. At this point they may well give up cycling. Cycle infrastructure and

supporting measures will need to be tailored to enable existing young couples to

keep cycling, and to make it easier for them to introduce children to cycling / include

cycling in the school and onwards to work. Effectively reaching and encouraging the

large “Affordable Transitions” and “Suburban Moderation” segments in Croydon to

cycle will be vital to normalising cycling.

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OUR APPROACH TO FOSTERING MORE CYCLING AND A HEALTHIER FUTURE

Connecting People and Places: Addressing the built environment

- Implementation of a network of cycle routes. We will be enhancing the

existing cycle route network through Quietways on local roads, Cycle

Highways on busier roads and Greenways through green spaces.

- Supporting safe and secure on and off-street cycle parking

- Implementing permeability measures such as cut throughs on road closures

and contraflow cycling in one-way roads

- Improving the environment for cycling such as through 20mph speed limits

and zones, traffic management measures and local safety schemes

- Development of cycle hubs

Creating a Cycling Culture and Changing Behaviour

- Delivering a behavioural change programme including cycle training

- Support for travel plans for schools and require travel plans as part of

development proposals

- Measures to enhance cycle safety such as Freight Operator Recognition

Scheme [FORS]

- Re-energise the Council’s staff travel plan

Guiding Principles

We are setting out some guiding principles to help us to achieve our vision:

1. We will seek to implement cycle facilities in line with TfL’s London Cycling

Design Standards

2. When creating routes on busier roads we will aim to protect cyclists from other

traffic through segregation or semi-segregation

3. We will focus on meeting cycle desire lines through a network of cycle routes

on quieter roads

4. We will support the growth in Croydon town centre by a network of routes and

permeability measures

5. Streets in the centre will become more liveable and able to be enjoyed by

pedestrians as well as cyclists

6. Work with local businesses to support more employees cycling to work

7. Cycle routes will be clearly signed making them easy to navigate

8. Each cycle route would be delivered as a whole

9. All facilities should be able to accommodate hand bikes, trikes and other non-

standard cycles. We will not create barriers to cycling for disabled people.

10. We will aim to allow for the growth of cycling in our designs

11. We will maintain the existing cycle route network and make provision for

future maintenance of planned routes

12. We will subject our policy and programmes to external “Bicycle Policy Audit”

13. Eventually we aim to deliver a hierarchy of routes across the Borough:

a. Segregated or semi-segregated Cycle Highways on some of the busier

road corridors

b. Quietways along less busy streets

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c. Greenways connecting people to and through parks.

Fig 1 Proposed End State Cycle Route Network

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CYCLING’S ROLE IN REGENERATING CROYDON

We have ambitious plans for growth. Our Growth Zone focused on the town centre

will deliver £5.25bn of investment providing 23,500 new jobs and 10,000 homes. It is

a similar pattern for population growth across the Borough as a whole with an

increase of 30,000 expected over the next 20 years. Much better public transport

and cycling facilities will be the key to ensuring this growth can be delivered

sustainably. It is essential that the Growth Zone and its immediate surrounding area

is made cycleable. To be a cycleable town centre, cycling must be convenient, safe

and attractive.

Convenient cycling in the Growth Zone

One of the town centre’s defining features is its one-way streets which make it

impermeable to cyclists. All streets need to be capable of being cycled in both

directions unless there are strong safety reasons for them not being so.

Major roads in the town centre act as barriers to cycling. We have begun to break

the Roman Way and Park Lane gyratory and Wellesley Road barriers. More

crossings are planned on Wellesley Road but it too must eventually become a

cycleable route. With development in the centre the major roads will become less of

a barrier and in time will become part of the Cycle Highway network and a significant

aid to cycling.

We know that many businesses and workers in the town centre favour cycling to

work. Yet the ageing office accommodation often lacks secure cycle parking and

cyclist changing facilities. With redevelopment of much of the town centre the

situation will improve as we can secure cycle parking and other cyclist facilities

through planning permissions. We will work, however, with our partners including

Network Rail and the train operators to provide cycle parking “hubs” at stations and

other locations which will include high quality secure cycle parking and other

services for cyclists.

Safe cycling in the Growth Zone

Across the town centre [with the exception of its major roads] and beyond we will

enhance the cyclist environment by limiting speed to 20mph. We will also press for

speed limit enforcement to be given higher priority. As major roads undergo

redesign we will ensure designs encourage 20mph as the norm. Gradually the town

centre roads will become “Healthy Streets” in which the street space will be treated

as a whole with urban realm enhancements, more greenery, space for stopping and

sitting and appropriate surface treatment.

Larger vehicles pose the most risk to cyclists. With central Croydon entering a major

phase of development with an associated increased number of construction vehicles

we need to ensure the safety of cyclists is not compromised. We require (and will

continue to do so) construction logistics planning, vehicle route planning,

membership of the Freight Operators Recognition Scheme and vehicle equipment

and driver training standard levels via the Planning system.

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The town centre benefits greatly from being at the heart of the tram network. The

tram system though can pose particular challenges to cyclists and give rise to safety

concerns amongst them. We will work with TfL to ensure that:

- Growing numbers of cyclists can conveniently and safely share space with

trams in the town centre; and

- New tram infrastructure does not conflict with the needs of cyclists

Croydon’s economy, environment and residents benefit significantly from the dense

bus network focused on the town centre. However, cyclists can feel intimidated by

the presence of buses and the road safety threat posed by them. As we move to

20mph being the norm for the town centre we will work with TfL to extend its bus

Intelligent Speed Adaption experiment to central Croydon.

Cycling will be made easier for many more people in the town centre through easy

low cost cycle hire.

Local Centres

As well as supporting the sustainable delivery of our Growth Zone ambitions we want

to support regeneration and access by cycle to our district centres. We will be linking

these to the town centre complemented by a network of routes serving local centres.

CONNECTING PEOPLE AND PLACES

Quietways

We have surveyed and costed a potential network of Quietways radiating from and

connecting to the Growth Zone. Quietways are routes aimed at less experienced

cyclists or cyclists who prefer to use less trafficked residential roads. We will work

with local residents and other stakeholders to design the best solutions.

Cycle Highways

We will complement the network of Quietways with a number of Cycle Highways on

busier roads where we will aim to segregate cyclists from other traffic as much as we

can. This will be most challenging where these routes are also roads passing

through district and other centres. Here the demand and need for kerbside parking

[at least in the medium term] will remain high. There will be a presumption in favour

of 20mph speed limit at these locations to help calm traffic as it passes along these

roads and help cyclists claim their space within the street.

Cycle Highways will inevitably pass through junctions which we know offer a

challenge for cyclists to safely pass through such as at the major junctions on the

A23 [Lombard roundabout and Purley Cross]. We will work with TfL to deliver

solutions to these junctions and we are currently working with TfL on proposals for

Fiveways.

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The challenges we face should not be underestimated. In many places [especially

near Croydon town centre] carriageway widths are narrow making it difficult to

provide segregated cycle lanes. Some streets such as Whitehorse Road have cycle

lanes but these do not come near to the type of segregated or semi-segregated

route aspired to. On some streets trees and essential parking will reduce the options

available.

Across the Borough there are junctions that are problematic for cyclists and a barrier

to cycling. Some are in the Council’s gift to address. Others will need partnership

working with TfL and may need to await major proposals for junction redesign.

Junctions we know to be problematic for cyclists and should be addressed over time

include:

- Thornton Heath/A23

- Thornton Heath/Sydenham Road

- Lombard Roundabout

- London Road/St James’s Road

- Newgate gyratory

- Cherry Orchard Road/Lower Addiscombe Road

- Roman Way/Derby Road

- A232 Chepstow Road

- A232 Shirley Road

- Fiveways

- Coombe Road

- Gravel Hill

- Purley Oaks

- Purley Town Centre

- Park Lane

- Selsdon Road

- Coulsdon Town Centre

- Gravel Hill/Shirley Hills Road

- Mill Lane

Bridges and underpasses can also cause problems for cyclists. They can create

pinch points and typically the road layout does not provide a safe and pleasant

cycling environment. Over time as opportunities arise, we want to address these as

part of this strategy. We have identified these pinchpoints:

[list to be added]

Cycle Greenways

Over third of the Borough is open space. This is an important asset. Some of it

already accommodates both utility and recreational cycling such as South Norwood

Country Park.

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Our Local Plan Core Strategy includes proposals to connect the Borough’s places

and green spaces via a network of walking and cycling “Greenways”. Much of the

initial feasibility for the Greenways has been undertaken.

Considerate cycling will be permitted in the majority of Croydon’s parks. Greenways

will increasingly connect people to and through parks and other green spaces for

both recreational and utility cycling. Greenways will complement our network of

Quietways and Cycle Highways.

Cycle Parking

As part of development proposals we will continue to require safe and secure off-

street parking. We follow London Plan standards which seek a minimum level of

cycle parking. The lack of secure off-street parking is often cited as an issue

deterring more people from taking up cycling.

We recognise that for many residents the type of housing makes it difficult to have

secure off-street parking. We will seek to provide secure on-street parking such as in

bike hangars and consider options for use in communal areas in blocks of flats.

Cycleable Areas

Only a minority of streets in the borough will have a formal cycle route. We want to

make all of our streets much more cycle friendly. We are expanding the area of the

Borough subject to 20mph speed limit or within 20mph zones, subject to

consultation. Many journeys can be made on foot or by cycle and part of this

aspiration can be met by making our streets cycleable. and helping to helping to

deliver the Mayor of London’s Healthy Streets objective.

Cycling as part of Longer Journeys

For most the commute to central London and other long journeys will continue to be

by train. Croydon has a number of stations where the annual number of passengers

using them is more than 1 million suggesting a significant opportunity to travel to

stations by cycle, see Table 3. We will work with Network Rail/TfL and the train

operators to look at opportunities for closer integration between cycle and rail. The

busiest stations also tend to be in town centres meaning we can develop cycle

facilities in these centres to support both the town centre and sustainable access to

rail. Our focus will be on the district centres such as Norbury and Coulsdon. Cycling

hubs with secure cycle parking, servicing equipment and cycle hire will be developed

at the busiest stations.

Our busiest station is East Croydon [one of the nation’s busiest] with more than 24

million passengers entering and exiting each year. Data from the station travel plan

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showed that 25% of station users travel less than 1km to the station with a further

36% travelling between 1 and 3km. For many of the short journeys walking is the

most convenient way to access the station. But the data also suggests there is huge

potential for many of the longer journeys to be made by cycle.

Table 3 Croydon’s busiest stations

Station Entries and exits 2015/16 [million]

East Croydon 24.2

West Croydon 5.1

Norwood Junction 4.3

Norbury 4.0

Thornton Heath 3.9

Purley 3.3

Selhurst 1.7

Coulsdon South 1.6

South Croydon 1.2

Sanderstead 1.1

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR

We will be complementing our infrastructure plans with soft measures to enable local

residents and employees comfortable and safe cycling in the Borough. We will

continue measures such as:

- Led community cycle rides to build confidence and cycling skills

- Cycling for Health as part of the exercise for Referral programme to get

people cycling for improved health and fitness

- Promotion of walking and cycling through events such as Walk on

Wednesdays and Bike Week

We will target plans and activities at groups under-represented among cyclists [e.g.

women, disabled people and certain BME groups] to start cycling.

We will continue to work with schools to develop, deliver and improve travel plans

and associated programmes aimed at stimulating a cycling culture amongst the

young:

Walkers / Bikers Breakfast - run a breakfast club and provide free breakfasts for those pupils who walk, scoot or cycle to school.

Walk Once a Week – pupils who walk once a week each week in a month are given a badge incentive to encourage more walking

Cycling / Walking Club - purchase equipment for activities. Scooter Storage - request a scooterpod for pupils to store their scooters in

during the school day. Balance Bikes - some schools have used the funding to purchase a small

number of balance bikes to aid in teaching their early years how to cycle.

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Croydon Cycle Festival – engaging Croydon schools with multiple aspects of the Croydon Cycle Festival such as static bike racing and year 5 racing

Pop-up bike Markets – providing 5 pop-up bike markets annually to schools in areas of high deprivation and obesity to encourage recycling of used bikes within the community

Love your Bike events – such as Dr Bike and bike decoration

To complement this work we will aim to create a calmer traffic environment around

schools to make cycling safer and more pleasant.

We will continue to promote cycling events such as the Tour Series in the town

centre.

SAFER CYCLING

Lorries and particularly HGVs are disproportionately involved in collisions with

cyclists resulting death or serious injury. The Freight Operators Recognition Scheme

[FORS] is intended to help road freight operators become safer, more efficient and

more environmentally friendly. There is an accreditation process with freight operator

members meeting Bronze, Silver or Gold standard. We specify FORS membership in

assessing the environmental impact of planning applications. As part of our

approach to minimising the risk of personal injury collisions we will be seeking to

adopt the FORS standard.

Workplace travel plans

Through the planning process we support sustainable development by requiring

travel plans for larger developments in line with TfL guidance. These include

requirements for reducing travel, reducing car use and encouraging sustainable

transport such as cycling. Plans would include actions for achieving targets for

reducing car use. Such measures could include setting up car clubs, promotional

information on the availability of cycle routes in the vicinity of the site and providing

cycle parking in line with London Plan standards.

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DELIVERY

The following summarises actions and activities to deliver our ambitions and

indicates possible future funding sources. Further detail can be found within the

Cycle Route Delivery Plan.

Type of Measure Cost [L/M/H]

Timescale [S/M/L]

Delivery Agents Potential funding source

Infrastructure

Cycle routes

- Quietways - Cycle

Highways

- Greenways

[current cycle route programme detailed in Delivery Plan]

H H per annum [pa] H pa

M L L

TfL/LBC TfL/LBC LBC

TfL TfL/LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Fund LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Zone

Junction enhancements

H M/L TfL/LBC TfL, LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Fund

Bridge enhancements

H M/L TfL/LBC/Network Rail

TfL, LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Fund

Cycle Parking – on and off-street

L pa Ongoing LBC/developers LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Zone/S106

Cycle hubs - East

Croydon - West

Croydon - Other rail

stations

M M M

S M/L M/L

LBC/Network Rail/train operators

LBC LIP/CIL/Growth Zone

Road safety measures

L pa Ongoing LBC LBC LIP

Healthy Streets schemes around district centres

- Thornton Heath

- Norbury - South

Norwood - Coulsdon

H

L

LBC

TfL Liveable Neighbourhoods/LBC LIP

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- Addiscombe - Crystal

Palace/Upper Norwood

- Purley - Selsdon

20mph speed limit/20mph zones on local roads

H S LBC LBC LIP

Permeability measures

- Contra flow cycling on one-way roads

- Cycle gaps

in road closures

L pa L pa

M M

LBC LBC

LBC LIP/CIL/S 106 LBC LIP/CIL/S 106

Local cycling group identified measures

- Link to existing schemes where relevant

- Identify priorities

?

LBC/Cycle Forum

LBC LIP/CIL/S 106

Non-infrastructure measures

Cycle training L pa Ongoing LBC/cycle trainer

LBC LIP

Behaviour change programme

M pa

Ongoing LBC LBC LIP

School travel plans - Bikeability

training

- Cycle parking

L pa L pa

Ongoing Ongoing

LBC/schools LBC/schools

LBC LIP/S 106

Cycle safety [FORS, SUD] and other initiatives

L pa Ongoing LBC LBC LIP

Cycle counts L pa Ongoing LBC LBC LIP

Policy integration with land use and transport planning

- Cycle parking standards

N/A Ongoing LBC N/A

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- Car parking standards

Cost

L = < £200k

M = £200k to 500k

H = > £500k

Timescale

S = 2017/18 -2019/20

M = 2020/21 – 2022/23

L = post 2023

MEASURING PROGRESS

Croydon’s transport Local Implementation Plan approved in 2011 includes a

mandatory target and performance indicator relating to cycling mode share. We are

also monitoring cycle route completed, cycle theft, the number of on-street cycle

parking spaces, cycle road casualty data, volume of cycling and the amount of

cycling to schools and to workplaces.

Measure Current performance

Interim target

Long term target

Data source

Proportion of cycling trips by Croydon residents

1% [2013/14 – 2015/16]

2% [2018/19 – 2020/21]

3.5% [2025/26 – 2027/28]

LTDS

Estimated spend per head of population on cycling investment

£3.69 [2017/18] £15 £15 LBC

Length of cycle route completed

(To be added) ? [2020/21]

? [2027/28]

LBC

Cyclist casualties - KSI

- All casualties

7 [2013/15] 98 [2013/15]

-10% [2018/20] -10% [2018/20]

-20% [2025/27] -20% [2025/27]

TfL

Number of public or on-street cycle parking spaces delivered each year

20 100 200 LBC

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We will prepare an annual monitoring report [The Croydon Cycle Account] including

the various sources of data identified above.

The use of LTDS data allows comparisons with other boroughs as it is collected on

an annual basis by TfL although 3 years of data are used to give reliable results due

to small sample sizes at the borough level.

As part of cycle training for adults and school children we will be undertaking a

questionnaire survey of how their cycle usage has changed following completion of

the training.