Holland Park Roundabout Cycleway Plan Splits Opinion
TfL says modelling indicates it won't cause significant extra congestion
How cyclists are supposed to cross the roundabout is unclear with the current design
August 24, 2024
Transport for London (TfL) announced recently it will be moving ahead with proposals for changes to the layout of the Holland Park Roundabout. It is planning to install a new two-way cycle lane along the south side of the roundabout, providing a direct route from Shepherd’s Bush Green to its west through to Holland Park Avenue to the east.
TfL says the move is necessary due to the risk posed to pedestrians and cyclists using the roundabout. In a report published last month, it notes that in the three-year period to May 2023, there were 54 collisions at the roundabout, in which 59 people were hurt including 14 cyclists and pedestrians.
“The Holland Park Roundabout is a high-priority location for safety improvements as part of the Mayors Safer Junction Programme,” the report continues. “Our ‘’Vision Zero’ plan is for deaths and serious injuries from all road collisions to be eliminated from the streets by 2041.”
The scheme is not without its objectors, with some claiming it will result in issues including increased pollution and congestion. A petition organised by former Conservative MP for Kensington, Felicity Buchan, received 2,720 signatures supporting her opposition to the works. Some traders have also raised the alarm, with C Lidgate, a local butchers, telling ITV News they fear it could put them out of business.
Inexperienced cyclists are reluctant to stay on the road to cross the roundabout
During a visit to the roundabout this week, the volume of traffic was fairly relentless, with vehicles backing up in particular onto Holland Park Avenue and towards Shepherd’s Bush Green. TfL says its own modelling indicates any traffic impacts are expected to be ‘minimal’, though data compiled for the Holland Park Traders Association suggested otherwise.
What is equally notable, however, when speaking to people using the crossings around the roundabout, is how unsafe it makes some users feel. One woman I spoke to said she never feels safe when crossing, adding: “I don’t think anyone does.”
Dwayne Daisy, 32, who was cycling along the existing lane, said the actions of some drivers put people off riding their bikes in the area. “It is safe, as long as the cars don’t go mad,” he said.
Similar fears had been raised when I stopped by the roundabout earlier this year. Winner Silvestre, 26, who works in Shepherd’s Bush, told me she sticks to walking due to being concerned about her safety if she were to cycle. “It’s really difficult and dangerous,” she said. “It’s dangerous because there are no signs for cycling, so I have to follow the pedestrians.”
Ms Silvestre added she believed a new cycle lane would impact traffic, ‘but it would be in a good way. You need to respect other ones that use the road’.
During the hour or so I spent at the roundabout, the lack of defined on-road cycling provision was clearly confusing some people. While around half of those travelling on two wheels navigated using the pedestrian lights and crossings, the rest joined the waves of oncoming traffic.
Some, who were clearly not used to the roundabout and typically riding rented bikes such as Lime, found themselves in the middle two lanes, battling on as cars, vans and lorries shot past them on either side.
TfL has said it will now work to share updated designs with the local highway authority, Hammersmith and Fulham Council, later this year. If the scheme is approved, it then hopes to undertake community engagement in spring/summer 2025, before construction work begins.
Concerns will continue to be aired over the potential impact the changes will have on traffic and pollution, though TfL’s intended direction of travel is clear; Holland Park Roundabout will, barring any unexpected surprises, be welcoming new cycle lanes in the not-too-distant future.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter