A revised planning application has been submitted to remove the existing protected bike lane on Richmond Road.

Kingston Gate is a proposed development, building over a car park and an adjacent busy road.

The developers propose diverting this traffic onto Richmond Road, but they want to remove the protected bike lane to do so.

According to Kingston Cycling Campaign (KCC), "This will completely sever this route, and their proposed cycling diversion on the pavement and around the back of the shops is a waste of time."

The same developers proposed something similar in 2021.

However, this time, no phase 2 is proposed, and there will be no reinstatement of the bike lane at any point in the future, so removing this protected bike lane will be permanent.

"This has to be stopped before it gets started, or we will lose this route forever," said KCC.

"Richmond Road is a key cycling artery, both now and for the future.

"The council should be providing protected space for southbound cycling, never mind retaining the northbound protected route.

"The Council's own plans are to upgrade the cycling route all along Richmond Road, and earlier this month they applied to TfL for millions of pounds of funding to do so.

" But this planning application will ruin it all if it goes ahead."

To help prevent the removal of the bike lane, KCC is asking residents to object to the proposals.

KCC has already submitted its detailed objection to this scheme – covering much more than the problems covered on its website.

But, it said, "the best way to ensure this route is kept is for everyone to add your own objections".

How to object:

• Visit the application on the council's website: 19/02323/FUL
• Fill in the form, and pick "Object" as your stance
• Tick "Access or traffic problems"
• In the comment, say that you object to the proposal on the grounds of Road Safety, that you object to the removal of the protected bike lane on Richmond Road, and you object to there being no consideration of a southbound protected bike lane being added at any stage of the project or in the future.

Objections must be submitted by tomorrow, Tuesday 26 November.

Many local residents have already submitted their objections to the proposals, including Banquet Records owner and former Liberal Democrat councillor Jon Tolley, who in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said: "I've registered my comments and I'd urge you to too.

"I was a councillor when this last came to committee, and we made the strong case that keeping the bike lane was imperative.

"Nothing's changed we either support safe sustainable travel or we don't."

In another post on X, one resident shared an image of their lengthy response to the proposal.

I've responded with this. pic.twitter.com/rUSAW5DOFx

— shamrocksoup🇪🇺🦔 (@ShamrockSoup) November 25, 2024

Speaking about why he objects to the proposals, KCC's Andy Allan said: "We're concerned by the revised planning application which proposes to rip out the existing protected bike lane and completely sever the route by diverting people on bikes on pavements and around the back of the shops.

"Richmond Road is a key cycling artery, both now and for the future."

He continued: "The council should be providing protected bike space for southbound cycling as well as retaining the northbound protected route.

"The council's own plans are to upgrade the cycling route all along Richmond Road and earlier this month they applied to TfL for millions of pounds of funding to do so.

"But this planning application will ruin it all if it goes ahead.

"It's not too late for the developers to change their proposals or for the council to reject them."

KCC's leader, Jon Fray said: "These proposals make conditions for people using bikes much less safe when Kingston Council should be aiming for improvements."

Speaking about the matter from a woman's perspective, KCC member Suzanne Seyghal Buckingham told Kingston Nub: "Paint isn't protection, and the perception already is for many that cycling is unsafe.

"So essentially the wider message is that it's vital that people remember cycle lanes are often for people who don't cycle YET, so it's vital they're segregated (protected) to help build bike confidence so anyone - whether they're 8 or 80 - feel safe enough to consider using a bike for local journeys."

She continued: "Kingston Council's own Cycle Routes Programme states 'Kingston Council is committed to supporting cycling as an attractive, safe and enjoyable way to travel around the borough" whilst its Healthy Streets statements talk about wanting to create streets where residents can "cycle around safely and feel connected to our community'.

"If the council is serious about creating healthy streets, encouraging residents to be less reliant on cars for local journeys and getting more people of all ages to embed healthy habits, it's vital it protects existing cycling infrastructure and improves it with additional cycling facilities that connect safely to each and - critically - that go places people actually want to go.

"To remove this one along Richmond Road would therefore be a retrograde step."

Find out more about the proposals and KCC's objections here.