Kingston Society Public Meeting: Cycling in Kingston

The Kingston upon Thames Society's Public Meeting in March addressed the often controversial topic of cycling.

Originally we planned to have speakers from the Council there to talk about their plans, especially the newly funded mini-Holland programme, but they made some lame excuses at the last moment and dropped out. We decided to keep to the subject of cycling but to make it a debate instead with two of us speaking briefly at the beginning to spark the debate.

I was on first to promote cycling.

The main points that I made were:

• Cycling is a good idea and we should encourage it enthusiastically.
• Current provision in Kingston is limited, disjointed and poorly maintained – this needs to be fixed.
• Mini-Holland will help but it is not a magic bullet that will solve all the problems.
• We should be pushing for other schemes too, especially for destinations like schools, shops and parks, and in overlooked areas like Chessington.

If you are really keen then you can read the full presentation on SlideShare.

The two comments that I made that made the most impact were on the poor air quality in Kingston and my confession to regularly cycling on pavements and through lights. I also confessed to breaking the rules as a pedestrian, e.g. crossing roads when the red man is showing, but my crimes as a cyclist were considered to be more heinous, for reasons that escape me, and it would probably have been better not to have confessed to them.

There was a lot of discussion about the flagship project in the mini-Holland programme, the pontoon along the river to create a new route for cyclists. I had made the point that if we want to promote cycling and also keep cyclists away from pedestrians then either we need to create new capacity, e.g. the pontoon, or we take capacity away from other road users, e.g. dedicated cycle lanes behind barriers to stop pedestrians and cars from also using them.

We also talked quite a bit about Richmond Park. I said that the easiest way to separate bikes and people would be to restrict the space given to cars, e.g. we could allocate one Sunday a month as a car-free day where the cyclists would have full use of the roads and the walkers could have full use of the shared paths. Remarkably some people felt that they had a right to drive around Richmond Park whenever they liked, even though I pointed out that they did not have, or expect to have, this right in Kew Gardens.

I would like to the use of Richmond Park by cars severely reduced and see the occasional car-free day as a trial that proves that the Park would be a lot nicer for everyone, and everything, if we banned cars all weekend every weekend.

We also talked about other places and other schemes but, apart from fixing pot-holes, we came to no agreement on anything.

Everybody seemed to agree that cycling was a good idea but nobody wanted to give up any of their space for this. The new cycles schemes are going to upset a lot of people, at first, but they must be done. We have no alternatives.

Improving cycling in Kingston

Cycling in Kingston has been a contentious issue in Kingston in recent years with pedestrians and cyclists not mixing well. I like to cycle and think that more should be done to encourage cycling so I  went to the public meeting that Zac Goldsmith, my MP, called on the subject.

Once there I learned that the point of the meeting was to help to inform Conservative Party policy ahead of the local elections later this year. I do not normally like helping Conservatives but by participating I was also helping cyclists so I stayed.

Zac opened the meeting by saying that his postbag is full of letters with strong views for and against cyclists and that is why he wanted to have a meeting on the subject.

Paul Drummond, Kingston Council's lead officer for transport, then said a few things to put the debate in context. He explained that the policy on mixing pedestrians and cyclists had changed over the years and co-mingling was out of fashion and segregation was back in. Some traffic features, such as the crossing outside of Kingston Station, had been redesigned more than once as fashions had changed.

He also said that Kingston Council had long been an advocate of cycling and he sited the cycle lane included in the widening of Kingston Bridge as an example of this. He also reminded the meeting that the K+20 policy document had included the now controversial pontoon along the rives.

Paul closed by saying the priority now was to complete north-south and east-west through routes.

The public debate then started, got off to an excellent start and then fell in to a cyclists v pedestrians debate. The first speaker made three simple, and very true, points; cycle provision is very disjointed, roads are blighted with potholes, and those responsible for cycling policy (officers and councillors) are not cyclists.

Rather than try to summarise what everybody else said I'll try to pull together my thoughts arising from the meeting.

Too much of the debate was about cyclists when we should have been talking about cycling.

Cars need to play their part in the solution

The real problem is cars, as they kill people and take most space, but the problem is always seen as cyclists versus pedestrians.

We should consider restricting, or banning, cars in areas where we most want to encourage cycling. An obvious place to do this would be near schools where young pedestrians and cyclists would both benefit.

The other obvious place to ban cars is Richmond Park. One speaker suggested that this should happen for a few hours on certain days and I would go much further and ban cars on some Sundays over the Summer with the aim of extending the ban to all Sundays and then on to Saturdays.

Not all the rules of the road should apply to cyclists

I am a terrible pedestrian. I wilfully cross roads when the red man is showing, walk diagonally across quiet roads and step on to zebra crossings without waiting for the traffic stops. Actually an awful lot of people walk like this as can be seem on Ham Parade on any Saturday morning. Nobody complains about this.

I cycle in much the same way and everybody complains about this. There is nothing wrong, per se, with cycling on pavements or through red lights.

Nor is there anything wrong with cycling at more than 20mph in Richmond Park. If a cyclist hits a deer then the deer is going to win.

Besides, most cyclists, including myself, do not have speedometers so we cannot know whether we are speeding or not. And having cycled up a steep hill I am not going to brake on the way down just to keep within a speed limit that has been set to protect deer from cars.

Do the simple things right

There is not that much that needs to be done to make cycling significantly better and these are all obvious things.

Cycle routes need to be connected and go to places that people want to go.

The routes need to be well maintained, pedestrians and cars are much more able to handle uneven and rough surfaces than bikes.

Legislation is needed to protect cyclists (and pedestrians)

Zac mentioned that Parliament had started to look at measures that could be introdcued to make HGVs safer. This needs to happen.

One of the reason that cycling works so well in Holland is that in an accident between and car and a bike, by law, the car is at least 50% responsible whatever the circumstances. Legislation like this is needed to force the change required on all drivers, just as it was for drink driving and wearing seatbelts.

Following the Olympic Torch

The Opening Ceremony for London 2012 was in the evening of Friday 27 July but my Olympic Day started much earlier.

I had missed the Olympic Torch when it jogged past my house on Tuesday morning as I was half-way to Cardiff by then so I was pleased to get a second chance.

The Torch made the last leg of its journey to the Olympic Stadium by boat starting with a procession along the Thames from Kingston.

It was due to pass the end of my road around 8:20am so I thought that I would be clever and head off on my bike around 8:00 only to find the paths busy with people heading for the river.

I hit the tow-path and then headed downstream until I found a nice spot just before Teddington Lock. A little later than expected the flotilla came in to view, and it was only then that I realised that it was going to be a flotilla.

There were a few large boats stuffed with dignitaries then the Royal Barge, Gloriana,came past with its large flame at the front. This was followed by a horde of small rowing boats many of them carrying the flags of their boating club or society.

The flotilla then had to pass through Teddington Lock which meant that it was easy enough to cycle round and get ahead of it again. My next stop was by Thames Young Mariners' where the raised bridge gave a good elevated view. More photos were taken.

Flushed with success I cycled on, as many of us did, passing the flotilla once again. I stopped between Eel Pie Island and Ham House because the lack of trees and of people meant that I could get a good view, this time from river level.

There were good crowds out all along the route and that made it an amazing atmosphere with lots of cheering and smiling. It was a very happy start to the day and to the Olympics.

Cycling to Kew

What started out as just a cycle for the exercise turned into yet another excuse for going to Kew.

This Summer's weather had hardly been encouraging for cycling and, for whatever reason, the local Open Garden events did not fall on convenient days so I had to reason to go out before.

In the end it was the realisation that Summer was slipping quickly past without waiting for me to get on my bike that made me get on my bike.

I live between the river and Richmond Park which means that the obvious routes are to follow the river or to cross the park. I followed the river.

Heading North takes you quickly to Richmond and then the river swings slowly round Kew before taking you to the Kew Gradens' Brentford Gate.

This is not a gate I use often, I think I've only gone in that way once before, so it seemed sensible to break the journey for a while and explore that part of the garden.

The iPhone app proved its use again here as it pointed me towards Minka House and the Bamboo Garden around it.

And I like really bamboo.

This is a quiet corner of Kew, away from the main entrances and the main attractions, which is an attraction itself for those of us who value tranquility and space. Here the garden looks more natural and only the glimpse of the occasional bench reminds you that this is a tightly managed environment.

This is wild Kew at its majestic best with cleverly planted trees revealing how evolution has shaped the natural world around us while also creating paths through them where the light can play gleefully.

A circular route took me back towards the gate and the White Peaks cafe for a coffee and a cake.

I'd cycled and walked a reasonable distance so I deserved that cake.

Before heading back home the way that I came I made a quick visit to the Queen’s Garden behind Kew Palace.

The well-ordered hedges and borders are in stark contrast to the earlier woodlands but are no less pretty or interesting.

Finally it was time to remember the real point of the day and get back on the bike and fight with the walkers on the tow-path home.

It's hard to think of a better way of spending a Sunday morning.

Gardens by the river

My garden explorations have been a little more adventurous thanks to growing confidence in cycling in London and the seductive and suggestive powers of the National Gardens Scheme website.

And so it was that I found myself in the unknown quarters of Chiswick Mall on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The journey there was a little challenging due to the scant regard most of London pays to the needs of cyclists which means that the routes are shared with unsympathetic people or even more unsympathetic cars, detour around developments and disappear altogether.

I blame the bumping around West London for the destroyed rear inner tube that meant a very uncomfortable ride. Luckily the gardens made up for this.

Four gardens were on display but one was about the size of the proverbial postage stamp so that left three to stroll through.

Chiswick Mall has grand period houses on the river so envy is an understandable response until you realise that the constant drone is the nearby A4 on a quiet day.

The common themes of the gardens were high walls, long borders and separating the large gardens in to smaller areas with their own character and purpose.

Also common were the high steps that remind you that the Thames rolling gently past the end of the garden can become a powerful and acquisitive beast that can climb small steps and sweep through unprotected houses.

But with the river peaceful, the A4 just a gentle annoyance and the sun bright and hot, the gardens were able to show themselves at their best and they rose to the occasion admirably.

I also loved the way that all the gardens had that lived-in feeling, presumably because they were all lived-in rather than just grown for show.

The gardens over, the next challenge was to plan a route home fit for a broken bike. This sort of worked but the shared path along the river was bike hostile so I took to the road instead, and the tow path by Kew was closed for more building works.

So bit of a curate's egg sort of day but the puncture was not Chiswick's fault and the gardens certainly were so I could just make it back there one day.

On our bikes

I first joined the online meet-up site, http://www.meetup.com, a couple of years ago when somebody told me about a Czech/Slovak group that meets regularly in London but I had never managed to get to any meet-ups until last week when I went to two!

Or, to be more honest, I went to one event that was being co-hosted by two groups that I belong to so I RSVP'ed. The Kingston and Richmond Social Group and Twickenham Cycling Meetup Group jointly arranged a cycle around Richmond Park.

I could hardly refuse an invitation like that!

We met at the New Inn on Ham Common where my worries started as people turned up in a range of increasingly rugged bikes, wearing incredibly appropriate clothing and carrying useful supplies like inner tubes, pumps and water. Non of which I could claim to.

Luckily a few other people turned up in street clothes and normal bikes and I started to feel more comfortable. Quick introductions were made (and mostly forgotten) over a quick half and then we were off along Ham Gate Avenue to, er, Ham Gate.

The decision was made to go around Richmond Park anti-clockwise (not my preference) which meant a slow climb towards Kingston Gate and then a sharp climb up Kingston Hill where the group I was in politely waited for the ladies on bikes without gears to catch us up.

The rest of the ride was a playful scramble along the path that continually turns, dips, bends and rises to keep the journey interesting and the view ever-changing.

A high point was towards the end of the ride when we came across a group of deer grazing by the side of the road between Richmond Gate and Ham Gate.

After that the ride was all down hill and then a quick sprint back to the pub for our reward and more conversations.

Having dipped my toe into the world of meet-ups I'm sure that I'll be going on another one before too long, such as the walk from Putney to Waterloo next month.

greenfest West London

I went to greenfest in West London in 2008 just to see Instant Flight play but liked the rest of the festival so much that I decided to go back this year.

The weather was good and a lot of the territory between my home and Furnival Gardens is green space (Richmond Park, Barnes Common, etc.) so I decided to cycle there.

This did not start too well with a boy riding in to me in Richmond Park but no serious damage was done to either person or bike.

The next problem was overconfidence in knowing the route which led me to cross at Putney Bridge rather than the much more convenient Barnes Bridge. The plus side of this was that I could cycle along the North bank of the river back from Putney to Hammersmith, which I had never been to before.


There was music at greenfest again this year and while I had never heard of any of the artists that did not detract from the entertainment.

This is Rocket Number 9 doing their bit to get some of the crowd dancing and some of the crowd to listen appreciatively.

Furnival Gardens follows the river and so is a relatively long and a relatively thin park. This works well for a festival like this because there is good space for a stage and sitting area at one end, plenty of space in the middle for stalls and you can explore everything simply by walking the length of the park.


A path runs through the centre of the park and this was the occasional home to all sort of bicycle related contraptions, such as this one!

The stalls were clustered around the park so it was easy to visit a few together but there was also plenty of space between them to sit and relax.

Being a greenfest the stalls naturally had an ecological slant, which meant that they were all interesting!

I managed to collect an obligatory canvass shopping bag, securing tagging for my bike and information on a host of subjects from domestic solar heating through to car sharing schemes.

Bikes featured quite prominently and I liked some of the more unusual "people carriers" such as a fairly standard upright bike with two child seats, front and back. That would have been useful about sixteen years ago!

It was also good to see plenty of things for children to do and many were occupied making and drawing things throughout the park.


The ecological stuff is good and worthy but the proof of the fun pudding is in the eating and it was clear that, wherever you looked in the park, that it was busy with happy people.

The organisers are to be seriously congratulated for delivering another successful festival which, sadly, makes the comparison with Kingston's abandoned Green Fair all the sadder.

I met two of the organisers last year and I was delighted to bump in to both of them again this year, though I had to put a bit of hard work in to manage the bump with John Griffiths, the co-ordinator of organising group.

We are Facebook friends so the next bump should be easier to arrange. As should the ride there next year.

Five Garden Close, Putney

I seem to be writing about gardens a lot in this blog at the moment mainly because I am visiting lots of gardens, though I am not quite sure how that happened. I am no keener on gardens now than I was previously and I guess that the increased visiting is simply down to greater knowledge of what is available through the National Gardens Scheme and greater free time in which to visit them.

A pleasant cycle through Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath took me to the iconoclastic Five Garden House built in Huf Haus style and surrounded by a well designed and cared for garden.


The house is surrounded by a decked walkway and just beyond that at the front of the house are two ponds separated by a narrow path to the lawn and front gate. This space is full of plants, trees, stones, watering cans, pots, etc. but still carries off the modern minimalist look with ease.


At one side of the house there is another smaller pond that was busy with activity as several pairs of dragon flies got on with their Spring rituals. Here the borders have been discretely planted for colour as well as for shape.


As the side and front gardens merge the borders become bigger and bolder and a subtle path lead you towards the lawn and proffers different views of the garden. What makes this garden even more enjoyable (for the owners at least) is that the exterior walls of the house are all glass and so it can be enjoyed from indoors from almost every room.

A warm day, a good cycle through park land and an interesting garden at the end of the journey made this an excellent venture. The glass of wine sipped on the front veranda helped too.

Keszthely is colourful

Our last holiday was to Tunis where everything was painted white with blue highlights so it is something of a change to walk/cycle around Keszthely where the houses are in bright vibrant colours.

The town is more than living up to our expectations by providing the peace and quiet we were looking for, giving us the opportunity to catch-up on books and podcasts, play cards and gently explore the area.

Keszthely also provides quite a few places worth exploring, more than we expected, and in addition to the lake it has a grand town square, a castle on top of the hill, buildings old and new in various states of repair, statues and fountains, and the amazingly quaint hamlet of Szendrytelep a short cycle ride from the town.

This is proving to be just the sort of holiday that we wanted, and needed, it to be. Even the rain does not spoil it.

Le Tour de Richmond Park

While the Tour de France ambled through Paris I was tackling the hills, tight bends, little children and dogs on a circuit of Richmond Park.

There are various paths in the park but the best one for cycling is also the longest one which mostly follows the outer wall. This is a circuit of around 12 km.

I enter the park at Ham Gate (centre left on the map), which is about 1 km from where I live, and I go counter-clockwise. This is partially because I am a mathematician, and we measure angles counter-clockwise, but it also gets the biggest climb, up Kingston Hill (centre bottom), out of the way early on.

The kids and dogs apart, Richmond Park is a joy to cycle around because the cycle routes keep well away from the traffic and, instead, go through some of the wilder parts of the park. For example, this time I saw two herds of deer, the stags were close to Sheen Gate and the does were a little further round towards Bog Gate.