Lewisham Council and Cycling

Introduction
Lewisham's Cycling Policies
Facts and Figures
What is Lewisham council doing for cyclists?
Lewisham needs a dedicated cycle officer – now!
Room for improvement
Summary
Contacts

CAMPAIGN SUCCESS - Carole Crankshaw started in her new post as Lewisham's Cycling Officer on Monday 12th December. This follows 6 or 7 months of campaigning by Lewisham Cyclists for teh appointment of a dedicated cycling officer for Lewisham.

Lewisham needs a dedicated cycle officer – now!

In contrast to other inner London boroughs (e.g. Hackney, Southwark, Lambeth), Lewisham does not yet have a dedicated cycle officer .

We have ‘sustainable transport officer' Peter Stunell . Being a ‘lead contact for cycling' is just one part of his many duties. He also promotes a walking strategy, use of alternative fuel vehicles and promotes public transport. You might ask how one person is expected to deal with such a wide range of duties, and have time to provide for the thousands of cyclists in the Borough? It is simply too much for one person. The Council say that they are against compartmentalisation and want to encourage integration of cycling issues by all transport officers. This is great in principal. BUT: the joined-up approach clearly isn't working for cycling – it is often a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. In the meantime, cycle issues tend to get buried under more dominant transport or council issues, and are not being effectively integrated into local planning.

We argue that planning, infrastructure and local issues specific to cycling require a greater degree of specialisation and more staff resources to be truly effective and to deliver the council's commitments. Additional project staff can be paid for through increased funding from TfL. The appointment of a dedicated cycling officer and support staff is required to push forward and co-ordinate initiatives, to change attitudes in the council, to ensure that transport planners are actually implementing the cycle strategy and planning directives correctly (rather than just ‘adding on'), to bid for increased funding, and to make sure that cycle issues are indeed ‘joined up' in other areas such as housing, transport and road safety. Other Boroughs have dedicated cycling officers and have shown the effective role such dedicated posts can play, especially in getting a cycle strategy moving. Why should Lewisham be any different?

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