Assen town square today: completely redesigned to favour pedestrians and cyclists: traffic and parked cars

removed

In Brent we have an environment totally cluttered-up with cars, as they had in the Netherlands in the

1970s, before they changed policy: Edgware Road in Colindale

In the Netherlands now, the space on main roads is just used completely differently: Assen

Part of the Go Dutch campaign is having concrete proposals for how London’s major roads and junctions can be made cycle friendly: LCC’s proposed design for

Blackfriars

Sometimes only a small change is necessary: road leading to One Tree Hill Rec. in Alperton that is no-entry

for all

...when it could easily have been provided, like King Henry’s Road, Camden, with a no-entry bypass for bikes

But many other roads in Brent require major re-engineering to make them work for cycling: the A5 at

Staples Corner

Most cycle “facilities” in the UK don’t work: they are bad designs and in the wrong places: Staples Corner

West

But decent-quality provision for cycling in the right places is possible in London, and has been done: Royal College Street,

Camden

Official cycle routes in Brent on minor roads are often very unsatisfactory because of restricted width and too

much parking: Chapter Road, by Dollis hill tube

Even wider residential roads are hazardous because of parked cars and the danger of opening doors: Mollison

Way, Queensbury

Compare with a residential road in the Netherlands of very similar width to Mollison

Way

Much traffic calming on residential roads is not good for cyclists as it creates extra hazards: road in Wembley

In Brent, cycle paths are generally not present even where they would be easy to provide in open spaces: Fryent Way,

Kingsbury

The Mayor’s Cycle Superhighways have potential to change things for the better but they have not been consistently well-

done: CS3, Barking

Brent has potential as a “Biking Borough” but needs far better planning and far more investment: Old Church Lane,

Kingsbury

More information

•www.brentcyclists.org.uk

•www.lcc.org.uk

•www.cycling-embassy.org.uk

•www.sustrans.org.uk

•www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com