Barnet councillors criticise A1000 cycle lane in Finchley

Tory councillors asked for a cost breakdown of the A1000 cycle lane in Finchley and said the scheme did not seem to be popular with residents.

The cycle lane was introduced by Barnet Council last year using emergency funding provided by the Government to support social distancing.

But at a meeting of the environment committee on Thursday, the councillors claimed it was causing traffic congestion and pollution – and warned some aspects of the design could pose a risk to cyclists.

Cllr Felix Byers (Conservative, East Barnet) said: “Half a million pounds is a pretty colossal amount of public money to be spent on a scheme which, judging from the feedback I have received, does not seem that popular and seems to have been pretty hastily designed and implemented – without much forethought to a whole range of pretty self-evident flaws.

“Would it be possible to get an idea of the general breakdown of the cost? I just don’t understand why it is so expensive.”

Colin Aarons, the council’s highways and transport lead, replied that the majority of the money was spent on construction work, including “signing and lining, the removal of some build-outs and the installation of wands, minor changes to signs and resurfacing with blue material”.

Mr Aarons agreed to provide a full cost breakdown to Cllr Byers and other members of the committee.

Cllr Byers said: “The design has essentially halved the road capacity between the A406 and Summers Lane. Have you made an assessment of what the long-term impact of that will be, as presumably the number of cars on the road increases – first as schools open and later as restrictions are eased further?

“I don’t use the road that frequently, but just judging from what it is like on a Sunday, the congestion is pretty bad.”

Mr Aarons said the council was putting in place a “monitoring strategy” to “establish how the nature of the traffic changes as we emerge out of lockdown”.

“If we can address any issues that continue to arise, we will,” he added.

Cllr Alison Cornelius (Conservative, Totteridge) said residents had been contacting her to raise concerns about the cycle lane.

“There seem to be very few bikes when I pass these cycle lanes, and it does seem to be causing huge tailbacks in both directions,” she added. “I think what we also need to take into account is the added pollution from the cars stopping and starting and queueing much longer than they normally would.”

Cllr Cornelius said she was “very concerned” about the joint bus and cycle lanes, which she did not consider a “safe option” for cyclists. She also warned the bollards could stop drivers manoeuvring to let ambulances through traffic.

Mr Aarons said the scheme was not “rigid”, and council officers were listening to the views of residents.

He added that sample tubes will be used to monitor air pollution, while road safety audits had been carried out on the initial design and further audits will take place.

Mr Aarons said his understanding was that “any emergency vehicle under a blue light” can use a bus or cycle lane, and the “wands” separating the lanes from the main carriageway had been designed to allow access to such vehicles.

The officer said the council was looking to “evolve the scheme” to address the concerns raised by residents and businesses.

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