Signs could help enforce cycling ban along London’s South Bank

A report has called for stricter enforcement of a ban on cyclists riding a long a stretch of the South Bank.

As reported by Road.cc, the London Borough of Lambeth commissioned a report which has resulted in a draft cycling strategy that suggests the ban should be enforced more firmly with the use of signs and other measures.

“Opinions volunteered were fairly evenly divided between local residents and their representatives who wish to see cycling on the riverside prohibited and London-wide cyclists who wish to see it permitted,” said the report’s authors. “The River Walk is not a designated cycle route and private landowners in the study area recommended that a ban on cycling in this location be enforced.”

The draft strategy suggests that, if no enforcement support can be agreed with police, landowners should support the council in implementing a signage plan which would encourage cyclists away from the River Walk onto a nearby designated cycle route.

The authors were representing businesses and organisations including the British Film Institute, Guy & St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation Trust, ITV and Shell. It was suggested that these, and other landowners, should “support enforcement of a no cycling rule on the River Walk between Oxo Tower Wharf and London Eye.

“With the Mayor’s cycle hire scheme and cycle superhighways being launched, an increasing drive towards sustainable travel, and rising cycle theft, it should represent part of an ongoing conversation with key stakeholders about how to deliver services to encourage people to take to their bikes,” said councillor Nigel Haselden, Lambeth’s deputy cabinet member for sustainability and transport.