Kingston to New Malden

A public consultation took place between 17 October and 17 November 2016 on our initial proposals for the Kingston to New Malden route.

The aim of the consultation was to get feedback and insight on the initial design concepts.

The consultation leaflet was available online and was posted to 11,083 households. Of those 972 people took the time to feedback their views. 

Of those who responded, 48 per cent were in favour of the overall scheme proposals and 45 per cent were opposed.

Our vision is to transform walking and cycling facilities along the Kingston to New Malden corridor by providing a safe and accessible route that encourages people to walk and cycle, benefits local residents and supports local businesses by improving connections. 

The proposal is to provide a continuous and safe cycle route between Kingston and New Malden, with sufficient space and safer crossing points for pedestrians and cyclists.

The proposals have been created to overcome existing issues along the route including:

• Disconnected walking and cycling facilities which make it difficult to use the corridor on foot and by bicycle
• Difficult access to bus stops
• Restricted cycle access to Cambridge Road commercial area 
• Poor quality cycle lanes

The improvements outlined include:

• Segregated cycle lanes
• Upgraded pedestrian crossings
• Improved walking and cycling connections
• Changes to the road layout

Key feedback in the consultation included:

• Concerns about the proposed removal of the bus lane and associated increasing journey times.
• Potential additional traffic and congestion due to narrowing traffic lanes.
• Potential conflict between pedestrians and cyclists in shared areas.
• Impact caused by the removal of single yellow lines / introduction of double yellow lines.

Our designers have reviewed the common feedback received in the consultation and have provided the following update:

• Additional analysis is being undertaken to fully understand the impact of removing the bus lanes, and discussions are taking place with TfL bus operations to ensure that where possible any potential loss of journey time is kept to a minimum. 
• We are working closely with TfL to minimise traffic delays. The traffic lane widths will be designed to current standards and traffic impacts will be assessed with traffic models which need to be approved by TfL prior to implementation. Road safety audits will be carried out to identify any further safety concerns that need to be addressed.
• Shared use paths have been minimised. They have been proposed to maintain continuity of the cycle route where road space is limited. The measures identified by the council's shared use task and finish group will be utilised to develop acceptable solutions for each location. Shared use space will be carefully designed to help reduce possible conflict between cyclists and pedestrians.
• The proposed no waiting at any time (double yellow lines) provision is being assessed further to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on the local businesses. 

Other key findings from the consultation include:

Cambridge Road from London Road to Gloucester Road improvements: 

What you said: Of those who responded to this section of the consultation, 47 per cent were in favour of the proposals and 44 per cent were opposed.

• The additional feedback in this section was on the impact the proposals would have on businesses, in particular parking and the proposed introduction of double yellow lines.

What we are doing about it:

• Appropriate parking and loading will be provided to local businesses. This issue is being explored in detail and proposals will be developed with local businesses.

Cambridge Road/Kingston Road from Gloucester Road to Dickerage Lane improvements: 

What you said: Of those who responded to this part of the consultation, 47 per cent were in favour of the proposals and 44 per cent were opposed.

Kingston Road from Dickerage Lane to South Lane West improvements: 

What you said: Of those who responded to this part of the consultation, 48 per cent were in favour of the proposals and 44 per cent were opposed.

• The additional feedback in this section was on the impact the proposals would have on businesses, in particular parking and the proposed introduction of double yellow lines. 

What we are doing about it:

• Appropriate parking and loading will be provided to local businesses. This issue is being explored and proposals will be developed with local businesses.

Kingston Road from South Lane West to Fountain Roundabout improvements: 

What you said: Of those who responded to this part of the consultation, 48 per cent were in favour of the proposals and 44 per cent were opposed.

• In addition to the main scheme concerns, safety was a key issue in this section, including continuous footway crossings and the removal of pedestrian crossings west of Penrith Road and east of South Lane West. However, there was support for the proposal to upgrade existing crossings to zebra crossings at Montem Road (New Malden Library) and Charnwood Close.

What we are doing about it:

• Further analysis is being undertaken to assess whether the existing crossing east of South Lane West can be upgraded to a proposed zebra crossing.

Next steps

Following the public consultation, our consultants are now developing the designs to take into consideration the public's comments wherever possible. 

Following the public consultation, our consultants developed the designs to take into consideration the public's comments wherever possible.  The revised proposals were subsequently submitted to the council for approval and further development for construction.