“See.Sense Report” - Analysis for London

Since the launch of our new #SeeSenseReport feature in our app during lockdown, we are already starting to gather thousands of reports from cyclists around the world, letting us know where cycling infrastructure could be improved or where particular hazards lie on their journeys.   

In this series, we’ll focus on cities where we have the largest numbers of reports and highlight some of the key themes coming through - and we’re kicking off with the UK's capital, London.  

What is See.Sense Report?

SeeSenseReport is an easy way to let other riders and your city know about issues or risks you faced on your ride.  Simply use our free See.Sense app to drop a pin in the map, highlighting areas where you have experienced a ‘close pass’, ‘collision’, ‘pothole’, ‘obstruction’, or ‘other’, and optionally describe the event with a 250 character description. 

If you’ve got some ideas about how your city can make improvements, you can also make some suggestions using our ‘Infrastructure Request’ feature.  Select the location and advise where you want to ‘ Add more width’, ‘Add separation from motor traffic’, ‘add cycle parking’, ‘.change timing of traffic lights, or slow down traffic’.

Central London

Below shows the See.Sense reports received in Central London since the launch of See.Sense report.  In the following analysis, we highlight some of these reports, with the analysis based on location, road condition, whether it has occurred at a junction or a main road for e.g., and of course what the users’ report type has been, in order to gain a better understanding of cyclist’s ride experiences. 

Edgware Rd 

An area in London where we received a lot of reports is along the ‘Edgware Road onto Cricklewood Broadway (see image below), with 7 reports recorded. Of the 7 reports, 3 of them were ‘pothole’ complaints, highlighting the case for road surface repairs to be made. The remaining 4 reports in this area were split between ‘Close pass’ and ‘Other’, with the close pass reports, it is indicative that the potholes and poor road surface may have caused the user to swerve to avoid it, resulting in a narrowed space between themselves and a passing vehicle, indicated by a close pass report. 

Tower Bridge 

We also noticed that Tower bridge has 3 reports, where someone has used our Infrastructure Request feature to request ‘‘Separation’’ with a report at each end of the bridge, and one in the middle. From analysis, the ‘Tower bridge’ is very narrow, and has no devoted or shared cycle lane, indicative of issues with separation. 

Old Kent Rd 

Another interesting area is from the ‘Old Kent Rd’, where 3 reports have been raised for ‘Potholes’, which in such a congested area, and being close to vehicles, a pothole creates a major risk, with the user having to swerve quickly to avoid it, or to try and cycle over it.

Our thanks to the See.Sense community for making these reports, which we’ll use to create a better awareness of incidents and enhance our ability to identify common patterns and trends within cities. Remember your city can also register with us to freely access these See.Sense reports too, providing a valuable resource of data insights for your city.