See.Sense Report - Analysis for London
Our latest See.Sense report of 2022 takes us to the city of London. London has a plethora of See.Sense users providing data insights, allowing us to gather a detailed view into cycling in the city.
The analysis undertaken for this series is based on data from the See.Sense Report feature, which enables cyclists to report the location of any issues they encounter during their ride through the See.Sense app. By using the ride survey feature on the app, users can report close passes, collisions, potholes, obstructions and other issues by dropping a pin on the map. Users can also report areas in which infrastructure improvements are needed, with the app providing users with the ability to advise on a range of improvements, including additional parking, road widening and more.
We have received over 150 reports from our See.Sense community in London since the beginning of 2020, and we will be examining these reports to provide an overview of cycling in the city. As was the case in Dublin and Belfast, close passes are the most common issue reported by cyclists in London, with 46.8% of reports raising this issue. This is where a passing vehicle fails to leave a safe distance between itself and the cyclist, which is widely considered to be a minimum of 1.5 metres.
If you have missed our previous two See.Sense Reports of 2022, make sure to read them here: See.Sense Report - Belfast & See.Sense Report - Dublin
Burdett Road - Close Pass
Burdett Road has received a report of a close pass. A user reported that a ‘vehicle turning right cut in front of me and I was forced to break’. This road has cycle infrastructure in place, however it is not physically separated from vehicles.
Windmill Lane - Close Pass
A cyclist has reported a close pass on Windmill Lane. They stated that they were ‘less than 10 metres from the junction and a car decided to overtake and turn left’.
Grove Road - Pothole
We received a report stating that there was a pothole located on the Grove Road roundabout, situated just outside Victoria Park. This pothole resulted in a ‘burst inner tube’ for the affected user, who stated, ‘I was lucky I didn’t come off the bike’.
Scrubs Lane - Pothole
Scrubs Lane has also been reported to have several potholes. Whilst there are cycle lanes on Scrubs Lane, they appear to be severely faded and lack any physical separation from the road, meaning many drivers likely do not realise there are cycle lanes present. This road appears to be particularly problematic for cyclists, with a report stating that the ‘road is awful for bikes’.
Oxford Street - Close Pass
It has been reported that there have been close passes with both pedestrians and buses on Oxford Street, one of the busiest roads in central London. There is no cycle infrastructure along this road, with one cyclist stating, ‘this road needs more segregation as there are pedestrians and buses all over the place.’
Harley Street - Collision
A collision between a cyclist and a taxi was reported at this junction between Harley Street and New Cavendish Street. Describing the incident, the user stated that ‘the taxi didn't signal left before then turning left and cutting across me’. Thankfully the cyclist making this report was not seriously injured in the collison, and we would like to thank them for submitting a report.
Ladbroke Grove & Harrow Road Junction - Other
This intersection has been reported as being particularly dangerous and prone to accidents. One report states, ‘every time I cycle here there is a close call or accident.’
Balgores Lane - Other
A See.Sense report for Balgores Lane has highlighted that a motorist was driving ‘on the wrong side of the road to go around stationary traffic, and pulled out of a side road’ in front of them, which resulted in the cyclist having to ‘brake sharply’.
Edgware Road - Other
Edgware road has a shared bus and cycle lane that passes along a Lidl supermarket, however the junction here has been raised as a potential collision hotspot. A report states that cars were ‘turning into the Lidl supermarket dangerously,’ which could result in a collision with a cyclist.
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Infrastructure Requests
Around 40 infrastructure requests in London have been submitted through the See.Sense app. The most common request is for separation, with 44.2% of submissions requesting physical separation between the road and cycle lane. There also have been several requests for ‘other’ improvements, which are detailed below.
Weighhouse Street - Parking
It has been reported that there is ‘nowhere good to lock bikes’ in this area and so a request has been made for cycle parking. In this area there is a large Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral and the Brown Hart Gardens which may be of interest for individuals to visit.
Kerbey Street - Separation
Whilst there is existing cycle infrastructure on this road, it has not been maintained and as a result the ‘paint has faded to the point where drivers don’t realise it’s a cycle lane’. This user has requested that the paint be replaced with physical separation.
Dalston Lane - Timing
A cyclist has reported that they ‘frequently have to wait a long time’ at this set of lights. This is a busy intersection of three roads.
Westmead Road- Calming
Traffic calming has been requested along Westmead Road. The area is currently a 30mph zone, however as it is a residential street it has been requested for this speed limit to be lowered. The user has highlighted that this road is ‘one of the best routes to cycle to the town centre in Sutton’, and as such lowering its speed limit to make it more cycle friendly could be beneficial.
Newington Causeway - Other: Road surface conditions
A request has been made for improved road surface conditions along Newington Causeway. It was reported that ‘the road surface is in poor and very dangerous condition,’ causing cyclists ‘to slow considerably in the section, slowing down bus traffic in the process’.
Thank you to all members of the See.Sense community who have submitted a See.Sense report. We hope that the reports featured here have been able to shed light on some of the issues that can be encountered when cycling in London. If you have personally encountered any of the issues that have been raised in this report, then please let us know!
Get Involved!
If you want to make a report of your own, simply download the free See.Sense app - no purchase of See.Sense light is required. You can drop a pin highlighting close passes, collisions, obstructions and more using our Ride Survey feature. If you have ideas about how your city can improve cycling, you can also make suggestions using our Infrastructure Request feature.
By using See.Sense report, you’re joining a community of cyclists who are helping make cycling safer and smarter, and enabling city and transport planners to improve cycle infrastructure. To learn more, visit See.Sense Report.