Chance for residents to have say on cycle lane that has caused controversy since being installed two years ago
By Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

A section of the A1000 cycle lane in Finchley High Road

Barnet Council has launched a consultation on the future of a ‘pop-up’ cycle lane that was introduced during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The council will hold an “extensive resident and stakeholder engagement programme” to help it decide whether the experimental A1000 cycle lane should be made permanent, changed or removed.

It will begin with a series of workshops and focus groups involving residents, businesses and local community groups, which will take place between 24th October and 4th November.

Feedback from the workshops will be used to inform the formal consultation on the cycle lane, set to run from November to December. The council’s environment and climate change committee is expected to make a final decision on the cycle lane in January.

The two-mile cycle lane was installed in 2020 between The Bishops Avenue and Tally Ho Corner. Funded by the government and Transport for London, it was one of a range of schemes designed to provide alternative travel measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The original scheme reduced parts of the carriageway used by cars from two lanes in each direction to one.

More than 200 responses to an initial consultation complained that the lane had caused increased congestion and air pollution. But the council claimed its analysis showed overall journey times between Bishops Avenue and Tally Ho Corner in both directions had not changed, while average levels of nitrogen dioxide had reduced along the route. Despite this, it subsequently altered the scheme to enable it to reopen some of the lanes that had been closed to cars.

The government has recommended that all experimental Covid-19 related transport schemes undergo thorough consultations. The council has commissioned independent transport consultancy Steer to lead on the next stage of engagement, which it says will also focus on “considering how we can encourage more active travel”.

Alan Schneiderman, chair of the environment and climate change committee, said: “We have listened to the concerns of local residents and businesses about the A1000 cycle lane, and it’s important we get any future scheme right.

“We want to encourage cycling and make it safer to help people live healthier lives and make Barnet a greener borough with cleaner air for everyone to enjoy.

“To do this we must engage with people who live and work in Barnet, which is part of why we are launching this consultation.

“With workshops and resident input, I believe we will come up with the best solution and hopefully some helpful ideas for the borough going forward.”

Details of how to take part in the next phase of the engagement process are available online:

Visit https://engage.barnet.gov.uk/a1000-cycle-route-engagement-consultation

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