Anoop anoopshah

The Stanmore to the Thames route will cross One Tree Hill, go under the Piccadilly line and then cross Bridgewater Road at this crossing (to be converted to a toucan).

Bridgewater Road has up to 4 lanes of traffic, 40mph speed limit and no cycle facilities at all.

Note that this pelican crossing has a 'pedestrian build-out' on the left to narrow the width of the road and reduce motorist delay, at the cost of increasing danger for cyclists.

The Stanmore to the Thames cycle route will cross this busy road (A404 Harrow Road) with a right and left turn.
It would be better to have a toucan or zebra crossing here.

This section of Harrow Road has no westbound cycle facilities, and instead has a traffic island to make it more dangerous for cycling. (Eastbound there is a bus lane.) The footway is extremely wide.

Entering Vale Farm sports ground. The barriers are unnecessary because there is a gap at the end. It would be useful to build a connection for cyclists from the road to the tarmac path on the left.

Subway under South Kenton station. Cyclists have to walk their bikes here because it can be busy with people going to and from the platforms, but the barriers seem excessive.

Entrance to pedestrian bridge over the West Coast mainline in Kenton. It would be useful if the bridge could be made wider to allow cycling as well.

Kenmore Avenue, a quiet street leading to Kenton Recreation ground.

The turning from Kenmore Avenue into Christchurch Avenue. Modifications will be required to encourage primary school children to cycle along this route. Perhaps the triangular traffic island could be removed and zebra crossings / cycle crossing constructed here, with a shared footway along the short stretch of Christchurch Avenue to the entrance of the Belmont Trail.

Christchurch Avenue at the end of the Belmont Trail, showing its pedestrian-and-cycle unfriendly features (no pedestrian crossing near the mini roundabout, traffic island to put motorists into conflict with cyclists, 30mph speed limit).

This section of road is used by lorries going to Forward Drive industrial area, and needs to be made cycle-friendly because it is part of the proposed Stanmore to the Thames cycle route.

The Belmont Trail (off-road route) ends on busy Christchurch Avenue, and cyclists have to travel along a short stretch of this road to reach Kenmore Avenue. It is hoped that children will use this route to cycle to Elmgrove primary school, just around the corner. Of course that is unlikely if they have to share this road with lorries going to Forward Drive industrial area.

The council are considering a toucan crossing for the Stanmore to the Thames cycle route. A short stretch of shared footway or a segregated cycle path (with car parking moved away from this stretch of road) would stop this section of road from blocking the whole cycle route.

The signpost is already in place, but the path barely exists.

The Kenton end of the Belmont trail, on Christchurch Avenue. This may be upgraded as part of the planned Stanmore to the Thames cycle route.

The Belmont trail already has signposts, but much of the path is overgrown and not easily accessible. However there are plans to upgrade it.

The southern end of the Belmont trail is an overgrown dirt path. There are plans to upgrade it to a proper path with a 'sealed surface and stud lighting'.

Part of the Belmont trail which will have to be resurfaced, and should be made wider as well (as far as the trees allow).

Belmont Trail

Belmont Trail at Belmont Circle car park. Instead of going straight through the car park, it does a U turn and goes up a ramp.

Belmont trail bridge under Kenton Lane. Due to be upgraded as part of the proposed Stanmore to the Thames cycle route.

Part of the Belmont trail has been made into a car park. There is a fence here because the cycle path does a U-turn for a long ramp rather than going straight on (it continues at the other end of the car park). The height difference here less than 1 metre so it would be possible for the path to continue straight ahead with the loss of only a couple of car parking spaces.

However car parking has been given priority over the directness of a cycle route.

View from the end of the Belmont Trail. The trail is rough and muddy but there are plans to upgrade it, as part of the Stanmore to the Thames cycle route.

Wemborough Road, a 30mph road with narrow cycle lanes and traffic islands, and parked cars in some places. It is marked as a cycle route, but is not a good cycling environment. It requires removal of traffic islands, 20mph speed limit, and parking to be moved out of the cycle lane (or a segregated cycle path between parking and the footway).

This photo shows a short ~150m stretch of road which cyclists need to use to get from Belmont Lane (a very quiet road, suitable for cycling) to Honister Gardens (another very quiet road, which leads to the Belmont trail, part of the proposed Stanmore to the Thames cycle route). Eastbound cyclists need to make two right turns here.

A short stretch of shared footway or a cycle path on the verge would eliminate the need for this manoeuvre.

A narrow path leading from Courtens Mews to Wolverton Road. This is part of a route through quiet roads around Stanmore Golf Course. The path is quite narrow and the entrance is concealed.

Marsh Lane, Stanmore. The cycle lanes are narrow and intermittent, and there are traffic islands which force motorists into conflict with cyclists. No zebra, pelican, puffin or toucan crossings for 1km. The guard rails are unnecessary.

However there is plenty of space for segregated cycle paths to be built, which would encourage people to cycle.

Gates of Canons Park, off Marsh Lane. The path could be upgraded to provide a cycle route.

Looking into Canons Park. The path could be upgraded to a high quality shared use path. We propose this as an alternative greenway route to the planned route through Stanmore Golf Course, which is private land and will require a lot more work (vegetation clearance, fencing, etc.)

Turning left into Marsh Lane to go to Canons Park. Traffic islands, lots of traffic, not really pleasant to cycle on.

However there are wide verges and short sections of service road which could be used to build high quality segregated cycle paths.

Near the start of the proposed Stanmore to the Thames cycle route. The proposed route turns right here, along Marsh Lane, a busy 30mph road with traffic islands to force motorists into conflicts with cyclists. This is not a pleasant and attractive cycle route despite the cycle logos.

There are wide verges and short sections of service road which could be joined up to form Dutch-style segregated cycle paths.