Jeremy, the decision is on the Hounslow section and the monitoring report reflects that. The drop in injuries is apparent from the recorded bike counts, not the cycle-km numbers; as I think we agree, there has not been sufficient time to say that the rate has dropped by a statistically significant level. Where is the "bold claim" there? To quantify, it would take four or five more years at the current rate to be able to demonstrate that level of confidence, and very possibly rather longer. Are you suggesting that every relatively short length of cycle infrastructure should be regarded as temporary until that standard has been reached? In some cases that might take decades! Is that a "reasonable period of operation"?In fact we have evidence on the effect on average cycle injury rates by much more extensive studies based on hundreds of kms of cycle infrastructure in the Netherlands, Denmark and elsewhere as well as other studies that have looked at injury rates in London. Notably, there is good evidence in these studies of "safety in numbers", that as more people cycle in response to improved infrastructure, more general awareness of them by drivers means that the risk of injury collisions drops, which in turn encourages more people to cycle. That is part of the explanation as to why London has seen significantly higher growth in cycling rates than the rest of the country and has retained much more of the growth in cycling seen during the pandemic. It is impossible to discern these effects from just one mile of cycle lane. I am not trying to "detach" the Chiswick Lane bus running times, quite the opposite! And it is not a "claim" that westbound peak delays are lower on the High Road, that is simply what the previously released data showed; it is not inconsistent with the weighted average showing a limited increase. Only TfL can calculate a weighed average as it requires data on passenger numbers which has not previously published. As for the "radical" changes proposed, they include a reversion to the retention of the bus lane closer to the original plans for C9, as is the redesign of the junction at Heathfield Terrace. I fully support such changes, but as you say, the issue will be the availability of funding.
Tom Pike ● 1095d