FOI request detail

Reports, analyses, studies on two cycling road deaths in Richmond

Request ID: FOI-0092-2122
Date published: 01 June 2021

You asked

Dear Transport for London, In 2014 a cyclist was killed on the pavement / shared space near Richmond Circus. And last month another was killed. I believe TfL has done a number of studies and visits to the area, so I'm asking if you will send me any reports within TfL for either incident, as well as any completed studies, analyses or designs for this area of road/cycle lane. (I'm interested in studies or papers which look at the design of pedestrian and cycle space rather than purely road measures.)

We answered

TfL Ref 0092-2021/22

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 15 April 2021 asking for information about A316 surveys near Richmond Circus. I apologise for the delay in replying.

Your request has been considered under the terms of the Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require.

You asked: In 2014 a cyclist was killed on the pavement / shared space near Richmond Circus. And last month another was killed. I believe TfL has done a number of studies and visits to the area, so I'm asking if you will send me any reports within TfL for either incident, as well as any completed studies, analyses or designs for this area of road/cycle lane. (I'm interested in studies or papers which look at the design of pedestrian and cycle space rather than purely road measures.)

The death of any person on London’s streets is a tragedy. We have adopted an ambitious Vision Zero goal to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London’s transport network. This is described in the Vision Zero Action Plan, which sets out a systemic approach to road safety, with improvements to street design, vehicle speeds and compliance, safety behaviours and vehicle designs and technology. Achieving Vision Zero will be a long-term project and, while we have made good progress in recent years, there is still more to do. I am sorry to have to confirm that two people have been sadly killed while cycling on the Eastbound A316 Twickenham Road, one person in 2014 and a second in 2021.

The first fatal collision occurred on 21 July 2014 at the junction of A316 and St. John’s Grove (which is the next junction to the east of the Rugby Club entrance), which involved a rubbish truck turning left into the side road and colliding with a cyclist heading east bound along the footway. The details of the collision are found in folder 1, attached.

Details of the other fatal collision that occurred on 30th March 2021 (the person involved sadly died the following day, 31st March 2021) which occurred on the A316 Twickenham Road, near to the junction with Richmond Rugby Club can be found in folder 2 attached. Officers from TfL attended site with the Metropolitan Police on 21 April 2021.

Please see attached a document produced by our Safety Team of the site with recommendations from the site visit of that date (folder 3).

Please also find attached the Asset Operations Officer’s report for the most recent fatal collision which includes some findings regarding the road/cycle lane arrangements and hazards and risks at that ‘junction’ (folder 4). We await the outcome of any MPS investigations.

Also attached are the design drawings related to changes to the signage and lowering of the wall at the Rugby Club entrance dating from 2011 and the as built design (folder 5).

There is also a road safety audit attached from the original Pools in the Park junction scheme from 2010 and the as-built design (folder 6).

Finally, also attached (folder 7) is a number of documents that contain information relating to the Rugby Club access and proposals for cycling improvements along the A316 from 2015. The 2015 cycle route design work was stopped because a whole route solution was not affordable. This was partly due to space constraints on some sections of road, such as adjacent to pedestrian footbridges or other road bridges e.g. Chiswick Bridge and partly due to the level of intervention required at key traffic junctions to reallocate road space.

Approximately 2 years ago, we looked again at the original study alongside the Strategic Cycle Analysis to assess if there were sections of the route that warranted further consideration where space constraints and junctions were less of an issue. This study identified the potential to look at the section between Twickenham and Richmond. The concept was looking to better utilise the non-carriageway sections as either wider cycle tracks with footways or shared use facilities. This project was in the very early stages of feasibility design and was paused, along with most of the TfL’s investment programme, at the start of the pandemic due to severe financial pressures.

The A316 cycle route is now on the list of potential schemes which will be considered to be progressed in future years subject to TfL securing a long term funding arrangement.

Please note that in accordance with TfL’s obligations under the Data Protection legislation some personal data has been removed, as required by Regulation 13 of the Environmental Information Regulations. This is because disclosure of this personal data would be a breach of the legislation, specifically the first principle of the legislation, which requires all processing of personal data to be fair and lawful. It would not be fair to disclose this personal information when the individuals have no expectation it would be disclosed and TfL has not satisfied one of the conditions of Schedule 2 which would make the processing ‘fair’.

TfL ‘s Road Danger Reduction dashboard allows interested parties to carry out their own reviews of collision data, which can be searched by borough, transport mode and casualty type. The link is provided here.https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.


If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely


Sara Thomas
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
 

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