Request ID: FOI-0790-2122 Date published: 13 August 2021
You asked
I note you have sent me the PDF which is already on the council website. Is that correct?
I am note sure why my questions needed to be referred to an FOPI request when the data was already public?
anyway, I was rather hoping - as I thought my questions implied - to get more or additional data which was not in that PDF.
(To be honest I do not understand why TFL does not openly publish all the data?)
There seems to be an absence of data in it on: air quality and cost and the profile of cyclists.
Could you answer any of the following for me?
Air quality
* have you assessed the impact of the scheme to date on air quality? if so, what are the results?
* if you have not assessed the impact on air quality when do you intend to do so?
* do you have more data on car journeys you can share? eg types of journey, time, emissions while driving?
* have you made any new measurements since the data in this document? if not, when do you plan to do so again?
* have you measured the impact of slower car and bus journeys on air pollution in the high street?
* the fact car journeys have returned to pre lock down levels suggests the scheme has failed to prevent a ‘car based recovery’. would you agree?
* is there any data to suggest the scheme has reduced car usage except on a temporary basis (when the economy was lock down)?
Costs
* how much did the initial scheme cost to implement?
* what is the budget for the new amendments?
* what is the total amount of money spent by Tfl on the scheme?
* what is the total spent on the scheme by Hounslow council?
* does TfL set any ROI criteria for this type of investment?
Cycling and resident profiles
I note there is no breakdown on the profile of respondents by age, sex or demographics. or even if they are cyclists or not?
* is all the data self reported? have you done any surveys on residents which are randomly selected?
* what is the baseline you quote in this section of the PDF?
* did you gather any data on the profile of the cyclists? age? sex? other demographics?
* are older and disabled residents?
* do you have any data which suggests that the increases in cycling are among people who have swopped car journeys for cycling?
* are the collisions you refer to between: cyclists collising with cars? cyclists with pedestrians? other cyclists?
* have you measured this since this report?
We answered
TfL Ref: EIR-0790-2122
Thank you for your further request of 20th July 2021 about Chiswick High Street and Cycle 9.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy.
I have liaised with various colleagues who work in this area and can provide the information below. Note that there are still a number of areas where your questions are too broad or unspecific for us to determine exactly what it is you are after. If having reviewed the answers below (and the material referred to in those answers) there is still information that you need then please provide further, specific detail of exactly what it is you require and we can consider further.
The following background and context may be useful. The cycle tracks along Chiswick High Road were introduced to provide an alternative to public transport and private transport during the pandemic. They were also introduced to address a known casualty hotspot for cycling and to provide a temporary Cycleway between Kew Bridge and Olympia. Public transport use remains below pre-pandemic levels and providing alternatives to public transport and private car use remains as important as ever.
TfL is undertaking detailed monitoring of the impacts of the changes on Chiswick High Road. Our monitoring includes looking at the impacts on bus journey times and congestion along Chiswick High Road as well as adjacent roads that are served by bus routes e.g. Fishers Lane, Chiswick Lane and Heathfield Terrace. TfL is also monitoring the impact of the changes on cycle flows, other vehicles and collision data. In addition, TfL has undertaken independent market research to get a representative view of residents of the changes.
TfL has provided an initial update on the results of our monitoring outlined above and it is included within the London Borough of Hounslow’s report to Cabinet on 20th July 2021. Full information is provided here:
Hounslow’s report to Cabinet included their assessment of the impact of the scheme on Air Quality on page 54. We plan to publish a further update on our monitoring outputs subject to LB Hounslow’s decision on proceeding with further changes to the scheme or not. Since we have an intention to publish this information it is exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act - the exemption that can apply where information is “intended for future publication”. We consider that it is in the overall public interest for the exemption to apply, given an agreed process is underway with the Council to consider the scheme further.
In terms of your specific questions, we can comment as follows:
Air quality
* have you assessed the impact of the scheme to date on air quality? if so, what are the results? * if you have not assessed the impact on air quality when do you intend to do so? * do you have more data on car journeys you can share? eg types of journey, time, emissions while driving? * have you made any new measurements since the data in this document? if not, when do you plan to do so again? * have you measured the impact of slower car and bus journeys on air pollution in the high street? * the fact car journeys have returned to pre lock down levels suggests the scheme has failed to prevent a ‘car based recovery’. would you agree? * is there any data to suggest the scheme has reduced car usage except on a temporary basis (when the economy was lock down)?
See the comments / link above about Hounslow’s assessment of air quality. It is worth noting further that TfL does not itself monitor air quality - rather, this sits with the borough. The following websites provide general data on air quality in London, which may be of use to you:
In relation to “car journey” data, if you can provide more guidance as to what it is you want to know (i.e., what exact data you require, in relation to what precise location(s) and timeframe) then I can consider further what it is that we hold, notwithstanding the comments / links above in regard to the data that has been provided to Hounslow already.
Costs
* how much did the initial scheme cost to implement? * what is the budget for the new amendments? * what is the total amount of money spent by Tfl on the scheme? * what is the total spent on the scheme by Hounslow council? * does TfL set any ROI criteria for this type of investment?
The initial scheme costs c£800k to implement. TfL does not have a figure in terms of the budget for new amendments - this is still to be confirmed. It is unclear what “the total amount of money spent by TfL on the scheme” means as a distinct question to your first question in this section - c£800k. The London Borough of Hounslow would need to answer in regard to how much money it has spent. The temporary scheme did not sent any ROI criteria.
Cycling and resident profiles
I note there is no breakdown on the profile of respondents by age, sex or demographics. or even if they are cyclists or not?
* is all the data self reported? have you done any surveys on residents which are randomly selected? * what is the baseline you quote in this section of the PDF? * did you gather any data on the profile of the cyclists? age? sex? other demographics? * are older and disabled residents? * do you have any data which suggests that the increases in cycling are among people who have swopped car journeys for cycling? * are the collisions you refer to between: cyclists collising with cars? cyclists with pedestrians? other cyclists? * have you measured this since this report?
The survey was not self-reported. Our market research company surveyed residents based on the make-up of the borough. This survey did not gather any other demographics. Older residents and disabled residents were not excluded. TfL does not hold data about the extent to which increases in cycling are due to people swapping from car driving. The collisions data mentioned relates to collisions between cyclists and vehicles. This is continually measured. We receive information from the Metropolitan Police on the numbers of collisions where someone is hurt. Our collisions data is proactively published online and regularly updated here:
In terms of the baseline for the cycling data quoted in the pdf document, this is based on a comparison with 2019 data. We are continuously monitoring a sample of cycle sites across London. Our data shows that the average daily cycle count for this sample was 2,937 for the week 9th to 15th June 2021. This is an increase of 40% on the average daily cycle count of 2,076 for the same sample of sites in the equivalent week in 2019.
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
