Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in April 2024. If you like it, please sign up on our Get Involved section – you will be showing your support for our work and you will receive our free monthly bulletins a month before they appear here.
IN THIS ISSUE… +++ Revamp of Roehampton Gate cafe +++ Entries for time trials open +++ Car-free day rejected +++ Rules for dog-owners, and what to do if they don’t follow them +++ British Cycling event to encourage women to ride +++
Visit our sponsors: Bella Velo, Cycle Exchange, Kingston Wheelers, London Dynamo, Look Mum No Hands!, Pearson Cycles, Richmond Cycles, Evolve e-Bikes
LATTE DEVELOPERS
Coffee-lovers rejoice! After a very long wait, The Royal Parks has announced that Colicci will finally be redeveloped alongside the area surrounding the cafe, which will greatly improve the facility for cyclists.
In January, we were privileged to meet Jane Pelly, Head of Landscape at TRP, and Principal Landscape Architect Madeleine Murphy in the park, where we made recommendations concerning cycling access, bike parking and road surfacing. The plans they showed us will now be available for you to see at three open days on Thursday, April 4 (1-4pm), Saturday, April 6 (10am-1pm) or Friday, April 12 (11am-2pm) at the Roehampton Gate cafe, where you can ask questions and provide feedback.
The present cafe building, which was originally located in St James’s Park, was transplanted to Richmond Park after the original pavilion burned down in 2004, and was only meant to last a few months until a permanent replacement was built. In December 2019, TRP’s ten-year management plan for the park stated it was still unable to find “a funding source” for the project, so these improvements are long overdue and most welcome. But with the hoops of planning permission still to jump through, there is a wait to come before the grand opening takes place in late 2026. In the meantime, you can read more about the redevelopment and see an artists’ impression of it on TRP’s website here.
FUN TIME
Entries for the park’s annual time trials, organised by London Dynamo, open TODAY. The 10.4-mile events, which take place on Sunday, June 23 and Sunday, July 7, are perfect for anyone who has never raced before, particularly as you get to experience the roads with barely any traffic on them. All you need is a basic road bike and an alarm clock to get you up in time for the starting slots, which are scheduled at 30-second intervals between 6am and 7am.
The categories are Men’s Road, Men’s TT, Junior Male, Women’s Road, Women’s TT, Junior Female, Para and – for the second event only – Men’s 3-Up TT and Women’s 3-Up TT.
Sign up for the first event here and the second here. Entries cost £16 for adults and £8 for juniors. Places go quickly, so don’t hang about!
CAR-FREE DAY REJECTED
If you were cycling in the park over the long weekend, you may have seen the usual tabard-wearing attendants helping to deal with the now-traditional increased flow of cars around the car parks which occurs during almost every public holiday. Their presence was of particular interest to us this time, due to the response from park manager Paul Richards regarding one of our familiar projects.
Paul told us that The Royal Parks will not take up our proposal to prevent motor vehicles travelling through the park during World Car-Free Day on Sunday, September 22. He assured us that TRP had explored the idea “in detail”, but “due to operational reasons, including the need to provide operational access between Richmond and Kingston Gates, and to Pembroke Lodge, we do not have the resources to implement a restriction of access to all motor traffic on that day.” Obviously, this is a disappointing outcome, but particularly so when it is clear that TRP clearly has the money to spend on contractors to man the car parks every Bank Holiday weekend – and a car-free day could tempt some of those drivers queuing up on the park roads to visit by bike next time.
Paul also declined to explain why our plan for widening the controversial one-way lane to accommodate a cycle slip-lane on Beverley Brook Bridge and narrowing the pedestrian section wasn’t viable. He stated that our second option of a footbridge, “is on the future projects list but with no timeline”. Once again, he made no reference to the woman who came off her bike and broke her femur after misjudging the barrier on the bridge in February, nor the experienced cyclist whose bike was damaged in October when a motorist in front of him braked suddenly.
We’re treating these knockbacks on Car Free Day and Beverley Brook Bridge as a stalemate for the time being, and will press forward with our investigations into both while we consider how to respond.
PAW SHOW
A subscriber contacted us after a dog owner allowed their pet to run out of control across the road and did not seem to accept when challenged that they had an obligation to control the animal in the park. We thought we would share the correct information, should you find yourself in a similar situation or knocked off your bike by an errant hound.
All dogs should be on leads at all times during deer birthing season, which is from May 1 to July 31. And while the section of the Road Traffic Act which requires dogs to be on leads when crossing the road does not apply in the park, any failure to control a dog could be an offence under three sections of the park’s regulations which the police actively enforce. One – Section 3(5) – would apply if an officer asks the person with the animal to place it on a lead; the other two state that a visitor to the park should not “intentionally or recklessly interfere with the safety, comfort or convenience of any person” (Section 3 (1)) or “cause or permit any animal or bird of which he is in charge to chase, worry, or injure any other animal or bird” (Section 4 (21)).
If a dog causes you to crash, make sure you ask for details of the owner and any witnesses, as both could be vital in court or in an insurance claim. Call 101 to report the incident, or 999 if the injury is serious. Similarly, dial 101 if you see a loose dog that appears to endanger cyclists.
BREEZY DOES IT
A brief word on two events you may want to participate in.
The park management has invited British Cycling to run a ride for Breeze, the national body’s programme to get more women into riding bikes for fun. The inclusive, women-only event will take place in the park in May. We’ll let you know the exact date as soon as it’s announced.
On Wednesday, our friends at the London Cycling Campaign are launching London Loves Cycling, their initiative targeted at the candidates running for London Mayor. The aim is to avoid the distraction of culture wars currently raging around cycling by celebrating the bike as a hugely popular mode of transport in the capital. LCC says there will be plenty of opportunities for you to spread the message, so keep an eye on the new campaign website.
SEE YOU NEXT MONTH...
As ever, thank you for allowing us to pop into your inbox, and let us know what you think about anything related to cycling in Richmond Park – we reply personally to every email you send us. If you enjoyed this bulletin, please share it with your cycling friends – and if they like what they read, encourage them to sign up to our mailing list too. The more subscribers we have, the bigger our voice.
All the best,
Richmond Park Cyclists