Each month, we email a bulletin to everyone who has signed up on this site. Below is the edition that we sent in May 2025. 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… +++ The Royal Parks target speed with its cycling code of conduct +++ Our rundown of incidents attended by the police +++ Watch the birdies – there’s a goose on the loose! +++
Visit our sponsors: Bella Velo, Cycle Exchange, Forge 1860, Kingston Wheelers, London Dynamo, Richmond Cycles, Richmond Park Rouleurs, Sigma Sports
CODED MESSAGE
The Royal Parks has finally published its cycling code of conduct for its entire estate more than ten months after commencing discussions with us. It will be part of a campaign run over the spring and summer, and new signage is also being introduced in the parks.
The code’s general ethos of showing considerate behaviour towards other park visitors is laudable, and we are pleased that the text reflects many of our recommendations. Unfortunately, however, the wording we asked for concerning speed was rejected by The Royal Parks.
The final version of the code specifically states: “Do not ride in excess of 20mph in any circumstance.” This new stipulation is unenforceable, as there are no legal speed limits for cyclists on any UK roads. And by shifting the focus away from safety and on to speed, TRP is in danger of making the thousands of ordinary folk who choose to cycle in its parks seem like a significant threat to the public, which they are not.
It is worth remembering that the police do not use speed in itself as a measure of danger. There would have to be an additional aggravating factor, such as weaving around motor vehicles while passing them on a descent, or failing to slow down when a pedestrian is crossing, for you to fall foul of the park’s officers – and you could get pulled over in such circumstances if you were going under 20mph on the loop road.
Apprehending the small number of selfish and dangerous cyclists is of course something we fully support. But ONS statistics show that pedestrian deaths involving cyclists are incredibly rare, with only 12 occurring nationally in four years. Morever, as our friends at the London Cycling Campaign have already noted: “The biggest cause of road danger to anyone inside a royal park remains drivers.” TRP should have a code of conduct for everyone who uses its roads, not just cyclists.
The focus on 20mph inevitably threatens the park’s two time trials and the London Duathlon ever coming back following their suspension last year. To reinstate them would seem to contradict TRP’s own code. Nevertheless, we will continue to argue for their return, as they are of huge value to the sports cycling community and, more importantly, none of the events have ever had any serious safety issues.
In the meantime, as the Standard reported, TRP is also actively seeking to go further by implementing enforceable speed limits through a proposed change to its regulations – but this process requires consultation and a vote in Parliament, which could result in it being rejected, and is likely to take years.
How it would be enforced is another matter – as regular readers of this bulletin know, the park’s police unit is being disbanded to save money, and it remains to be seen if the enforcement of regulations will be as diligent as it is at present (although we do know, following a letter this week from the Met to us and other members of the Safer Parks Police Panel, that the unit will be replaced by local neighbourhood teams by November 1).
In any case, TRP’s code is nowhere near as extensive as our own Safer Riding Guide, which gives a more complete overview of considerate cycling, covering many important aspects such as riding two abreast which TRP’s five brief paragraphs do not mention. We will continue to promote our SRG for the benefit of Richmond Park.
In the unlikely event you are stopped or harassed regarding your speed within Richmond Park, remain calm and courteous, acknowledge any concerns politely, but know your legal rights.
If you cycle safely and considerately, above or below the motor vehicle speed limit, you are not breaking the law.
REPORT RUNDOWN
Here’s our regular look at incidents on the park’s roads and the Tamsin Trail that the police have attended. As ever, this information comes from the report presented to the Safer Parks Police Panel, which we sit on, and we are the only organisation to publish these accounts. Note that our last quarterly meeting was a month later than usual, so the following is shorter than usual as it only covers a two-month period.
There was a single bike theft. In February, a suspect on an electric bike stole a bicycle and bag whilst the victim was sitting in a tree between Stag Lodge and Pen Ponds.
As first reported in our March bulletin, there was a major crash in February involving three vehicles between Kingston Gate and Ham Cross. This was caused by one of the drivers suffering a medical episode leading them to swerve across the road, colliding with two oncoming vehicles. The ensuing aftermath attended by the London Fire Brigade was dramatic, but thankfully no life-changing injuries resulted.
In March, there were two incidents constituting public order offences. On Sawyer’s Hill a suspect on a bike verbally abused a driver after they seemingly drove dangerously close to them. The cyclist then tried to remove the driver's car keys, failed to do so and rode away. Also, a cyclist riding off-track was shouted at by a dog walker who stood over her and prodded her shoulder whilst his dogs were barking at them. On the Middle Road, a motorist caused a cyclist to swerve off the narrow road and fall, causing bruising, a sprained wrist, grazes and swelling to the right knee, right elbow and right hand. And on Roehempton Roundabout, a cyclist fell, breaking their hip and fracturing their pelvis. The London Fire Brigade attended as there were reports as on previous weather related occasions of a slippery surface, evidence of which was not found but as a precaution, the surface was washed and treated.
Traffic offences and relevant breaches of park regulations were as follows:
Trade vehicles – 93
Unauthorised parking/unattended – 66
Driving not on a road – 18
Speed – 30
Off-track cycling – 2
Contravening signs (including closed roads) – 2
Cycling to endanger any person – 0
Driving a vehicle to endanger any person – 4
Driving without due care – 0
Using a mobile while driving – 0
No valid license – 1
No insurance – 5
No cycle lights after dark – 0
Faulty vehicle lights – 0
No MOT – 0
This quarter’s priorities for policing, set at the meeting, are pedestrian safety (courtesy crossings, middle road, and gravel bikes on the Tamsin Trail), cycling safety (Beverly Brook obedience and motorist behaviour) and wildlife protection (deer protection, dogs around skylark fields and barbecues).
GOOSE BUMPED
Watch out for the geese. We’ve seen them having a lovely time on Broomfield Hill recently, with a few nonchalantly sitting in the road at the top and the bottom of the climb while we’ve been enjoying the park on weekday mornings.
Now a subscriber tells us that one took flight from the grass as he was descending and, unable to swerve in time, he hit the fast-moving waterfowl, resulting in him coming off his bike. He ended up with a broken hip, road rash on his legs and a nine-day stay in hospital which included surgery. The goose appears to have scarpered unscathed.
Our subscriber would like to show his gratitude to the strangers who stuck around, calling an ambulance and his wife while he lay injured. “I wouldn't have got through that ordeal without them,” he says, “and it was a good reminder of how many kind people there are out there.” So if you are Felix, Alex or Bepia, or a midwife or an off-duty police officer, and you were at the scene of the accident on Sunday, April 13, consider yourself thanked by an on-the-mend cyclist.
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