HL Deb 28 March 1994 vol 553 cc40-1WA
Lord Marlesford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have to encourage the provision of suitable cycle routes in Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park and Regent's Park respectively.

Baroness Trumpington

Responsibility for the subject of the Question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, Mr. David Welch. I have asked him to reply.

Letter to Lord Marlesford from the Chief Executive of the Royal Parks, Mr. David Welch, dated28 March 1994:

I have been asked by Baroness Trumpington to reply to your Parliamentary Question about what plans the Royal Parks have to encourage the provision of cycle routes in Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Green Park arid Regent's Park.

We are happy to accommodate cycling in the Royal Parks, as we do the many other forms of recreation to which the parks play host, though we have to keep a balance between the interests of the different users of the parks. Because there are circumstances in which cyclists and pedestrians do not mix we have traditionally provided facilities for recreational cyclists rather than for cyclists as commuters or messengers.

We are currently evaluating a report carried out for the agency by traffic consultants into the interaction between cyclists, pedestrians and traffic in the Royal Parks. From this we will draw up a paper setting out what provision we believe we should make for cyclists in the Royal Parks. We will circulate this to interested parties, including the Friends of the Parks, local authorities and the London Cycling Campaign. We will not take any action on the proposals until after we have considered the response from the consultation exercise.