You can’t always get what you want but if you don’t ask you don’t get

Redbridge has a short survey on their website inviting residents to have their say on the 2026/7 budget.  Here’s the link

Planning ahead for next year’s budget: Your chance to shape our future | Let’s Talk Redbridge

If enough of us ask the Council to spend more on cycle infrastructure it’s possible that it might – especially as improving the provision for cyclists is an essential to implementing the Council’s Sustainable Transport Strategy:

 “We have adopted a sustainable transport “road user hierarchy “which simply states that in our future decision-making, whether that be investments, how we designer scheme or our policies, we will consider the needs of certain people, ways of travelling and vehicle types before others.”

So, allocating more money to cycling will be the Council putting its money where its mouth is …

If we don’t ask for what we want, we will lose out to others who do.  The survey is quick and easy.  The two key questions are 3 and 4.  Here are my answers to those two questions. 

Q3. An independent nationwide survey carried out by IMPOWER saw Redbridge ranked as the most efficient and best value for money council in London and 2nd best in England. Though proud of this we’re not at all complacent and know there’s always room to improve. With that in mind, what could the council be doing that would make a positive difference for you?

A: Investing more, both in terms of money and staff, in cycling.  The Borough should have a network of safe cycling routes so that residents can use bicycles to go about their daily lives – going shopping, taking their children to school, going to the railway station, the GP etc.  This needs investment and council officers with suitable skills and in sufficient numbers to carry out the work.  

Q4.  When it comes to setting a budget, much of what councils do today focuses on the things that we have to provide – essential services like making sure we’ve got enough social workers to help our most vulnerable children and young people and collecting your waste and recycling. Where we do have more flexibility, it would be helpful to know what your local priorities are.

Of the following, please tick up to three areas you’d want us to prioritise in the future

þHighways – maintaining roads and pavements, fixing potholes, managing water gritting, and improving road safety and walking/cycling routes.

Amusingly, the CAPTCHA image was of a bike …

Time to have your say.

Council Leader Kam Rai speaking about Ride Redbridge at the full council meeting on 26th June 2025

Councillor Rai spoke about Ride Redbridge.  Here’s a video of what he had to say. 

The quality is not great – best to think of it as a trailer.  The Council puts up on their website a full recording of each council meeting but for some reason, on 26th July, the Kam cam wasn’t working. 

Councillor Rai went on the ride, enjoyed it and talked about how the ride supported the aspirations set out in the Council’s newly adopted Sustainable Transport Strategy.  He talked about how rides like this can build cycle confidence, show riders what is possible and, hopefully, encourage them to use their bikes more often – maybe to go to a high street or a GP. 

We were pleased to hear Councillor Rai talk about plans to expand the walking and cycling network across the Borough – we’ve got a few ideas on that topic, so give us a call …

Finally, glad we could lend you a bike Kam! (1.08 into the video) and we really appreciate all you said. 

Consultations, Consultations, Consultations

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been busy responding to consultations.  We’ve responded to the:

You can read our responses by following the links.

We supported all the proposals, usually with suggestions as to how we think the proposals can be improved.  None of the suggestions we made would cost much to incorporate.  Here’s hoping …

We think they add up to the Council starting to create what, in their Sustainable Transport Strategy, they call ‘Active Neighbourhoods’. 

Wanstead Area Road Safety Zone and Lake House Rat Running Reduction Proposal

Full details are in the post below, but here are the headlines:

  • There’s a lot to like and the proposals deserve our support.

From a cyclists point of view we think the schemes could be improved by

  • Replacing not some but all the traffic islands along Aldersbrook Road with zebra crossings on raised tables.
  • Extending the restricted access hours on the Lake House estate to minimize motor vehicle traffic during the school run – to make it a school cycle.
  • Making Woodlands Avenue a school street – like Harpenden Road. 
  • Replacing the speed cushions on St Marys Avenue with full width speed humps.
  • Introducing a rat running reduction scheme on the Warren Estate to stop traffic using the estate’s roads as a cut through from the A12 to Blake Hall Road. 
  • Installing tiger crossings (cyclists and pedestrians) on each of the roads that enter the mini roundabouts at the junction of Aldersbrook Road, Centre Road, Lake House Road and Blae Hall Road.  One is going in on Aldersbrook Road so why not on the others?