Richmond Park eases cycling restrictions mid-week
But the park will still be closed to most riders during the weekends
Richmond Park has announced the cycling restrictions will be further relaxed during the mid-week period.
The park management has restricted cycling since March to help slow the spread of coronavirus, but the decision proved controversial.
As the UK continues to ease the pandemic lockdown the park has slowly re-opened to riders, and from June 22 cycling will be permitted on all weekdays during park opening hours.
Cycling will be allowed at any time for cyclists during the week, but on weekends the popular West London cycling spot will only be open to cycling key-workers and under-12s with their families.
The roads on the eastern side of Richmond Park, around Priory Lane and Broomfield Hill are temporarily closed to adult cyclists at all time to allows under-12s and family members to ride safely.
Cyclists are permitted to use the shared access Tamsin Trails around the perimeter of the park on weekdays only.
A statement from park management said: “We will undertake a managed re-introduction of cycling back into Richmond Park to provide access for weekday commuters. This will allow us to monitor and measure the impact of the re-introduction and whether any further measures are required.”
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In March Royal Parks, the charity responsible for Richmond and other London parks announced that cycling would be banned in the green space because riders were not adhering to social distancing guidelines.
A Freedom of Information request later revealed that park staff had witnessed cyclists using their phones on the bike and riding at excessive speeds before the ban.
>>> Half of employees in cities considering cycling to work following coronavirus
Shortly after the London Cycling Campaign said the ban was unjustified last month, Royal Parks started to lets riders back in the gates at restricted times – before 10am and after 4pm on weekdays. .
The latest change means cyclists can use the park at any time during weekdays, but not weekends.
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Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers. Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
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