Developers of the St Andrew’s Park development on the former RAF Uxbridge site have given Hillingdon Council almost two million pounds for “underpass improvements”. The underpass being referred to connects Uxbridge High Street to the A4020 and the other side of Park Road. In their Residents Travel Plan Welcome Pack, developers Vinci St Mowden (VSM) state that “VSM have paid the London Borough of Hillingdon £1,967,690 to fund improvements to the underpass as it sits outside VSM’s land ownership”. Elsewhere on the St Andrew’s Park website, a figure of £3M in total is mentioned as being paid over to Hillingdon for “local highway and transportation improvements”. We can only hope that some of these millions are to be spent on best in class cycle access.
St Andrew’s is promoted as a sustainable transport destination but cycling infrastructure is sadly lacking on both the estate and on the surrounding roads. Park Road in particular is extremely difficult for cyclists and residents to cross and would benefit from protected cycle lanes from Uxbridge College to the A4020. This could create a safe cycling route from Ickenham all the way to Uxbridge High Street.
Cycling through St Andrew’s is also difficult. One section, over the River Pinn at Wren Avenue, requires cyclists to dismount and walk their bikes, presumably because the gentle incline and gravel surface make it a potential hazard. Given the opportunity for a clean sheet design for this development and the sheer size of the development which has Vine Lane as its eastern boundary and Park Road at the West, the lack of dedicated cycle lanes and signage is disappointing.
The Battle of Britain Bunker attracts visitors into the borough from all over London and beyond, a TfL/Santander cycle rank outside the visitor centre could connect Uxbridge tube station to the venue, reducing congestion, pollution and parking issues.
Sadly, these are few and far between in Hillingdon, with Hillingdon Hospital and Brunel University being two of the locations that do have such ranks.