A summit has been held discussing the introduction of 20mph speed limits across parts of the borough and how to encourage more people to cycle.

About 50 members of the public and 14 councillors attended the summit on Thursday, July 23, to discuss plans to improve cycling across the borough.

Representatives from Surrey County Council, Get Sutton Cycling, the Metro- politan Police and other cycling organisations also attended the meeting.

Points raised were the need for strong leadership for the scheme, encouraging people to cycle more often and how to best unlock Sutton’s cycling potential.

Reducing vehicle speed and linking cycling routes was also discussed.

Subject to funding the council will identify one pilot location for a 20mph neighbourhood zone and, if successful, identify additional sites subject to resident support.

These zones will also be complimented by “physical traffic calming measures” and “low traffic zones” where through-access by car will be restricted, but where cycling and pedestrian activity will be maintained.

At present Sutton is considered to have a low number of cyclists when compared to other London boroughs with only 1 per cent of journeys being made by bike compared to 2 per cent for other Outer London boroughs.

This was highlighted in Transport for London’s 2010 Cycling Potential report, which identified 118,200 potential bike trips that could have been made throughout the borough, but that only 2,800 were recorded at the time.

The study concluded that only 2 per cent of Sutton’s cycling potential had been realised and that cars remained the dominant mode of transport with 77 per cent of Sutton homes owning at least one car.

Sutton does, however, have a low number of recorded cycling collisions with only one fatality and 149 collisions involving cyclists being recorded between 2011 and 2013.

If you want to share your opinion on the cycling summit, visit Sutton Council’s website for more details.