The Mini-Hollands scheme was introduced in March 2014 by

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, then Mayor of London. It took the form of a competition among outer London

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

for a £100-million fund. Three boroughs –

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

, Enfield and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

– won £30 million each, and the remaining £10 million was shared by several other boroughs. The scheme supported the boroughs to build Dutch-style

cycling infrastructure Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except whe ...

such as

traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicycle-friendly, cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims ...

, segregated bike lanes, safety measures at junctions and blocking residential streets to car traffic. It aimed to encourage modal shift from car to bike for short journeys.

Borough plans

Enfield

* separate bus and cycle lanes and the prohibition of through traffic in Church Street * A Dutch-style roundabout with segregated cycle lanes at Edmonton Green * lightly segregated cycle lanes along the A1010, A105 and A110 * a network of

Quietway Cycle routes in London that have been waymarked with formal route signage include "Cycleways" (including "Cycle Superhighways" and "Quietways") and the older London Cycle Network, all designated by the local government body Transport for Londo ...

s and Greenways across the borough * cycle hubs providing bike parking at Enfield Town and Edmonton Green railway stations

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: Kingston, Jamaica Kingston upon Hull, England City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

* a cycle hub at Kingston railway station and upgrading of the station square * a cycle bridge from the station to the Thames riverfront * the Go Cycle cycle path network

Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to t ...

* traffic calming in Walthamstow Village, Leyton and Leytonstone, including several dozen blended ‘Copenhagen’ crossings, with continuous footways across side streets * 22 kilometres of segregated cycle lanes, including 4 kilometres of Lea Bridge Road As a result, Waltham Forest won the 2017 London Transport Award for ‘Transport Borough of the Year’.

Evaluation

In June 2018 the ''Guardian'' reported on a study by Westminster University which interviewed 1,712 people in the three boroughs. The study found that after one year: * While cycling increased by an average of 9 minutes a week, walking increased by 32 minutes a week; * there was no evidence that the mini-Hollands benefited cycling at the expense of other modes: for example that time spent in cars was increasing due to congestion, or that walking was becoming less attractive; * There was no significant reduction in overall car use; * public attitudes to cycling became more positive, across demographic and socioeconomic groups. Research published in the March 2021 edition of the ''Journal of Transport & Health'' measured the programme's impact on local residents. Among these are: * health economic benefit of £724m from interventions costing £80m * increased likelihood of meeting active travel and physical activity targets

Negative Criticism

In February 2018, ''CityMetric'' criticised the slow roll-out of the programme and reported flaws in public consultation and opposition from some residents.

References

{{reflist

External links

* Waltham Forest Mini-Holland Design Guide

* Department for Transport Case study: ''London Mini Hollands - Building Dutch-style cycle infrastructure in outer London boroughs''
London Mini Hollands
* Slide presentation ''Waltham Forest Mini-Holland Tour'' (September 2016)

Cycling in London 2014 in London Cycling infrastructure in the United Kingdom