Cycle lanes for new roads

I have worked in Bristol since 1996 and since that time have been disappointed with the provision for cycle lanes in the City. Although some minor improvements have been made, so much should have and could have been done.

My primary suggestion is to consider cyclists when designing road improvements,  new roads and traffic light schemes. There are endless examples where massive road developments have taken place without consideration for cyclists. So much more could have been done when the area around the fountains in the city centre was re-designed. There is around 100m distance across the open space with only monir consideration for cyclists. The recently completed new road between the A38 and the mall included no provision for cycling.

I have cycled extensively in the Netherlands where traffic planning always considers cyclists to the extent that I was happy to take my young child on a trailer bike into the centre of a large dutch city (and no-one wears a helmet in Holland).

So, in summary: Develop a model so that the needs of cyclists are taken into account when road re-development takes place.

Why the contribution is important

It is important because cycling needs to be made accessible to more people and for this to happen, it needs to be safer. A measure of a good cycle scheme is whether one would be happy to let a 12 year old child ride freely in the are. Cycling is restricted to the keen lycra clad commuters. We need to make it safe enough to appeal to everyone.

by user147080 on November 19, 2013 at 09:10AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.6
Based on: 82 votes

Comments

  • Posted by user974897 November 19, 2013 at 11:01

    Also need to redesign existing roads to include protected cycle lanes.

  • Posted by user536903 November 21, 2013 at 10:40

    Gloucester Road needs to be re-designed.. It is very risky for cyclists to pass through..

    manily due to the parked cars on the either side of the roads.. blocking the cycle lane

  • Posted by user372062 November 21, 2013 at 12:11

    I agree, of course - I'm just not sure if this constitutes a new idea, what you've described is what council should be thinking about already!

  • Posted by user197097 November 22, 2013 at 22:17

    Going back to the early/ mid 1990s there was better integration of cycling into road scheme design. But not now, see: http://www.bristolcyclingca[…]20Forum%20Version%20McD.pdf

    The City Council want to build South Bristol Link. The scheme has a cycle/ pedestrian path and a whole load of design problems.

  • Posted by user122507 November 23, 2013 at 19:28

    Can you change the planning rules so provision for cycle lanes and lights have to be put in place whenever something new is built.

  • Posted by user734334 November 24, 2013 at 11:50

    No brainer. Of course this needs to happen.

  • Posted by user515911 November 26, 2013 at 23:13

    We must get roads safer for cyclists. At present lots are just cycling on the pavements, which is terrifying for pedestrians. I don't know if I'm especially unlucky (or wobbly), but I've now been cycled into three times!

  • Posted by user251846 November 28, 2013 at 11:48

    I think planners already do this, and rightly so. Cyclist should be separated from cars and pedestrians for the safety of all. Holland has wider roads, and cyclist in Holland tend to be more sensible than many of those in Britain. Bristol is an old city, with narrow roads which - unfortunately - are not always suited to cycle lanes.

  • Posted by user753042 December 08, 2013 at 05:49

    It would be great to get a discussion going here about where new cycle provision is most needed and innovative ideas for how we do it.

    Gloucester Road is clearly a priority.

    It would also be great to see the opportunity taken to provide world class cycle lanes as part of the redevelopment of the "Brunel Mile" from Temple Meads into the town centre.

    Innovative ideas (that also keep the cost down):

    - use a street kit (planting containers, paint etc) to trial changes for a few weeks or months and see how they work before going to the full cost and risk of implementing them (See http://www.ted.com/talks/ja[…]s_not_so_mean_any_more.html).

    - combine cycle improvement schemes with tree planting and urban greening schemes that cool the city centre, improve air quality and improve the public realm - design them in at the same time to save having to do it twice

  • Posted by user125525 December 11, 2013 at 23:41

    The recent refurbishment of Whiteladies Rd is a perfect example of poor planning for cyclists. Hundreds of cyclist go down every morning, with inadequate road space having been made even narrower, and impatient drivers trying to squeeze past.

  • Posted by user412750 December 31, 2013 at 12:37

    Of course, this is so obviously a good thing that we shouldn't have to keep on saying it. I agree with the comments above.

    Re moinsaleem's comment - entirely agree. Who was the idiot who thought it was a good idea to narrow the road so much at the Clifton Down pedestrian crossing that there's no room at all for cyclists now? There isn't even a dedicated cyclist box at the crossing, which sort of suggests that cyclists didn't even figure when this scheme was being dreamed up.

    This sort of thinking, pitting cyclists against pedestrians, which has been done elsewhere in the city (eg junction of Kellaway Ave and Gloucester Rd) instead of making good provision for both, is exactly the sort of blinkered, tired old thinking that should have no place at all in urban planning. Especially in a "cycling city".

    How does it help cyclists? And I find some of those islands with trees in Whiteladies Road positively dangerous. If I want to turn right into Redland Road from Whiteladies, there is now a tree where I need to be, and thanks to the road narrowing, inadequate space for both cars and cycles.

    Much of the scheme deserves a place in that excellent publication by the Cyclists' Defence Fung "Crap Cycle Lanes".

  • Posted by user169535 January 13, 2014 at 21:44

    Segregated cycle lanes would make all the difference, even if it means having to close some roads to two-way motorised traffic.

  • Posted by user834664 January 17, 2014 at 18:09

    Of course this is something that should be happening now. But a re-statement and formalisation as part of Council planning procedure would be a strong affirmation of the City's priorities and intentions.
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