Designed for Cycling

Small town cycling: where Britain falls far behind

By Chris Peck on 7 May 2013

Whereas cycling is slowly increasing in London and other cities, it is continuing to fall - fast - in places where historically it was much higher, such as the towns and villages of eastern England. On a recent trip to Italy I saw how the bike can still be the default mode of transport

Everyday cycling in Binasco, a small town near Milan

Italy is not a place we normally look to for lessons on cycling, but perhaps we should.

On a recent trip, I visited a small town on the outskirts of Milan, in the vast, flat and densely populated landscape of the Po valley.

With a population of around 7,000, the town of Binasco bears only slender resemblance to similar sized British towns. Much of the population is housed in modern apartments near a town centre, which still retains the old network of narrow streets around a castle.

Dutch-style roundabouts and low-level signals tested

By Chris Peck on 1 May 2013

Low level signals and continental-style roundabouts with cycle priority are the standard design in the Netherlands. But in this country they are considered so radical and innovative by the Government that special trials are being carried out on TRL's track in Crowthorne, Berkshire

Dutch priority over side-roads - like this - is being trialled in Britain

Mini-traffic lights, simple yield markings, zebra crossings without archaic orange Belisha beacons and zig zag markings...

Cycle safety at 78 junctions to be improved thanks to £18m in grants

By Chris Peck on 4 April 2013

Government funding of £18m, announced last summer, will go to local authorities across England to improve cycle safety at junctions.

A hostile road in Leicester which will be transformed

The funding includes several hugely impressive and radical schemes, including the partial removal of a gyratory in Leicester and the construction of a £2m cycle bridge in Bury St Edmunds.

CTC was represented on the panel of experts alongside British Cycling, CPRE and Sustrans, which recommended the shortlist of schemes to be funded.

Roadworks - a test of priorities

By Chris Peck on 1 March 2013

When road or building work requires space to be removed from the carriageway, who gives up the space? In Britain, roadworks often occupy cycle facilities, with no provision of alternatives.

Space for bikes and pedestrians is temporarily reallocated in Denmark

In other countries cyclists often get a better deal.

This photo, from the centre of Copenhagen, shows that when building work requires space to be taken away from the pavement and cycle track, a temporary facility is constructed on the road.

Admittedly, the provision is narrow and well below the width of the cycle facility that had been replaced, but cyclists at least have been considered.

New law for better cycle paths in Wales

By Chris Peck on 18 February 2013

The Welsh Government has proposed a new law placing a duty on local authorities to map the walking and cycling routes in their area and make a plan and budget to improve them. Wales is being touted as the first country for such law to be introduced.

The NCN8 near Caernarfon alongside a major road

The Welsh Government's proposals have been brought before the Welsh Assembly as the Active Travel Bill Wales 2013, following a consultation in 2012.

It's a highly ambitious set of proposals which will force local authorities to identify, map out and improve the walking and cycling networks in their area.

Roads to ruin: the problem of potholes

By Chris Peck on 7 February 2013

CTC Campaigns and Policy Coordinator Chris Peck explains why UK roads are so bad

Potholes aren't usually quite as large as this one

Occasionally when cycling in France you will come across a road sign that says, “Chausée déformée”, followed by a section of road that is perhaps a bit on the bumpy side or contains the occasional pothole. I’ve always found this sign hilarious. If the standards used in France were adopted in Britain there would be many roads where this sign would have to be erected every few hundred metres over their entire length.

Oxfordshire spends just 0.2% of transport budget on cycling

By Chris Peck on 7 February 2013

Local cycle campaign group for West Oxfordshire, BikeSafe, has slammed Oxfordshire County Council for its lamentable lack of funding for cycling.

BikeSafe have campaigned for a cycle path alongside a busy B-road for years

Over the last three years, Oxfordshire spent just £500,000 on cycling measures out of a transport budget of £230m - only 0.2% of the total.

The discovery was made by campaign group BikeSafe, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request.

The group had previously been told that there were insufficient funds to build a path alongside the busy B4044 from Eynsham to Botley, on the outskirts of Oxford, for which it has been campaigning for years.

Planning and design for cycling scrutinised by MPs and Peers

By Chris Peck on 6 February 2013

Having examined strategy and safety issues, the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group turned its attention to planning and design for cycling in the third session of its inquiry into cycling on the 6th Feb.

Dutch design of infrastructure was much praised by those giving evidence

The panel of MPs and Peers examined a range of witnesses, including CTC, LCC, Sustrans, bloggers, academics and figures from urban design.

Tony Russell from Sustrans stressed the need for high quality networks of cycle routes, particularly aimed at the less experienced cyclist, "the sensible, unaccompanied 12-year-old". The evidence from the Netherlands, he suggested, was that where such facilities had been built, cycling had flourished.

CTC welcomes £62m cycle spending announcement, but urges consistency

By Roger Geffen on 30 January 2013

30 January 2013

CTC and other cycling groups have welcomed today's Government announcement explaining how £62m of cycling funding for England will be spent - including £30m for up to 3 'cycling cities'. But CTC urges that larger and more consistent commitments will be needed if we are to 'Get Britain Cycling'.

Norman Baker MP at the opening of a new cycle track in Sussex in 2012

The Government's announcement coincides with the second day of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group’s 'Get Britain Cycling' inquiry, where CTC is giving evidence on cycle safety issues, together with other cycling, road safety and motoring organisations, as well as the Metropolitan Police and Ministry of Justice.

Sharing paths with walkers: a Code of Conduct for cyclists

By Cherry Allan on 11 January 2013

In most circumstances, cyclists and walkers are able to co-exist happily when they use the same routes, but mutual respect and consideration are a vital part of this. The Code of Conduct from Sustrans, endorsed by CTC, helps encourage responsible behaviour on shared-use paths.

Walkers and cyclists on a shared-use path

Shared-use paths are popular with people who are looking for motor-traffic free routes, either for leisure or for getting to work or the shops, for example. Inconsiderate cycling undermines the tranquillity of these paths and is particularly intimidating for people with reduced mobility, or who have hearing or vision difficulties.

Speeding is a growing problem. More people are riding along shared-use paths for fitness training or to record personal bests, for instance - activities that are much better suited to quiet roads.

Designed for Cycling

Small town cycling: where Britain falls far behind

Dutch-style roundabouts and low-level signals tested

Cycle safety at 78 junctions to be improved thanks to £18m in grants

Roadworks - a test of priorities

New law for better cycle paths in Wales

Roads to ruin: the problem of potholes

Oxfordshire spends just 0.2% of transport budget on cycling

Planning and design for cycling scrutinised by MPs and Peers

CTC welcomes £62m cycle spending announcement, but urges consistency

Sharing paths with walkers: a Code of Conduct for cyclists

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