UK bicycle highway design

Published by Matt Polaine | Filed under Bicycle, Cycling, Cycling infrastructure

In Germany, the idea of ‘good design’ doesn’t really exist. Either it is engineered or it is not. ‘Engineered’ means thinking about its function which dictates its form. German cycle highways are a case in point. If they can not be engineered into the highway then they are not built. I’m not saying they have it 100% right, but like many northern European countries’ approach to cyclists in the transport mix, they are about 30 years ahead of us, while Jeremy Clarkson may consider they are 30 years behind us. The UK has a bit of problem with its obsession with cars…

In the UK, we have a Local Transport Plan tick box approach. ‘Provide X% of cycle-lanes by FYE2005.’ To meet this criteria, all the local authority has to do is to provide any form of cycle highway to meet this target, regardless of how poor the ‘design’ is. Often a line painting vehicle is dispatched with staff who don’t ride a bicycle to implement a cycle-lane. There are cases of an improvement on this theme, often where a Section 106 has been used, but in general UK cycle design is at best a minimum standard but often lethal to the inexperienced.

As a result cycling in the UK is declining at a rate of 2% per annum with London bucking the trend thanks to a 500% increase in cycle highway budget, Tour de France, Olympic Games ‘healthy image’, buses being blown up, and motor traffic on average slower than a horse and cart of 1807. Government statistics will say otherwise as will oppitimistic cycling bodies who are putting on a brave face. The shear might and intimidation of car-is-king-culture in the UK is killing off what remains of a brilliant means of transport. My 2% decline is based on the number of cyclists on the highway and adjusted for population growth. From my observations in Cambridge - with a very high proportion of cyclists in spite of local cycle infrastructure budgets - cycle use by children under 16 is under serious threat. Parents now opt to drive their children everywhere because there are simply too many careless drivers on the roads, driving their children about.

Cycle design is so poor in the UK it has spawned a new bread of ‘trainspotters’ - spotting crap cyclelanes of the UK. A good place to sart is wierd cycle lanes of Brighton Unless you are a regular cyclists, you can’t believe these pictures, and that anyone would implement such awful shoddy work, but amazingly, these are ‘cycle facilities’ and the box gets ticked in the local transport plan.

Quite often I hear of cycle lanes ‘meeting the required standard’ and having passed a ’safety audit’. These standards are often from motor vehicle highway guidelines and the cycle facility might meet the minimum requirements, but these requirements are meant to be a safeguard, not a target. Safety audits are notoriously hard for the public to view, and are often done by the same department, with a priority to get those transport targets boxes ticked off.

Cycle standards guidelines do exist, and I list two below, but these are rarely adhered to, citing ‘historic highway layout’ and cost. The historic layout problem is because the roads were so badly designed in the first place, and the cost is down to putting it right. A trip to Offenburg, Germany, that has same historic issues, ‘engineered’ decent highways for all, and the car has its place. A constant round of band aids merely perpetuates the UK problem. Even when £millions are spent on a huge urban highway exchange, a tiny fraction of the budget is spent on the cyclists needs. A £20million road layout with £5k spent on cycle infrastructure is not unheard of. This attitude has to change, and if sponsors won’t stand for it, then local authorities will be forced to begin to properly engineer cycle highways.

The Scottish Executive has published ‘Cycling by Design’ which is worth a read. The introduction I provide below.

Background Over the past 25 years numerous cycle facilities have been constructed, experience gained, research undertaken and a wide variety of technical literature published. Although the design of cycling facilities has continued to advance during this period there has remained a lack of comprehensive design guidance. This leaves the designer reliant upon a wide range of material, often with conflicting standards and advice.

Cycling by Design’s prime objective is to draw together and to rationalise existing cycle design guidelines into a single comprehensive, coherent reference document which may be used as a source of sound technical advice. This in support of the UK National Cycling Strategy Key Output No.6 “A Commitment to conduct an ongoing review and revision of all design guidance”.

In order to achieve this objective and produce an agreed set of cycling guidelines, it is imperative that Cycling by Design is developed through consultation. The assimilation of the feedback received will be of paramount importance to the document’s successful evolution.

In producing Cycling by Design as a consultation document it has been assumed that the user is working currently within an organisation which is implementing the National Cycling Strategy and is actively involved in the promotion of cycling on the road, in the centre of towns, at the work place and in new developments.

As well as aiming to provide comprehensive design guidance, the document includes the Cycle Audit System for Trunk Roads which is to be applied forthwith in the development of all future trunk road proposals in Scotland, including related planning proposals. Consultees are welcome to test and/or comment on these together with all other aspects of Cycling by Design.

The Institution of Highways and Transportation have also published the Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure: Guidelines for Planning and Design which provides guidence not standards, so one can see what should be implemented but is not a legal requirement.

The IHT, the Bicycle Association, the Cyclist’s Touring Club and the Department of Transport worked together to produce the technical guidelines - “Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure: Guidelines for Planning and Design”. Following the publication of Policy Planning Guidance 13 (Transport) and the development of the National Cycle Strategy, cycling will be of growing importance in transport policies.

The Government is committed to sustainable development and sees cycling as an important part of an environment-friendly transport strategy. Many local authorities are already promoting alternatives to the car and measures to assist cyclists are an integral part of good transportation planning and highway design.

The Guidelines assist those seeking to make highway infrastructure safer and more convenient for cyclists. As the Guidelines point out, dedicated cycle routes are an important part of this, but only a part. Good on-street facilities are also essential if cycling is to be encouraged. A hierarchical approach is recommended, with appropriate emphasis on reducing the volumes and speeds of motor vehicles, as well as using traffic management techniques to reduce accidents and to give cyclists a positive advantage.

Much has changed since 1984 when the IHT published its original guidelines, “Providing for the Cyclist”, especially the policy context. Nevertheless, many schemes have been implemented, experience gained and new techniques, such as Advanced Stop Lines and Toucan crossings, have been developed. The contents cover the policy framework, traffic management, junction and link design, cycle parking and links to public transport.

more information and to purchase IHT Cycle Friendly Infrastructure