When you get the end of a cyclepath
I started to cycle again a couple of years ago after a long break. Its been great fun, even though I'm a fair weather cyclist, and despite near misses with other cyclists, pedestrians, 40 tonners and twice the river Avon.
I had noticed the increasing number of cycle lanes, paths and routes appearing over the years and generally thought them: good thing. I was pleased that measures were being taken to make it safer and easier to get around BristoL But having use them, I find some of the cycling provision not as good as it could be. I have cycled around on my own and in small groups, which often include children, so I've been able to appraise the cycle provisions from a number of different perspectives. Here are my thoughts.
It is nice to have a bit of dedicated road space to ride in, or to wait in and cross at junctions and special quiet routes away from heavy traffic, but are cyclists consulted about their layouts and design? At some locations in Bristol, the combination of poor road design and the use of barriers and bollards make it nearly impossible to cycle safely and continuously without unnecessarily stopping and starting.
I think everyone that cycles must have their favourite horror story about the hassles of cycling in Bristol, here are some 01 the areas that concern me-
Cycle lanes on the road
Many of the cycle lanes in the city centre area are disjointed and discontinuous, suddenly stopping when you need them most. Direction signs for cyclists -Direction signs in some areas can be confusing, unclear, in obscure positions or missing altogether. This is particularly true of the route along the Ashton-Pill path over the M5 bridge and back along the Portway. In August 2001 I cycled this route and became totally confused about which way I should go. Several other family cycling groups I met on the same day in the same place were equally confused. When I went back more recently to check my facts I still found parts of this route inadequately and poorly signed with dangerous crossing points on busy roads.
Barriers and bollards
Access control barriers set up along the many paths are particularly annoying. They have been a pain ever since they were introduced in the 1980s, the only thing they seem able to stop are bikes. Are they designed to damage pedals and derailleurs and snag panniers. Its very hard trying to get through on a bike without dismounting -sc how is a cyclist supposed to negotiate them with a trailer? What about tricycles and tandems, or kids bikes with stabilizers?
Safe crossing points
For cyclists on busy, major roads are useful, but only if the space or refuge is large enough to accommodate several bikes and pedestrians. Many traffic islands and refuges are too small. It would make more sense t give cyclists and pedestrians crossing priority and stop both lanes of traffic, dispensing with the need to have these staggered crossings all together.
Traffic calming
Another difficulty is where roads are narrowed as a traffic calming measure, using bollards and extended kerbs which take space away from cyclists, leaving them nowhere to go, no escape route in an emergency, forcing them into the path of car drivers who see these narrowings as slaloms to be taken at speed.
Cycle parking
Sheffield stand cycle parking has appeared in many places, but we need more in public places, close to shops, leisure facilities and other amenities and installed in high profile areas to put off thieves and vandals. Its taken some months to write this and in that time I've been discussing the points with other cyclists that I've met out and about. And generally they all agree that it could be better, so I'm not alone in my views! I think that most cyclists are aware of the problems. But the BIG question is WHY ARE THERE THESE PROBLEMS?
In 1977, the year I started biking, a group called CYCLEBAG was formed to campaign for a better deal for cyclists. At that time cyclists were not included in surveys, so were effectively invisible. Planners were not aware of how many cyclists there were and generally cycle provision was poor. Massive demonstration were organised to show Avon County Council just how many people used bikes in and around Bristol. At one point membership rose to over 2000. We didn't ride on the pavement (much) or have bike lanes and had to mix with the traffic, learning to ride aggressively/defensively. Cycling in Bristol was dangerous then it still is now!! The Cyclebag demonstrations made us visible and they worked. There was an anti-cycling backlash for a while, but eventually the Council made a commitment to do something about it.
But has that commitment turned into reality between 1977 and now? Is urban cycling as difficult now as it was 25 years ago? Some progress has been made, but it has been frustratingly slow - cycling in Bristol needs more money and more resources.
The roads are still dangerous, with the speed of traffic putting lots of people off cycling. The cycle paths are popular and are used by many people, especially families, BUT families drive to get to them in their cars!! How do you cycle to the Bristol and Bath or Ashton to Pill cycle paths from Brislington or Hartcliffe safely as a family group? And how many people who took part in Bristol's Biggest Bike Ride drove to and from the event in their cars?
One of the greatest challenges for planners in the city is to make cycling safe and enjoyable, giving cyclists priority, providing safe and effective bike lanes through the city so that, for instance, a mother with a couple of young kids feels confident to take her family out and about, to the shops, to school, to the park, to granny's etc, without having to deal with the problems listed above. For a new, inexperienced, or nervous cyclist, taking to the road on a bike can still be a daunting experience.
Which begs the question WHAT IS A CYCLIST ANYWAY? And the answer is anyone with a bike, from a 5 year old on his first bike to the CTC rider doing 200km per day, or the old lady going to the shops on her 3 speed. The range is enormous and so are the types of facilities and support that they need. There are environmental and health issues here too. Bristol has suffered from traffic pollution and congestion for years. More bikes, less cars would improve air quality and make people fitter and healthier too. Doesn't it make sense to invest in and encourage cycling?
So to conclude, 25 years after Cyclebag - what have we got? What has all that energy and protest, the activism and commitment achieved? Do we have an integrated coordinated prioritised city-wide user friendly network of cycle lanes and routes? Or are we still left to take our chances with heavy lorries, shunted into dingy underpasses and dodgy back streets.
We all know where and what the problems are, so isn't it time for cyclists to start complaining, to apply some pressure and get some of these problems sorted out? There are a lot of people cycling out there and the majority of them are fed up with the situation and think improvements are long overdue. There are likely to be just as many people who would like to give cycling a try if they could see it was safe and enjoyable. It is time to organise a mass movement and start campaigning and demonstrating for a better deal.
I hope that you've enjoyed reading this. Feedback from others would be welcome, so why not use the website to discuss this further and perhaps highlight favourite problem areas? Worst bit of cycle lane for example, or best bits. Most dangerous road crossing? And ways of improving them.
In memory of Des, Des, Des and Des and the M32 cycling club.
Keith Way