Printable PDF version - Cambridge Cycling Campaign

and the problems it causesC2020“Shortcomings of pavement cycle tracksPavement-style cycle tracks alongside the road have so manyproblems for both cyclists and walkers that most need to becompletely rethoughtCycle tracks, off-road but alongside roads, are anotherarea which needs to be completely rethought.A lack of priority for cyclists over side roads, conflictsbetween pedestrians and cyclists, narrow segregation (ifany) and poor construction all conspire to create a poorcycling environment.Lack of priority at side roads - such as at Barton Road,Milton Road, and many other locations - is also a keyproblem. As well as the obvious danger this creates,stopping to give way to cars every few hundred yardsmeans a loss of momentum, increases journey times andis not conducive to a pleasant cycling experience. Othervehicles are not expected to stop repeatedly and neithershould cyclists be.A large number of cycle collisions already occur atjunctions. Off-road routes without priority over side roadsintroduce lots of new junctions and hence more dangerpoints.“The inaccessibility and narrowness of such tracks oftenmakes maintenance difficult as they are unsuitable forroad-sweeping vehicles.The general principle is that if cycle tracks are to beprovided, they must be of sufficient quality to enablecyclists to use them should they so wish and avoidantagonising car drivers for those cyclists who remainon the road.Cambridge is an ideal place for a governmentapprovedexperiment to demonstrate that giving cyclistspriority at sideroads, as on the continent, works toeveryone’s advantage, so that it can become the normwell before 2020““Coldham’s Lane BridgeColdham’s Lane BridgeThe fairly new bridge for cyclists on Coldham’s Lane isa classic example of inadequate provision for cyclistsin Cambridge.The main problem with the design, which we highlightedat the time, is that the cyclebridge is on only one sideof the road bridge. Anyonecycling from the city centreout along Coldham’s Lane isforced to stop and cross theroad twice. The bridge is toonarrow, the gradient too steepand it has poor access.The result is that peopleare coerced into using asubstandard provision thatfails to meet their needs,leading to conflict with driverswho think cyclists no longer have the right to be on theroad here, and this again has inevitable knock-on effectson the numbers on two wheels.Poorly thought out, cheaply constructed, the bridge isnot of high quality and the whole structure will need tobe replaced in a decade or two - with luck by 2020.When this bridge is replaced a realistic amount of moneymust be spent to addressthese design problems.The whole road bridgeshould be rebuilt, withproper space for cyclistsand walkers, to providea long term solution andnot a short term, botched,quick fix.The Coldham’s Lanebridge experience offers,we believe, an importantlesson for city planners thatneeds to be learned forthe future – particularly when the time comes to designthe proposed cycle provision on Hills Road Bridge, forinstance.CYCLING2020SECTIONTHREE.. BadinfrastructureSECTIONTHREE.. page7