Cycle Campaign Newsletters
Warrington takes the first step towards a borough wide limit
Warrington has implemented a pilot study on 140 roads in three areas of the town which sets the speed limit to 20 mph. this will be used to gauge public reaction and its effectiveness prior to it being extended to every residention street in the town.
Three areas have been chosen (Orford, Great Sankey and the Town centre). Leaflets have been circulated detailing the schemes, and the police will be enforcing the limit with fixed penalty notices.
From "Crap Cycle Lanes" Royalties
Rod King of Warrington Cycle Campaign presents a cheque for £1,051.19 to Shivaji Shiva of the Cyclists Defence Fund at the CTC Annual Dinner in Belfast. The money was raised form the first three months sales of Crap Cycle Lanes. The first print run of 5,000 has sold out and 10,000 more have been printed and distributed to bookshops.
CTC/CCN Cycle Campaign Conference
Warrington - 15th November 2008
We are pleased to announce that after an excellent conference in 2005, Warrington is hosting this Autumn's "Streets Ahead" conference on 15th November 2008. Details are still being planned but the event is focussing on the theme :-
"Cyclists and pedestrians - Campaigning Together, Succeeding Together"
All of us human powered road users share the same vulnerability and this conference will widen the invited attendees to include pedestrian and other non-motorised road campaigners.
The conference will also aim to provide real case studies and information to help campaigners. Not so much a presentation on why (you already know that) but how we can achieve our aims.
Key topics will be "20 mph for residential roads" and "strict liability", both key policies in developing streets as "public spaces" rather than the preserve of motor vehicles.
Cycling Projects has moved to Warrington and is now based at
1 Priory Court
Buttermarket Street
Warrington
WA1 2NP
Tel: 01925 234213
Cycling Projects is recruiting cycling instructors and ride leaders for casual work on cycling promotion schemes in the North West. You'll get an hourly rate and travel expenses. There will be a recruitment day in Warrington on 23rd February.
Interested?
Ring Bob Norton or Ian Tierney on 01925 234213
Now Available
"A Guide to Cycling in Warrington" has been compiled by Warrington Cycle Forum in conjunction with the Warrington Cycle Campaign and the Council.
To order your cycle map, contact:
Lesley McAllister
Phone: 01925 443243
Email: ltp@warrington.gov.uk
Now in Hardback
Eye Books has taken inspiration from our Facility of the Month to create a hardback book showing the 50 worst cycle lanes in Britain. "Crap Cycle Lanes" is available at just £4.99 with all royalties going to the Cyclists Defence Fund. The ideal Chrismas gift for your local highways engineer.
Order your copy online from: Eye Books
If any campaign group wants to make a bulk order of 25 or more, then Warrington Cycle Campaign can arrange a discount. Email Rod King. with the quantity requested, organisation name, contact name, contact telephone.
Jon Wood Wows New York
Our ‘Facility of the Month’ website recently landed Deputy Chairman Jonathan Wood a weekend trip to Manhattan to contribute to David Byrne’s show ‘How New Yorkers Ride Bikes’ in the New Yorker Festival.
Read the full Story
Review from StreetFilms
"No words I write could convey the stitches he had us in"
Parliamentry Committee Calls for 20 mph urban limit
The influential Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Road Safety has recently issued a report which agrees with the Cycle Campaign's long held position that a default speed limit of 20mph in all built up areas is implemented in ways that achieve high levels of compliance.
The Beyond 2010 research project is a broad-ranging analysis of the future issues that will shape road safety policy. It aims to highlight the key areas where action is needed to continue the United Kingdom's excellent work in reducing death and injury on our roads.
For more information, see :-
http://www.pacts.org.uk/
The 50+ attendees at Warrington’s Congestion Summit on Friday delivered a very clear judgement that encouraging alternatives to the private car offers the best solution to cope with the congestion on Warrington Roads.
The summit heard from Nicola Kane of JMP Consulting that “Investing in alternatives is crucial to tackling congestion”.
Local campaigner Rod King gave a short but convincing presentation on how other towns get 60% more people moved with the same number of cars by promoting cycling, walking and public transport. However, key to the success of such encouragement is ensuring a safe environment on roads where people live, shop, go to school and work through the implementation of 20 mph on residential roads.
This is endorsed by the substantial public support for 20 mph on residential roads which exceeds 80%. Warrington Councillors and Officials have recently been given new freedoms and responsibilities by central government to implement 20 mph speed limits without physical measures being mandatory.
Warrington has a huge opportunity to make all its residential roads safer for its communities, and make better use of the roads to maximise the ratio of journeys to cars.
At the beginning and end of the conference the attendees voted on what they thought were the most achievable way to tackle congestion. Of the four choices Improving and Promoting Alternatives to the Private Car came out as the clear winner by a large margin.
Rod King said :-
“We are delighted that the conference delegates from a wide spectrum of councillors, officials and interested parties endorsed our views that the most economic and practical way to tackle congestion was to provide better alternatives to the private car.
Other towns have reduced dependency on the car and created a healthier environment with many more children and adults cycling or walking to school or work. With up to 60% more journeys for the same number of cars this makes excellent sense. It is encouraging to see the Council moving towards changes that can really deliver better transport options for all road users. ”
CTC launches two new sites to make roads and tracks a hole lot better
Two new online tools, which will help get potholes fixed and off-road trails cleared of obstructions, have been launched by CTC – the UK’s national cyclists’ organisation.
Using the new system at www.fillthathole.org.uk cyclists (and other road users) can zoom into any road in the UK, mark the location of the defect, and let the authority know about it, which then has a duty to take action. It takes no longer than 2 minutes to use, and it is possible to include photos, measurements and other useful information, which other people will be able to see.
A similar facility at http://www.clearthattrail.org.uk allows cyclists to report off-road obstructions. TC Director Kevin Mayne said: “Potholes and other road defects are more than just a nuisance; they’re a danger to cyclists. They’re responsible for 12% of compensation claims by CTC members, and local Councils have a duty to fix them. Reporting problems like this can be a chore, but our online facility has made it quick and easy.”
The websites also allow other cyclists to see what has been reported, and if a problem is ignored and someone subsequently crashes, it will be possible to show that the council knew about it. Meanwhile, CTC will be working with local authorities to help them meet their duty to keep the roads and trails well maintained.
An innovative project undertaken jointly by Warrington Cycle Campaign and Warrington Borough Transport aims to make local roads safer.
Talks between Warrington Cycle Campaign - one of the biggest cycle campaign groups in the country - and the local bus operator highlighted that cycling is growing but some would-be users are put off by Warrington’s busy roads.
With safety paramount to both organisations, the partners have worked together to produce a leaflet which sets out how both cyclists and bus drivers can ensure road safety is never compromised.
The town’s accident record is good and the leaflet aims to build on that by promoting awareness and understanding. The leaflet covers topics including, What cyclists should know about bus drivers, What bus drivers should know about cyclists, How cyclists can help avoid difficulties for bus drivers and How bus drivers can help make cyclists journeys safer.
The leaflet will be used to enhance Warrington Borough Transport’s driver training programme and will be provided to all 200 members of Warrington Cycle Campaign. The leaflet will also be made available to schools and libraries free of charge.
Cycle Campaign Chris Mayes said; “We were really impressed with the way that Warrington Borough Transport listened to the concerns of cyclists and responded with sponsorship for this leaflet.
“We also now better understand the responsibilities of bus drivers and have developed advice for cyclists to improve the way they interact with buses. The leaflet shows that through collaboration between types of road users we can make our streets safer and more pleasant for all road users.”
Managing Director of Warrington Borough Transport Nigel Featham said, “As a company, we take road safety very seriously and are keen to work in partnership with others to address this. This leaflet will be an excellent addition to our future safety awareness training with regard to cyclists. We would like to thank Warrington Cycle Campaign for their proactive approach.”
Warrington Cycle Campaign have taken action to ensure the cycle parking at the new Warrington Bus Station is up to scratch. Members noticed that the Sheffield Stands had been placed to close to the wall, a problem that is seen in many places in the town that makes the stands difficult to use as their is insufficient room for the wheel to fit as a bike is leaned against the stand.
WCC contacted Tony Cross, the Facilities Manager at the Bus Station. Mr. Cross investigated the situation and found that contractors had not followed the instructions for installing the Stands correctly. He has discussed the situation with the contractors and assures WCC that they will be moved back to give the correct clearance shortly.
Cycle Campaign Comments
The Department for Transport has commissioned WSP , TRL , Llewelyn Davies and Phil Jones Associates to develop a Manual for Streets that will give guidance to a range of practitioners on effective street design.
The guide is intended to improve the quality of residential street environments by giving greater emphasis to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists and avoiding 'motorway standards' on local roads. A project website has been established at
A new on-road cycle route has been created through the Town Centre. This route follows the line of the bus lanes from Academy Way round to Goldborne Street, with the improved road layouts on the other side of the road.
The photo shows the new layout of the junction between Academy Way and Academy Street. The triangle has been removed, and replaced with a much simpler 'T' junction arrangement. This means that cyclists do not have to filter across traffic anymore, and maintain priority through the junction. Also, the bus lane has been widened to permit overtaking.
One of the first priorities of the Cycle Campaign was to improve conditions for cyclists in the town centre. Ben Lukey wrote this report in 1999 advocating the creation of a ring road for cyclists, and we are pleased that the council has implemented many of his recommendations.
The nasty pinch point on Knutsford Road just past the Black Bear Park has now been replaced by hatching.
In 1992 the City of Hilden (Warrington's twin town in Germany) embarked upon a major exercise to reduce congestion by making a shift in city transport from vehicles to cycles and public transport.
The cornerstone of their strategy was a reduction in maximum vehicle speeds to just 18.5 mph throughout the built up areas of the town. This reduction has had a major effect in increasing cycling as a viable, safe, cost effective and enjoyable method of moving around the city. Hilden has therefore become a City in which its children and adults do not have a fear of cycling on their roads. As a result the quality of their life is enhanced and children in particular are given an independence and freedom that is not currently available in Warrington.
Now 24% of trips within Hilden are done by cycle. This has been achieved with minimal public expenditure on cycle specific facilities, yet has made the streets safer and more pleasant for all road users.
In July 2004 Rod King cycled to Hilden to find out why they have been so successful in promoting cycling and cutting congestion. Herr Lutz Groll of City of Hilden Planning took him on a tour of Hilden in order to point out the various infrastructure measures.
To find out more read Rod's report on the trip:
Learning from Hilden’s Successes
Ray Pugh from the Cycle Project NW is looking for volunteers to help run re-cycle schemes with community groups as a means to teach teenagers how to look after a bike and also set up local rides.
Contact Ray:
- Phone: 0161 736 6366
- Email: bikelinks@cycling.org.uk
The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has thought it fit to set out clearly the results of its research into road casualties and vehicle speed. An article in the September TRL News expresses concern about the way its research has been misrepresented. TRL says that there is a vast amount of evidence demonstrating the strong link between vehicle speed and road crashes.
TRL cites its reports 421 and 511 for direct evidence. For example:
- Crash records of 10,000 drivers showed that crash risk rises the faster a driver travels. At 25% above average speed, a driver is 6 times more likely to have a crash than when travelling at average speed.
- Road-based studies on almost 300 roads show clearly that injury crashes rise rapidly as average speed increases, if all else remains constant.
- 20 mph zones have more than halved injuries.
TRL says that improvements in driver behaviour have the potential to reduce road casualties dramatically; reducing drivers' speeds will play a vital part in this.
Research from New Zealand has demonstrated that hidden speed cameras lead to significantly fewer crashes and casualties than overt cameras. Visible speed cameras were introduced in New Zealand in 1993. In 1997 a carfully controlled three year trial was conducted to determine whether making them hidden would improve road safety. There was an 11% reduction in collisions in hidden camera area compared to the control areas over the trial period. This resulted in a 19% reduction in casualties.
A study based on Helsinki has shown that it is much safer to cycle on the roads with traffic than on the two-way cycle paths that form much of the cyclists' network. 45% of cycling kilometres in Helsinki take place on the cycle paths, but they are the location of 56% of injury crashes to cyclists.
The situation is worst at junctions. The risk of a crossing crash is 3 times higher coming along a cycle path than along the road. Cyclists riding on the pavements are also more at risk.
According to the author, the main problem is that car drivers have nothing to fear from cyclists. At crossings, drivers focus their attention on other cars and not on cyclists. The two-way nature of most of the cycle paths exacerbates the problems as drivers expect even less to see cyclists arriving from the 'wrong' direction. The most common type of crash, by a factor of ten, is a car turning left hitting a 'wrong-side' cyclist approaching from the driver's right.
The Finnish two-way cycle network was based on a Nordic traffic planning guide from the 1960s which considered cyclists and pedestrians to be a homogenous group of vulnerable road users, to be separated from motor traffic. Though an appealing principle at the time, it has led to a considerable number of unnecessary car/cycle crashes on at-grade crossings and pedestrian/cycle conflicts on paths connected to sidewalks.
Helsinki has 800 km of cycle paths, half of which are especially dangerous. It is hard to imagine that this system could be rebuilt, but in those countries and cities that are just beginning to build cycle networks, road-side paths and particularly two-way types should be avoided in an urban environment.
Two other findings of the report are that cycling is usually safer the more cyclists there are about, and that cycling leads to more police reports of pedestrian injuries per kilometre travelled than private motor vehicle use.
The risks of cycling, Dr Eero Pasenen, Helsinki City Planning Department, 2001.
WS Atkins have been commissioned by the Borough to carry out an in-depth transport review covering NW Warrington. Public consultation will aim to identify and develop measures to improve the environment and give residents more viable transport options. The traffic impact of three major new developments has already been examined - the new junction 8 on the M62, the Chapelford Urban Village and the Omega development.
We have composed our submission to the review.
WS Atkins have now reported back to the council with package of measures. Unfortunately, our suggestions appear to have been ignored and proposals for cyclists seem to consist entirely of forcing cyclists off the roads onto low quality unsegregated pavements with unprotected crossings at junctions. This not only fails to address the problems faced by cyclists riding through the area, but would create new hazards.
For more details see our response to the proposals.