A problem with replicating in Harlow (or anywhere else) Eric Claxton's approach in Stevenage was and is this: In Stevenage, Eric Claxton was both Chief Engineer and a cyclist who was able to get the cycleway infrastructure constructed simultaneously with the road system, so that the cost of the former was absorbed by the latter. He pointed out in a lecture he gave to the STL Environment Society, which I helped found, that the cycleway system, with its many underpasses, would never have been built otherwise on grounds of cost. He noted that an important feature of the underpasses was raising the road to provide a clear sight line for cyclists, (He stressed the importance of such sight lines to ensure underpasses were light and airy, and users felt safe using them.)
As originally implemented, the cycleway was typically 11-12 ft. wide with an adjoining 7 ft. wide sidewalk for pedestrians, in many locations separated by a grass strip.
When car ownership in Stevenage and elsewhere in Britain increased after the 1970's interest in the cycleway system waned, and inferior facilities, in which paths shared by both pedestrians and cyclists, were constructed, unlike the original system where the facilities were separate, as indicated above.
After Eric Claxton retired from Stevenage and joined the British Cycling Bureau he came up with the idea for the bicycle boulevard, a priority route for cyclists, which was first implemented on a trial basis in Portsmouth, as I recollect. The route chosen paralleled the major road to the docks, and while it provided a through route for bicyclists, motorists had to turn off at intervals along the road. The idea was successful, except that businesses along the route objected to the negative financial impact and that led to the project being terminated before the end of the trial period. (This description is from memory and if anyone has a good reliable reference I'd be very interested in knowing of it.)
The bicycle boulevard concept has since been implemented in some U.S. cities, such as Portland, Oregon, but to my knowledge Eric Claxton has never received the credit he deserves for the idea, despite being honored with an O.B.E. for his work as Stevenage Chief Engineer.
For his pioneering work in the cycling transportation field I believe Eric Claxton deserves to be in Wikipedia but unfortunately there's no mention of him.
Sincerely,
Martin Pion, BSc
St. Louis, Missouri, USA
http://www.thinkbicyclingblog.wordpress.com
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