Worst town for cycling in Britain?

[John Holiday]

Dismal!
Whenever I see a 'Cyclists Dismount' sign,I am tempted to get out my permanent marker & write
'WHY?' beneath!
Not a sign you ever see in Contienental Europe,where if a motorist wants to cross a cycle lane,he gives way!

[Nutsey]

You can sample the joys of Salford cycling with this link. It begins at the cycle facility I mentioned earlier. The surrounding areas are no better.

http://g.co/maps/mf354

This journey was all because Fedex refused to put a small parcel through my letterbox!

[karlt]

I think the problem is that planners have no idea of what an imposition dismounting actually is.

[Cyclenut]

Dismal!
Whenever I see a 'Cyclists Dismount' sign,I am tempted to get out my permanent marker & write
'WHY?' beneath!
Not a sign you ever see in Contienental Europe,where if a motorist wants to cross a cycle lane,he gives way!

Just back from Germany and actually I did see the "Radfahrer Absteigen" sign. Twice. In 450 miles.

You're right though, cycle paths do always have right of way over side roads. And Germans do not suppose cyclists to be so stupid as to need a sign like that to remind them to give way where they don't. Both these signs were on bridges shared with pedestrians, but there weren't many pedestrians about and at one bridge we stopped by for a while 3 out of 4 local cyclists rode over anyway.

[thirdcrank]

I think one thing about cycling in many places in the UK is that it's so much worse for anybody unfamiliar with the area. I chose my words carefully because I'd not want to suggest that things are somehow OK for riders with local knowledge. IMO this has two consequences. While things are bad enough for experienced strangers, local beginners are likely to be frightened off their bikes long before they've had any chance to find their own best routes. Then, many experienced riders with good local knowledge seem to adopt an alternative style, which involves ignoring the norms. I get the impression that this is particularly the case in London. While other road users may be irritated and even aggrieved when cyclists ignore both so-called "facilities" and convention, it tends to show how utterly rubbish the farcilities are, and how little well-informed provision is made for cyclists.

[Pete Owens]

Just moved to Cheltenham where I have to live for the next six months. First impression: what a complete hole!

Urban sprawl, edge of town retail parks, pedestrianised center surrounded by a hostile one-way system, boy racers, 40mph roads enclosed by steel railings, hardly anyone using bicycles. It's by far the worst place I've cycled. Does it get worse than this?

Your description could be of pretty much any town in the UK - where did you come from before?

This is the entirely typical of the consequence of UK urban planning over past 40 years, which has put the accomodation of motor traffic above all other concerns. So ingrained is this autocentricity that when the planners marginalise vulnerable road users with pedestrian cattle pens, of absurd cycle farcilities, pedestrian crossings that force you to cross a junction in several stages and wait minutes for each one etc they actually believe they are helping us. Indeed, the planners will consider most of the cycle hostile things you describe as safety features. There are one or two exceptions where planners have gone against the grain and specifically designed to restrict and tame motor traffic - and no Leicecster certainly isn't one of them.

[nez]

Sheffield. Everywhere is uphill!

[ransos]

I find Bolton pretty bad when visitting. But perhaps I'm not expert enough to know the best roads to use. Preston too. Oh and Bury.

Bury is fine - but I think that local knowledge is necessary.


I nominate Warrington - it seems to consist of dual carriageways linking retail parks, and little else.

[karlt]

Sheffield. Everywhere is uphill!

Not at all. The last mile and a half of my commute into work is downhill. Naturally this has an unfortunate consequence on the homeward run.

[thirdcrank]

+1 to Pete Owens post.

I once represented the CTc at a public inquiry into a scheme with just the features he describes. The traffic-light man said "We have already done everything we can for pedestrians - anything for cyclists would have to come out of that." What he was really saying - and I'm sure he sincerely believed he was right - was that the traffic light timings had been fine-tuned to ensure the maximum possible traffic capacity and then green-man phases had been assigned to every red.

Traffic management occupies a poorly-defined area where the physical (eg a double-decker bus cannot pass under a low bridge) is confused with the political - ie things which are entirely a matter of policy, like priorities. This quasi-science is used to bamboozle any local councillors genuinely committed to a change of priorities. IMO.

[snibgo]

Traffic management occupies a poorly-defined area where the physical (eg a double-decker bus cannot pass under a low bridge) is confused with the political - ie things which are entirely a matter of policy, like priorities. This quasi-science is used to bamboozle any local councillors genuinely committed to a change of priorities. IMO.

Yes.

To me, this is a symptom of the way we have enslaved ourselves to the motor car. Breaking out of this slavery isn't easy.

In Cambourne, Cambs, motorists are complaining about the parking practices of other motorists. The roads haven't yet been adopted, 12 years after they were built, so they have been able to park wherever they want. Some park right on top of tee-junctions. The police have started putting notices on windscreens, to the effect of "please don't park here".

So car drivers have started to park with two wheels on the pavement. Well, it gets their cars somewhat out of the way of other cars, so that's good, isn't it? When the roads are adopted and yellow lines appear, I expect motorists will then realise the pavements are wide enough to park with all four wheels on the pavement. That's the perfect solution, right? Then the parked cars won't block any moving cars. Wonderful.

[iviehoff]

Just moved to Cheltenham where I have to live for the next six months. First impression: what a complete hole!
Urban sprawl, edge of town retail parks, pedestrianised center surrounded by a hostile one-way system, boy racers, 40mph roads enclosed by steel railings, hardly anyone using bicycles. It's by far the worst place I've cycled. Does it get worse than this?

Haven't you just arrived in as close to cycling heaven as you can get in a largish town in centralish southernish England? I regularly visit friends in Cheltenham, and we always have the most amazing days out on the bike almost from their front door; they live walking distance of the centre. The really good cycling usually starts right from the edge of town, and the suburban bit, admittedly at the weekend, is usually pretty quiet. The cycling routes out of town are admittedly less pleasant if you want to cycle in the flatlands to the west, and the town centre itself may be a bit unfriendly for cycling. But I'd rather put up with that and have the Cotswolds on my doorstep than live in Milton Keynes with its million miles of cycleways.

I think once you've found how lovely cycling in the countryside around is, you'll forgive the place. Unfortunately you are not there at the best time of year for it, as the local soil conditions mean that the tracks tend to be claggy and slippy when wet. You'll probably get rather fit too, all those long steep hills.

[Mark R]

Haven't you just arrived in as close to cycling heaven as you can get in a largish town in centralish southernish England?

Heaven? Surely you jest! I would describe it as a large blot on the otherwise pleasant landscape of the Cotswolds.
I think if I also used my bicycle just for recreation I might also be able to play down the degradation that is Cheltenham's urban environment, as it is my bicycle provides 100% of my transport needs. I did have the idea that the place must have been bombed extensively during the war hence all the ugliness but it appears they did all this willingly!

[PW]

Come friendly bombs and drop on Slough.
It isn't fit for people now.

Betjeman I think.

[MartinC]

[ I would describe it as a large blot on the otherwise pleasant landscape of the Cotswolds.
I think if I also used my bicycle just for recreation I might also be able to play down the degradation that is Cheltenham's urban environment, as it is my bicycle provides 100% of my transport needs. I did have the idea that the place must have been bombed extensively during the war hence all the ugliness but it appears they did all this willingly!

Well I don't know what Cheltenham's done to upset you, each to their own. To me it seems no better nor any worse than any standard English town. Where are you comparing it with? Take a trip to Gloucester and marvel at how they coped with the 70's.