Bike and Ride

Being more than just cycle and wallking infrastructure, Greenways truely transform urban areas. This guide covers the philosophy, design and construction of Greenways as multi-user paths for commuting and leisure. The distillation of 30 years of Sustrans' path building experience - the Connect2 Greenway Guide is an indispensible tool for anyone involved in the construction, maintenance and promotion of cycling and walking.

In 2000,1 the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (now the Department for Transport, DfT) published its strategy for road safety in Tomorrows Roads Safer for Everyone. In this document Mixed Priority Routes were identified as being among the least safe of urban roads. Subsequently, the DfT invited local highway authorities to submit schemes for inclusion in the Mixed Priority Routes (MPR) Road Safety Demonstration Project where DfT grants of up to £1 million were available for each participating authority. The ten schemes selected to be included in the project covered a spectrum of different types of authority and highway characteristics. This document reviews the experience from the ten schemes involved in the Demonstration Project and presents the lessons learned through the project to assist practitioners develop similar successful schemes. This report provides guidance for project managers and senior technical staff who might be involved in the development and delivery of MPR schemes, building on the experience of those that have already been through the process and understand the organisation and delivery issues involved. The MPR schemes have unique technical solutions to the redesign of their streets. It is not the purpose of this document to set out technical solutions. A brochure entitled High Street Renaissance and detailed scheme reports are also published on the DfT website, www.dft.org.uk. Summary Mixed Priority Routes are streets that carry high levels of traffic and also have: a mix of residential use and commercial frontages; a mix of road users, i.e. shoppers, cyclists, bus passengers, schoolchildren; a mix of parking and deliveries; They are not just transport routes. Although dealing with transport and safety is a key element, other concerns associated with the local economy and local communities may also generate an interest in improving the area with economic regeneration and environmental improvements. There are many benefits to be gained from enhancing the high street environment with an integrated approach. The investment is likely to contribute towards assisting the delivery of a range of local authority corporate objectives and targets including: accessibility planning; accident reduction; economic regeneration; Public Service Agreement; quality of life; and sustainability.

Encouraging more people to cycle is increasingly being seen as a vital part of any local authority plan to tackle congestion, improve air quality, promote physical activity and improve accessibility. This design guide brings together and updates guidance previously available in a number of draft Local Transport Notes and other documents. Although its focus is the design of cycle infrastructure, parts of its advice are equally appropriate to improving conditions for pedestrians. The guidance covers England, Wales and Scotland. Where the text refers to highway authorities (for England and Wales), the equivalent term in Scotland is road authorities.

Integration between cycling and public transport offers many of the benefits of convenient door-to-door transport over longer distances that are associated with car use. For operators, encouraging cycling to public transport offers increased passenger catchment compared to walking (typically up to four times the catchment area for the same journey time to the stop), as well as the potential to increase passenger numbers without some of the land-take and parking management issues associated with car travel (over ten cycles can be parked in the space required for one car parking space). In rural areas and some suburban locations, cycle access to stops or in-vehicle carriage may help to increase use and underpin public transport services that are struggling to make a commercial return, as well as offering a low-cost and socially inclusive form of access to cycling in the countryside. As with all sustainable transport promotion, each point at which there is potential 'uncertainty', or risk, in the journey will deter users. This might be in the form of lack of signs to parking areas, lack of security, or uncertainty about the vehicles' capacity to convey cycles, the conditions of carriage, or booking arrangements. It is important, therefore, that signs, vehicle layouts, leaflets and website materials produced by operators, passenger transport executives or local authorities make it easy and clear to users how to combine cycling and public transport.

Travelwise NI is a Roads Service initiative to encourage the use of sustainable transport options such as walking, cycling, public transport or car sharing. It is delivered in partnership with the Department of Education, DOE Road Safety Branch, Sustrans, Health Promotion Agency and Translink, and is targeted at Commuters, Employers (to devise a Travel Plan that meets a company's needs), and schools. .

Well-Maintained Highways, the code of practice for highway maintenance management was published in July 2005. It provides local authorities with guidance on highways management in an ever changing environment, creating a strong foundation for a positive and lasting maintenance policy. Adoption of the recommendations in this code will help the delivery of Best Value services.

The Traffic Signs Manual is intended to give advice to traffic authorities and their agents on the correct use of signs and road markings. Mandatory requirements are set out in the current version of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions; nothing in the manual can override these. The advice is given to assist authorities in the discharge of their duties under section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, but it is for traffic authorities to determine what signing they consider necessary to meet those duties. 1.2 The Traffic Signs Manual is applicable in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. References to “the Secretary of State” should therefore be interpreted as referring to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland), the Scottish Executive or the Welsh Assembly Government as appropriate.

Guideline setting the standard for the National Cycle Network, as has set the standard for local cycling infrastructure. This guide covers general design principles, designing cycling networks, junction and link design, routes adjacent to and on highways and routes away from highways, cycle parking and other cycling infrastructure.

The IHT, the Bicycle Association, the Cyclist's Touring Club and the Department of Transport worked together to produce the technical guidelines - "Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure: Guidelines for Planning and Design". Following the publication of Policy Planning Guidance 13 (Transport) and the development of the National Cycle Strategy, cycling will be of growing importance in transport policies. The Government is committed to sustainable development and sees cycling as an important part of an environment-friendly transport strategy. Many local authorities are already promoting alternatives to the car and measures to assist cyclists are an integral part of good transportation planning and highway design. The Guidelines assist those seeking to make highway infrastructure safer and more convenient for cyclists. As the Guidelines point out, dedicated cycle routes are an important part of this, but only a part. Good on-street facilities are also essential if cycling is to be encouraged. A hierarchical approach is recommended, with appropriate emphasis on reducing the volumes and speeds of motor vehicles, as well as using traffic management techniques to reduce accidents and to give cyclists a positive advantage. Much has changed since 1984 when the IHT published its original guidelines, "Providing for the Cyclist", especially the policy context. Nevertheless, many schemes have been implemented, experience gained and new techniques, such as Advanced Stop Lines and Toucan crossings, have been developed. The contents cover the policy framework, traffic management, junction and link design, cycle parking and links to public transport.

This research has examined the attitudes and behaviour of over 1200 cyclists, car drivers, car passengers and taxi passengers making use of joint transport facilities at 5 rail stations and 3 bus Park and Ride sites in England. It has focused on the value of such transport interchanges to cyclists, and the potential that exists for a modal switch from private motorised transport to the bike. These themes are addressed in terms of the composition of this cycling population, their reasons for cycling, the provision of cycle parking and the attitudes of private motorised transport users to cycling. It has revealed that the economic and health benefits of cycling, as well as its convenience, have made it attractive to the cyclist even when alternative transport modes are available. It has also shown the scope and potential for encouraging more private motorised transport users to transfer to the bike.