Cycle Audit

This issue of Current Topics includes over 75 abstracts of reports, conference papers, books and journal articles which focus on the area of highway safety auditing. Subjects include audits of junctions, the vicinity of schools, cycling facilities, accident locations and traffic signs, as well as of entire highways. Several papers consider audits from the perspective of particular road user groups such as pedestrians and motorcyclists. Software and instructions developed to assist in road safety audits are described. These items have been selected from the material added to the Transport Research Laboratory's Library Database between 2005 and 2009. Much of the relevant English language published literature from the UK, USA, Australia and Europe is included; some of the non-UK literature is included courtesy of the OECD International Transport Research Documentation (ITRD) database.

PERS (Pedestrian Environment Review Software) is a new and dynamic software application to assess the quality of any pedestrian environment. PERS can assist in the identification of opportunities to improve pedestrian walking routes and public spaces, whilst supporting the effective targeting of resources. There is little defined best practice in the evaluation of pedestrian provision: how to prioritise areas for improvement; or what on-street provision is most appropriate and effective. With a standard and consistent methodology PERS is set to change all that. It will help in the promotion of walking as a viable transport option, especially in terms of value to health, sustainability, local economic viability and reduction of car use. Developed by TRL in partnership with Transport for London, PERS creates a systematic framework so that pedestrian provision can be assessed, reviewed and audited.

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.

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.

This leaflet is aimed at path providers, whether they are local authorities, statutory bodies or private landowners. For nearly 30 years, Sustrans has been building paths to the highest possible standards, giving a wide variety of users sustainable access to the countryside and to our towns and cities. The National Cycle Network (NCN), Sustrans' flagship project, offers safe routes for non-motorised transport. Sustrans and its partners have been working for some years to make the NCN more accessible to disabled people working for some years to remove and there are now considerable lengths of traffic free route that are without access barriers. This is to the benefit of everyone, but particularly wheelchair and electric scooter users. Since 1 October 2004, however, removal of such barriers and improvements to paths to make them accessible to everyone is no longer voluntary. The new elements of the Disability Discrimination Act make the provision of easy access compulsory. This leaflet sets out the terms of the act, offers guidance on how to decide if a path is genuinely open to all and the measures you need to take to comply with the act. This guide does not intend to provide information for disabled horse riders. For horses and the National Cycle Network, see the information in ‘The National Cycle Network and Public Rights of Way’, Sustrans information sheet FF27.

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.

In February 2000, the CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club) launched a new initiative to adapt the technique of benchmarking to support local authorities in the implementation of their cycling policies. The process entails assessing policy and practice to determine what actually works in encouraging cycling in the UK context. It considers all aspects of cycling policy, from promotion to engineering design, and from training to maintenance of cycle tracks. Initially the project, which is funded by the Ashden Trust, extends over three years, with up to ten local authorities participating in the benchmarking process each year. The CTC is acting as facilitator, providing technical advice throughout the process.