Space for Cycling Update: April 2019

28 March 2019
Categories: Consultations, News, Space for Cycling

Silverthorne Lane and St Philips Marsh We have recently met developers and consultants about the Silverthorne Lane site and St Philip’s Marsh respectively, part of Temple Quarter. These are likely to be some of the largest re-development sites in Bristol in the coming years and are in close proximity to Temple Island and the University of Bristol Temple Meads site. There is an opportunity to build cycling in at the outset and we will be working to ensure that our voice is heard at an early stage in the process. A4018 Consultation The initial proposals put to consultation in…

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Safe Cycling in NW Bristol ? Yes please

28 February 2019
Categories: Consultations, News, Space for Cycling

Want to cycle from Clifton to Henbury along a safe segregated cycle route? No we’re not joking; we don’t mean messy, sub standard national cycle route 4 but a new route along Westbury Rd, Falcondale Rd and Passage Rd, protected from motors. There is currently a consultation on new bus lanes on the A4018, which don’t seem popular locally. It’s not ambitious on cycling either; a new route on the Downs and, perhaps, traffic reduction in Westbury Village. Our meetings with Council Officers suggest, however, they’re seriously interested in a AAA (all ages and abilities) cycle route so may be…

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Update: City Centre Cycle Network

3 February 2019
Categories: News, Space for Cycling

Bristol Cycling (BCyc) have recently been engaging with Bristol City Council (BCC) officers about the city centre cycle network. A lot has happened in the last few years so now is a good time for an update on some recent and upcoming schemes: The Prince Street cycle track has been fully open for a few months, is very well used and is functioning pretty well. BCyc raised a few queries about some elements of the design and we hope that action will be taken on these where possible as well as lessons learned for future schemes. Minor snags aside, overall…

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Why it matters that Bristol is preparing a ‘Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan’

14 September 2018
Categories: Influence, Space for Cycling

After intensive lobbying by cycling and walking groups the Government set up a legally binding Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) in 2017.  The aim is “to deliver better safety, better mobility, and better streets”. All local authorities are supposed to produce a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), setting out their long-term approach to developing local cycling and walking networks, ideally over a 10 year period. In particular this means:

a network plan for walking and cycling which identifies preferred routes and core zones for further development
a prioritised programme of infrastructure improvements for future investment
a report which sets out the underlying analysis carried out and provides a narrative which supports the identified improvements and network

Here in Bristol we’re a long way ahead of many areas, and BCyC has blazed a trail with our Bristol Cycling Manifesto with its highly influential ‘tube map’. It will be no surprise that we’ve got a long list of priorities based on our detailed network plan, so we’ve had to work hard to distill these down to some specific routes that we want Bristol and South Gloucestershire to include in their first LCWIP (yes, Gloucester Rd is #1). [Cycle Bath have been doing the same with BaNES, see here, and we don’t think North Somerset are ready yet].

Here’s the BCyC submission, also copied below, LCWIP BCyC final13.8.18. Our Space for Cycling Forum of BCyC members will be closely involved in working with council officers as plans develop. We’ll see how far we get a meaningful plan with prioritised actions. Note that the LCWIP will form an action plan appendix to the Bristol Transport Strategy that is out for public consultation on 24th September 2018, watch this space for updates.

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Call for inclusive infrastructure

5 January 2018
Categories: Cycling for All, News, Space for Cycling

Fantastic article by Zoe Banks Gross on why we need to continue campaigning for a better environment for cycling, if we want to see greater quantities and diversity of people cycling in Bristol: https://betterbybike.info/news/seeing-women-cycling-bristol-theres-still-long-way-go. Cycling is for everyone, and even though we are seeing more women cycling in Bristol, and more than in the other Bike Life cities, we still have a long way to go for cycling to be an easy choice for everyone. Bristol urgently needs better infrastructure to make it simpler and safer for all types of people on cycles, whether they are passengers in a cargo…

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A Modest Proposal #7: Temple Way cycle route

10 August 2017
Categories: Space for Cycling

In Aug 2017 we submitted this modest proposal for Temple Way to address the missing link on this important route across the entrance to Temple Meads Station. We don’t feel the provision for walking and cycling on the redesigned Temple Meads / Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone are anywhere near adequate (Temple Greenways consultation). The short response from the programme manager was “The idea you have put forward was considered in the design process for the Temple Circus scheme but we have chosen alternatives routes to improve for cyclists.” The longer version went: Works to the Temple Circus gyratory,…

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Britain’s forgotten 1930s protected cycleways

27 April 2017
Categories: News

Did you know that in the 1930s, the Ministry of Transport commissioned the building of protected cycleways?

We’ve heard about an exciting Kickstarter project from Carlton Reid and John Dales. Ultimately they want to revive Britain’s long-lost 1930s cycleways. These lanes cover 280 miles of safe cycling space but currently they are hidden from sight.

A small team will trawl the archives and evaluate these schemes. Then they will approach local and national authorities with plans for meshing the 1930s cycleways with their modern equivalents. If they exceed the initial target they will be able to research a greater number of schemes and push for grants to enable rescue work to take place.
You can read more about this project, its historical background, and how you could get involved in supporting something of potentially national importance, on Carlton Reid’s Kickstarter page – Let’s rescue Britain’s forgotten 1930s protected cycleways

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Filwood Quietway St John’s Lane & Wedmore Vale Consultation – our response

22 February 2017
Categories: Consultations, News

The Filwood Quietway is proposed to link the south of the city with the centre. It is one of the main elements of the £19m Cycling Ambition Fund to upgrade walking and cycling routes across the city. There are four sections, with different characteristics, and different processes for consultation and planning: Whitehouse Street, Victoria Park, St John’s Lane and Wedmore Vale, and the Northern Slopes. The Filwood Quietway section of the TravelWest website has a lot of background and detail. The Victoria Park proposals were withdrawn ‘for further consultation’ in January 2017. We have submitted a response to the proposal for Wedmore Vale and St John’s Lane.

Our full response is here: BCyC.Consults.Wed.Vale.ND.13.2.17

Our overall position on this consultation is: Support with qualifications
Bristol Cycling Campaign believes that every Bristolian, whatever their age or ability, deserves safe and inviting space for cycling on all Bristol’s streets. This should never be to the detriment of walking. We welcome the ambitious target in the council’s Bristol Cycle Strategy for 20% of trips to work by bike by 2020. We have the following general comments on this consultation drawing on the Bristol Cycling Manifesto, and the Making Space for Cycling guide for street renewals which set out how to achieve Space for Cycling:

Space for Cycling
Does this measure deliver 1) Protected space on main roads; 2) Remove through motor traffic; 3) Safe routes to school; 4) Cycle friendly town centres; 5) Cycle routes in green spaces; 6) 20mph speed limits?

Green – overall benefit

Road Danger Reduction
Does this measure seek a genuine reduction in danger for all road users by identifying and controlling the principal sources of threat?

Green – overall benefit

Triple A Quality
Will this measure be attractive to all ages and abilities using all kinds of cycles? This means ‘Triple A’ quality for All Ages and Abilities
Green – overall benefit

Strategic Cycling Network
How does this measure contribute to the development of a planned, integrated and coherent strategic cycle network?
Green – overall benefit

Cycle-proofing
How far does this measure provide for Triple A Space for Cycling in the future?
Green – overall benefit

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How to campaign for Space for Cycling? Bristol workshop 10th Dec

6 December 2016
Categories: Influence, News

Cycling UK and the Bristol Cycling Campaign are excited to host a Space for Cycling workshop in Bristol. The aim of the event is to engage with local campaign groups, council members and the wider public in the West of England, to share expertise and ideas, to network and to gear up for the next stage in the Space for Cycling campaign! Date: 10 December 2016 Cost: Donation or free Register your interest here The day will consist of a series of workshops, below is the day’s agenda: 10:00-10:30 Registration/Networking 10:30-11:00 Opening plenary 11:00-13:00 Workshop 1: Creating a ‘…

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A Modest Proposal #6; Eight to Eighty cycling on Gloucester Road

1 December 2016
Categories: Featured, News, Space for Cycling

Did you know that Gloucester Road was one of Bristol’s busiest cycle routes (Building on success – lessons from Gloucester Road)? What’s more, the number of people cycling has doubled in the last ten years whereas motor vehicle numbers have dropped by a fifth. These facts can be seen from Department for Transport Traffic Counts.

So what does this tell us? Bristol’s Cycling City money has been well spent? Not quite. Significant Cycling City money was not spent on Gloucester Road infrastructure as the end of project report makes clear. In fact people on bikes are using this route despite, not because of, its facilities for them.

As anyone who has cycled into, or out of, the City on Gloucester Road knows the only “cycling infrastructure” is, essentially, paint and bus lanes. And bus lanes are for both a human on a bike (100 kilos) and a double decker (15 tons) – hardly fair or equal!

Gloucester Road is popular because it goes where people on bikes want to go; travelling, often commuting, in and out of the City Centre from the

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