Cycle lanes - build it and they will come?

I heard someone talking about cycling lanes the other day and they came out with the old adage “if you build it they will come”. However, when I heard that, I couldn't help but think of all the times people have told me about councils "wasting money" on cycling lanes or that "nobody ever uses them".

There is a lot of talk from the government in the UK at the moment that Covid-19 could be a “Golden Age” for cycling. Social distancing means that public transport is being discouraged and if we all flock to our cars gridlock will soon prevail. The quiet roads during lockdown were perfect for cyclists getting their daily exercise, bike sales have rocketed and pollution levels are down, but if the roads return to normal, if not become busier, cycling levels are sure to drop.

I read today that councils will get extra money from the government to amend the road network to prioritise cycling. So, this seems like a great chance to ask, if they build it, will they come?

In my experience, whilst any investment in better cycling is positive, the generally flawed approach to delivery means that the the uptake in using it is usually low, fuelling the perception that it is a waste of money. Typically, in the UK, local councils look to increase cycling infrastructure by painting a cycle lane alongside an existing highway that has been optimised for cars. Not only does this usually take space from the road causing animosity, but it also creates conflicts between bicycles and cars at every junction or crossing. Furthermore, treating the bicycle in the same way as a car does not play into the inherent benefits of bicycles as a flexible, efficient, low speed and high capacity mode of transport. Bicycles simply should not require the same levels of traffic management and enforcement as cars do. In fact, as traffic lights are not phased for bicycles, they can be particularly problematic at inhibiting progress. Despite the flexibility bicycles offer they are however at a distinct disadvantage when the road goes up. Therefore, with cycling paths usually just following the main highway, consideration is rarely given to finding routes that are better suited to bicycles and avoid the toughest terrain.

By patching cycle paths onto existing main roads, town planners are, in my opinion, simply hoping that cyclists will be happy for the odd bit of traffic free road that might just happen to be on their route. Instead, planners should be creating routes that look at the quickest, safest and easiest routes into our cities. Whilst this may be along existing highways, priority routes need to be established where the bicycle is the primary mode of transport and interactions with cars are all but eradicated. This would require bold schemes that take cyclists off the roads all together to provide true segregation. My experience of bicycle touring in France and Spain has involved routes that run for miles with little to no highway crossings allowing for fast progress on the bicycle almost directly into city centres.

The UK charity Sustrans does do this with a lot of their cycle paths by utilising old railway corridors that have long since been abandoned. Unfortunately, these routes are usually short and very rarely connect major urban centres, making them ideal for leisure but less practical for mass commuting. However, it is no coincidence that railway corridors make excellent cycle paths as trains typically require flat gradients. Obviously, it would not be possible to just bolt cycle paths on to the railways but by looking at the existing rail corridors it would be easy to see some logical routes for a cycling network.  

An alternative approach being promoted in Manchester at the moment is the Bee Network. This system aims to make a comprehensive and joined up cycle network across the city. A big part of this scheme is recognising that most journeys are short i.e. less than 1km and therefore could be completed by walking or on a bicycle. The scheme looks to utilise the quieter side streets and B-roads rather than main roads and where conflicts do occur with cars priority will be given to bicycles.

Obviously this investment in infrastructure needs to be matched at the destination where cyclists will require safe parking and shower and locker facilities but for the sake of this blog I will focus more on the highway infrastructure.

The Bee Network is very much on the right track and the reason this may succeed is the political will to be disruptive to car users to allow for the prioritisation of cycling. When Leeds won the right to host the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart it promised to create a legacy of cycling within the city. The flagship project to achieve this was the cycle superhighway between Leeds and Bradford. It was widely criticised for failing to make difficult decisions where space constraints may have required taking road space or disrupting traffic flow. At every opportunity the cyclist appears to lose to the car, something that I have noticed is common throughout Leeds.

A lot of motorists complain that cyclists don't use cycle lanes. Cycling can be tiring and you are exposed to the elements so the last thing you want is infrastructure that slows you down. 100m of segregated cycle path is useless if you then have to rejoin the traffic flow at a junction or lose your priority to wait at a pedestrian crossing.    

So if the infrastructure isn't helping those already cycling it’s probably going to do little to encourage those that don't currently cycle either. There will always be some that use it but ultimately, if you build it badly, no they probably won't come.

On the flip side councils and central government continue to pour obscene funds into highway improvements to increase highway capacity. An explosion of car use since the mid 20th century has shown that when it comes to highway capacity, the old mantra of build it and they will come has rung true. Private car use is by far the quickest and most convienient way to travel all things being equal, but it is not feasible to keep chasing small capacity improvements to accommodate individuals in big cars that are so demanding of road space.

To really encourage walking and cycling they need to be seen as the easiest and most convenient form of transport for the majority of journeys. Unfortunately, this generally involves discouraging motor vehicles rather than promoting them, something that is politically unpopular and will always cause uproar. The use of cars is now so normalised that even when we do get new cycle infrastructure most people sit in their cars complaining that no one is using it rather than appreciating that the infrastructure is there for them to give them an option other than to sit in traffic.

Cycling can be a cheaper, faster and more convienient form of transport in most urban scenarios but we need to find that tipping point where society in general realises this. To happen this would probably require rather significant government intervention to discourage private car use such as a fundamental change in transport funding away from highway capacity improvements, congestion or pay per mile charges, reducing highway capacity for private vehicles and reduced parking in our towns or cities.  
 
People will always point to individual circumstances where people may need access in private vehicles for one reason or another, but there are plenty of cities around the world that show that bicycles can be the primary source of transportation around city centres. Amsterdam, Copenhagen and even Cambridge are great examples of cities where the bicycle is king.

It has always amazed me how the private motor vehicle has commanded so much space and priority in city centres. Vehicles that drive in every morning from the suburbs or the next town over clog up the roads each morning whilst splurting out pollution. Meanwhile, the people that live locally, paying for those highways but who probably walk or cycle are somehow treated as the lower priority users at each junction and crossing.

I have come to accept that my view on the benefits of the bicycle as a form of mass transportation are generally in the minority and it is unlikely that the political will to make drastic changes would come anytime soon for much of the UK.

However, Covid-19 has thrown cycling right to the forefront. The Prime Minister has just announced that we should not be taking public transport and warned of mass congestion on our roads. For once even the politicians are saying cycling is the answer. Commitments have been made to reduce highway capacity and to hand it over to bicycles and pedestrians. We will have to wait to see how far councils actually go with this and whether or not any of the good habits will stick.

My gut feeling is that once again the infrastructure provided will fall way short of what cyclists are expecting and what is required. However, I imagine the vast majority will sit in their cars, complaining about the traffic, the waste of money and the lack of cyclists in the cycle lanes. If only they dared to use it, they may actually realise that they would probably enjoy it and will most likely get to work faster.

Always the optimist, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Stay safe

James