Monthly Archives: March 2014

As if we didn’t already know, a cycling revolution won’t happen by itself

Posted on March 27, 2014 by aseasyasriding

There is a curious opinion that often manifests itself in government and in councils – that a serious commitment to cycling as a mode of transport in its own right can’t be made, precisely because very few journeys are currently … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling policy, Department for Transport, Infrastructure, London, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Transport policy | 39 Comments

A small example of rural car dependence

Posted on March 24, 2014 by aseasyasriding

This video was doing the rounds on Twitter last week. It’s really quite well done, and a bit depressing that it dates from 2011. It convincingly shows how a B-road has effectively become a no-go area for anyone not in … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Infrastructure, Subjective safety | 37 Comments

Yellow peril – our over-painted streets

Posted on March 18, 2014 by aseasyasriding

By way of a follow-up to last week’s post about Zebra crossings, and how we manage to mess them up, I thought I’d address a similar common design feature of our streets that is hopelessly confusing – double (and single) … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

Continual improvement

Posted on March 13, 2014 by aseasyasriding

We often hear that we are ‘forty years behind’ the Netherlands – for instance, Andrew Gilligan stated last year that It took 40 years to turn even Amsterdam into Amsterdam, with the kind of cycle facilities it has now This statistic … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, The Netherlands | 6 Comments

The problem with (British) zebra crossings

Posted on March 11, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Zebra crossings are, in principle, the ideal way for pedestrians to cross the road. They give pedestrians priority, and mean they can cross without delay. But there are a number of regulatory difficulties which make them rather less than ideal. … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Walking, Zebra crossings | 131 Comments

Dealing with a historical failure to consider cycling

Posted on March 7, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Way back in the 1970s, Horsham built a stub of inner ring-road, a dual carriageway that was later extended in two stages to (almost) encircle the town centre. It’s called Albion Way. It involved almost entirely demolishing a church… and … Continue reading →

Posted in Horsham, Infrastructure, One-way streets, Pedestrianisation, Permeability, Street closures, West Sussex County Council | 18 Comments

More motorway ‘idiocy’

Posted on March 6, 2014 by aseasyasriding

So another person cycling on a motorway has been stopped by the police. The last time this happened – just a few weeks ago – Beyond the Kerb succinctly described the different types of ‘idiocy’ involved here. I don’t for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Junction capacity

Posted on March 6, 2014 by aseasyasriding

The cycling schemes in Bedford and Southampton – the ‘Turbo’ roundabout, and the Itchen Bridge junction, respectively – have been hitting the headlines recently. A post by SmallTown2K (who has been taking a thorough look at the Southampton scheme) goes … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Smoothing traffic flow, The Netherlands | 12 Comments

Cycling in pedestrianised areas

Posted on March 3, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Many town and city centres in Britain have extensive pedestrianised areas. Often these areas will be surrounded by busy distributor roads, designed to accommodate the motor traffic that has been excluded from the pedestrianised streets (and which in practice have … Continue reading →

Posted in Pedestrianisation | 53 Comments