Wednesday 2 December 2009

Cycle infrastructure - Assen v, Leamington

A recent post on David Hembrow's blog shows some before and after photographs of provision in Assen http://hembrow.blogspot.com/.

If I compare these with the situation in Leamington it seems that the local authority is more likely to build infrastructure like that in this photo



Than this



Yes they are before and after photos!

I will get out and about and post some photos of recently built examples soon.

Whilst trying to establish just how much is spent on cycle infrastructure in Warwickshire (unsuccessfully)  i came across this document which gives the Counties plans for cycling.
Note that the figure for cycling to work - and that may well include schools! - in Warwick District is 3.5%.


Cycle use targets 2006-11
There is a need to set targets which are realistic yet sufficiently challenging within the given timescales.
Cycle use in Warwickshire has been steadily declining for a number of years and mirrors the national decline in cycling levels. Census data shows that cycle use for journeys to work has declined from 5.6% in 1981, to 3.8% in 1991 and to 3% in 2001. This continued decline marks a movement away from our stretching target set in 2000 to double cycle use in major urban areas by 2006 and double it again by 2011.
The adoption of this ambitious local target demonstrated our commitment to help meet the national target of tripling the number of cycling trips by 2010 compared with a 2000 base. Performance against both the national indicator and our local indicator has been disappointing; indeed the national target was abandoned in 2004, being replaced by a general aim ‘to increase walking and cycling in the next 20 to 30 years’.
Cordon count data points towards declining cycling levels between 2000/1 and 2003/4. However, in 2004/5, cycle flows into town centres increased from the previous year to levels close to those recorded in 2000/1.  Similarly, whilst all three of the automatic counters in place prior to 2004 recorded a decrease in cyclists between 2002/03 and 2004, an increase was recorded at six out of the seven automatic counter sites between 2004 and 2005. Although these results are encouraging, it is clearly too early to know whether this marks the start of a positive upward trend in cycle usage. It is against the longer term background of declining cycling levels in Warwickshire that it has been decided to set the following five year target for cycle usage:
‘To maintain the amount of cycling in Warwickshire at 2004 levels by 2010’.
In addition to past cycle usage data, a range of factors have been considered when setting this target, including car ownership levels, cycle network density, barriers to cycling and impact of promotional activity. It is considered that increasing cycling levels is a long term challenge and will depend both on behavioural change and achieving a density of cycle route networks, both of which will take a number of years.
Progress towards this target will be monitored through data collected from the existing 7 automatic counters and will form the baseline against which progress on increasing overall levels of cycling is measured. The target will be reviewed regularly through the Annual Progress Report process.
Cycle usage on new and improved cycle routes
Whilst cycling levels across the County have been steadily declining for a number of years, investment targeted at key routes where demand for cycling is greatest could bring about a localised increase in cycling levels.
Therefore, in addition to the overall target for cycle usage, we will also set a target to:
‘To increase cycling by 5% by 2010 along routes where new cycle infrastructure has been introduced’.
This target will be monitored by carrying out pre-implementation and post-implementation counts of cyclists along new cycle routes, to monitor the impact of new infrastructure on cycling levels. On new off-carriageway routes, automatic cycle counters will be installed to monitor increases in cycling. However, it is not possible to install automatic counters on new on-carriageway cycling infrastructure and therefore manual counts will be carried out.

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