The Cyclist's Compromise

Whilst considering the previous post regarding the Strand I read an article on road.cc which inspired me to conduct a little experiment.

The Strand is the best, most direct route, from one side of the city to the other, but it is also treacherous and when it comes time to argue for a segregated cycle path alongside the Strand I'm sure we'll be told, what about this or that other route, because people planning cycle routes will send cyclists all over the place to prevent having to actually put in a safe cycle path.

So I set myself an experiment, the premise of which is - I am an office worker living near the Marina where there are lots of flats at the south end of the Strand, I work in an office in the commercial district, Old Hall St is the centre of the commercial district. If I want to commute to or from work each day, which route should I take? There were just two rules

1. Do not break the law.
2. Do not dismount.

So no riding on the pavement except shared use, no running red lights, and remain on the bike at all times, as cyclists should never be expected to dismount as we don't expect car drivers to get out and push.

Route 1 Sustrans
For time saving only this leg was done in reverse though it turned out the wind was following me in this direction and it felt much easier.

This is the Sustrans route, for the most part it follows NCR 56 along the riverside. It is almost all on shared use paths some sections are heavily cobbled, some are narrow. As I was riding on the shared use path I cycled considerately, I had to come almost to a stop at one point and ask three ladies to step aside so I could pass, they did so but one did remark (in a non-aggressive way) that 'We're on the pavement, you should be on the road'. I thought this was amusing as I never ride on pavements and on this rare occasion that I try riding on shared use I get told off. On the plus side, the route is almost completely traffic free.

2.88km in 11min 20s

Route 2 Through the city

I think in terms of danger this is even worse than the Strand, there are so many points of conflict, traffic lights, junctions, filter lanes, hills, it was just a nightmare and at 3.85km much longer, at commuting hours I could have cut off a bit of distance by going up Lord St and Church St, but these are off limits to bicycles during the day. No matter though it is still a route nobody would ever choose. (PS to the cab driver who raced past me and then slammed on to pull over and drop off a fare, you are a c***)


Route 3 The Strand

This is the most direct route, at 2.35km it is half a kilometre shorter than the Sustrans route, it was also three minutes faster despite the wind being against me and spending at least 1m sat at traffic lights. On the other hand I received punishment passes from two consecutive cab drivers. This is the route any utility cyclist would want to take, the shortest, flattest route, though many would be forced to choose a less convenient route out of fear for their life.

Cycling in the city will only take off when routes like the Strand are turned in to places people can happily, safely cycle. They should not be 8 lanes wide with no cycle path, they should not have luscious green central reservations while cyclists risk death and injury. The developers of the Strand have only one question to ask themselves "Would I let my children cycle along here?" If they can't answer it 'Yes' then they aren't doing their jobs.

Liverpool Strategic Investment Framework

Yes, in typical local authority speak, it's a mouthful, but it's a big name with big ideas that wants to change the look and feel of the city over the next 15 years.

It is the follow-up development plan from Liverpool Vision, the people who brought us the Strategic Regeneration Framework 2001, that plan included Liverpool ONE, the Arena, the re-imagining of Lime St and aiming to be the 2008 European Capital of Culture; so we can be fairly confident that the things Liverpool Vision dreams up have a good chance of being implemented.

Here's the promo video



Launched on 1st November at an event hosted at the Echo Arena the SIF is a new plan to bring a more coherent structure the the recent developments and the city as a whole, you can read the whole plan here. There are fewer of the major set-pieces that the SRF 2001 brought to us, the SIF seems more concerned about improving the overall feel of the city rather than large set-piece building projects and for the most part it looks very hopeful.

If this were a Bond movie what has gone before would be the dramatic pre-credit sequence, the plot and the character exposition are still to come.

Of most interest to us is what this will all mean for cyclists, as I have shown in the past, the opportunity provided by new developments and lots of money can easily be missed if there is a lack of will or imagination. It is vital that with this latest plan the developers understand that no city can consider itself to be a city of the 21st century without building in to its very fabric the most efficient form of transport known to man.

Thanks to Gas2 for this graphic

The SIF doesn't say an awful lot about cycling but it does offer a little encouragement. One of the proposals is called 'Great Streets' and recognises the importance, attractiveness and opportunity available in some of the city centre's largest roads; the Strand, Dale St, Water St, Lime St and Hope St. The SIF says

Improvements to pedestrian and cycle movement along Water Street / Dale Street, to provide a continuous safe and legible route from the Waterfront to Lime Street Station. The street is currently dominated by buses and little else, with the streetscape quality inconsistent. With Princes Dock becoming a point of embarkation and disembarkation for the world’s cruise liners, this will present significant opportunities to invest in the public realm, to generate significant visitor footfall and leverage private sector investment.

Exhibition Road in London is cited as an example of what this might mean, I've not visited Exhibition Road so I'm not exactly sure what this means, but as a shared space there is always the problem of might is right.

The Strand is to be given several pedestrian 'bridges' at key points, the thought being that the Strand is like a river bisecting the city, this is a polite way of putting it. The Strand is a hostile urban motorway with tens of thousands of motor vehicles travelling along it each day most of whom seem to be breaking the speed limit, often by a considerable margin, 50mph in a 30mph zone is commonplace. It cuts off the retail and transport sectors in the centre from the tourist attractions at the riverside. The current situation is, frankly, shameful and embarrassing to think that the hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting the city have to negotiate this route to see some of the city's best sights. The plans for the Strand seem *ahem*, unambitious and I will deal with them in a separate post.

The document returns later to consider walking and cycling as a separate issue.

In terms of connectivity, Liverpool has a legible grid of streets at a scale that is appropriate for walking and cycling around the centre.

However, there are areas of the city that are disconnected and feel ‘cut-off’ from the City Centre’s activity and energy due to the detailed design of street layouts which focus primarily on vehicle movement with walking and cycling considered secondary. Improving the connections for walking and cycling along key strategic routes will help to ‘tie-in’ currently dislocated areas into the city core.

Improving the journey for walking and cycling can involve:
• Appropriate sign posting
• Improved lighting
• High-quality surfaces which show continuation throughout the route
• Improved priority in favour of people walking and cycling, and
• Promotion of the route to the visitor where appropriate.  

They are making some of the right noises but we won't really know until we see the detail of the plans.

Overall I think the general aim of the SIF is admirable and by making it a more livable city it will encourage the investment it seeks. It's now up to us to make sure we aren't fobbed off with unsuitable cycle facilities and in this aim we must be uncompromising, only the highest standards of infrastructure must be allowed. Opportunities have been missed in the past, one again Liverpool is given the opportunity to become a leading 21st century city, one of the best cycling cities in the kingdom, let's hope this time the developers can see which way the tide is turning on the Mersey.

Anatomy of a Crash

I was knocked off my bike a few weeks ago, ironically I was on my way to the doctor's at the time.

I was cycling along Park Road North in Birkenhead, passing the junction with Park Road West when I was hit by a car emerging from the side road.

View Larger Map

It was raining, the middle of the afternoon in late September, I was wearing a bright blue jacket that contrasted as well with my surroundings as any hi viz product; and I was cycling in secondary position about 1-1.5m from the edge of my lane.

I was merrily cycling along considering the thorny topic of cycle helmets. I approached the side road and maintained my position, I don't recall or didn't notice if the vehicle approaching the junction from my left stopped at the give way line, either way, as I passed it I noticed in my peripheral vision that it was moving out into the road and towards me. It disappeared out of sight behind me as I braced myself in anticipation of the crash that I knew was coming.

About 1 second later the hit came, not particularly hard, just enough to put me off balance enough that it was not recoverable, I was probably only travelling at 12mph up a very slight gradient so as I hit the ground I didn't really slide. My left thigh and elbow took the most impact, my head didn't touch the ground.

My first thought was to check that the car had stopped and wasn't about to continue over the top of me, fortunately he had. next I lay still for a moment and audited my body parts, nothing seemed broken, nothing even hurt particularly except for my elbow which I could tell was cut. I stood up, clothes were ok, nothing ripped particularly badly; how was the bike? Remarkably okay on first impressions, I'd been hit on the back wheel but even this was still perfectly tru, a testament to Andrew at Spa Cycles wheelbuilding skills!

The driver was out of his car and approaching me, he was immediately apologetic, he hadn't seen me; I didn't actually grin at this, but I had to stop myself, properly smidsy'd. He said that he too was a cyclist, I was pretty ambivalent about this, when you are hit by a car it doesn't really matter if the driver is also a cyclist. I wasn't mad at him, I was probably calmer than he

We move to the side of the road, I take pictures there's not even a scratch on his car that I can see, calm down a bit, notice that my left hand brake lever is broken. I'm not in pain but I know I'm going to stiffen up and I need a bandage on my arm. I get the driver's details and eventually leave, I'm only a mile from my GP which is where I was heading, when I get there he bandages my elbow.

Over the next few days bruises start to appear all over me, some from hitting the floor, some from the bike hitting me. Including a whopper of a bruise covering a large part of my thigh, black, blue, purple, and yellow. The pain in my thigh became so great I went to A&E and had to have a couple of days off work. I also realised how lucky I was.

This side road has a very open junction, cars do not approach the main road perpendicular to it with the driver looking to his immediate right, in the last few metres of approach the driver is already turning left, by the time they are at the give way line they are at 45 degrees to the road and must look back almost over their shoulder into their blind spot to see what is approaching.

By my estimation, while the driver was doing this I was already in front of his car and he was looking in completely the wrong direction to see me. While he was looking back over his shoulder he had pulled out and tagged my back wheel and I had gone down. He only hit me quite lightly and if his eyes hadn't returned to looking forward at the right moment he could well have not known he had hit me until he felt the car drive over the top of me.

This is what the driver would have been looking at, a very open view, it's almost not necessary to slow below 20mph if the road is clear,

I think I was perhaps in a blind spot created by his A-pillar as he approached the junction, alternatively he REALLY wasn't paying attention.

There is an awful lot of space on the approach to this junction which doesn't encourage drivers to slow down. Even more crazily this junction is on a corner occupied by a sixth form college

It's not like Wirral Borough Council can even claim ignorance, the next junction along was modified to make the angle car approach it more perpendicular. You can just make out on the left hand side of the junction to Shrewsbury Road where the old kerb used to be and how it has been built out.

This road has many shops, a school, a world renowned park and a medical centre on the other side of the road. I find it difficult to believe these large junctions are either necessary or sensible. The roads were probably laid out 100-150 years ago when Birkenhead was having a heyday and the corporation and the rich men of the age thought broad boulevard type roads around the perimeter of the park were pleasant. Indeed they can be, but they do need redesigning as they encourage poor and sloppy driving, the head of the junction needs narrowing and Park Road West could easily accommodate a segregated cycling path, which would have the dual benefit of providing a place for safe cycling and slowing down the traffic in an area that ought to be safe and pleasant for pedestrians.

How much space do you need?

A letter has appeared in this week's Wirral Globe complaining about cyclists riding on the road rather than the cycle path on the promenade at New Brighton, King's Parade. No particular details are given about the exact location or time of day or the ages or genders of the cyclists. All we know is that there were four or five of them, riding two abreast on the road, traffic had to slow to overtake them and they can be described as 'ignorant'.

King's Parade begins at the location in the map below and heads north east from here, it's a lovely place for a stroll or a ride the only thing that makes it unpleasant is the weight of traffic when it is busy and the speed of traffic when it is quiet.

View Larger Map

It is a section of the North Wirral cycle route and forms a link between two other promenades where there is no motor traffic.

It is a 30 mph dual carriageway boulevard with a promenade alongside the seafront. The part I measured from Google satellite view is approximately 31m wide from seawall to the edge of the inner field. This is divided up, give or take...

• 3m pedestrian path
• 2m cycle path
• 7.5m road
• 2.5m central reservation
• 8m road with an additional 4m wide parking lane
• 4m pavement

Points of note about these dimensions. 

• The 2.5m wide central reservation is unnecessary on a 30mph road.
• Each lane, including the parking lane is 4m wide, this is twice as wide as a car and 1.5m wider than a bus or container wagon.

Look at how dwarfed the car is by the width of the parking lane.

The road is not that heavily trafficed for its size except for on the sunniest days of summer however cars do tend to speed along it, I have seen cars doing 60-70mph when the road is quiet, 40mph is common at all times.

The pavement on the sea wall side of the road is popular with walkers out for a stroll and dog walkers, though they do have a tendency to stray into the cycle lane, and it is popular with families so there can be many small children running around the pavement.

Cars park on both sides of the road, but only the westbound side has an official parking lane, on the eastbound side cars park against the kerb in lane 1.

So firstly, since the cycle path is provided what is it like for a cyclist to use? This varies depending on time of day/year. If it is quiet then it is reasonably adequate, there are no junctions of note to cause you to stop but the surface is made of paving slabs rather than smooth tarmac, you can cruise along at a fair old pace. On a busy day it is much different, children, balls, dogs, inattentive walkers, fishing lines being tossed around, it's a very hazardous place for the cyclist and the other pavement users, consequently great caution must be shown and speeds reduced to below 10mph, sometimes lower, and it's not uncommon to have to come to a halt while an errant child or beast is removed from the cycle lane by its owner. One might also come across other cyclists of varying speeds travelling in either direction on this rather narrow 2m wide lane, again causing you to slow or stop. There is also one platform type area where the cycle lane disappears entirely.

As a result faster riders might think it convenient to use the road rather than the cycle lane, as is their right. The road is broad, direct and has reasonably good visibility, only hampered by the cars parked along it which can range in number from a handful to hundreds.

A cyclist heading eastbound will, if there are no parked cars, occupy the first metre or two of the lane; or if there are parked cars, the space between the car and the dividing line to lane 2. Even riding two abreast they are unlikely to venture in to lane 2. Leaving the entirety of lane 2 to the motor traffic. On the westbound side a cyclist can cycle within the parking lane as it is so broad, at worst they might ride in lane 1 but again lane 2 will always be free. Either way, motorists always have one entire lane to themselves and if they are delayed by cyclists it is almost certainly because the cyclists will be passing parked cars on the westbound carriageway, yet it is the cyclists who get the stick rather than the drivers of the parked cars.

Let us agree with the author of the letter on one thing, that it would be better if the cycles were not using the road, it would also be better if they were not using the pavement and there is clearly enough space to allow this. There is so much space that you could improve the environment for every type of road user without inconveniencing any of them, we have 31m of available space to play with!

The 3m pedestrian space can become 3.5m on the shore side and the lesser used 4m path on the inland side can become 3.5m. Cyclists can have 4m wide dual direction paths on either side of the road. The road can become 2x3m lanes and a 2m parking lane in each direction. The central reservation can be got rid of.

[Edit - for a much better idea than mine see Mark's comment below.]

From my knowledge of the area I think the author's complaint is probably unnecessarily picky, the road is so broad they couldn't have been inconvenienced for more than a few seconds, the cyclists probably had good reason to prefer the road to the cycle lane and it's quite possible that cars being parked on the road was the cause of the cyclists being in the way. In any case for any council wanting to implement some seriously quality cycle infrastructure the vast amounts of space available in this area surely make this a 'gimme' for a showcase facility, it only requires the will and the money. Until then faster riders will continue to use the road and motorists will simply have to put up with it.

Surly Cross Check Build

A few weeks ago I embarked on a new build project. I did have a Boardman CX which acted as my sort of crossover bike, sitting somewhere between my carbon road bike and my Gazelle town bike. It did the job very well, it could take a wide variety of tyres, panniers and had disk brakes, however it was aluminium framed and grey which made it just too dull for my tastes.

So I decided to sell it, which I did on eBay and received a nice little pile of cash to add to my savings for my new build. I had already decided on a Robin Egg Blue Surly Cross Check, but there were many important decisions to be made and a fair amount of money to be spent.



Campag, Shimano or Sram? - I already have Shimano on my road bike and find the lever hoods a bit broad, Sram is very uncomfortable for my small hands and always felt cheap and nasty. Having never used it before and for no reason other than the hoods are relatively narrow I decided to go with Campag for the drivetrain, levers derailleurs and cassette.



Around this time I decided I wanted to do some touring and this bike would have to fit that requirement and would take the style of a randonneur, that meant mudguards, racks, bags. I have admired Velo Orange parts for some time, fabulously shiny, before I knew it I had thrown a serious chunk of my budget at mudguards, stem, front rack, chainset, handlebars and cantilever brakes all from VO, well worth it, it all seems well made and is gorgeous to behold.



Saddle was always going to be Brooks after a lot of consideration I chose a Swift in Honey and very handsome it is too.

I generally despise anything black on a bike, I think it lacks imagination so I chose some brown Hudz to match the saddle and yellow cable outers to add an accent of colour.



Tyres were always going to be cream, but I wanted 32s and I could only get white Vittoria Randonneurs in that size.

For the wheels I ordered some handmade Ambrosio hubs laced to Exal LX17 rims from Spa Cycles, after a few discussions with Andrew the wheelbuilder there. They have the right balance of strength and lightness for lightweight touring.

Initially I had yellow bar tape on it, but with all the chrome and the white tyres it seemed just too bright so I toned it down to brown.

The final pieces in the puzzle was to be luggage. How much would I need to carry for a week of credit card touring? I figured the absolute bare minimum would be waterproof jacket, 1 x shorts, 2 x tshirts for the evenings, change of socks, camera, phone, wallet, paperwork, tools and spares.



I gambled on a small saddlebag for the tools and spares and a front bag for everything else. They have finally arrived, I had to order the Gilles Berthoud Handlebar bag from Wallingford Bikes in New Orleans as nobody in Europe seemed to have it in grey (strangely actually a shade of blue). I have my kit list and have fitted everything in the bags with room to spare to carry some food, hurrah!

I've only ridden the bike a couple of short journeys so far and once I had all the rattles and squeaks sorted it became a very quiet, very smooth machine. I am impressed with this Campag Veloce gear, slick, smooth and quiet. The VO chainset too, from big/big to small/small, no rub and very little sound.

The freewheel is particularly quiet, something I'd not thought about at all when ordering the wheels, but now I realise it's something I really wanted. My road bike has a very loud freewheel, but I imagine myself rolling along through France in almost total silence without a noisy freewheel to disturb the peace.

The only thing left to fix is the brakes, unaccustomed as I am to cantilevers and haven't yet got them to shut up!



I am very pleased with how it has turned out in the end, I just hope now that it makes a willing companion on my holiday.