Country Roads

There has been a lot of news recently about making space for cyclists: changes to the Highway Code, new cycle lanes and so on, but riding a bike along a road like this can be a nerve-racking and potentially dangerous activity. The following diatribe uses examples taken from roads in our locality - the roads I know best - but our roads are pretty typical and the ideas are equally applicable across Britain.

The photo above shows the only classified road (the B5023) in our local area. the speed limit here, a couple of hundred yards north of our village, is 50mph. A mile-and-a-half south of the village the limit drops to 40mph at Cowers Lane (a hamlet I mentioned in an earlier post - Planning to Save the Country). The two houses in this photo are on the edge of the settlement, about a hundred yards from the nearest pub and bus route.

When driving along this road I often see people walking dogs along the edge of the carriageway. It is tempting to think 'they're crazy - it's so dangerous' but after a moment's thought you realise that what's crazy is that cars are hurtling past them, accelerating out of the 40 zone, almost within arm's reach. This road was here long before the motor car, shared by people on foot, on horseback, coaches and wagons travelling at little over walking pace. Now cars have taken over and I feel vulnerable even cycling at 20mph in hi-vis clothing and with flashing lights. It is certainly no place to be on foot. Yet people in the house on the right have no option - they don't even have a driveway! You would take your life in your hands just walking to the bus-stop. And this not an isolated example. There are lots of homes just at Cowers Lane it is difficult to reach on foot.

City Cycling

Most of the investment in cycling provision in recent years had been in towns and cities. There are new cycle routes right through cities, bike lanes, bike lockers, car-free zones,... This is all good and more and more people are using bikes on a daily basis. Getting around towns is easier and faster by bike than on foot, in a car or on public transport. even without special cycling provision, towns are safer, friendlier places for pedestrians and cyclists. Traffic moves more slowly and there are lots of people around moving in all directions without using cars. Drivers have to take more car and it feels less risky than on open roads with fast-moving traffic.

This is the main shopping street of our local town, Belper. The street is not fully pedestrianised but shoppers wandering across the street don't feel threatened by the occasional bus or car. This is not exceptional. we are all familiar with urban spaces like this. The nearest city is Derby which is not particularly cycle friendly - more money has been sent on cycling infrastructure in other nearby cities such as Leicester and Sheffield - but I can cycle from the north edge of Derby to the south edge without having to ride on a road, and the roads in the city centre are safe places for shoppers and cyclists in any case. Getting to Derby, though, is another matter.

Out of town

This is the B-road through our village. And this is not untypical. Along many such busy rural roads a combination of heavy lorry traffic and inadequate maintenance makes the roads - particularly the edges - uncomfortable for motorists and plain dangerous for anyone on two wheels. Tarmac cracks and crumbles as roads settle towards ditches, freezing water creates pot-holes, trenches get dug for services, and drain and manhole covers stand proud of the surface. Cyclists have a choice of being thrown off line or even off their bikes by the uneven surface or riding out in the middle of the road and in the path of fast-moving cars and lorries. The speed limit here in the village is 30mph but few drivers observe it. Outside the village the 50mph limit is ignored too. While we're here, notice that while the road is wide enough for two lorries to hurtle past each other at speed differential of 100mph, there isn't even space for two people to walk together.

Experienced cylists can cope with roads like these but for casual riders who would like to use their bike to get to the shops or visit a friend it's just too risky and they are forced into their cars. Visit bike-friendly countries like Holland or Denmark and you will see all sorts of people wearing everyday clothes riding 'sit-up-and-beg' bikes to work, to the shops, even to the school pick-up. In Britain almost all cyclists are in special clothing and helmets, riding super-lightweight racing bikes or elaborate, expensive mountain bikes, and they're cycling for fitness or leisure, not as a way of getting about.

Now, I ride a lot myself, mainly for leisure on the many lanes like this in our locality, occasionally braving - but not really enjoying - the main roads to get to the library or a dental appointment. Empty on a sunny day, like this picture, the lanes are a joy. Narrow, poorly maintained and twisting, they are not a good place to take a car, and I often have to take to the verges to get out of the way of a massive tractor, an Range Rover or, increasingly, delivery vans. But, apart from the very occasional idiot driver, speeds are moderate and traffic light, and these lanes are pleasant and safe for cyclists, horse riders and dog-walkers. But lanes like this lead past farms and to villages. They don't take you to town or the supermarket.

People in towns and cities have options for getting about. They can often walk to their destination, they usually have frequent buses, and they can usually cycle in safety. In the countryside we have fewer options. We have a bus service - one bus an hour - but many country dwellers have no alternative to the car to get around. To reduce our dependence on the car, for the sake of the planet and our health and sanity, and to reduce rural isolation, the roads connecting villages and towns need to be safe for all users, whether in cars, on two wheels or on foot. The thorny problem is...

How?

How can country roads be made safe for walkers and cyclists?

The fastest roads - motorways and dual carriageways - are great for fast traffic but no place for pedestrians or bikes, while country lanes like these are usually pretty safe. The speed limit is 60mph (!!!) but typically just 10 feet wide with uneven surfaces and poor visibility they see few cars and speeds are low. But lanes like these usually don't really lead anywhere.

The real problem is how to make the A-roads and B-roads safe - the typical roads we take to town. The bulk of traffic outside towns is on these roads but how to make them safe for walkers and cyclists?

Years ago, on holiday in Spain, I was impressed by a simple trick: the tarmac on main roads extended a couple of metres beyond the carriageway proper. I saw slow mopeds using the margin and it would have been safe for cyclists and even pedestrians. I don't know if they did this but services like water, drain and gas pipes, and power and communications cables could be laid under the margin to avoid digging up the carriageway. Keeping heavy trucks away from the edge of the tarmac would also stop it crumbling away so easily, and the margin could provide a safe refuge for breakdowns.

A typical country road has two lanes and is about 24 feet wide (7.2m) with speed limits up to 60mph. And traffic will often be moving this fast. As you drive around you will find your speed increases, often unconsciously, as the road gets wider or straighter. There are legal speed limits, illuminated warning signs, even traffic-calming measures like speed bumps, but the most natural way to reduce speeds is to reduce road widths.

The B5023 mentioned above is perhaps 12 miles long and has speed limits varying from 30mph up to 50mph on open stretches. Driving 10 miles at an average of (say) 40mph would take 15 minutes. If the highest speed was reduced to 40mph, an average speed would be around 35mph and 10 miles would be covered in about 17 minutes - just a couple of minutes longer!

A 3m wide country lane can accommodate refuse trucks, milk tankers and the biggest farm tractors, so a 20 foot wide road (6m) would be enough for two lanes, but the reduced width would lead naturally to reduced speeds. 40mph might be a top limit but the existing lower limits would still be appropriate, so the average speed would not be much slower.

So how would it help to reduce the carriageway widths? In the towns pavements could be wider, bike lanes could be introduced or there might be more space for convenient on-street parking. In our village, another 4ft could be added to the footpath, making it wide enough for three or four people abreast or to share with bikes. On the open country stretches, adding around 3ft of metalled surface could allow a generous 7ft (2m) wide margin along one side the carriageway for use by bikes and walkers.

Now, a white line doesn't offer much protection but it does demarcate dedicated space for those road users not in cars, trucks or buses. Better signalling could be achieved in the same width by using a different colour surface for the walk/cycle lane or using a rumble strip and even bendy plastic bollards to divide it from the carriageway. Where there was more width available the bikes and walkers could benefit from a planted strip with kerbs between them and the road, and nearer town, where there would be more users, lanes in both directions.

Future travel

Changes like these to country roads could be implemented gradually, one stretch of road at a time, when resurfacing is required. Over time there would be seamless transitions from wide, shared pavements in villages, to safe walk/cycle paths alongside country roads, to cycle paths and low-traffic streets in towns. The future of travel might not be personal jet packs and flying cars. It might be anyone and everyone being free and safe to walk, cycle, drive or take a bus to the other end of the village, to work or to the shops. I don't want to get rid of cars. I have always liked cars and enjoy driving, but I don't mind the drive to town taking a couple of minutes longer if I it gives me the chance to make the same trip on my bike instead.