#CamRideHome October 30th 2015 - Hills Road Review

Join us on #CamRideHome this Friday for a leisurely social ride starting at 6pm at The Mill, Cambridge. Then a pint after to talk about anything worth a good natter about!

The Ben Hayward Cycles led #CamRideHome is to go along Hills Road and look at the newly installed infrastructure this October. I'm the temporary route guide for this month as Rob has been called away at short notice.

Also, we'll go along a few useful links that help riders get through awkward places.

New South Cambridgeshire Cyclepaths

One of the issues of cycling in Cambridgeshire is that whilst the town is relatively (to the UK) well provided, the county is less so. Some may say "Why bother? There's not many out in the villages." without spotting that Cambridgeshire has large locations of employment where people need to commute.

One example of this is the Babraham Institute, south of Cambridge and just north of the village of Babraham. With road speeds of 60 mph on the connecting A1307, an off-road route is vital to give any people wanting to ride the confidence to do so safely.

This first clip shows travelling all the way along Hills Road from Addenbrookes to the Babraham Institute,who have been very helpful in creating this route. There's a number of old route clear up issues still to iron out, some maintenance practices that ought to be considered (gritting and hedge-cutting/clearing), and taking the route further.




This second clip is of the official opening ride, starting from Wandlebury and overlapping the first clip a bit. It also goes on to show the issues of the next bit of infrastructure, from creating a path through the Babraham Institute,which needs carful negotiation, to working with a local farm or two to improve surfaces, and to looking at a bridge which could prove expensive to update for all bike users. It also goes onto looking at the new path next to the A505, a vital link from the Granta Park, another big employment centre, into Sawston.

Huntingdon Road

This is one of the main roads in Cambridge being trialled with new protected lanes. There is broad support for this, although some concerns with local parking and where the scheme ends, dropping people in a poor cycling environment.

Whatever happens, it has to be better than the current provision. This clip shows how poor the on-road cycle provision is with the following.

• regular abuse of the infrastructure by people driving
• regular poor passing by people driving
• poor infrastructure putting users in more danger

The Times Petition

On Wednesday April 24th, the Get Britain Cycling parliamentary inquiry will submit its crucial report to the Government.

If Britain is to realise the potential benefits of promoting cycling as a healthy and affordable mode of transport (details below), then it is vital that the Government and the Prime Minister take this report seriously and implement its recommendations in full.

• The Times launch an e-petition on the Downing Street site, calling on the Government to implement the recommendations in the Get Britain Cycling report. 
• Please support it at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49196

Several major cycling and motoring groups will be joining with The Times in doing the same.

Full details of the report and its recommendations will appear in Wednesday's edition of The Times and will be available to view (for free, as always) at http://thetimes.co.uk/cyclesafety.

Many thanks indeed. If, together, we can reach the 100,000 signature mark, we stand a very good chance of a full debate in Parliament and forcing this high up the political agenda. We will do all we can from our end at The Times to put pressure on at the highest level.

The Details

Investing in cycle infrastructure actually saves money. A lot of north European countries now work on a economic model that talks about money saved per kilometre ridden (and the costs associated with every kilometre driven). This is made up a several contributing factors.

• Obesity is a growing problem is this UK and has some very high forecasts for the longterm costs. Right now 20% of early teens now face this problem. In countries where cycling rates are high, the rates are near 2%. Physical inactivity is said to cost around £10bn a year.
• Pollution is still killing us early. 5.6% of all deaths in England were attributable to long-term exposure to 'man-made' air pollution in 2010 alone. A considerable part of that is down to motor vehicle emissions. The cost to the public purse is around £8bn (about the same amount as raised by car tax).
• Congestion on our roads slows everyone down to the tune of around £10bn a year. This is caused by too many people driving. The space a car takes up is 4-6 times that of a bicycle. 69% of all car journeys are under 5 miles, and many of those journeys can be ridden easily by a large proportion of the population. This includes partially able people as well.
• Accidents cause a considerable financial impact on the country. This is estimated at £8.7bn.

These are only a short summary of all the effects our car-centric transport system has created for us. There's a long list with a lot of costs on one side and a lot of savings on the cycling side.

At the moment we spend a tiny amount on cycling infrastructure if looked at the overall spend on transport. This has to change and we have to start making smart choices (not like this) rather than following what we've always done expecting something to somehow change.

In a country where we seem to constantly talk about saving money, this is a no brainer. But it's not just that it saves money. This enriches us, makes our lives more pleasant, and increases our enjoyment of our public spaces (as Jeremy Clarkson said). Cycling is known to increase happiness. This cannot be underestimated.

And as a final point, helmets, hi-viz, or any other type of specialist clothing has been proved pointless or even worse in road safety. They are just a distraction. This is also true of red light jumping and pavement riding discussions, both of which are done more by people driving.

More Reading

Common Misconceptions on the Road
The Bicycle Dividend
The Cost of Motoring
Cycling and Health (PDF)
Cycle Safety Statistics
British Medical Association Report on Healthy Transport