7.6 No Room for the Bicycle

The route is as good as its weakest link.

If a solution for a particular bottleneck, accident location or poor QOS link cannot be found after considering the advice below, it is strongly recommended that no further cycling investment or cycling dependence is generated through that link or area. See Network Planning

At a Link Level

Consider the Hierarchy of Solutions

In particular,

  • Identify all accidents, especially vulnerable road user accidents
  • Identify functions for which roadspace has been provided, between building lines. Consider which functions are truly necessary or desirable, and which ones could be removed (e.g. loading, parking,) and when (peak, all day, during school hours etc.)
  • Consider lane widths – 3m is sufficient for general traffic lanes (see Traffic Management Guidelines, Table 9.2). Perhaps any surplus space could be assigned to cycling.
  • Consider whether turning lanes, hatching etc. can be removed
  • Consider other traffic problems in the area (e.g. turbulence, lane switching, pedestrian crossing difficulties, etc.) so that cycling solutions can be developed in tandem with other traffic problems
  • Consider the Place functions that may need to be included more prominently in the overall layout

At a Route Level

Consider the Hierarchy of Solutions in conjunction with the Strategic Traffic Management Plan, and consider the 7 steps in Cycle Network Planning.

In particular,

  • Identify the key origin and destination zones served by the route
  • Consider the impact of do-nothing on the overall cycling QOS
  • Consider signalised route management that is bicycle friendly e.g. keeping saturation levels below 80%, using short signal cycle times etc.
  • (Re) consider design solutions for public transport priority, to see if cycling can be improved without significant loss to public transport Quality of Service
  • Consider alternative alignments for other modes or traffic functions
  • Consider alternative alignments for cycling, the impact of any deviation, and perhaps the redundancy of cycle route provision that may arise

At a Strategic Level

Consider broad solutions to overcome bottleneck issues.

In particular,

  • Consider overall traffic capacity reduction for the area, with accessibility provided by other means or modes
  • Consider re-routing of other modes in order to provide for the bicycle
  • Consider land acquisition to provide additional space
  • Consider new alignments – roads, cycle-only routes, bridges
  • Consider demand management measures targeted at particular urban sectors fed by the route