Would a dedicated cycle road network (bikes only), work in the UK?

[Cyclone]

Ah, Strava.

 

What that shows is that people who log bike rides on strava tend to cycle in the prettier side of the city... Not much of a shocker there, and tells us very little about commuting cyclists.

I've logged cycles before (normally I use strava for running), but I've never logged my 5 times a week commute.

 

For example

http://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#15/-1.47077/53.39810/orange/bike

This shows heavy usage around Parkwood Springs... In a circular pattern. Almost certainly not people commuting to work!

[Hots on]

Jet packs would be Ace!

 

Where would you put the stretcher?

[Eric Arthur]

Ah, Strava.

 

What that shows is that people who log bike rides on strava tend to cycle in the prettier side of the city... Not much of a shocker there, and tells us very little about commuting cyclists.

I've logged cycles before (normally I use strava for running), but I've never logged my 5 times a week commute.

It tells you everything about cyclists of all types because Strava is the world's best and most reliable dataset for assessing cycle journeys and it is used by local and national governments for their transport infrastructure planning.

 

Sorry if it isn't good enough for you. Off you go and combine it with health statistics or any other relevant dataset and you'll get the same answer in Sheffield. There's even some low grade Sheffield Council data somewhere that backs it up.

 

You know that it's correct in your heart of hearts but you'd rather revert to type. Please don't.

[hyper]

It tells you everything about cyclists of all types because Strava is the world's best and most reliable dataset for assessing cycle journeys and it is used by local and national governments for their transport infrastructure planning.

 

Sorry if it isn't good enough for you. Off you go and combine it with health statistics or any other relevant dataset and you'll get the same answer in Sheffield. There's even some low grade Sheffield Council data somewhere that backs it up.

 

You know that it's correct in your heart of hearts but you'd rather revert to type. Please don't.

I'm not sure you are right. Strava is used by hobbyist cyclists and runners, so really only measures only those that are into it. There won't be many guys in donkey jackets riding to Forgemasters who are logging on strava.

 

In the same way if I walk to work, I won't have a pedometer, whereas the guy who belongs to the walking club might.

 

And there you have it - the hobbyist cyclists tend to live on the west, where the peak district is, so they are the ones logging on strava

 

If it really is used for road planning purposes, than I don't think that its representative of all cycle journeys.

[Eric Arthur]

I'm not sure you are right. Strava is used by hobbyist cyclists and runners, so really only measures only those that are into it. There won't be many guys in donkey jackets riding to Forgemasters who are logging on strava.

 

In the same way if I walk to work, I won't have a pedometer, whereas the guy who belongs to the walking club might.

 

And there you have it - the hobbyist cyclists tend to live on the west, where the peak district is, so they are the ones logging on strava

 

If it really is used for road planning purposes, than I don't think that its representative of all cycle journeys.

 

It is the best dataset available though and it says one thing in Sheffield. Strava doesn't claim to capture all cycle journeys but it doesn't prevent anyone from using it for any purpose and if my own casual observations of being on either side of Sheffield are anything to go by it is bang on. The main roads on the west are full of bikes. The main roads on the east are devoid of bikes.

 

I'm not here to defend Strava but if you zoom into the detail between the high intensity use red you'll see plenty of blue low intensity on virtually all the minor roads on the west side and virtually zero blue on the east side. It doesn't take a genius to work out what's happening. These aren't day trippers from Firth Park riding aimlessly around Crosspool, Walkley, Ecclesall and Fulwood.

[esme]

There is a dedicated cycle network, admittedly a lot of the routes share the road with other road users but there are quite a few cycle only routes

 

see Sustrans route map

[hyper]

It is the best dataset available though and it says one thing in Sheffield. Strava doesn't claim to capture all cycle journeys but it doesn't prevent anyone from using it for any purpose and if my own casual observations of being on either side of Sheffield are anything to go by it is bang on. The main roads on the west are full of bikes. The main roads on the east are devoid of bikes.

 

I'm not here to defend Strava but if you zoom into the detail between the high intensity use red you'll see plenty of blue low intensity on virtually all the minor roads on the west side and virtually zero blue on the east side. It doesn't take a genius to work out what's happening. These aren't day trippers from Firth Park riding aimlessly around Crosspool, Walkley, Ecclesall and Fulwood.

I agree, I too reckon the cyclists are on the west, just from observation.

And like I said earlier, its probably to do with where the best countryside is. It just so happens that the people in the areas you describe are the ones who can afford Garmins and monitor their fitness and mileage, whereas those on the east just use a cheap Apollo bike for transport without logging data. Sadly, its the Eastern riders who will be under represented when designing infrastructure

[Eric Arthur]

I agree, I too reckon the cyclists are on the west, just from observation.

And like I said earlier, its probably to do with where the best countryside is. It just so happens that the people in the areas you describe are the ones who can afford Garmins and monitor their fitness and mileage, whereas those on the east just use a cheap Apollo bike for transport without logging data. Sadly, its the Eastern riders who will be under represented when designing infrastructure

I think we're agreeing that both Strava and our observations are probably correct. West is best and east is least when it comes to bike use.

 

The busy narrow roads on the west are probably worse for cycling too, but that's just an opinion from observation and a little bit of cycling across the city.

 

Esme's Sustrans map shows one single bike route on the west but lots in the east and since hills don't seem to really come into it I suspect that the people on the east side have other reasons other for not using bikes that don't have much to do with bikes or infrastructure.

 

Maybe some cultures just don't do bikes although I don't quite see how that works. Maybe bikes are middle class now. Maybe it's an education issue. I'm now thinking that it's a lifestyle choice that people on the west side take up more often so make of that implication what you will.

[hyper]

Maybe it's an education issue. I'm now thinking that it's a lifestyle choice that people on the west side take up more often so make of that implication what you will.

aye, they're the words I was looking for, but couldn't write as eloquently. With you on that thought.

[tzijlstra]

So you're talking about dedicating EXISTING road space to bikes?

 

I can't see that being very popular with motorists...

 

It would be interesting to see what the average distance commuted by bike (in Sheffield and elsewhere) is. If it's just a few miles, then routes into and out of the city probably aren't the best investment.

 

At some point motorists are going to have to understand that they don't own the road exclusively, admittedly a huge problem in the UK. However, when the Dutch started rolling out their extensive bicycle infrastructure in the 60s/70s it was considered a waste of money, space and time... Look at the Netherlands now.