Britain's top cycling city - what's your choice?

rjsterry

A shame, as you can actually cycle (or walk) across the old Severn Bridge - it's worth doing for the view. Amazing how much the bridge bounces around too.

Porgy

I've been across the Tamar bridge a few thousand times - and walked and cycled across a few times too - and that bounces about a bit.

steve_l

alfablue wrote:

Yesterday I used my helmet cam for the first time and recorded this footage in Muller Road, Bristol. The road has been narrowed presumably for a new pedestrian crossing. Whilst a crossing is probably a good thing, the result of this narrowing is that only one vehicle (and no bike) can pass through at one time. As a consequence, cars will be accelerating to beat me to the narrowing, I daresay if I rode this route often, sooner or later a motorist would make a "mistake" and force me into the kerb (or hit me!). This is even worse than the usual pinch-points caused by crossing points, at least these are short, this one looks like it is about 50m long, so drivers are even less willing to wait. Surely there is a better solution . . .

This seems to be extremely cycle-unfriendly in Britain's first Cycling City! :evil:

View the video here.

They are adding a new bike lane from st werburghs to the N fringe, this build-out will let you come off that path, go up to a new signalled crossing, get on the pavement on the other side then get over a new bridge being put over over the stream opposite B&Q, hence up to lockleaze.

Once the cones are removed and provided vans dont block it, the solution to riding Muller Road will be to get on the path as you approach it, look out for bikes coming out from behind the bridge at speed, then go back on the road just as cars swing in to avoid the right hand turn lane. If you are heading north then the new signals will detect bikes approaching and it will be a less convoluted route to get to dovercourt road.

The cycling campaign and others would have preferred an alternate proposal from Joshua Hart: use space alongside the train line to cross muller road on the bridge, linking the railway path up with a route all the way up to abbey wood and patchway, a railway path north. Railtrack weren't enthusiastic, and the council felt it would be easier to make progress in the 3 years they had funding, as their route is mostly on council land.

They are also planning traffic calming the crossings of dovercourt road and lockleaze road and bonnington walk, without which the route north is still pretty edgy. Whatever, it ain't going to be a leisure route.

mark1964

I live in Bristol and am genuinely surprised at the result. Bristol is quite hilly, but that can be seen in a positive way. You get great scenic views and they can be great fun to freewheel down. We also have the Bristol railway Path. And although it's the home of Sustrans, the local Daily Mail owned tabloid, The Evening Post, doesn't like cyclists at all.

Still, I would have thought it would be Cambridge since it's relatively flat, high number of student cyclists etc.

Robstar24

have never cycled in Bristol, but I can safely say Newcastle has no place on that list, it's a very car-friendly city, with lots of wide roads on which cars travel v fast, one-way systems, big roundabouts etc... even i felt a little unnerved at times and I'm no cycling greenhorn.

tbh london is pretty good, there's a lot of traffic but so many cyclists that motorists are fairly aware of you, i have a lovely end to my ride into work, through Hyde Park, along the Serpentine and then down Constitution Hill to whizz around Buckingham Palace, it takes some beating for cityscape on the commute

Porgy

I've been cycling round Plymouth for a week now - seems pretty decent - very nice places to cycle, adequate facilties, and very close to the countryside/coast/Dartmoor for longer rides...including the Sustrans path up to yelverton and all the off-road opportunities on the moors - Can't see what there is not to like.

Cycling out to Salcombe yesterday, and round Dartmoor a couple of days ago I can't believe how courteous the drivers are - one exception - compared to the ones in Kent. It's another world. Most said thanks when I gave way and many smiled as they did so. Noone tried to run me off the road, pull up just behind and beep or shout, and noone seemed to get angry about me taking up space on the roads (one excption - probably on hoilday from London).

that said - I remember considering London to be a step up when I moved there 23 years ago...but things seem to have improved down here in the meantime.

I think I still prefer London though - but after cycling through Rochester/Chatham, Brighton, Norwich, Colchester, Aberdeen, and Oxford I reckon Plymouth deserves praise.

baronsouthside

Britians 10 largest cities? Eh? Where is Glasgow in all this? The second city of the Empire? Surely its larger than most of the cities on this poll. I think london manchester and birmingham are the only cities bigger but i may be wrong.

Don't think it would poll high anyway. Roads are shocking. Abuse from teenage girls is rife when you cycle past them. I know someone whos had a bricked lobbed at him. Not got too many complaints about drivers tho apart from some bus drivers who overtake, pull in, overtake, pull in etc and (sorry ladies) female drivers who must only take the car to the supermarket and the school run and who think they cant do anything other than drive in an absolute straight line between A and B and dont even give a hint of a waver to create more room for cyclists.. City centre filtering is easy enough but pot holes and general road condition are a disgrace and will lead to accidents.

Pross

Bristol's not too bad - they are making an effort at least but it tends to rely a lot on piecemeal works funded by new developments. Bristol were a trial city for contraflow cycle lanes and ASLs (possibly Toucan crossings too but I'm not certain of that) so they are keen to do something at least. The problem in any city in the UK pretty much is that there just isn't enough road space to do a decent job and what space there is tends to get set aside for public transport. Cardiff is OK but their cycle facilities take the form of a lane shared with buses and where cars have to cut across late at junctions to turn left. I'm also surprised that Cambridge and Oxford didn't make the list. I haven't cycled in Nottingham but have spent quite a lot of time there. One big plus for them is that they have got rid of as much clutter as possible which I assume has opened up a bit of space for cycling.

westenddee

Not Glasgow.........

fiftyacorns

Hi

I like cycling in Edinburgh - but the biggest problem for me is that the roads out of Edinburgh are not very cycling friendly (eg cycling from Edinburgh to the FRB requires you to take a 2 mile detour or ride a bumpy narrow bike path, or cycling towards Livingston involves riding the A8 which is pretty busy during the rush hour). It would be better if both had direct route bike paths

dondare

London.
Oxford.
Cambridge.

cyclowen

Cardiff is ok to cycle, London ok in the centre although can be dubious a bit further out with people trying to drive as fast as possible! Bristol has some nice hills, but as with all cities has dubious drivers most of the time. I don't think any city will be bothered about a league table like this though which as a cyclist makes me a bit worried...

itsbruce

London is an interesting place to cycle. It's London cyclists that stand out.

Paddy O Dawes

I'm actually quite surprised London ranks so low (17th). I've always found it a pretty good place to cycle (though admittedly it varies from place to place - don't much like going south of the river). On the whole I find the drivers quite civilised and considerate, which is what makes all the difference. From what I've heard, many of the grungier cities 'oop North are positively hostile, cyclists being widely thought of as fair game rather than fellow citizens.

gs_triumph

quite frankly i am stunned that such a hilly city as Edinburgh could come out so well from this!

i love the city to bits but its hill after after hill after hill....

Porgy

Maybe they're only voting for the downhill bits.

benno68

I've only cycled in Cardiff and the surrounding area so can;t compare to other cities, on the whole it's pretty good. Terrain is mixed with decent flats and hills if you want them, I've found motorists ok on the whole.

The Taff Trail is great for recreational cyclists although I wouldn't want to do any training along there as the surface is pretty mixed and shared with walkers. The trail then turns into a nice new tarmac stretch from Penarth Road and leads into Cardiff Bay and over the barrage (cyclists and peds only). I rode along it with Mrs Benno last weekend and thought it was really good, well done Cardiff Council (I haven't said that before).

We also have Maindy Stadium (outdoors) for those into their track cycling, it's old but does the job.

gtvlusso

Hmmm - tricky, I have cycled a few of those cities, but not in a while. So, I am sure thast any comments would be out of date.

I would put Brizzle way down the list simply because of it's lack of facilities considering it's status as first cycling city - perhaps unfair on my behalf.

I see lots of signs telling me to ride my bike and lots of signs saying "cycle route improvments", but yet to see improvements and any useful links between the suburbs and industrial parks/rural areas.

I would like to see the centre of Brizzle closed to traffic and more "secluded" routes like the Brizzle/Bath cycle path.

For Brizzle, I would use the good ol' school report phrase: "Must try harder".

davbay

Biddulph.

SickAsAParrot

davbay wrote:

Biddulph.

Yeah Biddulph is cool, though not technically a city. Is your LBS gone for good?

I'll stick in a vote for Stoke, seeing as how that's where I live.

My commute is from Hanley to Kidsgrove, about 6.5-7 miles via several alternative routes. It's quite hilly whichever direction you go in but I prefer that, it keeps me fitter.

The council seem to have done a pretty decent job paving the towpaths and greenways (old railways) over the past few years, even if the on-road cycle lanes are a bit of a waste of time.

nomadicbry

Glasgow is a nightmare
The drivers aren't so bad, though there are quite a few tossers. However the provision for cyclists is verging on non-existant and the state of the roads are possibly the worst in the UK never seen so many pot holes on the roads.

Done a wee bit of commuting in Edinburgh and found the city far more geared up for cyclists...far more than Glasgow at least

Glasgow could potentially be a good city to cycle round if they would provide dedicated cycle lanes on the main arterial roads into the city. The potential is there and the number of cyclists is growing but the council and Scottish Govt seems blissfully unaware of cycling and how to improve the roads to accomodate them