Build British roads the way they do in Mallorca
I'm sure plenty of other people have said this but they really have nailed it.
The towns have a two lane road running through them, one lane for each direction. There is normally a painted cycle lane either side of the motor lane. Either side of that two lane road there is a narrow curb with periodic gaps in it that are large enough for a vehicle to travel through. It is not really wide enough to walk on because it is used only to separate the two lane road from another two lanes, one on each side, that run alongside the main road. So that equals a total of four lanes so far. These two segregated lanes are like pit-lanes on a race track. On the far side of each pit-lane there are bus stops and space for parking. On the far side of the parking space is finally the pedestrian pavement then building fronts.
Vehicles travel along the central two lanes, if they wish to load/unload they pull of into the pit-lane through one of the gaps in the segregating curb then travel along the pit-lane until they find a space. They park, do what ever, then pull out of the parking space into the pit-lane, travel to the next gap and rejoin the central lane.
This means traffic in the central lane is free to travel unhindered. The only reason to stop is for traffic lights, junctions and pedestrian crossings. There are no cars littering the side of the road, nobody attempting to parallel park along a busy street, no one opening a door into traffic, no pedestrians falling off the pavement or walking out from between parked cars, no specific bus lane. No sags at the edge of the road where buses have pounded it to pieces. All that faff goes on in the pit-lane where traffic moves slowly.
If you are a cyclist who is comfortable in traffic and want to travel at speed you use the painted cycle lane in the central road. If for whatever reason you don't want to use that then you ride in the pit-lane which is generally free of traffic.
It does require wide enough streets but there appears to be many street in Britain where there is probably enough room.
The towns have a two lane road running through them, one lane for each direction. There is normally a painted cycle lane either side of the motor lane. Either side of that two lane road there is a narrow curb with periodic gaps in it that are large enough for a vehicle to travel through. It is not really wide enough to walk on because it is used only to separate the two lane road from another two lanes, one on each side, that run alongside the main road. So that equals a total of four lanes so far. These two segregated lanes are like pit-lanes on a race track. On the far side of each pit-lane there are bus stops and space for parking. On the far side of the parking space is finally the pedestrian pavement then building fronts.
Vehicles travel along the central two lanes, if they wish to load/unload they pull of into the pit-lane through one of the gaps in the segregating curb then travel along the pit-lane until they find a space. They park, do what ever, then pull out of the parking space into the pit-lane, travel to the next gap and rejoin the central lane.
This means traffic in the central lane is free to travel unhindered. The only reason to stop is for traffic lights, junctions and pedestrian crossings. There are no cars littering the side of the road, nobody attempting to parallel park along a busy street, no one opening a door into traffic, no pedestrians falling off the pavement or walking out from between parked cars, no specific bus lane. No sags at the edge of the road where buses have pounded it to pieces. All that faff goes on in the pit-lane where traffic moves slowly.
If you are a cyclist who is comfortable in traffic and want to travel at speed you use the painted cycle lane in the central road. If for whatever reason you don't want to use that then you ride in the pit-lane which is generally free of traffic.
It does require wide enough streets but there appears to be many street in Britain where there is probably enough room.
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Here's a diagram, not necessarily to scale:
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