Ride safely on shared paths

This is the St Albans Cycle Campaign guide to enjoying Space for Cycling where the space is shared with pedestrians.  The principles apply to all shared space, whether parkland path, old railway line, country track or shared pavement beside a carriageway.

SLOW DOWN Shared space is best enjoyed at gentler pace.  Always slow down as you approach those on foot.  Be ready to stop altogether.

BE FRIENDLY As you approach anyone else, let them know you are there.  The easy and recognised way to introduce yourself is with a bell.  Ring it as soon as you see someone ahead.  Ring it again as you get closer.  If there is no response from the pedestrian, slow down some more and perhaps call out a friendly greeting.  If still no response, slow right down and pass as wide as you can.  You might have to stop and wait. For those of you without a bell, improvise with whistling, singing or kind words.

GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT Pedestrians have priority.  Cyclists give way to pedestrians on shared paths.  Many pedestrians are happy to ease your passing if they know you are there – so do say thank you when pedestrians have been good to you!  Legally, on segregated paths (those with a white line separating walking and cycling space) walkers are allowed on either side of the line, cyclists aren’t!  Shared paths are for pleasure not speed.  Be social and enjoy the human and natural environment.  It is reasonable for walkers to stroll side-by-side in this environment, don’t expect them to jump out of the way for you

TROUBLESHOOTING and TIPS

I rang my bell like crazy but the walkers still jumped out of their skin and glared at me when I rode slowly past.  Possible reasons for this are deaf walker or daydreaming walker.  It can be worse if the weather is bad, their ears can be covered by hoods, hats and scarves.

Go even slower next time, and try a voice call as well as the bell.  If the walker is plugged into a personal music player or or is fiddling with their phone, the same techniques should be used.

  Always slow down and pass as wide as you can.  Dogs and children often suddenly move to the side.  Best to not get between dog/child and owner/parent. 

  Look out for other cyclists.  It is usual to keep left as you pass oncoming cyclists, and to ring or call out before passing a cyclist you have caught up with. 

  Slow down at bends and where there is poor visibility such as at path junctions or where there are hedges and trees.

Use lights after dark.

Use courtesy at all times.

If you are not prepared to be courteous, and to forgo any time schedule .... PLEASE DON'T USE SHARED PATHS.  STACC expects its members to set a good example and to encourage all cyclists to enjoy the pleasures of Actively Considerate Cycling.

Supporting The Actively Courteous Cyclist (STACC)

Cycling continues to get a lot of coverage in the press, mostly positive - charity rides, more cycling parking added at City Station, etc.  But there are still letters critical of cyclists week after week, mainly caused by a few people riding selfishly and aggressively.  STACC calls on all members and supporters to make a special effort to be courteous when riding.  Not only will you enjoy your ride more, as you get to smile at people and they usually respond in kind, but you will help the cause of better cycling and provision for cycling.
I am sure we all think we are already fairly considerate, but still, we can all benefit from a review and a refresh of our skills and knowledge.
Here are some links to really good guidance to help you maintain a high standard of courtesy and riding skills.

Sustrans, the civil-engineering charity that has created the National Cycle Network, has a code of conduct for cycling on shared paths, it can be found on-line at http://www.sustrans.org.uk/change-your-travel/get-cycling/cycling-code-conduct-shared-use-paths

 

The British Horse Society has produced an excellent Code of Conduct for Horse Riders and Cyclists, which can be found on their website http://www.bhs.org.uk/~/media/BHS/Files/PDF%20Documents/Safety%20leaflets/Cycling%20Guidance%20leaflet.ashx

 

“We want to see more people cycling, and there is more that unites cyclists and pedestrians than divides them” says Living Streets.  Living Streets Policy Briefing reference 03/09, available online at http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/sites/default/files/content/library/Policy_briefings/pb0309pedcycle.pdf addresses the problems that anti-social cycling brings.

Market Square hero: Richard Lee

Richard Lee has been running the bike stall on St Albans market for the past 60 years. He's a third generation bike trader with bike history going back more than 100 years; his grandfather built bikes in Islington and his father ran a stall in Brick Lane.

Richard is holding a photo from 1927 showing his family's bike stall as well as a flyer for STACC'S public meeting next Tuesday at 7.30 in the council offices.

Ride often, buy local.

Guest post from Dave Holladay- What can Harpenden learn from St Albans

Hertsad's story on an additional deck for Harpenden station sparked this comment from Dave Holladay. Dave is a cycle and rail transport consultant, his bio is at the bottom of this post.

Over to Dave:

"Two most contrasting stories in this week's paper.  St Albans City Station has beaten even Cambridge to be the first UK station with over 1000 cycle parking spaces, many fitted in to space that cannot be used for car parking.  Demand has been driven up by the basic fact that the time taken to cycle to the station remains pretty consistent, with a freedom to stop off for a newspaper or special item for supper en route without having to find a place to park a car, and the congested roads in the morning rush hour, and hunt for a parking space make the drive-to-train journey times less predictable.

Some commuters actually find that they can do without that car which sits for around 90% of the time parked at home or the station, and the savings on a car park season ticket, plus running costs for a car, add up to several thousand pounds per year.  That buys a lot of taxi trips and car hires for the once or twice per week you actually need that second car.

At Harpenden it is reported that people are walking up to a mile - under 5 minutes on a bike, but at least 15 minutes brisk walking, from where they park their cars to get to the train, and it isn't that building a bigger car park with the same access will make a great difference to their actual journey times or 'level of service'.

A 2-level car park 'conversion' as a minimum costs around £12,000 per space, for the vary basic prefabricated units that some locals have already said is a visual disaster.  Someone has to pay for this, and ultimately the landlord, Network Rail pays, to amortise the costs over a longer period than the FCC franchise, of this 'asset' on the station site.  FCC pays a higher rent and charges for use of the parking spaces to cover this and the running costs for the car park.  £12,000 is relatively cheap - I once had the Heathrow Central Short Stay Car Park listed as the most expensive per space at £32,000 (naturally making the parking rates equally eye watering to repay this commercial investment).  Now the most expensive I've seen is one stations where £2.5m delivered just 30 additional parking spaces - effectively £83,000 per space, but with a daily parking charge no higher than £4 - effectively all the other passengers are subsidising car parking for the few who use it.

There remains a further problem rarely highlighted when a car park is expanded. If each car takes around 15 seconds to get clear of the exit (an optimistic figure where exit is on to a busy road) than say 60 passengers get off an incoming train, and go to collect cars, the last car could easily be waiting 15 minutes to get to the exit... by which time another peak-hour train has discharged another 60 drivers to their cars.

Dispersal of passengers on foot or on bikes is substantially less intrusive and can use a far greater range of routes using less road-space.  I just wonder of measures to make use of the car park less attractive to those travelling distances which can easily be walked or cycled, and thus making space available for those travelling from further away might be a cheaper and simpler solution than building a bigger capacity, which, if it was assessed as an asset being used effectively would only be filled for 9-10 hours per day - less than 45% utilisation - few businesses would be happy with an asset so under-used.

The solution can be delivered - at Surbiton in SW London, the steady growth of cycle use has resulted in up to 25% of the car park spaces being available at 09.30, providing spaces for groups travelling on off-peak services, even with some car parking being taken away to park even more bikes. Time perhaps for some courageous decisions to manage the car parking demand rather than just accept a build-build-build policy.

Harpenden's solution might be to have pricing for cars registered at addresses within 3 miles of the station weighted with surcharge, or a ride-share discount for cars used for bringing more than 2 people to catch a train."

Dave Holladay has been working as an independent integrated transport specialist for the past 17 years, considering transport as a resoource which can be purchased and consumed far more efficiently if we move to modelling Travel Resource management in the way we now model Energy and Telecom Management.  He tracks this back to his first job in logistics - aged 12 - delivering printed media to 50 or more drops in under an hour.  By 14 he was managing a small team and co-ordinating the incoming material from the London News Wholesalers at the shop he worked for.  His serious interest in transport was engaged when he began working with British Rail, in a variety of engineering jobs, and later he moved to work for Sustrans for 10 years, surveying and building cycle routes, around the UK but mainly in Scotland.  He has not owned a car full time since 1976, but by hiring and belonging to a car sharing club, can enjoy using a near new vehicle of whatever type needed for the job.  A long term user of folding bikes (since 1980) he has worked with Brompton, to develop their Brompton Dock hire system, and also has experience with schemes using conventional bikes for public bike sharing and hire schemes.  He reckons that with the average private car standing idle for around 95% of the time, households could typically be between £2000 and £3000/year better off by ditching car ownership in favour of the pay as you go options. Some people may even find it cheaper to commute daily by taxi than run a car for this purpose. One commuter (Stansted Montfitchet-London) estimates that he is £8500/yr better off through his commuting regime - that buys a much bigger mortgage or pension if you so desire.

He advises CTC on cycling with public transport, and various organisations on travel plans, and has lead pioneering work on home bike parking (Edinburgh 1998, and Hackney in 2003)

A historic message from Herts Police

The Chief Constable desires to inform owners and drivers of Motor Vehicles in the County of Hertford  that constant complaints are made to him of the alarm and danger to the public caused by reckless driving of some of these vehicles.

The Chief Constable reminds owners and drivers that the speed at which a motor car may be driven on a highway is limited by law to twelve miles an hour.  It by no means follows that this speed may be sustained when Motor Cars are passing or meeting other vehicles or horses, or when passing through towns or villages or other inhabited places.  On each of these occasions it is incumbent on the drivers of Motor Cars to reduce their speed to such a pace as would be safe and reasonable were the vehicles drawn by horse instead of mechanical power.  Failure to observe this precaution will render the driver of the Motor Car liable to prosecution under Article IV, Sec. I of the Locomotives on Highways Act, 1896..

  

Given that Colonel Daniell was writing in 1901, it is interesting that his message has pretty well stood the test of time, in principle at any rate, as something we would like to hear from our Chief Constable.  Before we get too carried away, it is only fair that I let you know that Colonel Daniell reckoned bicycles were dangerous too.  When some of his constables were issued with bicycles to catch scorchers on the Great North Road, he gave his men an extra 3d an hour danger money.

 

My info comes from Hertfordshire Headlines by Richard Whitmore

STACC Helping to rewrite St Albans Cycle strategy- do you want to help?

In partnership with the council STACC is reviewing the council's cycling strategy which was last updated in 2007.

We have some good ideas based on the Get Britain Cycling report but we're very interested in hearing what you think would help cycling in St Albans.

Add a comment and we'll get in touch.

Cycle special on radio Verulam tonight at 9pm

Listen to Environment Matters on Radio Verulam 96.2 (or stream via www.radioverulam.com) at 9pm tonight to hear cycling in St Albans beimg talked about by STACC comittee members and councillor Daly.

Ride safe, ride every day..