The cycle path debate concerns the issues surrounding the provision and use of cycle paths. A cycle path or bike path is a track or road designated for use by cyclists that is physically separated from roads used by motor vehicles. It may be built for the purpose, or it may be an existing path marked as a cycle path. Some cycle paths are shared with pedestrians. This article or section should include material from Cycle path debate Segregated cycle facilities may consist of a separate road, track, path or lane that is designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. ... A cyclist is a person who engages in cycling whether as a sport or rides a bicycle for recreation or transportation. ...

Introduction

Cycle paths are widely used in parts of Europe, especially in towns in the Netherlands, and are also frequently seen on American college campuses. Most cycle paths are in urban areas^{[citation needed]}; however, they can also be intended to link towns and cities, such as the National Cycle Network in Britain. Cycle paths are often made alongside canals or on the trackbed of disused railways. Cycle paths are essentially utilitarian in nature and they should not be confused with bicycle trails, off-road tracks used by recreational cyclists. Cycle paths should also not be confused with cycle lanes (or bike lanes) which are portions of roadway designated for bicycle use with a painted stripe. This article or section should include material from Cycle path debate Segregated cycle facilities may consist of a separate road, track, path or lane that is designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. ... College (Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... Crowded Shibuya, Tokyo shopping district An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... The first section of the NCN to be built was the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, opened in 1984. ... The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are artificial channels for water. ... Trail riding is riding on trails as opposed to riding on roads or courses. ... This article or section should include material from Cycle path debate Segregated cycle facilities may consist of a separate road, track, path or lane that is designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. ... This article or section should include material from Cycle path debate Segregated cycle facilities may consist of a separate road, track, path or lane that is designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. ...

Specific local cycle paths have been controversial amongst local residents, cyclists and transport planners^[1]. Some confident and experienced cyclists prefer to ride on the roadways, sharing them with motor traffic, instead of riding on a cycle path^[2]. In 2004, the state legislature of Iowa considered legislation that would have prohibited cycling on four-lane (dual carriageway) roads if the government decided that an adjacent parallel alternative route was readily available to cyclists^[3]. Vehicular cycling, or VC, is the practice of driving bicycles on roads in a manner which is visible, predictable, and in accordance with the principles for driving a vehicle in traffic. ... Official language(s) English Capital Des Moines Largest city Des Moines Area  Ranked 26th  - Total 56,272 sq mi (145,743 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 199 miles (320 km)  - % water 0. ... This early German Autobahn uses a dual carriageway design. ...

The UK Department for Transport asserts^[4] that all types of cyclist will use high-quality well-maintained traffic-free routes if they are more direct than the equivalent on-road alternative and there are no personal security issues. The core of the cycle path debate is that very few cycle paths meet all these criteria.

The Department also usefully recognizes five types of cyclist^[5]:

• Fast commuter - confident in most on-road situations, and will use a route with significant traffic volumes if it is more direct than a quieter route
• Other utility cyclist - may seek some segregation at busy junctions and on links carrying high-speed traffic;
• Inexperienced utility, commuter and leisure cyclist - may be willing to sacrifice directness in terms of both distance and time, for a route with less traffic and more places to stop and rest. May travel more slowly than regular cyclists
• Children - require segregated, direct routes from residential areas to schools, even where an on-road solution is available
• Users of wide or long equipment such as trailers, trailer-bikes, tandems, and tricycles.

In many countries it has proved very hard to design a suitable path to cater for all these types of users within available budgets^{[citation needed]}.

Arguments in favour

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• Most cyclist deaths are caused by a collision with a motor vehicle. This is because of lack of observation/action by one or both parties.
• Some people are frightened of cycling because of the perceived risk of collisions with motor vehicles. Segregated cycle paths may encourage these people to cycle, but it has no educational value for their progress to using the roads.
• When riding on high speed roads, cyclists can hold up motor vehicles. Cycle paths segregate cyclists from motor vehicles and so allow the motor vehicles to go faster.
• A cycle path may offer a shortcut not available to motor vehicles. This is frequently implemented using an existing desire path, merely legitimating existing behaviour.
• Abandoned railway lines may be lost to development if they are not converted to new uses, such as cycle paths.
• Cycle paths have proved to be popular where they are built. Especially among families riding with young children. Local politicians can up their profile quite well.
• A proper cycle path means cyclists are less likely to ride on paths made for pedestrians, but this only works if the peds are excluded from the cycle path else there is just a mixed cycle/ped path.

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Arguments against

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• The cycle path network is unlikely to become as extensive or interconnected as the road network; hence it is less convenient and will inevitably result in cyclists untrained in Effective Cycling being exposed to the road network eventually.
• Converting cycling trips from road to path may decrease general safety for road cyclists (the authors of some studies have concluded that the average rate of injuries per road cyclist varies inversely with the number of cyclists on the roads).
• The danger of collision with motor vehicles is highest at junctions. Most cycle paths have many junctions with roads, so the risk of collision may go up for users of cycle paths. Many junctions are very poorly designed.
• When riding on high speed roads, cyclists can hold up motor vehicles. Cycle paths segregate cyclists from motor vehicles and so allow the motor vehicles to go faster, potentially making future collisions more dangerous.
• Cycle paths are rarely as well-constructed or maintained as roads. They are often narrower than roads, have tighter corners, worse lighting, poorer surfaces, and more obstacles. Some Sustrans cycle paths are unuseably badly constructed.
• The maximum safe speed on a cycle path is usually lower than on a road; journeys on cycle paths take longer than on roads.
• Generally the start and end of any cyclist's journey is on the road system, so using cycle paths often involves a diversion.
• The majority of injuries to cyclists are not caused by collisions with motor vehicles. So moving cyclists from well-constructed roads to poorly-constructed paths may result in more injuries.
• Cyclists may not share facilities well with pedestrian. Cyclists move at higher speeds in predictable curves whereas pedestrians move fairly randomly so causing collisions.
• Cycle paths are generally less frequently cleaned of debris and snow/ice than roads.
• Sidewalks which have been later re-designated as cycle paths may contain various obstructions including bus stops, pillar boxes, telecommunications cabinets and pedestrians. This can be a particular problem in the UK.
• In some countries the introduction of segregated facilities may be a first step towards the banning of cycling on roads.
• It is just greenwash. In Reading UK the tarmaced path at side of the Kennet and Avon canal used to have prohibition notices. When cycle provision became fashionable they replaced them with cycle path signs. Then local councillors trumpetted their green credentials because they had "added" cycle provision. It actually made no difference to the number of cyclists using it; some observers say it actually fell.

Many advocates now talk of recreational trails, shared-use paths, or community paths, recognizing that avid cyclists find cycle paths less than ideal, while they have become very popular for other uses, including walking, jogging, inline skating, wheelchair excursions, cross-country skiing as well as more casual cycling. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a pejorative term that environmentalists and other critics use to describe the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. ... Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. ... Roller skating girl in Rome, Italy (soul grind) Roller skating is travelling on smooth terrain with roller skates. ... Cross-country skiing (also known as XC skiing) is a winter sport popular in many countries with large snowfields, primarily Northern Europe and Canada. ...

Relative risks of crossing an intersection. Crossing on a set-back cycle path has been found to be up to 11.9 times more risky than straight crossing on the road.

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Intersection issues

Cycle paths are known to be very dangerous where they cross intersections. As they are set back from the road, motor vehicle drivers turning at the intersection often do not expect cyclists crossing except on the road itself. This risk is increased even more when cyclists cycle (legally or illegally) against the expected direction (a very common occurence because for cost reasons, cycle paths are often built as two-way paths, instead of being provided on both sides of a road). The term intersection can mean: a road junction, where two roads intersect each other, such as a roundabout intersection; in mathematics, the set in which two or more other sets intersect each other; see intersection (set theory); a movie; see Intersection (movie). ...

Research presented at a conference at Lund University in 1990 found that accident rates for cycle users crossing the intersection on a set-back path are up to 11.9 times higher than when cycling on the roadway (see diagram).^[6] This research has found some response in that cycle paths are now often merged back onto the road just before an intersection. Lund University main building, built in 1882 by Helgo Zettervall. ...

However the research does not differentiate the type of cyclist against the accidents. Anecdotally the less experienced/skillful cyclists will tend to use the cycle path and the better ones to ignore it and use the proper road. The motivation of the good cyclists is that because they will be wishing to travel faster the cycle path features will be causing them more inconvenience than the ultra-slow cyclists; so they will naturally use the road. This will partially explain the difference in the safety.

The cycle paths are frequently shared with pedestrians. Some of these have a white line down the middle to segregate them, but that doesn't stop peds from walking on them. This slows the cyclists and adds to the danger.

The DOT says that most accidents happen at intersections. The end of a cycle paths represents an intersection. The crossing of a minor road by a major road cycle path counts as two intersections.

Because of the caution required at these minor junctions the cyclist has to slow down and give way at minor junctions, thus discouraging cycling.

On a junction in Oxford UK (North end St Giles) there is a Y-junction. For the right fork approaching the junction is a short cycle lane with give-way markings. This applys to cyclists and not to motor vehicles. If the cyclist isn't in this cycle lane does he need to give way?

Some commentators have compared segregated cycling with the 1960s civil rights movement; the cyclists are regarded as second class citizens who must be "kept at the back of the bus". Did Rosa Parks own a bicycle?

References

1. ^ "Cyclists told to get off and walk at oral hearing on Seamus Quirke Rd", Galway Cycling Campaign, July 2002. Retrieved on 2006-07-13. 
2. ^ MassBike Policies. Policies. The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition. Retrieved on 2006-07-13.
3. ^ "Anti-bicycling bill considered in Iowa this week", Missouri Bicycle Federation, 2004-02-24. Retrieved on 2006-07-13. 
4. ^ LTN 1/04 - Policy, Planning and Design for Walking and Cycling - Paragraph 3.4.4. Department for Transport, UK.
5. ^ LTN 1/04 - Policy, Planning and Design for Walking and Cycling - Paragraph 3.4.3. Department for Transport, UK.
6. ^ "Russian roulette" on sidepaths - sidepaths are the target of criticism - Rauh, W. (ARGUS Vienna), p. 78 of the proceedings of the Velo Secur 90 conference, Issues of Bicycling Safety, Lund University, 1990

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See also

• Segregated cycle facilities
• Effective Cycling
• vehicular cycling
• Non-motorized vehicle access on freeways

Cycleway, Bicycle street and Pedestrian/Cyclist bridge in Nuremberg, Germany Segregated cycle facilities may consist of separate roads, tracks, paths or lanes designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. ... Effective Cycling is a trademarked cycling educational program designed by John Forester, which was promoted for a number of years by the League of American Wheelmen. ... Vehicular cycling, or VC, is the practice of driving bicycles on roads in a manner which is visible, predictable, and in accordance with the principles for driving a vehicle in traffic. ... In general, the concept of a freeway implies that all vehicles must be motorized and have a certain minimum amount of power; signs are usually posted to indicate this, either in the form of a list of disallowed vehicle types, or a minimum travel speed. ...

External links

• City of Chicago Bike Lane Design Guide
• Why have shoulders and/or bike lanes? - Oregon Department of Transportation
• Engineering and Planning : Bike Lanes - Bicycle Transportation Institute
• Bicycle Blunders: Blunders in Planning & Engineering - LAB Reform
• A critical look at bike facilities including bike lanes - John S. Allen
• A critique on a sidepath-style bike lane design in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Analysis of the major arguments about bike lanes - John Forester
• UK Department for Transport, Local Transport Notes
• Study on the causes of bicycle and pedestrian injuries - Jane C. Stutts and William W. Hunter