Had an email in from Eamonn Ward, a local Green Party candidate:
He said:
I was knocking on doors near Hunters Bar yesterday and someone mentioned difficulties geetting round that roundabout for cyclists and that some cyclists get off or use the pavement (which may add to issues there). We also talked about similar, if magnified,issues at University roundabout which must be a nightmare for cyclists.
I wondered if cycle campaigners have ever identified any ways in which Highways could make improvements to allow cyclists to get round these roundabouts safely. And if they have been put to Highways and what the response was.
Here's my response.
Hi Eamonn,
Roundabouts have always been an issue for cyclists. On Hunters Bar, we put in a long list of requests for changes along Ecclesall Rd as part of the Smart Routes consultation: see http://www.cyclesheffield.
On reviewing this I see we didn't address Hunters Bar directly but we did suggest some improvements in the approaches. I believe the council would like to take some space from the Alms Houses frontage to allow a cycle route round to Brocco Bank and Endcliffe park entrance, This might not be popular with all residents though.
With Brook Hill, this was nominated as one of the most dangerous roundabouts for cyclists in the UK - see http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
Personally I cross Hunters Bar most days and don't find it too problematic: The inbound bus lane on Ecclesall Rd, which the council wants to remove, makes it a lot easier.
As a result of this campaign the Government made some funding available to fix the most dangerous locations in the UK and a group of activists went with Les Sturch to look at the problem. Sheffield City Council did not put in a bid for any of this money.
I personally don't think that there is any 'fix' for large roundabouts - the best thing is to find alternative traffic-free routes. With Brook Hill for example the University concourses offer an alternative. Hunters Bar is more problematic
Cycle training can help cyclists negotiate roundabouts safely - the free two-hours sessions offered by Pedal Ready are an excellent starting point.
Lastly, if people would like to see safer cycling in Sheffield they should support cyclesheffield, their local campaign group by joining -
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2 comments:
Hey Simon.
I think that there are solutions to cycling safely on large roundabouts and the story of the Lambeth Roundabout improvements in London is interesting.
The proposals to move cyclists onto shared use paths and allowed to use zebra crossings were opposed by local cycling groups and an alternative design was proposed. The design proposed was based on Dutch design of roundabouts.
It's interesting because TfL seem to have taken the suggestion seriously and are building an 'experimental' roundabout at the Transport Research Laboratory in Berkshire to conduct off-street trials of the Dutch design.
I think this is a good solution to cyclists at roundabouts.
Matt
Hi Matt, as far as I am concerned this kind of design falls into my category of 'alternative route' - what I am saying is that trying to integrate cyclists into a busy multi-lane roundabout, for example through cycle lanes on the roundabout just isn't going to work. There are some experienced and confident cyclists who can cope with roundabouts like Brook Hill but for less confident cyclists it just isn't going to happen.
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