Cycling in and around Birmingham England

Making Birmingham Fit for Cycling

The related thread has gone way off topic so I've started a fork.

Having finally got my hands on a Birmingham Walking and Cycling map (thank you, Rich22222), I can see why the online version was impossible to use. What might be called the "A" cycle routes (NCN5, Cole Valley route, the canals etc) are clearly marked, and if they happen to fall near one's start and/or end point it's very easy to plan a route. However, they are few and far between, and there are no "B" routes. The "advisory cycle network" is to a large extent just a collection of minor roads, complete with associated multiple redundancy, making it very difficult to spot at a glance a means of getting between two areas of Birmingham (something that is critical in persuading people they don't have to drive). It would also be a nightmare to sign post, requiring vast numbers of signs, presumably some of which would offer multiple choices of getting from place to place. Routes for motorised traffic are not done that way, and with good reason.

Secondly, some of the routes leave a lot to be desired. Take the wrong multiple choice and you'll find yourself doing something like trying to cross Cartland Road from Pinapple Road; I wouldn't fancy doing that in a January rush hour. Likewise it is no wonder that one person on this forum asked for a route from Kings Heath to Harborne avoiding Raddlebarn Road, a road on the "advisory cycle network".

Is there going to be any serious attempt at creating a usable network, with clear local routes like there are for motorised vehicles? If so, how many more aeons do we have to wait for something so simple and basic? Are paths between areas (eg Hough Road<->Dawberry Road) going to be made shared use as they would be in, say, Germany or Holland, or are British cyclists uniquely dangerous? Even cycling on the big wide path through Bournville Park is prohibited (it wasn't always so), as is cycling on Birdcage Walk (a pedestrian only route through the Cadbury factory wide enough for two cars).

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Permalink Reply by James Lee on February 22, 2012 at 14:52

I am on a personal crusade to get the media et al to re-name "Rush hour" to "Commute time".

"Rush hour" was a description applied to office workers rushing to the underground station, to get a good seat on the train at the mainline station.

As cars got popular, the term stuck, and with it the implication motoring commuters could 'Rush' home. Not good.

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Permalink Reply by LS on February 22, 2012 at 15:09

or for cyclists, hobby half hour

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Permalink Reply by Simon on February 22, 2012 at 16:19

But what is a carrow, other than an itinerant gambler?

You probably know them by a different name as I've seen them called all sorts of things. Just basically, a picture of a cycle in the road with an arrow on top of it, hence C(ycle)ARROW. They show cyclists where to go, and they show drivers that they should expect to meet cyclists on that road and that the cyclists have a right to be there. Importantly, they appear in the middle of the lane, or at least out of the gutter so the cyclist isn't moved right over to the edge like a bike lane does.

I 'm happy to have a go at routes in my area, but here we are expecting to have the new N.Brum project with all of it's new paths soon(?). And I'm always a bit worried about saying to someone "Yep, you'll be fine to cycle that road" as I know my ideas of "fine" can be different to others. But give it a go I will when I get time!

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Permalink Reply by Toby on February 22, 2012 at 16:23

Classic Jane Wiedlin 80's hit will just not sound the same though...

James Lee said:

I am on a personal crusade to get the media et al to re-name "Rush hour" to "Commute time".

"Rush hour" was a description applied to office workers rushing to the underground station, to get a good seat on the train at the mainline station.

As cars got popular, the term stuck, and with it the implication motoring commuters could 'Rush' home. Not good.

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Permalink Reply by Robert on February 22, 2012 at 16:45

@Simon: Well according to James British car drivers think we're all little better than carrows, so it seems an appropriate name. I think I would agree with you about having large bicycle icons on cycle routes. It adds to the FUD feeling of drivers.

It would be useful to have timescales for some of these official projects and an outline of what is planned. But thanks for volunteering; it will be good to have a few villages linked in a different area to make the concept clearer. Some of the routes I chose I already knew to have little motorised traffic, whilst others I had to look on Google maps and then cycled the route. If I met unexpected heavy traffic or aggressive drivers (ie those that give you little space or barge in at a junction to save themselves five seconds, and a typical indicator of a rat-run), I changed the route. I tried to keep in mind at all times "would I let my eleven year old son/daughter cycle this route?" rather than judging the route by my own abilities. It's still a judgement call, but I found it helped me to think about each route. Sometimes I just had to accept they would have to get off and push (perhaps making use of a crossing), in which case I considered whether the distance involved was reasonable or not.