Warwickshire County Council (WCC) adopted its Local Transport Plan in 2023. It has 4 main themes:
- supporting the economy;
- improving health and wellbeing;
- protecting the environment;
- supporting places.
WCC is now looking at how to invest new funding. They are seeking feedback to understand what matters most to local people, and where they should focus investment.
This is a great opportunity to make the case for more (and better) investment in cycling, and in Active Travel more generally. Cycling and Active Travel make an obvious difference to improving health and wellbeing, and protecting the environment. But they also help to support places by making them friendlier and less intimidating, and there is good evidence that Active Travel has a positive impact on the local economy.
If you would like to make your views known, the survey can be accessed online at https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/voice-of-warwickshire/60ed93cc/
Here are some ideas for things that would make life better for cyclists and active travellers generally (let us know if you think there are other things we should be campaigning for in addition):
- Pelican and Toucan crossings should be more responsive. The pedestrian/bike phase takes a long time to arrive, and often comes after all the traffic has passed anyway. To encourage active travel, the pedestrian/bike phase should kick in as soon as the call button is pushed, unless there has been a green man within the last minute or so.
- Where Pelican and Toucan crossings are placed at crossroads, the pedestrian/cycle phase is only activated at every other change of the traffic lights. To encourage active travel, there should be a pedestrian/bike phase at every change of the traffic lights. This would avoid pedestrian crossing on a red man, as they often do at the moment, when they can’t be bothered to wait for another cycle of lights, and would avoid pedestrian phases when all the pedestrians have already crossed on the red man.
- Cars regularly jump red traffic lights. It isn’t uncommon for 2 or 3 cars to cross on the red light. When this coincides with a pedestrian/cycle phase it can be very intimidating and potentially dangerous. This behaviour is sometimes, but not always, down to the fact that there is no filter light, even on busy roads. Cameras should be fitted at traffic lights by default, and should be used to identify and prosecute drivers who jump the red lights.
- Shared cycle and pedestrian facilities are not good for pedestrians or cyclist, and do not meet the standards set out in the LTN 1/20 guidelines. Pedestrians are intimidated when sharing space with cyclists.
- More extensive use of 20mph zones in urban areas would make walking, wheeling and cycling significantly safer and more pleasurable. There is good evidence that 20mph speed limits reduce accidents, and reduce the severity of injuries where there are accidents.
- Cycle routes in Warwickshire are very poorly designed. Even where it is perfectly possible to do so, they do not adhere to LTN 1/20 guidelines. This is even true of the so-called “flagship” K2L scheme. It would have been quite possible to make phase 1 of K2L an on-road, segregated, cycle route. This could have been achieved using inexpensive wands, as often used in London. An on-road route would have removed the need for expensive upgrades to Pelican crossings, would have given cyclists clear priority at junctions, would have avoided conflict with pedestrians, and also at driveways. Having an on-road route on both sides of the road would have given better connectivity to housing to the west of Kenilworth Road, and would have avoided any problems with glare from headlights as it would not have been necessary to travel against the flow of traffic when travelling north. The same problems are evident in other schemes (e.g. the Myton Road scheme, which is heavily used by school pupils).
- Safe cycling and walking routes to schools should be prioritised, and initiatives such as the Bicycle Bus actively encouraged
- Poor road surfaces are a particular issue for cyclists. There are numerous potholes deep enough to throw a cyclist off their bike into the path of traffic.
- Priority should always be given to segregated, on-road cycle routes wherever possible. These should be the default in any new housing development. LTN 1/20 standards should be adopted unless there are overwhelming reasons not to.
- There should be clear targets in the Local Transport Plan to reduce travel by private car, increase the use of public transport, and to increase active travel. Money should not be spent on road schemes that will simply, over time, increase the volume of traffic.
- It is essential to pay more than lip-service to active travel. Pedestrians and cyclists in particular should be prioritised and given a fair share of transport funding.