Thursday 28 August 2008

Ideas for Bristol: traffic calming on bike routes

As well as photos/videos of Bristol, we also welcome photos of ideas that could be adopted in our fair city. As it is the holiday season, there should be lots of improvements to pick up.

Here is a bit of Lôn Las Ogwen. This is a lovely route which takes you from sea level to 300+ metres, by LLyn Ogwen and below Tryfan, right in the heart of Snowdonia. The path may run up the same valley as the A5, but it does it along a river, through a slate quarry and with sheep on the road being the main traffic hazard. Apart from that 300m of ascent -mostly at a a steep bit- its a good family ride. Not very busy either, people could come out and enjoy it more.

Except not, of course, in bikes with trailers, tagalongs or any other child towing configuration. No recumbents either. Because there these little Z-bend entry points on the path that take about ten minutes worth of bike wiggling to get through, with the main bike being lifted up to the back wheel, the kid lifting his part through. Its enough to put you off cycling here with kids.


Which may actually be the intent, as the yellow sign says -in welsh and english- 'danger do not allow your children to play here'.

It's not clear who funded this junction and signage, sustrans don't go out of their way for such designs. Perhaps either the local slate quarry or council felt they needed to discourage cycling.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I've used a bike trailer for shopping for a few months now, and there are plenty of chicaned gates and bollards in Brissle that are as awkward to get through.

I expect it's all part of that much vaunted "joined-up thinking" we keep hearing about.