Britain is built for cars

[User76022]

Do we think there's any real liklihood of this changing in our lifetimes?

For my commute to work, the car is the only practical option. Sure I could cover the 30 miles by getting a bus or riding my bike the 2 miles to the nearest train station, where I could get the first of 2 trains, before walking the 3 miles from the station to work. But its hardly practical to do every day.

Or my frequent leisure bike rides. I like to plan loop routes. I really don't like riding to somewhere just to come back the way I came. But in planning such loops, I like to factor in the liklihood of actually not being killed. That rules out many sections of would be loops.

Worse than all of this, I think about the world my kids are growing up in. I want then to enjoy cycling. But even some of the routes I'll do are strictly off limits if my kids are with me. For example, there's some good routes in some nearby woods. My eldest son and I rode up there yesterday. Our route there was very safe. Mostly designated cycle paths, with pedestrian crossings on the two busy roads we had to cross. When it was time to come back, I considered the 2 or 3 mile fun descent on offer to us in the woods, that would have brought us out at a different entrance to the woods, then another 2 miles of descent on quiet roads. But then no, then we'd have to cross a busy dual carriageway.

That same dual carriageway has a footbridge over it to get to the entrance of the woods that we used to get in, but at the other end, you're on your own. Every man for himself.

 

[Drago]

It won't change.

The government think economic expansion relies on submerging the land under ever increasing roads in the name of "improving capacity". That is a pointless, never ending, economically suicidal endeavour. If I did things the Government way then when my dustbin was full, I'd simply place another dustbin next to it and fill that one up. And then another. Eventually this reaches a limit where it simply becomes impossible to sustain, yet that's what the government are doing with our roads.

The sensible person empties the bin when it becomes too full to be useful and considers a different strategy for dealing with the rubbish, such as recycling, repurposing, or simply creating less rubbish in the first place.

I can see some changes around the edges with fossil fuel depletion, electric cars, self driving technologies, etc, but we won't see large scale wholesale changes until the government's attitudes to economic expansion is revisited. That doesn't look likely to happen in my lifetime.

Never say never, but I dont think things will improve markedly in my lifetime, and will probably worsen. Meanwhile, an increasingly bloated population will put more strain on the NHS and councill services, but the government will still refuse to address the cause, and will continue to pour petrol on the fire and wonder why the flames get bigger.

 

[Globalti]

People who frequent web fora like this generally forget that the rest of the population are mostly too thick or too selfish to be concerned about the effects of their car obsession.

If we could undo what Beeching did to branch railways in the 60s the new housing estates growing up around outlying towns and villages could now provide sufficient passengers to make the lines viable again. Then all we would need would be to adopt the Dutch model of keeping a cheap town bike at each end of the journey and using the train for the long-distance bit in the middle. This has the unintended consequence of mountains of abandoned or lost or forgotten bikes around transport hubs but that's a small price to pay.

 

[Moodyman]

I think things will change, certainly in the big cities. Due to ever increasing traffic congestion cycling has been promoted as a viable alternative round here (Leeds-Bradford). We have the Superhighway, development of the local canal path and several cycle paths to avoid the busiest roads. There has been an upsurge in cycle commuting.

But, for this to work Dutch style, cycling has to be seen as means of getting around and not simply an exercise/ leisure activity.

London has seen a huge transformation, and I expect other cities are playing catch up.

 

[Slick]

I think things will change, certainly in the big cities. Due to ever increasing traffic congestion cycling has been promoted as a viable alternative round here (Leeds-Bradford). We have the Superhighway, development of the local canal path and several cycle paths to avoid the busiest roads. There has been an upsurge in cycle commuting.

But, for this to work Dutch style, cycling has to be seen as means of getting around and not simply an exercise/ leisure activity.

London has seen a huge transformation, and I expect other cities are playing catch up.

I agree, I think things are changing all the time, not fast enough for me or most on here but they are changing. More and more people are becoming increasingly aware of pollution and alternative choices available to us all.

Could you take the bike on the train for example and instead of getting the second train, cycle?

 

[Globalti]

Folding bikes are limited in their use.

The last few times I've been to that London I've been impressed at the cleanliness of the air. It must make for more pleasant cycling than when I commuted by bike there in the early 80s.

 

[classic33]

I agree, I think things are changing all the time, not fast enough for me or most on here but they are changing. More and more people are becoming increasingly aware of pollution and alternative choices available to us all.

Could you take the bike on the train for example and instead of getting the second train, cycle?

Depends on Northerns attitude, with regards the post quoted. They are looking at no wheeled transport on their services. Moreso when the new rolling stock is safe to use.

To @User76022, is there any reason why the distance is too far, or does it come down to route as well?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Do we think there's any real liklihood of this changing in our lifetimes?

My lifetime I doubt it, within my grandchildren's hopefully, or there won't be any world left for my great great grandchildren

 

[Slick]

Depends on Northerns attitude, with regards the post quoted. They are looking at no wheeled transport on their services. Moreso when the new rolling stock is safe to use.

To @User76022, is there any reason why the distance is too far, or does it come down to route as well?

Didn't know that. As far as I know you can take a bike on just about any train up here but you do have to watch some commuter services.

 

[classic33]

Didn't know that. As far as I know you can take a bike on just about any train up here but you do have to watch some commuter services.

That should have been peak hour services. First thing till 9am & 4pm - 6:30pm(possibly 7pm).

My error.

Parent company Arriva looking to do the same on all services they operate.

 

[Johnno260]

I can’t see it changing anytime soon, attitudes towards cyclists sucks, I get ridiculed at work for cycling.

Electric cars may change things a little, but I can’t see that we have the capacity within the national grid to charge a huge amount of electric cars, and these are still cars.

Railways and cycling each end is difficult as many rural stations and lines are gone.

 

[User76022]

To @User76022, is there any reason why the distance is too far, or does it come down to route as well?

Sorry, I'm not sure I understand what you're asking?

If you kean the commute, I think 30 miles is a bit much. That's not 30 miles round trip. 30 miles each way. It would mean if I were fit enough to sustain my best average speed, twice per day, 5 days per week, it would be over 2 hours each way.

If you meant the loop route I wanted to do with my son, distance was no problem, but just the nature of one road we'd have to get across. There would be no way round it other than either go back by the same route, which we did, or add on about 10 more miles of road work to get to the next point where you can safely cross with kids on bikes.

 

[pjd57]

Too many people are car bound.
Bring this up on any other non cycling forum and it soon descends into the usual abuse of cycling/ cyclists, even if you don't mention them.

 

[Racing roadkill]

This isn’t Holland, never will be.

 

[lane]

I'll tell you what's happening where I live. Certain streets do not meet the EU pollution targets. Plan is to transfer traffic to other other nearby routes and spread the pollution around a bit more so all roads are below the threshold. No real aim to reduce pollution overall. Bad enough but the staggering thing is as part of the plan thy are removing cycling infrustructure to allow cars to travel with less delay. I am not very optimistic.