They do the nicest things

[steveindenmark]

I have only been away from work for 3 weeks and when I returned the nice Council men have built me a mile of wide, smooth cycle path. It is an extension of an existing path which goes into town. I have been using this route for 11 years and in all that time have seen half a dozen bikes on this stretch of road. But I saw a few more last week, which goes to show that if you build good paths, people will use them.

I am thinking that the local Council has agreed to build so much cycle path Per year and the only way to go is into the countryside as the town has a great system already.

 

[youngoldbloke]

^ THIS is what we should have in the UK.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I have similar news, about a mile of trail to connect the existing 2 miles of trail through our subdivisions with the other 32 miles of trail around here. More or less thrown in with the road improvement contract.

 

[bpsmith]

Lovely tarmac, and even the white lines look fast!

 

[steveindenmark]

Jannie was straight out there on her roller blades.

The general consensus is that you can never get this in the UK but the Dutch managed it and Holland is the most densly populated country in Europe. It just took decades to get it that way. Here in Denmark, when new roads, industrial or housing estates are built, the cycle path is often the thing to be put in place first.

All the major cities in the UK are always going to be a problem but as awful as it is, Milton Keynes shows that it can be done.

Steve

 

[steveindenmark]

I have noticed the same Paul. Some cyclists object to cycle paths because it excludes them from being traffic. I certainly dont mind being excluded. I watch Youtube videos of people riding in England and it makes me cringe. All my rides are relaxing and I can make good headway.

I cant see the enjoyment of cycling amongst cars and trucks. The arguement that cycle paths is a way of diminishing cyclists rights is an odd one as it appears that cyclists dont have rights in the UK.

Steve

 

[Garry A]

I'd love cycle lanes like that everywhere and connected up instead of going for miles and then just ending.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have noticed the same Paul. Some cyclists object to cycle paths because it excludes them from being traffic. I certainly dont mind being excluded. I watch Youtube videos of people riding in England and it makes me cringe. All my rides are relaxing and I can make good headway.

I cant see the enjoyment of cycling amongst cars and trucks. The arguement that cycle paths is a way of diminishing cyclists rights is an odd one as it appears that cyclists dont have rights in the UK.

Steve

Be fine if cycle paths in the UK were like that one, but we all know what 'cycling infrastructure' means to most Local Authorities here.

 

[Alex H]

Milton Keynes shows that it can be done.

Steve

Well, sort of . the original redway network was, to be honest, rubbish. The paths went all over the place, were badly maintained and signposted - sometimes you hadn't got a clue where you were or whether you were going in the right direction. So, no-one used them except dog walkers and joggers. Now, things changed in the last 10 years - when new 'estates' were built the redways went alongside the grid roads or through the housing in reasonably straight lines, so at least you didn't travel 6 miles to do 4 . Of course, the old paths are still there, but it seems a lot more people use them now - could be something to do with the cost of parking in Central MK though. (MK resident for 26 years - now in a far better place for cycling )

EDIT - forgot to say - of course, the redway system is 'shared path' with all the grief that goes with that sort of system

 

[fimm]

The thing is, cyclists in Britian fear being banned from the roads and being forced to use rubbish infrastructure. I'd choose a path like that in the OP over a road any day - but I regularly choose to ride on a road rather than on a narrow, busy canal path, or a riverside path which isn't tarmaced & which is also full of runners and dogs, both of which are shared use.

 

[steveindenmark]

Alex, i was a policeman in Milton Keynes and so part of my job was learning the Redway system and the grid system. After 3 years I had just about got the hang of it.

Some of our cycle paths are also shared paths but its never a problem. We share them with peds and mopeds. Usually the mopeds give a little beep of the horn when they are approaching from behind. The big advantage here is that most Danes ride a bike on a regular basis. Cycle paths in towns are often dedicated cycle/Moped paths but cycle paths in the countryside are for everyone.

Steve

 

[Saluki]

Awesome looking path there.
I can see a great looking cyclepath along side the A11 near Attleborough but have no idea where it starts or stops. It doesn't seem to feature on the map. I am going to park up at the footbridge and explore by bike. It looks a fab path but no cycling signs is not helpful.

I got lost many a time in Milton Keynes. I'm sure that was part of the fun. Not sure that I could live there though.