Which is Safer, Road or Cycle Path?

[Cyclezee]

The current thread regarding attack on cyclists promted me to look for a local story that I vaguely recall from roughly 20 years ago.

A cyclist died of head injuries on a section of Redway (Milton Keynes cycle path) known as the Railway Walk which runs from Newport Pagnell to Wolverton. He was doing his regular early morning commute and hit a tree trunk which had been dragged across the path by person or persons unknown. The tree trunk was from a pile which had been felled by contractors the day before.
The unfortunate cyclist would not expect and possibly did not even see the obstacle until it was too late. He was not wearing a helmet, but I don't want to start that one again, enough has been said on that subject.

Whilst looking for that story, I came across this from 11 years ago Casualties on cycle paths an intresting read if you have couple of minutes, and food for thought.

J hn

 

[flecc]

Interesting John, and perhaps not surprising.

It's difficult to evaluate the relative safety of those cycle paths versus 70 mph roads without some accurate usage statistics of each though, and his comment that the cycle paths are more dangerous "even when relative mileages are taken into account" is hardly statistically sound. How has he assessed the relative mileages? I find it difficult to envisage a reliable method of doing that.

It would be interesting to know the Dutch experience of cycle path versus roads safety, given their extensive usage of cycle paths.
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[OneWayTraffic]

Interesting John, and perhaps not surprising.

It's difficult to evaluate the relative safety of those cycle paths versus 70 mph roads without some accurate usage statistics of each though, and his comment that the cycle paths are more dangerous "even when relative mileages are taken into account" is hardly statistically sound. How has he assessed the relative mileages? I find it difficult to envisage a reliable method of doing that.

It would be interesting to know the Dutch experience of cycle path versus roads safety, given their extensive usage of cycle paths.
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I would suspect that the more used paths are, and the more integrated cyclists are into a culture, then the less likely incidents like this would become. After all, who would drag trees onto paths that their friends or parents use? Also the money invested in the quality of the paths tends to correlate with use, no?

 

[flecc]

I would suspect that the more used paths are, and the more integrated cyclists are into a culture, then the less likely incidents like this would become. After all, who would drag trees onto paths that their friends or parents use? Also the money invested in the quality of the paths tends to correlate with use, no?

In this case I don't think that follows, since I believe Milton Keynes extensive network of cycle paths are heavily used, though John can confirm if that's true.
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[frank9755]

I think it's a non-argument.

By far the most important point to make is that cycling on roads or cycle paths is a safe thing to do, regardless of whether or not you wear a helmet, water wings or any other form of physical or psychological protection. Given that, chose the most convenient and pleasant route for you.

Badly designed and poorly used cycle paths are not pleasant and don't feel safe, nor do narrow roads with blind bends and fast moving traffic.

Franklin has consistently argued against making it compulsory for cyclists to use cycle paths where they prefer the road, and that battle was won in the latest version of the highway code - which had initially threatened to compel cyclists to use cycle lanes, however bad they may be.

 

[Cyclezee]

The Milton Keynes cycle paths are used quite a lot by both pedestrians and cyclists, but are also frequented by the ASBO generation and beacuse of the size of the network, are not policed to the same extent as normal streets are.

Another problem is maintainance is not as good as it might be, a particular problem is tree roots growing under the paths and lifting the surface which eventually breaks up. In fairness to the local council, they do take action when someone reports a particular problem.

I am a big fan of our Redways, but on occasion take to the highway for a smoother faster ride and avoiding the menace of dogs

A fellow member and aquaintance of mine was responsible for designing the Redway network and many other features of MK.
I was quite amused to find him out riding his Torq one day, lost and not able to find his way to the City Centre Sorry Wayland

J hn

 

[Sir_Bob]

I used to always use the pavement on my old bike it was much safer as i was going very slowly now i use my ebike all the time on the roads i feel so much safer there than on the pavement as i am going faster i dont hit anybody that walks in the way

thx

Bob

 

[Haku]

Franklin has consistently argued against making it compulsory for cyclists to use cycle paths where they prefer the road, and that battle was won in the latest version of the highway code - which had initially threatened to compel cyclists to use cycle lanes, however bad they may be.

I'm very pleased to hear that. Of the 4 main cycle/walk routes in the area I live in, only one of them is actually any good (the one I use almost daily) because it's newer and has a better surface to it, the other ones range from muddy path beside a river to old tarmac which is like riding on a corregated surface - you just can't go at speed without needing full suspension in a soft setting.

Thankfully the council in my town haven't done what the same thing as in Gloucester, paint red patches on the side of the un-widened road to indicate that it's for cyclists. What freaking numpty had that marvellous idea? I saw a couple of pictures online (can't find em again) where there's a lorry overtaking a cyclist, one picture on a normal road where the lorry gives the cyclist plenty of room, and another where there's a painted patch for the cycllist and the lorry looks dangerously close to the cyclist.
It's all about perception, the painted on cycle patch gives drivers a defined boundary they feel they can safely drive close even when there's barely enough room for a cyclist, whereas without that sanctioned boundary they see an obstacle in their path (the cyclist) they have to manouver round.



I'm also very wary of going along the cyclepaths now because bloody kids keep leaving things in the way, and sometimes trees come down in the storms. Almost 2 years ago I crashed into a broken off concrete bollard laying sidways across the cyclepath I use most, it was dark (not quite night) and the bollard was the same black as the pathway, I managed to just avoid it by swerving out with my front wheel but my chainring hit it head on and the back end of my ebike was sent a good 2 foot straight up in the air, thankfully I didn't come a cropper but the chainring's plastic guard was smashed badly and the bottom bracket had a clicking sound from then on.
Chainring, bottom bracket & a host of other wornout parts were replaced earlier this year.

 

[WALKERMAN]

Cycle paths

I stopped using the cycle paths, (created on a former railway line) on my route to work, several years ago. As a lone rider I felt vunerable after a number of incidents involving drunken teenagers who crowded the path and also dog owners who seemed to think they owned the paths for use as a dog toilet.
Other problems were freshly broken bottles and metal shavings scattered over the path and on several occassions a wheely bin and its contents were strewn across the path just around a blind bend.
I wrote to the local council asking them to remove or thin down the trees so that the path would be visible from the main road but nothing was done.
What amazes me is that tourists to the area are encouraged to use the route.

 

[Alex728]

in my area the bulk of the cycle paths are best for kids and family groups who ride near their own estates in which they live in, they aren't as dangerous from gangs (the Police here are actually quite good at putting a stop to this sort of activity) - but they are too "slow moving" for the speed I ride at and have deliberate obstructions placed in them to keep out mini motos

The redways and similar schemes in other areas are a good idea but the planners were overoptimistic and underestimated how dysfunctional people can be... when I read TVP press releases there is always some sort of incident reported on them..

 

[Dynamic Position]

I find that the roads are safer especially in winter time. Dedicated cycle routes like disused railway lines can become trecherous when the temperature drops and an ice sheet forms. The roads are usually ice free most of the time thanks to the amount of salt the council gritting lorries spread.

 

[gedemeisterdk]

try googeling "Dijkstra og Wegman 1992"

 

[Alex728]

it is here..... I haven't had a chance to go through it fully all yet but it looks worth a read..

http://vbn.aau.dk/fbspretrieve/14344951/agerholm_et_al._bicycle_paths.pdf

 

[frank9755]

The other thing that I re-stumbled across earlier today is John Franklin's work on the relative safety of cycle paths in general and the Milton Keynes Redways in particular, and roads - here, here and here.

If you don't have time to read the links, the conclusion of his research is that roads are significantly safer!

 

[Cyclezee]

Thanks for that Frank,

I will study that when I have the time.

A bit off thread

I live in Milton Keynes and used to commute to work at MK General Hospital 20 odd years ago along the Redways on a hybrid bike called a Redway. The bike was marketed by a Phil Corley, a local bike shop.
One of the features that attracted me to it was the guarantee against punctures. After several punctures in the first 2 weeks and trips back to the shop for repairs, the problem was found to be the puncture proof Kevlar belt fitted between tyre and tube which had been cut from a large coil using utility snips. This resulted in sharp edges which caused the punctures.
My persistance in continually going back to the shop got me a pair of good quality Specialzed tyres, result no more punctures...........that I can remember.

J hn