Built it and they haven't come

[Red Light]

Just ridden into Cambridge to visit my daughters and took the two month old cyclepath that runs alongside the guided bus route from Trumpington Park and Ride to the station. Its pretty much close to ideal. A flat wide smooth cycle path well away from the traffic that runs 3 miles from the Park and Ride and peripheral suburbs of Trumpington and Shelford into the centre. Today the park and ride bus queue stretched back a long way when I set out at 13:00, the roads were jammed with cars going in to Cambridge, the weather was warm and sunny with no wind and the centre was heaving. Cambridge also has very high cycle modal share ~30%. So why did I see only one other bike in the six mile round trip going in at one and back at four which is pretty much a peak time for leaving? Once I got off the cycle path and back onto the roads it was the usual busy with cyclists Cambridge scene.

 

[pshore]

Odd. I have not used the southern section, maybe it doesn't go anywhere worthwhile to be used for recreation.

The northern half, on the other hand, was busy with recreational cyclists and families today. It is closer to a lot communities and the length means there is a route choice to suit all.

There are a number of new housing estates planned for the southern area so use will go up once built.

 

[MacB]

Probably loads of reasons, general and specific to that route but the overwhelming one for me, for utility cycling, is security. They can make the journeys as pleasant as they like but, without rock solid secure cycle parking(preferably free or heavily subsidised), they'll always leave me cold. Risk of theft or vandalism is so high in town centres that I just don't contemplate a bike for some trips, especially with the family. It's one thing to run a crappy old bike for yourself as a leave anywhere option but to try and do that x5 is just ridiculous, and still no guarantees they won't be nicked or trashed.

They need a bike and walk in the same way as they have a park and ride.

 

[Red Light]

Probably loads of reasons, general and specific to that route but the overwhelming one for me, for utility cycling, is security. They can make the journeys as pleasant as they like but, without rock solid secure cycle parking(preferably free or heavily subsidised), they'll always leave me cold. Risk of theft or vandalism is so high in town centres that I just don't contemplate a bike for some trips, especially with the family. It's one thing to run a crappy old bike for yourself as a leave anywhere option but to try and do that x5 is just ridiculous, and still no guarantees they won't be nicked or trashed.

They need a bike and walk in the same way as they have a park and ride.

There is plenty of good free secure parking with CCTV cameras in the Park Street and Grand Arcade car parks right in the centre so that's no excuse plus there are plenty of people cycling on the roads happy to park their bikes attached to railings, lamp posts, stands etc.

As for pshores "doesn't go anywhere" comment it goes from the Park and Ride, Trumpington and Shelford into near the centre with a spur off to the Addenbrookes hospital and university campus which is a major local employer. That would seem far more useful for people wanting to go into town or work than the northern leg which stop at the Science Park on the northern outer periphery of Cambridge.

I would far rather cycle in than sit in the traffic jams in the heat or be in the long queue for not cheap park and ride buses but I seemed to be the only one in a city renown for its cycling to take that option.

 

[pshore]

When I said doesn't go anywhere I was thinking about this in the context of the weekend.

Can anyone say what the use patterns are in the week ?

Addenbrookes workers are charged £2.50 a day to park (maybe more now), or £2 to use either park and ride. Putting a bike in your boot has got to be an attractive option. I know walking from Babraham p+r is popular.

 

[style over speed]

Someone posted a video from the top deck of the bus sped up of the route and if I recall at one end it suffered from all side roads having priority over the maintenance path each with its own (red) traffic lights…. I was surprised not to see cyclist dismount signs too

given that this wasnt built as a cycle path, has it even been promoted as such in the area? Cynically I'd even say that after the massive overspend the bus people will do everything in their powers to make cycling as uninviting as possible along their maintenance road to get fare paying bus passengers on their buses?

 

[MacB]

There is plenty of good free secure parking with CCTV cameras in the Park Street and Grand Arcade car parks right in the centre so that's no excuse plus there are plenty of people cycling on the roads happy to park their bikes attached to railings, lamp posts, stands etc.

Really? are you saying that there are no bike thefts or vandalism in these locations?

 

[Red Light]

Really? are you saying that there are no bike thefts or vandalism in these locations?

If those are your criteria, then you are not going to cycle anywhere much. I know of places that have keycard access steel security cages for employees bikes but they are not totally free of vandalism or theft either. But as cycle parking goes, the two central bike parks in Cambridge are about as good as they get for security.

 

[Red Light]

Someone posted a video from the top deck of the bus sped up of the route and if I recall at one end it suffered from all side roads having priority over the maintenance path each with its own (red) traffic lights…. I was surprised not to see cyclist dismount signs too

given that this wasnt built as a cycle path, has it even been promoted as such in the area? Cynically I'd even say that after the massive overspend the bus people will do everything in their powers to make cycling as uninviting as possible along their maintenance road to get fare paying bus passengers on their buses?

I did not encounter side roads or any loss of priority all the way in and it most definitely has been built as a wide cycle path alongside the bus track.

 

[Red Light]

When I said doesn't go anywhere I was thinking about this in the context of the weekend.

Well the weekend is one of the busiest times in Cambridge and this one certainly was. The Park and Ride car park was virtually full and its a large car part. Town was heaving so people are definitely going between the two, just not using the cycleway but choosing to take the bus instead - in large numbers and at not insignificant cost.

Can anyone say what the use patterns are in the week ?

Addenbrookes workers are charged £2.50 a day to park (maybe more now), or £2 to use either park and ride. Putting a bike in your boot has got to be an attractive option. I know walking from Babraham p+r is popular.

I did cycle it in the week with my daughter - she works at Addenbrookes - but even during the week it was pretty quiet at a time you would expect a lot of workers to be leaving Addenbrookes. The options of free Park and Ride Parking plus a cycle versus £2.50 a day to park on site plus a 10 minute walk from the car park should make the cycle way attractive but it doesn't seem to be. It certainly doesn't seem to be attracting all the new cyclists that campaigners claim such facilities will do and it doesn't even seem to be attracting existing cyclists either. Go out on the roads of Cambridge and its a different matter with far more cyclists cycling down Hills Road from the station to Addenbrookes than cycling down the guided bus cycle path away from all the traffic.

 

[stowie]

Well the weekend is one of the busiest times in Cambridge and this one certainly was. The Park and Ride car park was virtually full and its a large car part. Town was heaving so people are definitely going between the two, just not using the cycleway but choosing to take the bus instead - in large numbers and at not insignificant cost.



I did cycle it in the week with my daughter - she works at Addenbrookes - but even during the week it was pretty quiet at a time you would expect a lot of workers to be leaving Addenbrookes. The options of free Park and Ride Parking plus a cycle versus £2.50 a day to park on site plus a 10 minute walk from the car park should make the cycle way attractive but it doesn't seem to be. It certainly doesn't seem to be attracting all the new cyclists that campaigners claim such facilities will do and it doesn't even seem to be attracting existing cyclists either. Go out on the roads of Cambridge and its a different matter with far more cyclists cycling down Hills Road from the station to Addenbrookes than cycling down the guided bus cycle path away from all the traffic.

Why?

Firstly, your experiences don't necessarily tell the whole picture, one anecdote doesn't make a statistic.But assuming your experience is typical, why isn't it more popular? Especially in a cycling town? Do people inherently not like cycle paths? Do they prefer traffic? Or is there something else going on?

 

[pshore]

It is a little baffling. I'll try and give it a ride so I can see it for myself.

I can only offer lame possibilities.

Maybe its just too early for people to change their commute patterns between home and central Cambridge. The northern section has been unofficially open for at least a year, but the southern section has only recently been completed. To be honest, I didn't know that part of the cycle path was complete lol.

The commute to Addenbrookes is the really baffling part for me. The council keep thinking of charging for parking so park and cycle might become unattractive.

I just can't see the park and cycle to go shopping idea. It's a load if hassle to put your bike in the boot and if you are about to spend a day shopping amongst expensive cafes and designer shops, £2.50 is a small amount of money in comparison.

 

[Richard Mann]

The only place it really goes is Trumpington, and there's a shorter route from Trumpington to the city. I'd guess it's also fairly bare and exposed for a blazing hot day. Which is why it's the treatment of existing main roads that matters.

 

[MacB]

If those are your criteria, then you are not going to cycle anywhere much. I know of places that have keycard access steel security cages for employees bikes but they are not totally free of vandalism or theft either. But as cycle parking goes, the two central bike parks in Cambridge are about as good as they get for security.

Ok, just had a look online at them, Grand Arcade and Park Street, and they do look far better than most I've come across. Hiring a bike locker at £10 per month seems a very good deal to me and the valet cycle parking option as well.

I was reading about them on the Cambridge Cycling Campaign website and note that they are, at least partly, in response to cycle crime, as it's one of the largest volume crimes in Cambridge....so I don't think I was wrong to prioritise actually having a bike to return to as being a main criteria for what would get me utility cycling in a given area.

Even more interesting was a claim that the space for these cycle parks became viable due to the introduction of controls of vehicle access to the city.

 

[style over speed]

I did not encounter side roads or any loss of priority all the way in and it most definitely has been built as a wide cycle path alongside the bus track.

It might look like a dutch cycle path but it definitely wasnt built as a cycle path, its the maintenance road for the busway. heres the youtube I'd seen [media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsUIZ58DVrc&feature=related[/media]
from 3.30" there's 4 junctions where the "bike path" has to give way to side roads. Ok, after that its pretty good, but I only remembered the first bit.