After the demise of their family Volvo, Sightline director Alan Durning and his family decided to try living car-free for one year.
In this series on Sightline’s Daily Score blog, Alan explores the benefits and dilemmas that arise from being a car-less family with three kids. And readers from across the region (and other Sightline staffers) are chiming in with their experiences, questions, and tips on living car-lessly.
Category Archives: cars
Saddled with traffic – or dodging the pedestrians
THE bike slowly wobbles along St Cuthbert’s Way, past the magistrates’ court and police station.
It clings nervously to the kerb as huge buses, lorries, and vans zoom past it.
The bike reaches Victoria Road roundabout, near Feethams, and comes to an uncertain stop.
advertisementAs the cyclist waits to turn right, the truck in front spits fumes over him. The cars behind rev menacingly.
This is cycling on Darlington’s ring road – intimidating and unpleasant.
A feature article, Saddled with traffic – or dodging the pedestrians by Owen Amos appeared in today’s Northern Echo on page 11, and is available online.
Resolution Passed at 2007 AGM
The following resolution was passed at the Cycling Campaign’s 2007 AGM today:
Darlington Cycling Campaign calls for a blanket 20 miles an hour speed limit across Darlington.
Traffic research has shown that 94% of Darlington people are against an increase in the number of cars on the town’s roads, but fear there will be more by 2010. 82% of residents surveyed consider that the risk is too high for them to cycle in the town. Even 53% see walking as a danger.
Clearly the big obstacle to improving the safety of cyclists, and thus making cycling more attractive to non-cyclists, is to deter car drivers. The increase in the region’s road traffic over the past 10 years is 17.4%, higher than the national average. Darlington this week was dubbed the 4th noisiest town in the country. The softly softly approach doesn’t seem to be working. Tougher measures are needed, and a 20mph limit could encourage car drivers to take more notice of the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, and the disabled.
Darlington fourth noisiest place in country
[Darlington] has been given the dubious honour of being named one of the loudest places in the country for traffic. With a reading of 78.3 decibels (DB), it ranks joint fourth with Doncaster in the noise table.
– Northern Echo: Being driven to distraction on the noisiest road in town
The noisiest place in the town is the junction of Alexander Street and Haughton Road. I’ve found that, to have a conversation with someone while walking down Haughton Road, I need to raise my voice. Hearing what my daughter is saying is almost impossible.
Professor Deepak Prasher, of the Ear Institute at the University College London, said: “Noise not only annoys, but also can raise our stress levels and associated hormone levels. It can disturb sleep and increase the risk of heart disease, and if the noise is loud enough, it can lead to permanent hearing impairment and tinnitus.”
More proof that car use ‘taxes’ others.
The right-hand lane for going straight on
This diagram is intended to represent the path a cyclist would need to take when going straight on at a junction where the left-hand lane is designated left-turn only and the right-hand lane is designated straight on.
Examples of these include the North Road-Thompson Street junction and the North Road-John Street junction, when travelling towards the town centre. There are lots of other examples around the town also, plus several roundabout approaches.
In order to go straight ahead at these junctions, a cyclist must cross the left-hand lane and take up position in the right-hand lane. This is scary, even for a confident experienced cyclist, when there are several tonnes of car travelling 15 to 20 mph faster than you are right behind you. In theory, a cyclist could take a central position in the left-hand lane, but in practise cars going left will attempt to overtake and then turn left.
These features seem to be designed with the sole intention of increasing a car’s average speed within the town, with no consideration given to cyclists when designing the junction.
What do readers think of these junctions? What other junctions in the town are arranged like this?