Last year, the otherwise excellent cycle path along McMullen Road was cruelly interrupted by the installation of the above barrier. Just when the Campaign thought that such needless interruptions had become a thing of the past, this appeared. The logic is sadly obvious.
Category Archives: infrastructure
Whinfield Road – A Step Forward?
Darlington Cycling Campaign was recently consulted on proposals to develop new cycling infrastructure in the north of the town. Such consultations occur on a regular basis. but what makes this particular proposal exceptional is that it is the first that is being made on a busy arterial road, Whinfield Road, and will involve the reduction of space for motorised traffic in favour of cyclists. The map here shows the proposed stretch in red, connecting existing routes marked in yellow (advisory) and green (actual cycling infrastructure).
For some time now, we’ve been arguing that more visible, and more direct cycle routes are needed if more people are to get on their bikes. The core of the local authority’s strategy had been to try to avoid busy roads altogether by developing signed “alternative routes” on quiet side roads. Thus, rather than cycling down North Road, we are encouraged to use the signed route down Pendelton Road, running parallel. The advantage is that a series of signs are relatively cheap to install, legally simple, and of course they do not incur the wrath of the motorist by threatening their road space. The disadvantage is that they can be, as is the case with the West Park route, somewhat roundabout, and still requiring the use of relatively busy roads.
Darlo Pedal Picnic This Sunday
Come along to Darlington Cycling Campaign’s Pedal Picnic this Sunday! The pedal picnic is an alternative to a “critical mass“. The aim is to stimulate discussion on cycling around Darlington using the infrastructure that we have. It is designed for everyday cyclists, and is more a social, rather than a sports, event.
Meet at the Arts Centre, Vane Terrace at 1pm(1300hrs) this Sunday (22nd August).
Bring a bike, some food or food to share and some waterproofs,just in case of inclement weather. The route I have in mind and have already “test” ridden, is to leave the Arts Centre and head to Cockerbeck Park/LNR, using the advisory route(yellow) on the Tees Valley Cycling map, Darlington. On leaving Cockerbeck, we shall cycle around the edge of Branksome until the off-road cycle path is reached. This path is then followed to Westpark where we shall stop and picnic. After the picnic the route follows West Auckland road, on the roadside cyclepath, until the junction of Brinkburn Road. We’ll then follow the advisory route back to The Arts Centre via Willow Road, Pierremont Road, Pierremont Crescent, Millbank Road, Cleveland Avenue, Trinity Road and ending back at the Arts Centre.
For those who would like to join a critical mass ride, the nearest event is organised by the soon-to-be-born Newcastle Cycling Campaign on the last Friday of every month.
Edit: A low turnout, but a lovely day. Darlington will always be in the forefront of the “slow town” movement, so these things will take time to develop. Unperturbed, the organisers are meeting on 31 August to plan the next ride. Watch this space!
Bringing the Arms race to Darlington
As one local cyclist yesterday commented on Twitter, apparently it is OK to incite violence towards cyclists. From the letters page of the Northern Echo:
READERS afflicted by pavement cyclists may be interested in a device my brothers and I made a few years ago for a TV programme. It consisted of a steel plate studded with spikes and hinged at one end which could be attached to a walking stick and folded up. On the approach of an errant cyclist on the footpath, a flick of a finger could deploy this mini stinger into the cyclist’s path. The resultant punctures to a bike tyre immediately transformed the rider to a pedestrian.
P W Anderson, Consett , County Durham
This declaration of cold war by the Echo has just been warmed up somewhat by a snappy response by blogger Karl McCracken:
The thing is, I’ve been thinking for some time that I need a sting in my own tail . Just as PW Anderson feels the need for a first-strike weapon against bicycles, I feel I need one against certain drivers. In this crazy arms race, I’ve realised that I need something to really discourage those drivers who think they can pass as close as they like – so long as they don’t actually hit you , there’s no harm done. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Could this be what is termed the “Green Economy” in action, the “jobs answer” to the proposed slashing of North East jobs by our new government? Whatever, we look forward to the Northern Echo’s next joyful celebration of cyclist bashing.
PS Memo to Peter Barron : Many new cyclists use pavements, particularly alongside busy roads, when there is no cycle path. Discuss.
Cycling in the rain of the Netherlands
This last week, cycling to work has been an absolute pleasure. The weather has been perfect for cycling on a morning (cool but dry and sunny); in fact, since the snow cleared, we’ve had pretty much perfect cycling weather in Darlington for the last three or four months.
But I still see the same few cyclists on the roads and bike paths. maybe three or four other riders on a good day, on my 2.5 mile to work that goes through the town centre.
Meanwhile, on a rainy day in Utrecht in the Netherlands…
(Mark Wagenbuur’s excellent video found via David Hembrow’s excellent blog: A view from the cycle path – Utrecht in the rain