How it could be done!

From Tim Alburn, who writes: 013 Netherlands, Amsterdam,
cities don't come much busier. Road has been made one way.
A cycle way, is separated by cast iron bollards to keep vehicles off it.
This proves that with an old town or inherited appalling planning
as is the case in much of the UK, you can still make cycling safer and enjoyable.
The lady on the tricycle has two children in the barrow on the front.

014 This arch in the Rijksmuseum is now cycle and pedestrian only
making a convenient cut through to another part of the city.

Stuart Field writes: Since the picture of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was
taken, there has been a protest against the closure of
that bicycle path under the arches of the museum. The
museum is being restored, so the path is closed for
the time being. After restoration the path will reopen
but will be narrower, with a 'glass corridor' for
cyclists to go through.

015 From right; footpath, segregated cycleway, tramstop, tram line then vehiclular road.
Not such a wide road, still in an old part of Amsterdam
but correctly planned to give everyone the right to use their chosen method of transport,
and to keep safety high for pedestrians and cyclists.

017 Cycle route passing through the centre of a housing estate
in a town about the size of Kidderminster.
Where the cyclepath meets a road, the road is humped,
with stop signage for motor vehicles, who have to wait for cycles to pass.
Note that cycles who are on the road bisecting the cyclepath
have no ramp and are protected by a small island to stop motor vehicles
encroaching on the cycleway, forcing motor vehicles to use the ramp.

Another view

019 Some of you will recognise this school in Tilburg NL.
This is the segregated cycle entrance. There is a separate vehicular entrance,
vehicles have no reason to come near this one.
The cycle paths lead you past this cycle entrance,
which as you can see by the signage is two way for bikes only.
Not surprisingly, the bikes are closest to the school,
the car park you can see on the far right.
Note the amount of bikes there.
Worcs CC I hope you are proud that you have now forced
Comberton Middle and Stone First to have Zero cycling.

021 Tilburg town is not unlike Kidderminster, ex textile town.
Here road converted to one way, two-way cycleway separated by ramp.
There is a series of gentle dips and ramps at both ends of this cycle way
to stop motor vehicles using it.
There is no discomfort riding through this,
but the spacing suits a bike's wheelbase,
whereas it looks like you would ground a car if you tried to drive on the cycleway.

022 From right, path then segregated cycleway,
kerbed separation for bus stops and on road car parking.
I followed these girls from the estate on the periphery of the town,
further out than where I live in Kidderminster, into the town centre.
They talked to each other all of the way on the 25min ride, isn't that civilised?

I live on an estate 15 mins cycle ride to Kiddeminster town centre,
and who apart from me cycles in? No one.
There is even a cycle way on the Worcester road going in,
segregated too, but it doesn't join anything at the other end.
From there I cycle down the pedestrian underpass and the wrong way up
a one way (recently redeveloped) street which is the only but far from ideal way
to get to the part of the town centre to do my business banking.
Most people are too afraid to do that.
Compare that with the pleasant but further ride into Tilburg town centre
where you can cycle two abreast chatting with your friend!

025 Meanwhile back in the UK where we are paying a very similar amount of tax as the NL,
we pay more in council tax though, no infrastructure, and this is the zig zags outside of
Comberton middle, where you allow stupid people to endanger life by parking here or on the path.
You can read the car reg. I would be happy to make a statement
if I actually thought there was any real commitment to the safety of cyclists
and pedestrians from WCC and if the police would actually prosecute dangerous behaviour.

026 And here is another. The Worcs 30mph in villages is a waste of time for 22 hours of the day,
for the other two hours you should be providing proper infrastructure
to prevent this kind of thing and to segregate cyclists and pedestrians from motor traffic.
The only benefit of a low speed limit would be a variable of 20mph
when the school lights are flashing.

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