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Hi Richard,

In this case then, it is best to do nothing - and accept that the Dutch are the only nation in Europe "foolish" enough to invest their money in rural/intercity cycling infrastructure.

There are a number of villages, with children along the A48 - but we do not see the children as they are safely locked away...  Each day buses move children short distances along the A48 (and other main-roads) to schools, which are just a short cycle ride away.  Not only do segregated rural cycling paths allow daily utility cycling, but also leisure cycling and infrequent travel to visit neighbouring towns.  Yes, very few make these journeys by bicycle today, but no one in the towns and villages along the A48 uses a train to travel from home...  because there are no trains...

If we build the right infrastructure, people will use it, and the larger we build the network, the more often they will use it!

Rural infrastructure is probably as good an investment as urban infrastructure - without it, cycling will remain in a tiny niche.

Ian


On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 11:40 AM, Richard Mann <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 11:06 AM, Ian Perry
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> There are some who would like to see a cycle lane painted in the gutter of
> the A48 (and other main routes).  However, I would not let my child (or want
> to see any child) use them, with vehicles speeding past at 60, 70, 80 mph
> just centimetres away!  Cheap is not good, and often unusable. It is time
> that in the UK we did things well - cheap is often a waste of time and
> money!
> What should happen is that the road is narrowed, and the saved space (on one
> side) used to provide a segregated, two-way cycle path that everyone
> considers safe and attractive to use.  Painted hard-shoulders are not
> acceptable or attractive to most, provide limited safety, and thus the most
> expensive form of cycling infrastructure.

Nobody is going to spend that money if only a handful will use it.
You'd be exceedingly lucky to get a child that far out of Bridgend,
regardless of facility (maybe if you installed a free sweet-dispenser
every hundred yards, but otherwise forget it). It's not pleasant
cycling alongside high-speed traffic, even if you've got a segregated
route.

It's time we did things well = it's time we did things exceedingly
slowly, and probably not even start.

Alternatively, you can copy places in the UK that have been successful
(cue ad for my paper in Glasgow)

Richard