On every occasion I utter some choice expletive at first, followed by a wave of my hand in the air to try and get their attention (always fails but makes me feel better), but then I end up smiling to myself at how ridiculous the situation is and how easy it is to fix.
I keep on cycling on busy A-roads (when I need to do) because, well, I love to ride my bike on long fast roads for starters, and also because they are (unfortunately) often a means to an end in this country (that being the UK if you're reading this from outside the British Isles). The end in this case is the arrival on one of many tasty B-road's where I can cycle in relative uninterrupted peace, or on a quiet country lane than makes my legs burn as I ride slowly up some 18% gradient (Kearby Cliff, you know who you are and yes, you are still my bitch!!).
The other reason I don't shy away from sharing the road with a constant stream of fast moving immovable metal objects that are considerably larger and heavier than I am, is that I feel I have just as much right to be there as they do. Not just because I am also a car driver and I pay my road tax, but because the road is there, I have a means of propelling myself forward under my own steam and if I want to ride on that road (so long as it is not a motorway) then I am damned well going to do it. And Mr Snobby range rover driver who beeped at me yesterday, or Mr A**ehole lorry driver who bellowed at me the other day on the road from Wetherby to Spofforth, aren't going to intimidate me to feel otherwise.
If there was a way that made it easy and safe for people to cycle along the many A-roads in the UK, then I and lots more people who take their cycling far less serious than I do, would find it easier and less scary to cycle between cities for fun, or for commuting, or for exercise, or simply because they can (sounds like the makings of a cycletopia to me?!). What's more, those same people would be able to do so without having had to first dig out their Ordinance Survey map of the local area to plot a route on the quietest of roads, as per the above example.
Leeds is of course hosting the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France, with Harrogate being the host town at the end of the first stage. Wouldn't it be nice if people could cycle the 15 or so miles (as the crow flies) between Leeds and Harrogate without needing to make it a military exercise, or without resorting to jumping in their car because "the A61 is just too busy and scary to cycle on"?
The answer to this quandary that has baffled the minds of our government for decades, is very straight forward and I offer it to you here in the interests of making Britain the "cycletopia" that countless politicians and PR men have described over recent years.
- Lets assume for starters that cycling on B-Roads, quiet country lanes, or on 20-30 mile per hour inner village, inner town roads is not a problem. There are some that are a problem I accept, but in the main they're far easier to navigate and more people find them a happier place to cycle on that they do the busy A-Roads which connect our towns and cities.
- This leaves us with the busy A-roads to sort out (of which we have thousands I'm sure, see next point).
- In January 2001, Ordnance Survey calculated that the following kilometres (miles) of road existed in Great Britain: motorways - 4 353 km (2 705.41 miles). A Roads - 48 164 km (29 934.12 miles). B Roads - 30 216 km (18 779.37 miles). minor public roads - 314 392 km (195 395.89 miles).
- Lets forget about the Motorways, the B Roads and the Minor public roads as they are either not going to ever have bikes on them (motorways), or already safe to cycle on (b-roads and minor public roads).
- This leaves us with 29,934.12 miles of road along which it is possible to cycle but very few people do as the road is too fast and dangerous/scary to go near on a bike. (mileage today is probably higher than it was in 2001, but you get the general idea I'm sure...it's a lot!)
- Down both sides of a lot of those 29,934.12 miles of A-Road there are some very nicely mown grass verges. This space is completely unused, other than to serve the purpose of making the place look pretty to drive through and separating the cars from the cows! (rightly so).
- My proposal is to use some of that grass verge area alongside both sides of every A-Road that has one (wide grass verge that is), to build a nation of cycle paths on smooth tarmac (so road bikes and thin tyre'd hybrid bikes can use them, not just thick tyre'd mountain bikes) that is alongside but also separate to the A-Road to which it runs parallel.
- Hence, you create a country which has an inter-connected series of safe to cycle on roads which connect not only village to village, but also major town and city with major town and city. Somewhere I would feel safe letting my children ride up and down that sounds awfully like a cycletopia?
- The big question is how to pay for all of this? Easy!
- I do not resent paying a few extra pence on my taxes to fund the building of a nation of smooth tarmac cycle paths alongside every A-road (which if done tastefully wouldn't become an eye sore or impact on any green belt.)
- So, we pay a tiny bit more tax for the roads, and maybe a bit less tax for the banks, and then the government uses that money to open up a public tender to private small to medium sized businesses (not councils as the work would never get done), who can bid for sections of road to lay (according to set standards and specifications which would be monitored and checked by the government).
- This would create a boost to the economy by generating more throughput of business to small and medium sized companies who would then need to employ more people to do the work, hence addressing some of the unemployment.
- When the cycle paths are built, there would be a small brick built building every 5 miles or so along the paths. These would have toilet facilities as well as serving soft drinks, snacks and hot food (for the cyclists to stock up on en route).
- These "cycle-stop cafe's" would also create a boost to the economy by creating more small businesses and generating more cashflow as the use of the cycle paths increases. It would also help address unemployment as people would need to be taken on to run the cafe's, not to mention the cashflow from provision of all the catering equipment, food, drinks, hygiene etc products needed to keep the place looking spick and span!
- Those same small to medium sized companies who laid the tarmac in the first place would, if they were deemed to have done a good job in line with the agreed standards and specifications, be offered a repeat contract to maintain the roads in the future (albeit at working hours that didn't impact on use of the cycle paths, e.g. overnight etc). Yet more employment, yet more boost to the economy, and more importantly, a guarantee that the cycle paths and the cycle-stop cafe's would stay looked after and well maintained for decades to come.
- Thus, Cycletopia is born, UK becomes the envy of the world and eventually starts exporting our skills in building such a major national cycling infrastructure to other nations.
- There would also be the nice knock on affect of indirectly boosting the existing cycling industry, with manufactures of bikes, clothes, energy products etc needing to react to consumer demand as everyone starts riding their bikes instead of their cars.
End result? Well I'm sure you can picture it for yourself.
David Cameron, over to you.......
Oh yes, one final point (!), as I am a Project Manager by trade (albeit an IT one but I can turn my hand to most things), I would like to put myself forward to oversee the project management of this little project, so I can see my vision through to the (hopefully happy and successful) end and ensure it gets delivered as it should be.
Please get in touch David, let's chat?
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