P. S. note the single woman amongst all the shots of cyclists.
Friday 19 November 2010
We weren't joking when we said Birmingham is a crap place to cycle!
Some of you may have seen this Midlands Today report on Birmingham Cycling already, but if you haven't it's worth taking a look...
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They missed a number of significant issues:
ReplyDelete-Traffic Light Timing modifications at cycle crossings are now making cyclist wait two minutes when they used to be immediate (cannon hill park exit by the nature center - when the light even works).
-Damaged Drainage Grills on the River Rea trail are being repaired by placing paving stones on them!
-There is a noticeable absence of any kind of proactive traffic enforcement - red light running is rampant just a few hundred yards from the Kings Heath police station. Speeding goes unchecked and I would be completely surprised if there has ever been a citation for dangerous passing of a cyclist.
-the U of B to Moseley cycle route has a stretch where cars park on both sides of the oakfield road and there are speed bumps that funnel speeding drivers to the middle of the narrow space left making the designated cycle routes one of the worst places to cycle in the entire city.
Birmingham is fourth major city I have lived in and the seventh I have cycled in. I'd rate it the worst even though most of the other cities were under snow for half the year.
It also recently came in 17th out 20 in a ranking of UK cities. I can only assume there was a tabulation error because I can't see how a city can do a worse job with the cycling than Birmingham.