A Sudbury safe for Cycling

A Sudbury safe for Cycling

For anyone who, like me, regularly cycles in Sudbury and keeps up with the Cycling News they will not have failed to notice that, whilst the Times superb "Cities Safe For Cycling" Campaign is gathering pace and it looks like forcing change, their home town has been entirely left behind.

Sudbury has next to no cycling infrastructure to speak of, two Advanced Stop Lines at the Junction of Ballingdon Street and Ballingdon Hill, Some short stretches (and I mean short) around two roundabouts at the top of Gallows Hill (and even these are not complete) and a Toucan Crossing outside the new Sainsbury's. 

Add in the few Sheffield Stands in Sudbury outside the Library and HSBC and outside the Post Office and that, my friends is it.

So one wonders, why, when every other major town of a similar size as Sudbury in Suffolk has cycle Lanes and even, in Ipswich's case some cycle paths, does Sudbury have no coherent cycling Infrastructure and that which it does have has issues.

I asked two Town Councillors, they both stated that the there are indeed funds available to provide better cycling infrastructure but that they depend upon Suffolk County Council to agree and recommend the improvements and to carry out the work. Their problem is a) That Suffolk County Council will not listen to their recommendations and b) Nothing has happened at all.

The Perils of cycling in Sudbury

It may not have escaped your notice that there are many more cyclists around, partly through the economics of running a car being unviable for many, especially for short runs and partly the so called "Wiggo Effect" The influence the success of Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France has had on people, notably in enticing them to take up this most accessible of sports.

With no infrastructure and more cyclists a KSI (killed or Seriously Injured) collision between cyclist and motor vehicle is becoming more and more inevitable. I hope it never happens but if the Authorities who have the power to act sit on their hands and ignore the issue, I'm afraid it will happen.

Cycling in Sudbury is no fun, the roads are narrow, there are too many lorries making it dangerous and too many car drivers drive like complete idiots, the number of times I have been "cut up" (when a car under or overtakes you then pulls in right in front of you with no consideration that the cyclist has to brake or manoeuvre to avoid a collision) so many times it now seems de rigeour for any sort of urban trip in Sudbury. I am so often forced to "take the lane" as the Department for Transport recommend cyclists do when they feel there is a hazard I cannot help feeling guilty for holding up drivers who might even respect cyclists. This is especially true on East Street, Friars Street and Cross Street where to avoid the "door zone" (riding 1-2m outside of parked cars in case the driver/passenger opens a door) entails riding in the lane for oncoming traffic. This is a recipe for disaster and makes cycling in Sudbury far too dangerous.

Ally this with lights that ignore cyclists entirely (a law abiding cyclist at the junction of East Street and Girling Street at an otherwise empty junction has to wait for the timings rather than triggering the lights to change),  or lights that change far too quickly, the lights on Station Road outside Roys change green to red in some 2-4 seconds, for a cyclist who may just have got up to speed they are forced to either emergency stop or jump the lights, if they are distracted by a life saver look or a bus turning right into their path the latter can happen too easily.

Cyclists behaving badly

Some Sudbury cyclists don't help themselves riding in poor light or darkness with no lights and as I have witnessed once, jumping Traffic Lights with no regard to their safety or anyone elses. But the majority do abide as far as possible by the laws of the road and drives witnessing the errant cyclists may lose some respect for the non-errant ones and therefore offer the latter less room as a result. The answer is obvious, wear hi-vis or reflective clothing (the latter does not have to be uncool) get some lights, (cheaper ones from Roys or occasionally Aldi or better from Torque Bikes, the Internet or Halfords) and try and abide by the law. I am aware that BMX riders don't have road legal bikes (lack of brakes being one issue) but they ride to and from the BMX track so being seen still applies.

Our cycle routes official and otherwise

We have the Railway line which is good for mountain bikes but next to useless for most of the year for any cyclist on a road bike, which makes travelling by bike to Ballingdon, Rodbridge Corner or Long Melford easier but very little else,

An awful lot of cyclists now use the pavements as de facto cycle paths, this is in most cases safer for them as they are separated from the motor traffic, but they run the risk of hitting a pedestrian in doing so, and besides it is illegal for anyone over 12 years old to ride on the pavement. But you cannot blame them for doing so, it avoids tangling with good and bad drivers and it avoids a sometimes lengthy detour round the one way system.

The new development of a Sainsbury's store on Cornard Road was the perfect opportunity to provide some cycling infrastructure on this link between Cornard and Sudbury. In truth some new infrastructure was provided, the Supermarket has lots of under cover Sheffield Stand bike racks and the junction with Cornard Road has a Toucan Crossing.

But, there are no cycle paths or lanes of any description so that a cyclist has to either cycle on the pavement to use the Toucan Crossing or ride with motor traffic. The opportunity was missed or bungled. So I asked Sainsburys

Subject: New Sudbury Store Junction makes cycling more dangerous
User's Comments: Hi, I recall in one of your leaflets or press statements that the new Store in Cornard Road in Sudbury would improve cycling infrastructure. This was to be welcomed and indeed I referenced this in a letter to the Transport portfolio holder for Suffolk County Council.Imagine my horror to find out yesterday that the new store has lots of cycle stands of the Sheffield type but no other infrastructure at all for cyclists. Indeed whereas cyclist could cycle easily past the entrance before now, if they are passing the junction west-east  they have to be in the middle lane with traffic passing on the inside of them and at risk from traffic turning right into the store. I am quite frankly astonished that this junction has a) no cycle paths on either side of Cornard Road to allow cyclists to avoid the junction, b) No advance stop lines at any element and no cycle paths from either direction into the store.
Why were the requirements of cyclists ignored whilst bizarrely providing sufficient cycle parking facilities? Was this a decision by yourselves, Babergh District Council or Suffolk County CouncilI look forward to your response.Regards

And got the following response.....

I’ve called the store and spoken with Mark Manning, the Duty Manager, who asked me to pass on his apologies.  He advised me that the management team within the store placed in the request for the bicycle stands but had no influence over what markings they could have incorporated into this. 

Mark advised me that if you would like to query about the bicycle paths, then please don’t hesitate to contact the Babergh District Council.   You can contact them by emailing them at, customerservice@babergh.gov.uk or you can call them on 01473 826622.  I’m sure they will be moiré than happy to assist you.

All well and good you might think so it was not their responsibility, so before contacting Babergh I thought I should check the relevant planning application and conditions of acceptance. It was illuminating in that at no point in the plans were any cycle paths even considered for the approaches to the site or the Toucan crossing. So it seems that cycling was safely ignored by Babergh District Council. But then if you read their own policy on this they defer to Suffolk County Council, so clearly SCC must have reviewed the plans and recommended what cycling infrastructure would be added. Realising that the traffic study skimmed over cycling activity (and was indeed based on out of date data) I realised the real issue must lie with Suffolk County Council.

Prior to contacting Sainsburys and at the suggestion of a Town Councillor I emailed Guy McGregor to put my own questions to him (and you will note from the following this is prior to Sainsbury's opening) Some are specific to East Street but would equally apply to Cross Street/Friars St/Church St.

Hi
I was given your name by a local Town councillor as you are apparantly portfolio holder for Roads and Transport in Suffolk County Council. There are a number of specific points I would like to raise and then general points about the lack of Cycling safety infrastructure in Sudbury.
Specific points.

    East Street/Waldingfield Road which is where I live is seeing a vast increase in both Heavy Goods Vehicles and cycling. The two are incompatible and causing problems. The Lorries issue is now so bad that there is a real danger of damage to property from the vibrations caused by the HGV's and some of the buses. This has got progressively worse and many residents of both East Street and Sudbury are now deeply concerned by this. Since there is no industrial or Warehouse infrastructure adjacent to either East Street or Waldingfield Road there is no valid reason for any HGV's to use this road except for access (i.e. deliveries to residential properties and the buildings up Acton Lane such as Hazell Court, the Police Station and the Ambulance station. Therefore how do we get this road classified as unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles and how soon can this be done?

    Given the restricted nature of the road, it is narrow with parking on the North side and no lane markings, there is, given what other cyclists and myself reckon is a 100% increase in cycling in Sudbury in the last 12 months (as evidenced by all cycle racks being in constant use and regularly full when a year ago they were usually empty) a real danger of serious injury or death to cyclists due to the increase in HGVs and poor car driving and absolutely no cycling infrastructure (cycle paths or their poor relation cycle lanes) and at the junction with Girling Street no stop ahead provision for cyclists when clearly this would be a simple improvement. Given that a larger and larger number of cyclists are now using the pavement on the North and South Sides of East Street as unnofficial shared use cycle lanes it is imperative that this issue is addressed before someone gets killed or seriously injured.  What can be done immediately or in the next six months or in the future, to alleviate these issues.

    The Stop ahead zone from Brundon Lane into Ballingdon Hill is very poorly designed. It is a strain to see the traffic lights from the stop ahead zone as they will be at least parallel to the rider if not behind them, this is a safety issue since the cyclist can not do a lifesaver then pull off quickly before the light changes from orange to green. The concept is right but the delivery is not. There is also no stop ahead zone from Ballingdon Street heading south at this junction, when clearly there is room for one.

General cycling points on Sudbury Cycling provision.
     There are very few cycle paths or their poor relation cycle lanes on any of the major roads in Sudbury this why are is this so when Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill, Ipswich and other Suffolk towns have good cycling infrastructure. The ideal points where such provision would be an excellent idea would be Melford Road, Cornard Road, (clearly Sainsbury's have added some infrastructure but none exists beyond Ingrams Well Road and on the Bures Road) and Northern Road where cyclists again use the pavement due to the high incidence of Heavy Goods Vehicles. There is room on these roads for a proper cycle path but none has been provided. I would be interested in your thoughts on why Sudbury is the poor relation in Suffolk.

    An adult friend wished to take up cycling for leisure and commuting purposes and asked me to investigate Adult cycling training in the local area. Despite searching the Suffolk County Council website and British Cycling and bikeability all I could find was training for children. Who provides such a service for adults in the Sudbury Area?

    The Suffolk cycle route A uses the disused railway between Sudbury Kingfisher pools and Rodbridge Corner, yet the surface is only suitable for Mountain Bikes, this forces road bike and hybrid bike riders to use the roads to avoid punctures and excessive vibration. Can a section of the path not be paved or tarmaced thus providin a smooth cycling route for all cyclists from Sudbury to Long Melford and separating this traffic from motor vehicles which is the ideal scenario,
As fuel prices rise, more commuters will turn to the bicycle but one spate of serious injuries or deaths and this trend would be reversed, I gather you have £450.000 available for cycling infrastructure  and Norman Baker has today announced a further £600m pot of money available, can some or all of these suggestions be incorporated.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

So I expected an acknowledgement and a "We will look into it" response, neither was forthcoming, I sent that email on 18th October 2012. Two weeks later I followed up with

 Hello
I am deeply dismayed that you have chosen not even to acknowledge my email sent to you on the 18th October 2012 which I know you read on 18/10/12 as witnessed by the following

Your message was read on Thursday, October 18, 2012 2:13:31 PM UTC.

Final-recipient: RFC822; 
Disposition: automatic-action/MDN-sent-automatically; displayed
X-MSExch-Correlation-Key: fJu1Tw3pfkCyFE3BDsekaA==
Original-Message-ID: 
X-Display-Name: Guy McGregor

If you are too busy to answer it in full then an acknowledgement that it was received and will be answered in due course would have sufficed, but you clearly have chosen not to do so.

I also gather that the meeting arranged with Sudbury Town Council to consider cycling among other traffic matters has been delayed until January 2013 which further delays any opportunity to raise these matters in person.

Further to my original email I have just studied the cycling infrastructure provided by Sainsbury's in creating the new junction with Cornard Road in Sudbury. The infrastructure is in fact zero (apart from some sheffield stands) There is clearly enough room for them to have created a cycles-safe cycle path into the car park from the West (Sudbury Town Centre side) and a cycle lane or path past the junction from the East (Cornard side)  but neither has been provided.

There was clearly opportunities at the new traffic lights for Advanced Stop lines for cyclists (a common practice and highly sensible since this is part of Suffolk Cycle Route A) but these are absent. It therefore appears that none of the Section 106 money associated with this development has been used for any cycling infrastructure at all and I am wondering if it is cycling policy to ignore cycling in it's road safety policies when assessing new retail developments (or is this just in Sudbury).

So an opportunity to provide at least some cycling infrastructure and indeed a safe path for cyclists in either direction has been completely missed. I have spoken with a number of cyclists who understood that cycling facilities would be provided, it seems all these facilities consist of are a number of "Sheffield Stands" but zero consideration for how cyclists would reach these stands. It seems that Suffolk County Council and the planning Authority Babergh District Council are not taking cycling seriously in Sudbury and so Sudbury remains the poor partner in Suffolk in terms of Cycling Infrastructure.

Can you explain why Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds, Haverhill and Lowestoft have networks of cycle paths and cycle lanes whilst Sudbury have very very few at all and none of any consequence on major roads and junctions? Can I ask when the last traffic Study was carried out in Sudbury and whether there are plans to update this information (given the massive increase in cycling in the Sudbury area and elsewhere).

I hope you can feel able to at least acknowledge receipt and eventual response to this and my previous email as advised by local councillors I have copied in the Leader of the Council

Regards

This time I got not one but three responses, one from the leader of the council who asked his PA to look into the lack of response to the first email and then one from Guy McGregor himself
and one from his PA both of which state that the matters are being looked into and that a response will be forthcoming.

That was two weeks ago. I am still waiting......

Meanwhile the Town Council requested a meeting on the subject with Guy McGregor, this was pencilled in for 21st December but has now been delayed until the New Year. Not that I have been informed about it of course or even if it is a closed or public meeting.

Meanwhile Sudbury cyclists continue to do what they do and avoid getting killed or Seriously injured by the traffic with home they are forced to share road space.

I was reminded the other week that Cars, Vans and Lorries have only dominated our roads since the 1950's or 60's and that before the dominant forms of transport were horse drawn or bicycle. The argument being that Cyclists "lent" the roads to the cars. vans and lorries, now we would like them back.

Oh and if anyone should care to respond with "Cyclists don't pay Road Tax" they may consider that unless they are 92 years old and still driving they have never paid a penny of Road Tax either, Road Tax was abolished in 1937 and replaced with a tax on ownership of motor vehicles currently called Vehicle Excise Duty which is not only not related in any way to spending on maintenance or upgrade of roads but is based on emissions from the vehicle. Since a cyclist has no emissions (well not ones unrelated to digestion) they would pay zero Vehicle Excise Duty, the argument is therefore fatuous.

I think since doing things officially seems to be a dead end (perhaps Suffolk County Council do not know why we have no infrastructure or perhaps are embarrassed by the fact)  I feel it is about time the cyclists of Sudbury did something to highlight the issue. To this end I am starting Cycle Safe Sudbury. a campaign to raise awareness of the issues and pressure SCC into doing something to alleviate the issue.

I urge all interested cyclists in Sudbury (and surrounding areas of course) to join the campaign and support activities aimed at raising the profile of cycling in Sudbury.

I will be launching a facebook page and website soon.