The list below provides access to the most commonly used guidance and standards for the design of routes for people to walk and cycle, starting with those we find most useful. Further, more specialist, references are included on the relevant topic pages.
Our top references:
- Cycling Infrastructure Design, LTN 2/08, DfT 2008 (pdf); the definitive DfT guidance on designing for cyclists.
- Manual for Streets DfT, Communities & Local Government 2007 (pdf); updated guidance on street design in new residential areas. Places the need for movement in the wider context of the need to strengthen communities and create attractive places.
- Manual for Streets 2, CIHT 2010; takes the principles set out in Manual for Streets and demonstrates through guidance and case studies how they can be extended beyond residential streets to encompass both urban and rural situations.
- Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot, CIHT 2000; contains very detailed information on design details that make walking more attractive in urban areas, including advice on path maintenance, planning, and monitoring.
- Shared Use Routes for Pedestrians and Cyclists, LTN 1/12, DfT 2012; this provides current advice from DfT on the development and design of shared use routes. A key change is that segregation should no longer be considered the starting position in the design process, and designers are encouraged to think through their decisions rather than start from a default position of implementing any particular feature.
- Connect 2 and Greenway Design Guide, Sustrans 2009; the distillation of 30 years of Sustrans path building experience - an indispensible tool for anyone involved in the construction, maintenance and promotion of cycling and walking.
- National Cycle Network: Guidelines and Practical Details, Sustrans 1997; sets out the design philosophy and criteria for the National Cycle Network but is equally suitable for cycling infrastructure of all sorts at a regional or a local level.
- Cardiff Cycle Design Guide, Cardiff Council, 2011 (pdf); this guidance supplements that in LTN 2/08 Cycling Infrastructure Design, with some useful detail on a range of issues including legislation and street design.
- Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure, DfT 2002; the standard reference for those designing for mobility impaired, visually impaired and wheelchair users.
- London Cycling Design Standards, TfL 2005; lots of useful solutions for urban areas, and goes into more detail than most other guidance; includes unit costs and many typical detail drawings.
- Cycling England: Design Checklist, 2010 (pdf): simple checklist for use by engineers, with web links to detailed design guidance, now hosted on the CILT(UK) website.
- Infrastructure Toolkit for Cycling Towns, Cycling England, 2009 (pdf): specific guidance for the Cycling City and Towns programme, this includes advice on a range of issues not covered in other guidance.
DfT guidance:
- Traffic Management & Streetscape, LTN 1/08, DfT 2008 (pdf)
- Mixed Priority Routes: Practitioners' Guide, LTN 3/08, DfT 2008 (pdf)
- Guidance on the Use of Tactile Paving Surfaces, DfT 1998
- The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings, LTN 1/95, DfT 1995 (pdf)
- The Design of Pedestrian Crossings, LTN 2/95, DfT 1995 (pdf)
- Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, HMSO 2002 (pdf)
- Traffic Advisory Leaflets
Sustrans:
- The Merits of Segregated and Non-Segregated Traffic-Free Paths, Phil Jones Associates, Sustrans 2011 (pdf)
Sustrans' Technical Information Notes
- TIN05: Cycle Network Signing, 2012
- TIN07: Aggregates for Path Construction, 2011
- TIN08: Cycle Path Surface Options, 2012
- TIN11: Trees, 2012
- TIN12: Side Road Crossings, 2011
- TIN14: Gaining permission for works that might be affected by coastal or river flooding, 2011
- TIN16: Cycle & Pedestrian Routes within Car Parks, 2011
- TIN17: Cyclists' Use of Zebra Crossings, 2011
- TIN18: Toucan Crossings, 2011
- TIN19: Segregation of Shared Use Routes, 2012
- TIN23: Road Safety Audits, 2011
- TIN24: Manual for Streets 2: Digested Read, 2011
- TIN27: National Cycle Network Signing and Route Branding, 2012
- TIN28: Horses on the National Cycle Network, 2011
- TIN29: Lighting of Cycle Paths, 2012
- TIN30: Parapet Heights on Cycle Routes, 2012
- TIN31: Obstacles in the Carriageway, 2012
Sustrans' Ecology Notes
- Ecology Note 01: Hedge Management
- Ecology Note 02: Grass Verge Management
- Ecology Note 03: Himalayan Balsam
- Ecology Note 04: Japanese Knotweed
- Ecology Note 05: Ragwort
- Ecology Note 06: Ecology in the Planning System
Trunk Roads: Design Manual for Roads and Bridges:
- Provision for Non-Motorised Users, TA91/05, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Geometric Design of Pedestrian, Cycle and Equestrian Routes, TA90/05, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Non-Motorised User Audits, HD42/05, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Subways for Pedestrians and Cyclists Layout and Dimensions, TD36/93, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Footway Design, HD39/01, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Design Criteria for Footbridges, BD 29/04, Highways Agency (pdf)
- Coloured Surfacing In Road Layout (Excluding Traffic Calming), TA 81/99, Highways Agency (pdf)
Other UK:
- Cycling by Design, Transport Scotland, 2010
- Designing Streets, The Scottish Government, 2010
- Guidance for Towpath Design, Canal and River Trust 2012 (pdf)
- Notes on Good Practice Common in Europe, Cycling England, 2005 (pdf)
- Transport in the Urban Environment, CIHT 1997
- Guidelines for Cycle Audit and Cycle Review, CIHT 1998
- TRL Reports
- The State of our Streets, Living Streets 2012 (pdf)
International:
Historic documents:
Making Ways for the Bicycle, Sustrans 1994
Transport Research Laboratory:
TRL REPORTS relating to cycling
PPR580, Infrastructure and Cyclist Safety, 2011
PPR446, The potential for cycle helmets to prevent injury – a review of the evidence, 2009
PPR445, Collisions involving cyclists on Britain's roads: establishing the causes, 2009
PPR438, Analysis of police collision files for pedal cyclists in London: 2001-2006, 2009
PPR240, Behaviour at cycle advance stop lines, 2007
661, The Manual for Streets: evidence and research, 2007
641, "Psychological" traffic calming, 2005
623, Cycle facilities and engineering: summary of TRL research, 2004
621, The effect of road narrowings on cyclists, 2004
610, Cycling in bus lanes, 2004
617, An assessment of the cycle track in Royal College St, Camden, 2004
592, A study of front-mounted bicycle racks on buses, 2004
AG 26, Footway and cycle route design, construction and maintenance guide, 2003
585, Capacity implications of advanced stop lines for cyclists, 2003
584, Cyclists at "continental" style roundabouts: report on 4 trial sites, 2003
583, Cycling in vehicle restricted areas, 2003
549, Drivers' perceptions of cyclists, 2002
490, Cyclists assessment of road conditions: the development of a cyclability index 2001
481, A quantitative study of the attitudes of individuals to cycling, 2001
462, Cycle track crossings of minor roads, 2000
412, Monitoring and evaluation of the Bikeabout scheme in Portsmouth, 1999
402, Bikes on trains – a study of potential users, 1999
396, Research on monitoring local cycle use, 1999
395, Guidance on monitoring local cycle use, 1999
377, Traffic calming: sinusoidal, H & S humps, 1998
371, Alternative routes for cyclists around pedestrian areas, 1998
370, Cyclist safety at roadworks, 1998
369, New cycle owners: expectations and experience, 1998
365, Achieving the aims of the National Cycling Strategy, 1998
363, Urban speed management methods, 1998
358, Further developments in the design of contra-flow cycling schemes, 1998
347, Transport implications of leisure cycling, 1998
346, Cycling for a healthier nation, 1998
331, Toucan crossings: trials of nearside equipment, 1998
310, Preliminary review of rural cycling, 1998
309, Trip end facilities for cyclists, 1997
285, Cyclists at roundabouts, 1997
276, Cycle parking supply and demand, 1997
272, National hospital study of road accident casualties, 1997
266, Attitudes to cycling, 1997
241, Cyclists at road narrowings, 1997
202, Trials of rural road safety engineering measures, 1997
199, Making railway stations accessible, 1996
189, Bike and ride: its value and potential, 1996
181, Advanced stop lines for cyclists, 1996
PR 15, Cycling in pedestrian areas, 1993