Mixing with traffic
This section covers streets where motor traffic volumes and speeds are sufficiently low to enable cyclists to share the road space with other traffic without the need for cycle-specific infrastructure.
The Cycling England Design Guidance provides advice on a number of aspects of shared streets:
Design techniques are available that enable pedestrians to move more freely by reducing traffic management features that tend to encourage vehicles to assume priority, with space being shared between the different road users; vehicle restricted areas and home zones / DIY streets are particular examples of these.
Shared Space: A Local Transport Note is available, and other key references include:
- Shared Space: DfT Shared Space Project: Stage 1 Appraisal of Shared Space, 2009 (pdf)
- Kerb Your Enthusiasm, PACTS, 2010
Vehicle Restricted Areas: Cycling England has compiled Cycling in Pedestrian Areas, comprising a list of locations where cycling is permitted in otherwise pedestrian areas at any time, and at peak times. Key references include:
- Cycling England Design Guidance: A.07 Vehicle Restricted Areas
- Cycling in Pedestrian Areas, TAL 09/93, DfT 1993 (pdf)
Sustrans DIY Streets project has published a range of useful resources on the development and design of simple, affordable measures to change a street into a place where people are the focus, rather than cars.
Other Shared Areas: Cycle routes sometimes pass through areas shared with cars away from the street, for example car parks:
Cycling England has compiled a list of locations where Cycling on Sea Front Promenades is permitted.
Other Key references:
- Manual for Streets 2: Digested Read, Technical Information Note 24, Sustrans 2011 (pdf)
- Manual for Streets 2, CIHT 2010
- Cardiff Cycle Design Guide, Cardiff Council, 2011 (pdf)
- Designing Streets, The Scottish Government, 2010 (pdf)
- Cycling Infrastructure Design, LTN 2/08, DfT 2008 (pdf) (Ch 5)
- Connect 2 and Greenway Design Guide, Sustrans 2009 (Ch 9, 11)
- National Cycle Network: Guidelines and Practical Details, Sustrans 1997 (Ch 4, 6, 7)
- London Cycling Design Standards, TfL 2005 (Ch 3)
- Manual for Streets DfT, Communities & Local Government 2007
- Mixed Priority Routes, LTN 3/08, DfT 2008 (pdf)
- Traffic Management and Streetscape, LTN 1/08, DfT 2008 (pdf)
- Traffic Calming, LTN 1/07, DfT 2007 (pdf)
- Emergency services and traffic calming, TAL 1/07, DfT 2007 (pdf)
- Home Zones - Planning and Design, TAL 10/01, DfT 2001 (pdf)
- Cyclists at Road Narrowings, TAL 01/97, DfT 1997 (pdf)
- 20mph speed limits and zones, TAL 9/99, DfT 1999 (pdf)
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