ARTICLE FROM THE BOOK:
Cyclists & Cycling Around the World – Creating Liveable
andBikeable
CitiesCyclists& Cycling
Aroundthe World
Edited by Juan Carlos Dextre, Mike Hughes & Lotte Bech
Published by Fondo Editorial, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2013
ISBN: 978-612-4146-55-8

Cycle Route Networks – Sustrans creates
popular cycle routes through public
involvement
By Tony Russell, Sustrans, England

Introduction
For many years, cycling in the UK declined as car traffic increased and the government
saw no reason to attempt to reverse this trend. It was only in the mid-1990s that the many
benefits of cycling were recognised by the government and steps taken to encourage it.
Even so, since then provision for cyclists in most of the UK has been largely piecemeal andopportunistic and, with some notable exceptions, has attracted low levels of investment.
This has resulted in routes being discontinuous with gaps where satisfactory provision
could not be easily achieved, and levels of cycling remaining low – at around 2% of journeys.
In this context, the development of a National Cycle Network (NCN), coordinated by
Sustrans (a sustainable transport non-governmental organisation), was seen as a catalyst
to promote more cycling – as a strategic initiative to raise the profile of cycling at thenational level and to demonstrate the quality of provision required at the local level.
For experienced cyclists, almost all the highway network is available for use. However,many roads are not suitable for the less confident cyclist due to the speed or volume of
motor traffic unless a degree of segregation is provided. Thus, whilst many quieter roads aresuitable for cycling, considerable investment and political will is required to link these into
a coherent network of routes that are safe, convenient, direct, continuous and attractive.
In discussing cycle route networks, this chapter briefly outlines the development of theNCN and its importance for route development at the local level. It then focuses on someparticular features of the NCN that are seen to have contributed to its success.

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A strategic intervention:
National Cycle Network map of UK
Grafic: Sustrans

The national network as an exemplar projectIn 1995, the National Cycle Network was launched in the UK and is now over 21,000 kmin length; about 30% of it is along routes free from motor traffic, with the remainder
being on public highways. Its heaviest use is within urban areas, where it is generally
signed through the town / city centre - passing within 1.6km of 55% of the population.
Several of the NCN routes are also designated as EuroVelo routes, part of a network oflong distance cycle routes across Europe.
From its earliest days, the NCN was always conceived as a strategic initiative to raise theprofile of cycling at the national and local level, as well as providing a place where bothadults and children could learn to cycle. As such it has provided an important mechanism
to engage with government more widely than just transport departments, in particularwith health and education.
The NCN has been developed through several hundred separate projects under thecoordination of Sustrans. Partnership working has been fundamental to this, embracing
local and central government along with a wide range of other public sector, private
sector and non-governmental bodies.
Within built up areas, national routes provide direct access to residential, commercial,retail, education and employment areas forming part of the local cycle network.

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Outside these areas routes are aimed mainly at touring cyclists with others linking
small rural settlements to each other. Some of the recreational routes bring substantial
economic benefits to the areas they pass through.
In order to provide the appropriate physical environment to achieve the goal ofencouraging more cycling, Sustrans published design guidelines (Sustrans 1997). These
call for NCN routes to be suitable for use by a less confident adult cyclist, a family withyoung children or a sensible, unaccompanied twelve-year-old. Routes should be of aparticularly high quality and be:- safe, continuous and attractive to encourage new cyclists- useful for all manner of routine journeys for local people and existing cyclists- so memorable for visitors and tourists that people starting with a recreational trip arepersuaded to cycle more
Longer sections of traffic free route can serve as an attraction in their own right, providing
a safe environment where novices can develop confidence before cycling in a highway
environment.
Developing links onto an NCN route is seen as critical for increasing its level of use. The
graphic below illustrates how, in the city of Belfast, usage of the NCN has increased as
more connections have been provided into the surrounding areas.

Added value of local networks: use of theNCN in Belfast has increased as a local cycle
network has been developed around it
Grafic: Sustrans151

Total usage of the NCN has increased year on year, and in 2011 Sustrans recorded its
biggest ever growth in the number of people cycling on the NCN – an 18% increase.

Art and the travelling landscapeA key aim of the NCN is to popularise cycling in the UK, and the Art and the Travelling
Landscape programme enhances the experience of using the route, through artworkand careful design. The programme is based on 20 years of experience in pioneering andcommissioning innovative art in public places across the UK, and reflects the enthusiasm,
interest and commitment to enhance the Network. Sustrans works with local partners
and communities to enrich the walking and cycling travelling experience, making thejourney as memorable as the destination.
Many projects have involved working with local children on a series of practical art
workshops, perhaps taking them to visit the path and the artist’s workshop during thefabrication process. The children may collect information to highlight the significanceof a new feature on an important local walking and cycling route, and also to nurture asense of care and ownership for the surrounding area. They learn to value the experienceof slower travel – “when walking or cycling you get to see more. It all just zooms by when
you’re in a car”.
During one evaluation of artworks along a route by a group of young people, they
were especially attracted to works that were interactive, large scale, and colourful
and also works that had meaning and references:- (I like art you can) “play with and learn stuff”- (it was) “huge, massive, go under it so you’re involved”- (to question about what would attract from a website) “would go and see fish andpencils because they’re big”
- (it) “had deep meaning, gives insight into what it used to be here”
In developing the Network, Sustrans has worked with around 100 artists to create over
90 artworks along 14 unique and memorable outdoor linear art galleries that tell people
something about the areas they are passing through as they travel along the Network.

Local networks as part of an integrated strategy
Sustrans has always intended that the NCN should stimulate local authorities intocreating their own local networks. Indeed, more recent Sustrans programmes focus oncompleting local links of comparable standards (Sustrans 2009).

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Cyclists & Cycling Around the WorldA “travelling landscape”: public art can enhancethe experience of using a route
Photo: Kai / SustransLocal cycle network development took a step forward when, in 2005, the government
established Cycling England, a non-governmental public body set up to support cycling
with the aim of getting more people cycling, more safely, more often. Between 2005
and 2011, Cycling England funded a programme of Cycling Demonstration Towns. The
underlying principle of this programme was to demonstrate that, with funding levelsof between £10 and £20 per head per year – not untypical in countries with high levelsof cycling – substantial sustained year on year growth in levels of cycling could beachieved. Monitoring of the programme has shown encouraging results, with growth
rates comparable to other places that have achieved large increases in cycling.
The bulk of this funding went in to improving and extending the existing cycle networks
in each town, which in many cases had been little more than the NCN routes. From theoutset, Cycling England recognised that this should form part of a much wider strategy
that integrated these infrastructure improvements with a wider range of complementary,or “smarter choices”, interventions backed up by a strong commitment by senior officers
and elected members.

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Improved permeability: contraflow cycling
in a one-way street, Bristol
Photo: J. Bewley / SustransDevelopment of local networks
Both demand (existing and potential cyclists) and supply (the quality of existing routes
and opportunities for improvements) need to be considered in the development of a
local cycle network. Sometimes a useful first stage is to grade the whole of the existingroad network to identify which roads are suitable for the less confident cyclist.
There is no standard methodology on how to develop a local cycle network. In somesituations, particularly in smaller urban areas, it may be satisfactory to draw up a network
plan using local knowledge of the main trip attractors within the area and of the existingand potential routes that could be developed for cyclists. Elsewhere, a more sophisticatedapproach may be appropriate, assembling data, analysing the potential market, engaging
with stakeholders and auditing existing provision, to develop a network development
plan and an associated marketing / public engagement strategy, as is being done in
Cardiff (Cardiff Council 2011).

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Raising the profile: highly visible cycle parking
at key attractors, European Parliament
Photo: P. Insall / SustransEffective publicengagement increases
the sense of community
ownership of a route
Photo: J. Bewley /SustransCentral to the successful development of a cycle network will be an effective programme
for public engagement. Sustrans has developed a range of engagement strategies fordifferent scenarios, the most sophisticated being the DIY Streets project that brings
communities together to help them redesign their streets, putting people at their heartand making them safer and more attractive places to live. It’s an affordable, communityled alternative to the home zones design concept. DIY Streets was successfully piloted
in eleven communities in England and Wales and is now being trialled as a larger
neighbourhood-wide scheme in a London Borough.
“As a residents group, DIY Streets helped us to listen to each other. We researched,discussed, disagreed and proposed all sorts of ideas. We held our first ever street
party when the project was completed and we plan to keep on celebrating ourstreet.” - local resident155Management and maintenance
The traffic free sections of cycle route, and those using former railway routes in particular,
provide valuable space for biodiversity to flourish. Managing these corridors has beenshown to attract greater biodiversity as a result of opening up areas that had become
dark and thickly wooded strips of land especially in previously neglected urban areas.
The NCN passes through some carefully managed land, to which the public now has
access and can enjoy the biodiversity present.
The proper maintenance of cycle routes is essential if they are to be attractive, butposes many challenges. Sustrans set up a volunteer ranger programme as a means ofmaintaining the NCN and liaising with the local community along a route, in particularwhere Sustrans had a management responsibility or local authorities were reluctant tolook after the routes. That programme now has about 3000 rangers.
Rangers are assigned a section of the NCN and undertake practical activities to help tomaintain and increase usage of the Network and to encourage the community to walkand cycle more. These include basic path maintenance such as litter picking, vegetation
cut backs and ensuring signing is clear and well maintained. They report any issues thatthey are unable to deal with so they get sorted quickly. Some Rangers act as signing
champions and have a particular responsibility for ensuring that routes are adequately
signed. Rangers are looked after by a Group Coordinator in each region
As one ranger says “we are especially keen to take the Sustrans message into workplaces
since most work journeys are so short and could easily be made by bike or even on
foot. But I will also be doing my bit to make sure the routes are well signed and looked

Volunteer rangers undertake
minor route maintenancePhoto: Robert Ashby/Sustrans156

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after so more people can use them. I have also been encouraging our friends and family
members to dust off their bikes and rediscover the road. It’s taken time but I think they
are beginning to take me seriously and think about the way they choose to travel in their
daily routines.”
The role offers challenges and rewards, as one group co-ordinator says “it’s marvellous tosee people out on their bikes on routes I’ve helped to create but there’s still plenty to do.
You have to try and think laterally and maybe my career has helped me do that. Whenyou see a problem, you try and solve it.”
Tony russel
tony.russell@sustrans.org.uk

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