Member-led Review of Cycling Infrastructure Survey Results: Hills Road, Cambridge June 2017 0 cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Contents 1. Introduction... 3 2. About you... 3 2.1 Age... 3 2.2 What is your gender?... 3 2.3 Do you have a disability that impacts on the way you travel?... 3 3. Your experience of the cycleway... 4 3.1 Do you cycle on the Cycleway?... 4 4. Not choosing to use the cycleway... 4 4.1 Are your reasons for not using the Hills Road Cycleway to do with the facility itself?... 4 4.2 Is there anything that would have to be changed about the cycleway to make it more usable for you?... 4 5. Your journeys... 4 5.1 How frequently do you use the cycleway?... 5 5.2 What is the most frequent journey you make that involves using the cycleway?... 5 5.3 Why do you choose to use the cycleway? Please select all that apply.... 5 5.4 What do you use the Hills Road Cycleway for? Please select all that apply.... 6 5.5 Compared with how much you cycled before the Hills Road Cycleway was available to use, how much do you cycle now?... 6 6. Safety and User-friendliness of the Hills Road Cycleway... 7 6.1 How safe, in general, do you feel using the Hills Road Cycleway?... 7 6.2 What effect do you feel each of these features has on cyclists' safety?... 7 6.3 If you make journeys that use more than one cycle link (i.e. cycle path/cycleway), how well do you feel that Cambridgeshire's cycle links are publicised and signposted?... 8 7. The Hills Road Cycleway and wider public safety... 8 7.1 What impact do you feel that each of these features has on the safety of pedestrians?... 9 7.2 If you feel that any of the features of the cycleway pose a risk to any other user group, please explain how.... 9 8. The Hills Road Cycleway and the local environment... 9 8.1 What impact do you feel that the introduction of the Hills Road Cycleway has had on the aesthetics and feel of the local environment?... 10 9. Implementation of the Hills Road Cycleway... 10 9.1 The quality of public consultation in the planning and design of the Hills Road Cycleway:... 10 9.2 The quality of information provided during implementation of the cycleway:... 11 9.3 The consideration shown for public safety during construction:... 11 9.4 The level of consideration shown for residents' needs during construction:... 11 1
9.5 The efficiency of the construction process on the cycleway:... 12 10. Any other comments... 12 For further information including details of responses, please contact ESBusiness.Support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk 2
Number of respondents Forms started and completed: 595* Forms started but not submitted: 155 Total forms started: 750 * This survey reports on the 595 respondents who completed the survey only. 1. Introduction 2. About you 2.1 Age A high percentage of respondents (63%) were aged 25 to 64. Those under the age of 18 were wellrepresented in the survey (17%), however it should be noted that the area has a relatively large number of people aged under 18 1. In addition, Hills Road sees a large number of students travelling from outside the area to study at the local college. The age of respondents is shown in the chart below: 120 100 80 102 Chart 2.1: Age of Respondents 113 94 87 79 60 40 20 44 41 24 11 0 Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Prefer not to say Age 2.2 What is your gender? 302 respondents (51%) were female and 278 (47%) were male. In addition, one respondent identified as other and 14 respondents answered prefer not to say. 2.3 Do you have a disability that impacts on the way you travel? 13 (2%) have a disability that impacts on the way they travel with nine preferring not to comment on whether or not they have a disability. 1 According to the Office of National Statistics mid-2015 estimates statistics, under 18s make up 18.8% of Queen Edith ward s population and 23.2% of Trumpington ward s population. 3
3. Your experience of the cycleway 3.1 Do you cycle on the Cycleway? 425 respondents indicated they use the Cycleway (approx. 71%), while 170 respondents do not (approx. 29%). Table 3.1: Sections of survey answered Section in survey form Users of the cycleway (425 respondents) Non-users of the cycleway ( 170 respondents) 1. Introduction n/a n/a 2. About you 3. Your experience of the cycleway 4. Not choosing to use the cycleway 5. Your journeys 6. Safety and user-friendliness of the Cycleway 7. The Cycleway and wider public safety 8. The Cycleway and the local environment 9. Implementation of the Cycleway 10. Any other comments 4. Not choosing to use the cycleway This section was answered by the 170 respondents who indicated that they do not use the cycleway. 4.1 Are your reasons for not using the Hills Road Cycleway to do with the facility itself? Most respondents (89% or 152) stated that the cycleway facility was not the reason that they did not use it. Seven of those who do not use the cycleway (4% of that group) said that this was to do with the facility itself and 11 (6%) that it was to an extent to do with the facility itself. 4.2 Is there anything that would have to be changed about the cycleway to make it more usable for you? Most respondents answered no (82%, 139 respondents) while 31 respondents answered yes (18%). When asked what could be changed to make the cycleway more useable, 41 respondents offered suggestions. The key comments were around the design of the cycleway: Design: It doesn t feel safe to have cars crossing the bike paths; the paths should be wider; Stop overtaking vehicles using the cycle way; create a raised cycle path across the Bridge like there is for the rest of Hills Road; Remove the floating bus stops; better control of key intersections is needed e.g. school entrances; stop cyclists using footpaths. 5. Your journeys This section was answered by the 425 respondents who indicated that they use the cycleway. Note, there were also two additional responses received in addition to the 425 cycleway users. This may have been accidentally answered by two non-users of the cycleway. 4
Number of respondents Number of respondents 5.1 How frequently do you use the cycleway? Of the 427 respondents who use the facility, 223 (52%) use it daily or almost daily. 250 200 224 Chart 5.1: Frequency of use 150 114 100 50 58 31 0 Daily or almost daily About once a week About once a month Less than once a month 52% 27% 14% 7% Frequency of use 5.2 What is the most frequent journey you make that involves using the cycleway? There were 427 from journeys provided by respondents and 427 to journeys. 2 5.3 Why do you choose to use the cycleway? Please select all that apply. When asked why they chose to use the cycleway, respondents answered as follows: 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 222 Chart 5.3: Reasons for choosing to use the Cycleway 234 159 Exercise Speed Reducing carbon footprint 246 Avoiding traffic 154 Saving money 131 Reasons for choosing to use the Cycleway 18 91 Enjoyment Traveling No viable with a less alternative confident cyclist 58 Other There were 58 responses given under Other summarised below: Safe: Trumpington Rd alternative is less safe; It now feels safer than using alternative backroads; safer than taking Cherry Hinton Road to get into town; Alternative route: used for a change to the usual route. Affordable: To avoid using extortionate bus prices. 2 This information can be provided by emailing ESBusiness.Support@cambridgeshire.gov.uk. 5
5.4 What do you use the Hills Road Cycleway for? Please select all that apply. Chart 5.4: Types of journeys made on the Cycleway 81 31 188 44% Commuting to work 24% Commuting to school/college/university 236 101 55% Occasional journeys, e.g. to shop in the city centre, to visit friends and family 19% Recreational cycling 7% Other (please specify): 31 respondents provided answers under other. The key responses were: Hospital Railway station Activities in the community In many cases, this other reason could probably also be classed as making an occasional journey but some respondents make a regular weekly journey or bi-weekly journey, e.g. to church or a volunteering commitment, for which they use the cycleway. 5.5 Compared with how much you cycled before the Hills Road Cycleway was available to use, how much do you cycle now? Most respondents (71%) did not cycle more or less after the creation of the cycleway. 6
Number of respondents Chart 5.5: Cycling comparison before/after cycleway 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 42 77 302 Much more A bit more No more or less 2 4 A bit less Much less 10% 18% 71% 0% 1% Cycling after the Cycleway 6. Safety and User-friendliness of the Hills Road Cycleway This section was answered by the 425 respondents who indicated that they use the cycleway. Note, there was also an additional response received in addition to the 425 cycleway users. This may have been accidentally answered by a non-user of the cycleway. 6.1 How safe, in general, do you feel using the Hills Road Cycleway? 87.5% of respondents said that they felt very safe/relatively safe. Chart 6.1: Safety using the cycleway 47 7 127 30% Very safe 57.5% Relatively safe 11% Relatively unsafe 1.5% Very unsafe 245 6.2 What effect do you feel each of these features has on cyclists' safety? 7
Number of respondents Chart 6.2: Cyclists safety 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 30% 29% 12% 38% 44% 42% 42% 18% 12% 16% 6% 3% 5% 3% 1% Greatly improves safety Improves safety No effect on safety Compromises safety Severely compromises safety Floating bus stops Raised cycle lanes Signage, e.g. side by side cycle symbols 6.3 If you make journeys that use more than one cycle link (i.e. cycle path/cycleway), how well do you feel that Cambridgeshire's cycle links are publicised and signposted? Those who used more than one cycle scheme were asked to comment on the quality of the signposting between them and while the majority of respondents felt that signposting was adequate (41%), 28% of those who responded to the question thought it was either inadequate or very poor. Chart 6.3: Publicity of cycle links 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 11 75 174 Very well Well Adequately Inadequately Very poorly I don't often make such journeys: can't say 100 23 43 3% 18% 41% 23% 5% 10% How well cycle links are publicised 7. The Hills Road Cycleway and wider public safety This section was answered by all 595 respondents i.e. users and non-users of the cycleway. 8
7.1 What impact do you feel that each of these features has on the safety of pedestrians? 60% Table 7.1: Impact of cycleway features on pedestrian safety 50% 49% 40% 30% 24% 37% 38% 28% 40% 33% 20% 10% 0% 14% 9% 8% Greatly improves safety Improves safety No effect on safety Compromises safety Severely compromises safety 8% 3% 6% 2% 2% Floating bus stops Raised cycle lanes Signage, e.g. side by side cycle symbols 7.2 If you feel that any of the features of the cycleway pose a risk to any other user group, please explain how. When asked if they felt the features of the cycleway posed a threat to any other user group, respondents often elaborated on their concerns for the safety of cyclists and pedestrians particularly those who were blind or partially sighted although some did note that the cycleway posed a threat to motorists. There were 199 respondents who provided an explanation. The key points included: Buses: Collisions at bus stops are a risk. This is particularly acute for people with disabilities Emergency vehicles: Cutting the number of lanes for road users down to one has had a negative impact on emergency vehicles Drivers in general: As a motorist, it is hard to see the cyclist coming up on the cycle path unless you have full vision; There is an increased risk of dangerous; The placement of the cycle lane over Hills Road bridge is dangerous as cars turning left have to cross the cycle lane; overtaking manoeuvre by frustrated drivers wanting to get past a bus Pedestrians: pedestrians have to cross 4 lanes, 2 motor vehicles and 2 cycle lanes, to cross the road. Push-chairs: Massive inconvenience for prams Cyclists: The side by side cycle symbols imply it s a two way cycle lane especially for tourists and foreigners who may not understand this; The start of the cycle-way on the Addenbrookes pose a risk, because it starts abruptly while cars are already overtaking and cyclists trying to get on it. 8. The Hills Road Cycleway and the local environment This section was answered by all 595 respondents i.e. users and non-users of the cycleway. 9
8.1 What impact do you feel that the introduction of the Hills Road Cycleway has had on the aesthetics and feel of the local environment? Respondents were asked what impact they felt that the introduction of the Hills Road Cycleway has had on the aesthetics and feel of the local environment. Some respondents gave more than one answer. They responded as follows: Chart 8.1: Impact of the cycleway on the local environment 141 84 46 181 30% Positive 26% More positive than negative 24% Neither positive nor negative 14% More negative than positive 8% Negative 153 9. Implementation of the Hills Road Cycleway This section was answered by all 595 respondents i.e. users and non-users of the cycleway. Some respondents selected more than one answer. 9.1 The quality of public consultation in the planning and design of the Hills Road Cycleway: 46 24 131 166 4% Very good 28% Good 38% Adequate 22% Inadequate/poor 8% Very poor 228 10
9.2 The quality of information provided during implementation of the cycleway: 53 15 151 141 3% Very good 24% Good 40% Adequate 25% Inadequate/poor 9% Very poor 235 9.3 The consideration shown for public safety during construction: 45 29 93 174 5% Very good 29% Good 43% Adequate 16% Inadequate/poor 8% Very poor 254 9.4 The level of consideration shown for residents' needs during construction: 47 15 83 131 3% Very good 22% Good 54% Adequate 14% Inadequate/poor 8% Very poor 319 11
9.5 The efficiency of the construction process on the cycleway: 16 133 112 139 195 3% Very good 19% Good 33% Adequate 23% Inadequate/poor 22% Very poor 10. Any other comments At the end of the survey, respondents were invited to add any other comments. Some responded with praise for the scheme, but the space for comments was largely used by respondents to raise concerns that had not been addressed elsewhere in the survey. The key points made from 315 respondents included the following: Construction took too long to complete Information provided to residents during the consultation phase was not suitable for its audience too technical What is needed is monitoring of cyclists behaviour along Hills Road and enforcement of the rules of the road The build quality of the cycleway is very poor Contractors were inconsiderate during construction It is not clear why the scheme was necessary 12