On riding a bike outside the London bubble
Six months ago I moved to live part time in Saltaire, Bradford, near to where I grew up in a desire to reconnect with my roots and find a new context to work in.
I am determined to maintain my London car free lifestyle knowing that for me, being able to ride my bike as a mode of transport is what defines my quality of life. Powering myself on two wheels through life for the past 10 years has felt like a freedom like no other.
So it’s good we’re living in what might be described as Sir Titus Salt’s 7 minute neighbourhood; a stones throw from shops, a railway, a river, a canal, a mill (with a fancy home store), 3 bakeries, restaurants, wine bars, the moor and the glen. Sounds good right?! And it is.
But as a natural explorer, even in lockdown, I’ve craved some more local yet further afield journeys by bike. Here’s some of my observations from being a female on a sit up and beg bike in and around central Bradford.
- drivers around here don’t know what 1.5m passing distance is and therefore every pass is a close pass and it’s horrible
- non lycra clad cyclists are a novelty and people think it’s ok to stare and comment on your appearance and your bike from their car
- highways designers have created some safe cycling infrastructure (thank you!) but the commuter greenway route that connects Shipley with the city centre runs through an industrial estate with a distinct lack of any ‘eyes on the street’..(the sort of environment where no-one would hear you scream) and would sadly feel unusable during the winter months of the year
- there’s no cycle boxes at major junction and generally you’re the only cyclist in-front of often 3 lanes of traffic and treated as if you should definitely not be there — undertaken, revved at, close passed — you name it. Cycling around here sadly does feel like you’re taking your life into your own hands.
- even though many of the residential streets are ‘20mph’ this means nothing to drivers who rarely experience their journey obstructed with congestion or traffic due to wide roads and decisions that have consistently prioritised movement (of vehicles) over everything else for decades
- the limited safe cycling infrastructure there is doesn’t connect to key destinations like town centres or residential hubs any sadly leaves you with hazardous junction crossings in order to get on said route
- idling seems to be completely unchallenged and it’s normal to park up outside a school and leave your exhaust fuming.
- when you feel too afraid to negotiate a massive 10 lane intersection and decide to play it safe using the crossings, they’re set up to make you wait at least 4 minutes at every junction arm. This is not incentivising anyone to get out of their car.
- whilst vehicles and are welcome to pull over in a bike lane or at the side of the road whenever they want, which means as a bike risking yet more close passes as you overtake, there’s hardly any bike parking at any key destinations, anywhere and even in cases where there’s evidence of demand, I’ve also experienced hostility from businesses to provide this!?!
It makes me so sad that I, as a highly confident person on a bike, who’s cycled extensively in the UK and overseas (even negotiating a self guided trip from Dakar to Guinea Bissau) is finding myself increasingly anxious about short local trips around my home. Feeling like such a lone wolf, hyper aware of potential right hooks, being constantly close passed, revved at when starting off at a junction, it’s feels hostile at best. The traffic volumes that the road networks are supporting around here feel completely out of kilter with the number of non local trips needed… the message to people is loud and clear — it’s easier to drive around here. You only have to look at the number of drive through dominated food outlets that are minutes walk from the city centre, it makes my heart sink.
We have a physical inactivity crisis in this city as in many parts of the UK. We know that poor air quality is killing people and disproportionately affecting people living with multiple disadvantages. People say they want to invest in active travel — to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle. It’s in the local plans, the strategies…So why does every decision that Highway authorities (not just in Bradford) seem to be making prioritise driving for short distances and continue to make it more convenient not less?
We need leaders who can see a bigger picture and take a stand to actively put in place robust principles for our street networks, utilise all of the learning that’s available to us and genuinely make the call to prioritise walking and cycling. Future generations and the NHS will thank you, high streets will flourish and communities be strengthened. None of these ideas are new and have all been done. It can be painful but it really does work. Why are we stuck in this habit of refusing to question the car centric way of living that is no longer serving us as people or in the streets, neighbourhoods or cities we live in??
Invest in cycle training in schools and communities, give everyone a bike and somewhere to keep it, make it more difficult to drive and more expensive to park a car, create low traffic neighbourhoods, invest in public transport and build safe cycle routes along main arteries where they are needed (not down the back streets please). It really is that simple, but it does require vision and leadership. I’m begging you Bradford, please take up the challenge and we can all be set free on two wheels.
