Cycle infrastructure should be green - and it should be designed by landscape architects. Transport for London website explains that:
Greenways are largely off-road, traffic-free paths that make it easier to cycle or walk, and connect people to town centres, schools, shops, parks and open spaces.
Further down the webpage you can read about Waterlink Way. Here's what it says:
Following the Pool and Ravensbourne Rivers, this gentle, flat route links a number of parks and green spaces in south east London to the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, where you can enjoy learning about the Capital's maritime history.
I live in Greenwich and decided to cycle the route. This video shows the first section from Greenwich to Lewisham. And as you watch I will read out the Design Principles from Local Transport Note 2/08. This is the UK Department for Transport's Cycle Infrastructure Guide. Please make up your own mind as to whether Transport for London followed its principles. The Guide says:
There are five core principles which summarise the desirable design requirements for pedestrians and cyclists. They are:
Convenience: Networks should serve all the main destinations, and new facilities should offer an advantage in terms of directness and/or reduced delay compared with existing provision. Routes and key destinations should be properly signed, and street names should be clearly visible. Route maps should be made available, and on street maps can be helpful. Routes should be unimpeded by street furniture, pavement parking and other obstructions which can also be hazardous to visually impaired pedestrians.
Accessibility: Cycling networks should link trip origins and key destinations, including public transport access points. The routes should be continuous and coherent (type and colour of surfacing may be used to stress route continuity as appropriate). There should be provision for crossing busy roads and other barriers, and in some areas there should be a positive advantage over private motor traffic. Routes should be provided into and through areas normally inaccessible to motor vehicles, such as parks and vehicle restricted areas.
Safety: Not only must infrastructure be safe, but it should be perceived to be safe. Traffic volumes and speeds should be reduced where possible to create safer conditions for cycling and walking. Opportunities for redistributing space within the highway should be explored, including moving kerb lines and street furniture, providing right turn refuges for cyclists or separating conflicting movements by using traffic signals. Surface defects should not be allowed to develop to the extent that they become a hazard, and vegetation should be regularly cut back to preserve available width and sight lines.
Comfort: Infrastructure should meet design standards for width, gradient and surface quality, and cater for all types of user, including children and disabled people. Pedestrians and cyclists benefit from even, well maintained and regularly swept surfaces with gentle gradients.
Attractiveness: Aesthetics, noise reduction and integration with surrounding areas are important. The environment should be attractive, interesting and free from litter and broken glass. The surfaces, landscaping and street furniture should be well maintained and in keeping with the surrounding area.
The cycle infrastructure design principles - are very good. But have Transport for London followed the principles or ignored them? Please comment. The route shown on the video is likely to change as Deptford Creek is re-developed. This will create an opportunity for a 'landscape architecture grade' cycle path -- which should be as useful, convenient and delightful as Vitruvius would have wished.
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