Ask PushBikes
Members can contact PushBikes in a variety of ways. The following queries were emailed recently
Junction of Primrose Hill & Icknield Street
Ged emailed: the area where these two roads meet is often flooded and impossible to pass. Wythall Parish Council/Highways seem to make some effort to alleviate the flooding but the majority of the ditches along Icknield street are silted up.
Also, many of the trees along the route are growing out onto the road.
The continual flooding has left a poor road surface in many places. With the potholes and trees cyclists have to ride more to the centre of a winding country lane often busy with traffic.
All of these circumstances leave a potentially dangerous stretch of road, which is part of Route 55 of the National Cycle Network.
Is it possible for Pushbikes to lobby the Council to sort out the problems here?
PushBikes replied: we will
raise the issue with Sustrans.
It would also help if cylists who use the route could report
potholes and other problems to Worcestershire County Council or the CTC
using the on-line forms.
Making Margaret Grove one-way?
NP emailed to say: there is currently a plan to make Margaret Grove one way but it would mean that a cyclist wanting to go to destinations in Margaret Grove would have to go up Moorpool Avenue, turn right into Ravenhurst Rd, then right again into Margaret Grove.
This is fine in a car, but on a bike is quite dangerous because of the lay of the land and the speed the traffic goes at coming down Ravenhurst Rd - basically you end up turning right on an uphill stretch where you have no momentum, on a blind curve where you can't see cars coming and they can't see you in enough time if they are speeding, which many of them do.
We get a lot of road ragers on Margaret Grove, I've seen cars sitting a few metres from Ravenhurst refusing to reverse back up, expecting the other guy to reverse all the way down the street to Pereira Rd. The grass verges get churned up by drivers edging onto them to let other cars pass. Protecting the verges is important, as Moorpool is a conservation area.
The street really isn't wide enough for a car to overtake a bike alongside a parked car. We can't lose any more parking spaces as the parking situation is ridiculous enough as it is.
PushBikes replied: Would it be feasible to make it into 'no entry' for cars at the Moorpool Ave end and leave it two way?
There is good evidence that one way streets lead to higher speeds which is not a good idea in residential areas with children. A study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health in May-June 2000 demonstrates clearly that one-way streets in Hamilton carry a higher risk of child pedestrian injury than two-way streets.
This study also reported that following converting two-way streets to one-way, traffic increased from 10% to 50% and traffic speed increased significantly, with transit time to a given destination decreasing by 5% to 75%.
The council responded to the speed issue with: "the parked cars change side part way up the street so there is a sort of chicane."
Once drivers realise there won't be any oncoming cars, surely they
will speed up! As the "chicanes" already exist, they can only be
less effective in a one-way street making it even less safe
for the cyclist?
The sanctity of the verges rules out widening the path to allow cyclists to use it without jeopardising pedestrians. It rules out displacing the parked cars to give an extra metre of road width.
The lack of parking rules out creating passing zones.
A minimal solution might be to protect the vulnerable areas of verges? On NCN 5 between Sovereign Heights and Parkdale Way there is a wire mesh embedded in grass for cycles and emergency vehicles which does a fair job of protecting the grass.
The residents and cyclists turning into Periera Rd from Margaret Grove look to have a longer detour.
Finally, the traffic prevented from using Margaret Grove by a one-way system would presumably be displaced onto Moorpool Ave or even worse onto Wentworth Rd past Station Road Junior School.
Is there any plan to deal with the east-west traffic which would be displaced onto Moorpool Ave? Have the Moorpool Ave residents been involved? Perhaps this should be part of a plan for the whole Gillhurst Rd, Lordswood Rd & High St triangle.
So there's no good solution, certainly for cyclists who might end up pushing their bikes along the path.
Cars parked on cycle lane on Chester Road
Alex emailed to ask: is it possible to get something done about the cars parked all over Chester Road's cycle lane .....
Blocking Barford Passage Tunnel
Keith drew our attention to the proposal to block the Barford Tunnel and seriously degrade the Harborne walkway .....
Access to canal towpaths, cycle ramps
Ann-Marie emailed to ask if anything could be done about the difficulty of carrying bikes up or down steep steps onto canal tow paths (e.g. by university station) .....
