Comments Omega Development

23 Cross Lane
Stockton Heath
Warrington
Cheshire
WA4 2LR

Rob Peters
GVA Grimley
81 Fountain Street
Manchester M2 2EE

25 June 2003

Omega Opportunity - Consultation Draft

Warrington Cycle Campaign welcomes the opportunity to comment on the consultation draft for the Omega development.

We are pleased to see that walking then cycling come top of the mode hierarchy in the movement strategy, but can see little detail in the documents to show how it will be achieved. The overriding principle should be that these modes should have a time advantage over car usage.

Provision for cyclists.

Throughout design guidance can be obtained from Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure [1]. The entire layout should be subject to a Cycle Audit [2] at an early stage.

On carriageway provision

The primary aim should be to make all of the road infrastructure as safe as possible for cycling. While we welcome

"The internal layouts will be designed to achieve 20 mph zones and the public realm will incorporate home zone principles for pedestrian and cycle priority." (p38)

there is a danger that the site will become a series of isolated islands with race track roads in between. We would make the following recommendations for the road network.

(i). Along links (between junctions) no special cycle provision is needed provided the lane widths are adequate. The local authority standard for lane width may need to be exceeded. We would recommend a lane width of 4.25 metres, and nearside lane width of 4.25 metres on dual carriageway sections.

(ii). Cycle lanes may not be necessary, however if provided the required width is 2 metres and this should be adopted. Cycle lanes are beneficial at locations where congestion might be expected at peak times as they would give cyclists priority over motor vehicles.

(iii). We were disappointed to see a plan which claimed to give high priority to pedestrians and cyclists but in which all junctions within the site were roundabouts. The only reason for having a roundabout junction is to speed traffic movement.

We would therefore recommend that all large junctions within the site are signal controlled cross-roads instead. Advance stop lines for cyclists would be needed and at least one cycle lane leading to the cyclist reservoir is required. There is also a danger that the crescent will become a through route from West Warrington to the M62 junction 8. Signal controlled junctions will help to prevent this from happening.

The plans are vague as to precisely how traffic will be deterred from using Omega Central as a through route, and a definite strategy needs to be in place.

Smaller junctions could remain as roundabouts but be constructed using the "Continental Design" [3]. The maximum capacity for this design is 2500 vph.

(iv). Traffic calming should be cycle-friendly. Road humps should have either a sinusoidal shape or a cycle by-pass. Central refuges and other road narrowings should leave sufficient carriageway space for cyclists.

Off carriageway provision - away from the highway.

Some off carriageway provision could be provided to supplement the on carriageway routes. This will be most useful where it allows cyclists to use a route which is prohibited to motor vehicles and which provides a short cut. Off carriageway provision should as far as is possible be away from the highway. Otherwise intersections are created with the roads which are not easy to read and are hazardous. The consultation document appears to give designs for cycletracks more appropriate for recreational use, for example

"Where possible the footpath and cycleways will be combined using the same surfacing materials." (P37)

We would recommend that it would be inappropriate for any unsegregated shared use to be constructed within the Omega site, as the primary purpose of the cycle tracks is transportation, not recreation. Segregated shared use should be separated by a kerb, not by a raised white line. This makes the route appear far more like a normal road and leads to fewer conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists. Kerbs are also far more easily interpreted by a blind person's guide dog.

While unsegregated shared use within the home zones would be acceptable, segregation should still be put in place where the cycle track is a through route from one campus to the next.

Widths of the cycle track should be adequate. We note that

"The width of both the paths and cycleways will comply with Local Authority standards." (P37)

However, the Local Authority has adopted as its normal standard what is given in national guidance as the minimum standard. Cycle track widths therefore need to exceed the Local Authority guidance. The width of a two way track should be 3.5 m if bounded by a kerb on one side, 4 m if bounded by two kerbs. Even these widths are inadequate for high capacity where overtaking is frequent.[4]

Consideration needs to be given for giving priority to cyclists at major road crossings. Inductive loop or motion sensor control of traffic signals should be used to change the signals in favour of the cyclist without the cyclist needing to stop. (Subject to there having been a sufficiently long motor vehicle green phase). We would not recommend this at cycle tracks running immediately beside roads.Where cycle tracks cross major roads, single phase crossing should be used without central refuges.

A policy for maintenance needs to be put in place. Sweeping needs to be more frequent on cycleways than on roads (every 6 weeks is recommended).The policy should including removing vegetation. We would suggest that a planting strategy be adopted which avoids fast growing shrubs close to cycleways or footways. Ideally one or two metres of grass should form the border.

A policy for de-icing in winter needs to be put in place, with priority for key cycleways and footways

All the cycleways away from the highway will need to be adequately lit to be useable in darkness in winter. Even then personal security issues may deter cyclists from using cycleways in the dark, particularly where these pass through the woodland areas.

The developers need to be aware that the Department for Transport are currently preparing a series of Local Transport Notes on shared use, expected to be published this year, and they will need to take these into account.

Off carriageway provision - within the highway.

This is the least appropriate form of provision and should be avoided. It is impossible to give cyclists priority safely at side junctions. This problem becomes particularly severe if the off carriageway track is two way, and we were somewhat surprised to see that this was proposed for the link road in Omega North

"A pedestrian cycle route will be provided to the North side of the link road" (Movement strategy page 9)

As this route will cross a large number of side junctions, it can hardly be called "seamless" (P38)

The same considerations for adequate width apply as for routes away from the carriageway. When a cycleway beside a road meets a side junction you can either

(i). Give the vehicle traffic priority, in which case the cycle route no longer has a time advantage and ceases to be higher in the mode hierarchy. The cyclist in this situation is faced with needing to have an arc of vigilance greater than 90 degrees.

(ii). Give the cycle route priority, however this makes the junction complex and requires the motorists to have a large arc of vigilance. Also if the cycle track is two way cycles will come in unexpected directions and will not be seen by the motorist.

(iii). If the cycle track is one way, it is possible to merge the track with the highway across the junction.

None of these three solutions is satisfactory from a cyclist's point of view.

North South bridge link

A direct through route to Burtonwood should be identified and signed through the entire Omega site using this bridge, as junction 8 of the M62 is now extremely cycle hostile.

Pedestrian areas

Cycling should be permitted in all pedestrian areas. Where there is potential for a direct through cycle route, cyclists should be segregated from pedestrians.

Cycle parking

The documents say little about cycle parking other than that covered cycle racks will be provided.

(i). Long stay cycle parking for employees should be provided by covered sheffield type stands within a secure, key-accessed area. The level of security for cycles which are going to be left all day needs to be higher than for short term parking. The cycle parking should be located close to the final destination (workplace). Ideally it should be overlooked.

(ii). Short stay parking should be provided by sheffield type stands, preferably covered. It should be located close to the destination (shop or other site facility). Security can best be achieved by ensuring that the location is where many people will be passing.

(iii). The level of cycle parking should be 10 % of the amount of car parking.

Bus only routes

Cyclists should be permitted to use the bus routes within the site.

Links to the site

The surrounding area has poor urban design, consisting of "pods" which are difficult to move between without a car. This makes linking to the site problematic.

A link to the site to Chapleford Urban village will be useful. However this will need to use the south part of Burtonwood Road. Unfortunately this leads to the large Whittle Avenue / Westbrook Way roundabout which is cycle hostile at present. The movement strategy fails completely to address how this road is to be crossed in a manner which gives priority to cyclists. There is a danger that the vehicle link to and from the site from this roundabout will be used by vehicles attempting to avoid congestion at either end of the crescent. Measures should be taken to make this route unattractive to motor vehicles, as it will be a primary cyclist and route into the site. Signal control could be used to give cyclists priority access to Omega from Burtonwood Road.

There appears to be no scope for links to the site away from the roundabout junctions along Whittle Avenue and Lingley Green Avenue.

Prior to the construction of the new train station, measures should be taken to promote cycle routes to the town centre. These routes are likely to be important even after the new train station is constructed. Two routes are possible.

(i). Burtonwood Road, Twenty Acre Road, Old Hall Road, Bewsey Old Hall, Lodge Lane, Bewsey Road, Bewsey Street.

(ii). Kingswood Road, Westbrook Crescent, Callands Road, North Park Brook Road, Gale Avenue, Hawleys Lane ( -> East Warrington) Longshaw Street, Folly Lane, Bewsey Road, Bewsey Street.

Green Transport Plans and promotion of non-car modes

The document says nothing about Green transport plans other than saying that targets will be set to measure performance; a strategy needs to be put in place for action if these targets are missed. In these circumstances, will workplace parking charges be introduced? If not, what other measures will be taken to get the plan back on track.

Active promotion of cycling as a mode needs to be considered. The consultation document only considers infrastructural measures. The transport co-ordinator could consider arranging accompanied journeys for new starters to cycling.

References

[1] Cycle Friendly Infrastructure. Guidelines for Planning and Design IHT (1996)

[2] Guidelines for Cycle Audit and Cycle Review IHT (1998)

[3] Cyclists at Roundabouts, Continental Design Geometry, Traffic Advisory Leaflet 09/97, Department for Transport.

[4] Forester J.Bicycle Transportation - A handbook for cycling transportation Engineers 2nd. Edition MIT Press USA

Yours Sincerely

M Leslie (Warrington Cycle Campaign, CTC Right to Ride representative)

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