Cycling in new developments (draft)

Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 10 Cycling in new developments (draft) April 2015 1 Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 10: Cycling in new development...
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Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 10

Cycling in new developments (draft) April 2015

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 10: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

About Sustrans

Contents

Sustrans makes smarter travel choices possible, desirable and inevitable. We’re a leading UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys we make every day. We work with families, communities, policy-makers and partner organisations so that people are able to choose healthier, cleaner and cheaper journeys, with better places and spaces to move through and live in.

This chapter of the Sustrans Design Manual should be read in conjunction with Chapter 1 “Principles and processes for cycle friendly design.” That chapter includes key guidance on core design principles, whether to integrate with or segregate from motor traffic, the space required by cyclists and other road users as well as geometrical considerations. Readers are also directed towards the “Handbook for cycle-friendly design” which contains a concise illustrated compendium of the technical guidance contained in the Design Manual. This chapter has initially been issued as a draft and it is intended that it be reviewed during 2015; feedback on the content is invited and should be made by 30 June 2015 to [email protected]

It’s time we all began making smarter travel choices. Make your move and support Sustrans today. www.sustrans.org.uk

1. Key principles

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2. Introduction

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Head Office Sustrans 2 Cathedral Square College Green Bristol BS1 5DD

3. General principles and guidance

Accessibility and connectivity

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Network planning and funding

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Design principles

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© Sustrans April 2015



Filtered permeability

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Registered Charity No. 326550 (England and Wales) SC039263 (Scotland)



Cycle parking

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4. Planning requirements and development control Issue level: 01 Owned by: NCN Director Contact:

[email protected]

Photography: Sustrans or CTC Benchmarking unless noted otherwise

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Development planning requirements



Development control checklist

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5. Residential developments

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6. Employment and industrial parks

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7. Retail and leisure developments

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8. Public buildings

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9. Transport improvement schemes

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10. Key references

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

1. Key principles • cycling and walking should be encouraged in all new developments and regeneration schemes, through the design of high quality walking and cycling networks, provision of convenient secure cycle parking, active travel promotion delivered through travel plans, and enforcement of car parking standards • the planning authority, the highway authority, the developer and occupiers all have key roles to ensure these positive conditions are in place and are maintained • new developments offer opportunities for coherent, high quality network enhancements across an area • all new developments should be accessible and permeable by walking and cycling. The spatial planning and route network design within new developments should aim to make cycling and walking more convenient and attractive than using a car, for people of all ages. The resulting network should provide high standards of connectivity between the new land uses within the site and established trip generators and attractors (residential areas, education, employment, healthcare, retail destinations and public transport interchanges) in the surrounding area • development sites can provide new through routes for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport which can complete missing links or increase the density of the existing cycling and walking networks in the vicinity • filtered permeability (the use of traffic free connections, bus gates and exemptions for cycles from one-way orders and turning restrictions) is recommended at access points and at strategic locations within new developments • road design within new developments should deliver low speeds (20mph or less) to enable cycle users to mix with traffic and to facilitate pedestrians to cross roads more freely • secure and conveniently located cycle parking should be provided throughout the development, to accommodate short and longer stay visitor use and regular long stay use by residents and employees • a design brief for cycling and walking infrastructure is important for larger developments and where more than one developer is involved in developing a site • new road schemes and other transport infrastructure projects should include high quality infrastructure to enhance permeability and encourage walking and cycling. A Non Motorised User (NMU) Audit should be undertaken early in the design process • cycle and pedestrian tracks alongside new road schemes should be included as standard practice within 5 miles of an urban area and in other situations where a track would provide a connection between existing or planned cycle routes and footpaths or provide for a clear desire line

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 10: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

2. Introduction 2.1 All new developments, whether residential, business, industrial, health, leisure or education related will generate travel. The location of a development, the scale and mix of land uses, and the types and quality of transport links largely governs the amount and length of trips generated by the development and which travel modes are used. Societal norms and demographics will also have some effect.

Balancing the movement and place functions, Edinburgh

2.2 Multiple national and local policy objectives - including public health priorities (physical activity and air quality), transport efficiency, and climate change commitments - require that the need to travel is reduced and that as many as possible of the remaining trips are made by cycling, walking and public transport, instead of by car. 2.3 For more than 20 years, Planning Policy Guidance (or PPG) has urged developers to move away from the presumption that people will travel to and from developments by car, and to give greater consideration to walking and cycling, with more thought given to creating continuous and coherent routes for non-motorised modes.

Manual for Streets 1, Department for Transport, March 2007

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Manual for Streets 2 - wider application of the principles, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), September 2010

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2.4 Manual for Streets1 has changed the way that developers, designers, and local authorities are expected view the road network created by residential developments. Manual for Streets recognises that the ‘movement’ function of streets and roads needs to be balanced against ‘place’ (social and economic) functions, and other essential requirements such as deliveries and the needs of utility providers. 2.5 Manual for Streets identifies that attractive and well-connected permeable street networks encourage more people to walk and cycle to local destinations, improving their health while reducing motor traffic, energy use and pollution. The follow up document, Manual for Streets 22, expands upon this guidance, and extends the concepts to the wider road network, particularly for more heavily trafficked local authority roads. It challenges the ‘specific roads for specific purposes’ ethos that previously existed and encourages the creation of spaces and places within developments. 2.6 The design of all new developments now needs to make provision for: • more direct access for walking and cycling than for motor vehicles • through routes for walking and cycling but not for motor vehicles • making walking and cycling more attractive within new environments • connections between new developments and existing destinations and transport networks in ways which encourage trips by modes other than the car

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

Development planning

New developments present opportunities to improve the permeability of the development plot and to adjust building lines that previously constrained the cycle network around the pre-existing frontages.

Future mixed use housing and commercial development fronting onto traffic free route

Key: new links provided by development Cycle / pedestrian access New mixed use housing and commercial development

Cycle / pedestrian through routes

Development part-funds hybrid cycle tracks on main road

Car Park Cycle parking Existing traffic-free route

Store Entrance

School

New supermarket with residential development above

Houses fronting onto existing traffic free route to enhance natural surveillance

New Toucan crossing funded by development

New traffic free route funded by development to complete missing link

Park

New residential development

Notes: Street design within developments to follow Manual for Streets/Designing Streets All possible opportunities to be taken to create direct routes for cyclists and pedestrians

Estate road

Not to scale

Adequate public and private cycle parking to be provided commensurate with usage targets and closer to the entrances than car parking

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 10: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

3. General principles and guidance Accessibility and connectivity

Enhanced provision for cyclists as part of highway improvement scheme, Rugby

3.1 All new developments should be accessible and permeable by walking and cycling. The spatial planning and route network design within new developments should aim to make cycling and walking more convenient and attractive than using a car, for people of all ages. New developments should provide direct and convenient connections to the existing cycling and walking provision on roads and traffic free routes. The resulting network should provide high standards of connectivity between the new land uses within the site and established trip generators and attractors (residential areas, education, employment, healthcare, retail destinations, leisure attractions and public transport interchanges) in the surrounding area. 3.2 Improved crossings of roads and other barriers (rivers, canals, railways or differences in level) around the margins of a development site is often key to providing effective connectivity into the wider network. 3.3 Development sites can provide new through routes for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport which can complete missing links or increase the density of the existing cycling and walking networks in the vicinity. Redevelopment of disused industrial sites can unlock corridors that have previously been inaccessible. Where existing cycling and walking routes are constrained around the perimeter of a development site, additional width and improved sightlines may be achieved by setting the development limits back from the site boundary. 3.4 Highway and other transport improvement schemes similarly provide opportunities to enhance cycling and walking routes along and across the scheme alignment.

Network planning and funding

3.5 New developments can unlock funding for wider network improvements. A cycle network plan can ensure that opportunities arising from land-use development and transport projects (and routine highway maintenance) are captured to deliver and enhance parts of the network. A cycle network plan will identify where there are gaps and deficiencies in existing cycling provision and help to ensure enhanced routes and facilities are coherent and provide for the travel patterns in the area, including target growth in cycling and other planned changes in land use. See Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 2: Network Planning for cyclists. 3.6 A design brief for cycling and walking infrastructure is important for larger developments (more than 500 dwellings or 10,000m2 of B1 uses) and should specify: • high quality cycling and walking routes within the development site • enhancement of existing cycle routes leading to and around the edge of sites • cycle parking standards commensurate with usage targets • a way-finding/signing strategy 6

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

3.7 A design brief is particularly useful where more than one developer is involved in developing a site.

Design principles

3.8 Provision for cycling within developments and the connections to the existing road network and other cycling routes should deliver high standards of the five core design principles of: • coherence • directness • safety • comfort • attractiveness 3.9 New developments provide an opportunity to design both buildings and route networks to provide accessibility and advantage to walking and cycling and can overcome many of the difficulties that can be encountered when retro-fitting traffic free routes in urban areas. Key points are: • routes for cycling and walking should be more direct than equivalent connections for private vehicles. This may be achieved by the filtered permeability techniques described below. Wherever practicable, routes for cyclists and pedestrians should have priority over private vehicles • development block size should be small enough to provide a high degree of route choice and minimise detour. Layouts which accommodate a grid or lattice route network are legible and can create good permeability for walking and cycling. The aim should be to provide a ‘mesh width’ of no more than 250m: this may require routes to run through larger development plots such as supermarket sites. Any leisure routes, unsuitable for year round commuting, should be in addition to this utility cycling grid • main and secondary cycle routes through developments should be clearly recognisable as such, whether on or off road, through design measurements to give cylists priority as well as direction signing • where segregation from traffic is appropriate along streets with multiple side roads/acesses, unidirectional tracks on both sides of the road will generally by preferred to two-way tracks • shared use routes adjacent to the carriageway in the heart of new developments should normally be avoided in favour of on street provision (with filtered permeability) or segregated cycle tracks • personal security concerns can be a strong deterrent to walking and cycling. Land-use type and building orientation in relation to traffic free routes should provide natural surveillance, and public spaces should encourage social activity adjacent to routes. A choice of routes is beneficial and places of concealment such as sharp corners and excessive planting need to be avoided. Routes away from buildings should be lit to minimise personal security concerns

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• on sloping sites, development layouts should enable roads and traffic free routes to minimise steep gradients • development massing should provide direct sunlight on walking and cycling routes wherever possible and minimise wind funnel effects. • mixed use developments should plan for a very high proportion of internal trips to be made on foot or by cycle • access barriers and some speed control devices can make otherwise useful routes so inconvenient as to significantly deter cycling and use by people with pushchairs or mobility impairments. These should be avoided and the need for them designed out in new developments 3.10 Guidance on design principles and details are described in the following chapters of the Sustrans Design Manual: • Chapter 1: Principles and processes for cycle friendly design • Chapter 5: Traffic free routes: conceptual design (Route types, alignment and general principles) • Chapter 6: Traffic free routes: detailed design (Construction and ancillary details) 3.11 Road design should deliver low speeds (20mph or less) to enable cycle users to mix with traffic, to facilitate pedestrians to cross roads more freely, and to encourage street activity.

Filtered permeability

3.12 Many European cities have introduced “filtered permeability” (see Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 4: Streets and Roads) to successfully manage car use and encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport. Filtered permeability uses traffic free links and bus gates, and exemptions for sustainable modes from one-way orders and turning restrictions, to create networks that make journeys by walking, cycling and public transport more direct and convenient than the equivalent journey by car. New developments provide valuable opportunities to introduce filtered permeability. Filtered permeability for cycling, Cambridge

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Workplace Cycle Parking Guide, TfL, 2006 (Appendix 2: Cycle parking standards for new developments)

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Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments, Cambridge City Council, 2010 (Appendix A: Cambridge City Council cycle parking standards includes standards for all land uses)

Cycle parking

3.13 The type and amount of cycle parking required in new developments varies by development type, and in some cases by location, with higher levels required in town centres than out of town locations. Most local authorities have parking standards that specify the minimum amount of cycle parking/storage to be provided at new developments. Cycle parking standards from Transport for London3 and Cambridge City Council4 are comprehensive examples. 3.14 Cycle parking standards should provide for levels of cycle use which match or exceed local target levels for cycling. Developments should build in flexible space for future increases in cycle parking provision.

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Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

3.15 Long-stay cycle parking is required for residents, employees and others (for example hotel visitors) who may be leaving their bicycle overnight. Long-stay parking normally provides weather protection and has limited, controlled access. Short-stay cycle parking for visitors and customers tends to be in the public realm with open access. A mixture of long and short stay parking types should ideally be provided at public transport interchanges. 3.16 Guidance on cycle parking provision in developments is provided by land use in the following sections. Further information on the types of cycle provision and layout is provided in the following guidance:

Secure workplace cycle parking, Nottingham

• Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 12: Cycle parking • Workplace Cycle Parking Guide, TfL, 2006 • London Cycling Design Standards, 2014 Edition, Chapter 8, Transport for London, 2014

4. Planning requirements and development control

Development planning requirements

4.1 All new development proposals (apart from small domestic adaptations) must be submitted to the planning authority and advertised in public before a decision is issued to grant or refuse planning permission. 4.2 Transport (including parking) is one aspect of the development that will need to be approved by the Planning Authority before the development can commence. For larger developments, a Transport Assessment is required as part of the planning submission and the Council may impose transport-related conditions and/or planning obligations (including funding contributions) which must be discharged before development (or successive phases of development) can commence. 4.3 Planning development control officers, transport planners and engineers and planning committee members, therefore have a critical role in ensuring that proposed schemes constrain car travel and are accessible and attractive for cycling and walking. 4.4 Large and medium developments of all types can have significant traffic impacts, which require infrastructure and smarter choices measures to manage demand for car travel, to encourage cycling and walking and public transport use, and to mitigate the effects of additional traffic. Large developments also present significant opportunities to reduce the need to travel by creating locally accessible employment, education or other facilities; and to create direct, high quality cycling and walking routes within the development and enhance the existing networks in the area.

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4.5 Small developments will tend to have limited effects on the local network, but it is still important to maximise walking and cycling accessibility, to ensure that adequate cycle parking is provided and that vehicular access does not introduce new hazards or delays to cyclists and pedestrians.

Development Control Checklist

4.6 The ‘Development Control Checklist’ below is applicable to all development types and scale. Many aspects are also applicable to major transport proposals. The checklist can be used to review the standard of provision in development proposals and may be used to frame discussions in public consultations. 4.7

Design brief • are the proposals consistent with the design brief (if applicable)? 4.8

Trip generation • how does the proposed scheme affect the need to travel? • how does the proposed scheme affect the lengths of journeys? • does the mix of land uses reduce the need for car trips? 4.9

Accessibility and permeability for walking and cycling journeys • is the development easily accessible by cycle / walking? If not, what improvements are needed to: • connect to the existing and proposed cycle networks in the vicinity of the development • overcome barriers (busy roads, rivers, railways, differences in level)? • increase capacity or otherwise enhance existing routes? • provide accessibility and advantage to cycling and walking trips compared to driving? • are all destinations conveniently served by walking and cycling, including residential areas, education, employment, healthcare, retail destinations, leisure attractions and public transport interchanges? • do the network proposals integrate with potential and committed development of adjacent areas? • does the proposed scheme create better access to amenities by walking and cycling than by car? Are cycling and walking routes as direct and as convenient as possible? • would the development sever or divert established cycling or walking routes? • are there opportunities to create enhanced through routes for cycling and walking across the site to connect parts of the external network? • are there opportunities to enhance existing routes bordering the site? 10

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4.10

Safety and attractiveness • does the development encourage low traffic speed and volumes? • does the cycling and walking provision provide for safe mobility by people for all ages? • are parked vehicles likely to become a problem? 4.11

Personal security • are there any aspects of routes that are likely to deter use by at night on foot or by cycle? What can be done to overcome these? • does the layout of buildings and public spaces and the route design facilitate outdoor social activity and natural surveillance of cycling and walking routes? • are all routes planned to be lit? 4.12

Wayfinding • is the network legible and easy to follow? • is signing adequate to key destinations within the development and to/ from the surrounding network? • are route maps and on-line journey planning tools available? 4.13

Active promotion and monitoring of cycling and walking • how can the proposed scheme encourage walking and cycling journeys? How will developers and site occupiers promote sustainable travel? Are travel plans and conditions in place and enforceable to ensure ongoing promotion?

Signing key destinations, Darlington

• does the development design encourage social activity and play? • are automatic cycle counters included in route designs? 4.14

Cycle parking • how much cycle parking is provided • long stay parking for residents and employees? • overnight parking for visitors (e.g. at stations, hotels)? • short stay parking for visitors? • is there adequate capacity • to accommodate target levels of cycling and to meet cycle parking standards? • is additional space available to increase cycle parking capacity if cycling exceeds targets? • for residential development, is there provision for all family members to store bikes, trailer bikes, a cycle trailer? • is the cycle parking sufficiently close to the destination(s) it serves? Is it closer to building access points than the nearest car parking?

Secure long stay cycle parking, Derby

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• does the cycle parking provide adequate security

• is it overlooked? • does the parking design allow both wheels and frame to be secured? • for overnight parking, is there access control? 4.15

Funding and maintenance • do the proposals create additional public maintenance liability? • are developer contributions or other funding secured for • capital works? • maintenance? • active travel promotion?

5. Residential developments

5.1 Manual for Streets has redefined the design of the transport network in residential developments to rebalance the ‘movement’ function of streets and roads against ‘place’ functions (social and economic), and other local activities. 5.2 Manual for Streets recommends the provision of attractive and wellconnected permeable street networks, which limit vehicle speeds, provide places for people to socialise, and encourage walking and cycling to local destinations.

Street and junction design should deliver low traffic speeds without visually intrusive highway infrastructure. Shared surfaces without defined footways can help to deliver low traffic speeds. Junctions should be designed as places, with narrow traffic lanes, tight geometry, absence of priority markings and limited visibility

5.3 Larger residential developments, which can support local centres with shops, schools, primary healthcare facilities and leisure destinations, should be designed for a very high proportion of internal trips to be made on foot or by cycle. Car parking provision may be reduced, releasing space and funds for other uses. The capacity of the walking and cycling networks and cycle parking should be increased commensurately. Because walking and cycling infrastructure is more space-efficient and cost-effective than infrastructure for motor traffic, this approach need not impose additional costs on developers.

Access to local services

5.4 The cycling and walking networks serving residential developments should provide direct, safe and attractive connections to cycle and walk to the following local facilities, within and beyond the development site: • primary and secondary schools • local amenities: primary healthcare, libraries, banks, sports centres, parks and open spaces Signing within new residential developments should as a minimum indicate the location of local shops/ schools, the town centre and railway station. A signing strategy should be included in the design brief for large developments

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• nearby employment areas • local shops and district or town centres • local and mainline railway stations, bus stops and bus interchanges

Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

Appropriate design

5.5 Residential developments should incorporate the following design elements: • low speed (20mph or less) street geometry including • narrow carriageway widths • small entry radii • use of parking and landscaping to limit forward visibility, provide horizontal deflection, visually narrow the street and prevent vehicles driving too close to residential properties • shared surfaces without formalised kerb lines and/or low height kerbs

Filtered permeability: traffic free link between cul-de-sacs

• absence of carriageway centre lines • absence of priority markings at junctions and/or public squares at intersections. This encourages negotiation between drivers and other road users • absence of cycle lanes and other cycling-specific infrastructure on most local roads • 20mph limits • filtered permeability: direct traffic free links between unconnected roads/cul-de sacs; cyclist exemption at road closures and turning restrictions • spaces that encourage play and social interaction and are overlooked from buildings • formal and informal crossing points • cycle priority at crossings of roads on key cycling corridors • carriageway narrowing and raised tables at other key crossings • minimal segregation on traffic free tracks

Crossing points on main traffic free routes should give priority to cycle users and pedestrians in residential areas. Cycle and pedestrian priority is also desirable on other cycle routes. Whether formal or informal, with or without priority, crossings need to be clearly visible to all users. Above left: shared use priority crossing Above right: priority crossing with carriageway narrowing to reduce vehicle speeds Bottom: parallel zebra & cycle crossing

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• traffic free routes should be wide enough to provide a comfortable experience for all users and cater for increases in cycling and walking (see Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 5, Tables 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3) • integration with public transport; cycle parking at bus stops and rail stations • seating areas at regular intervals, with litter bins 5.6 Additional information on low-speed design is provided in Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 4: Streets and Roads and in Manual for Streets 1 and Manual for Streets 2. 5.7 Guidance on other design parameters for traffic free routes is provided in Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 5: Traffic free routes: conceptual design.

Sustainable drainage schemes contribute to the quality and civility of the residential environment and can prevent inappropriate parking

Cycle parking at bus stop, Cambridge

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Traffic-free routes through developments are enhanced by adding benches and refuse bins to encourage people to stop and chat

Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

Home zones

5.8 Home zones are residential streets, in which movement functions for motor vehicles are limited to low-speed access while place functions are elevated to enable safe and convenient movement by pedestrians and cycle users, freedom for children to play (commonly in the same space used by vehicles for access) and for other social activities. 5.9 Home zones incorporate many of the design features described above to deliver self-enforcing very low speeds (10-15 mph) and indicate to drivers that they are sharing space on equal terms with other legitimate activities so that they regulate their driving behaviour. Home zone design commonly incorporates shared space concepts. Home zones accommodate adequate parking and cycle parking and there is also potential to incorporate planting and communal bin areas. 5.10 Home zones are designated under S268 of the Transport Act 2000 and S74 Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Home zones can be incorporated in new developments at much lower cost than retrofitting measures to pre-existing streets. 5.11 Further information on home zones is included in Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 4: Streets and roads.

Home zones: purpose-built mews style streets encourage play, social interaction and active travel by providing through routes for pedestrians and cyclists which are not available as through routes for motor vehicles

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Cycle parking

London Cycling Design Standards, Transport for London, 2014, (Chapter 8 Cycle Parking)

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Stand and Deliver: Cycle parking in London, Transport for London, June 2009

Based on Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments, Cambridge City Council, 2010

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5.12 The London Cycling Design Standards 20145 notes that retrofitting cycle parking into existing housing areas is more challenging than negotiating cycle parking in new developments. A lack of cycle parking in residential areas was identified by the London Assembly in its report Stand and deliver: cycle parking in London (2009)6 as a significant factor discouraging people from taking up cycling as a mode of transport. 5.13 Cambridge City Council recommends the following minimum level of cycle parking provision7: • 1 space per bedroom up to 3 bedroom dwellings • 3 spaces for 4 bedroom dwellings • 4 spaces for 5 bedroom dwellings etc • Plus some level of visitor cycle parking, particularly for large housing developments 5.14 Additional space for a trailer or trailer-bike is desirable, particularly in family homes. 5.15 Cycle parking for residents should be under cover and should ideally have secure access control. Where it is not possible to provide cycle parking within a garage or private space within a house, the following options are possible: • Sheffield stands in a covered car park within a development of apartments. This may be within a cage with access control if the car park is accessible to the public • in a bespoke indoor cycle parking facility • cycle lockers in public or private areas • cycle parking under cover within shared courtyard facilities for cars or between 2-3 properties. Where there is no access control, it is important that cycle parking is overlooked by the properties 5.16 Visitor cycle parking within residential neighbourhoods may be within indoor communal areas or on the street and should be overlooked.

Secure cycle parking compound in new development, Portsmouth

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6. Employment and Industrial Parks

6.1 Employment sites (business parks and industrial estates) generate significant numbers of daily commuter trips during the most congested periods of the day. They may also generate large volumes of HGV movements.

Potential for cycling and walking

6.2 Commuting trips are well suited to cycling for the following reasons: • they are regular trips to the same destination made over a period of months or years • many jobs require only minimal luggage to be transported

Segregation of cycle users from general traffic is generally needed in employment sites with high HGV flows

• there are established lines of communication and influence through the employer and bicycle user groups • the employer is often motivated to support travel behaviour change, in order to address car parking pressure or to meet planning / travel plan obligations • mode shift for commuting journeys can have the greatest impact on reducing congestion

Key conditions to encourage cycling and walking to employment sites

Providing walking and cycling facilities is commonly a requirement for planning consent

6.3 The potential to achieve high levels of cycling and walking to new employment sites will primarily be influenced by site location, the availability of car parking, the quality of the cycling and walking networks serving the site, the adequacy of cycle parking and other staff facilities, active promotion of cycling and walking and whether employees need to drive their own vehicles during the course of their work. 6.4 To maximise cycling and walking to new employment sites the following is required: • accessible site location: proximity to significant residential catchments or rail stations with frequent services. Up to 5 miles is an acceptable cycling commute for most people (1.5 miles for walking) or smaller distances as part of multimodal journeys. Employment sites situated on the edge of built up areas served by major roads are likely to be much more car dependent

Where development is phased, early construction of pedestrian and cycle networks through future development plots will maximise connectivity for occupiers of early development phases

• restricted availability of car parking at workplaces is key to achieving high cycling rates • coherent, direct, safe, comfortable, attractive route networks that provide adequate segregation from HGVs and high speed traffic, are essential both within the site and connecting to the wider cycling and walking network. New developments should fund improvements beyond the site, where the existing quality or capacity is not adequate and to mitigate the impacts of additional traffic generated by the development. Convenient, well-signed links to nearby shops, schools, open spaces and leisure facilities are important, particularly where

Traffic free routes should be built with capacity to accommodate extra trips generated by future expansion of a new site or phases

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these facilities are not available on site. Priority to pedestrians and cyclists at key road junctions and crossings should be achievable within the development site. Lighting and sealed surfaces are required for commuter routes • trip end facilities; provision of cycle parking, showers, storage for panniers and spare clothing • active promotion of cycling and walking. senior role models are helpful to overcome perceptions among some non-cyclists that cycling is incompatible with high status or being presentable at work Traffic free routes on main traffic corridors where there are high HGV flows should include verge separation from the carriageway to enhance comfort and safety

• flexible working times to help people who need to make linked trips to drop children off at school or childcare en route to/from work • alternative travel options in case of emergency • options for travel in the course of work: Availability of pool cars, hire cars or taxis for employees who need a vehicle for work trips, to enable them to commute on foot and by bike 6.5 The planning authority, the highway authority, the developer and occupiers all have key roles to ensure these positive conditions are in place and are maintained. Adoption of site roads and traffic free routes by the highway authority can be important to ensure that cycling and walking facilities remain well–maintained.

Industrial sites Regeneration of Belfast Harbour and surrounding environs opened up a corridor not previously accessible

6.6 While it is possible to successfully mix cyclists with cars in many low speed environments, including new office based employment sites, a higher degree of off-road cycling provision is needed for industrial estate roads and logistics parks. 6.7 Industrial sites commonly generate significant volumes of HGV movements. HGVs are intimidating to cycle users and are overrepresented in serious and fatal collisions involving cyclists. In addition, the highway is necessarily designed with larger radii and reduced deflection to accommodate the swept paths of HGVs and this can lead to high speeds by car and vans.

Observation of user behaviour after a railway corridor was re-opened led to the creation of this additional link, Huyton

6.8 Adequate segregation from HGV traffic within and around the development site, combined with convenient crossings to access workplaces, facilities and other parts of the network, are essential to encourage significant levels of cycling to industrial sites/logistics parks. 6.9 Careful design is required where cycle tracks cross site accesses used by HGVs.

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Cycle parking

6.10 Cycle parking is required for staff and visitors.

Staff cycle parking

6.11 Staff cycle parking needs to provide for bikes to be left all day, and overnight on some occasions. It should be: • secure, with access for staff only and designed to allow the frame and at least one wheel to be secured. Storage within buildings, cycle compounds, areas with controlled access and cycle lockers is preferred • covered • conveniently located (less than 50m from the entrance and closer than car parking), with step-free access • well spaced – to minimise the risk of getting oil on clothing • accessible, for parking all types of cycle 6.12 Other trip end facilities should be situated as close as possible to the cycle parking. These include showers, changing facilities, luggage lockers, drying facilities, pumps and other equipment for basic maintenance.

Visitor cycle parking

6.13 Visitor cycle parking should be: • easy to find (signed and advertised in information to visitors) • situated conveniently close to the entrance • secure - overlooked and with stands that allow the frame and both wheels to be secured • weather protection is desirable but not essential 6.14 It may be appropriate to site visitor parking within a building or secure compound, but access controls that delay visitors are not desirable. 6.15 The Cambridge City Council recommends8 the following provision for workplaces:

Convenient cycle parking for visitors, Cambridge

• offices - 1 space for every 30m2 GFA, to include some visitor parking

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• general industry - 1 space for every 40m GFA, to include some visitor parking

Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments, Cambridge City Council, 2010

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Workplace Cycle Parking Guide, TfL, 2006 (Appendix 2: Cycle parking standards for new developments)

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• storage and other B use classes – on merit (TfL standards9 stipulate provision at half that of offices)

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Retrofitting networks in expanding employment sites

6.16 New extensions to existing industrial estates or business parks will now commonly include good quality walking and cycling infrastructure. For this to be well used, improved cycling and walking connections may need to be retrofitted into earlier phases of development to access the wider cycling and walking networks. This may require: • new traffic free routes alongside existing access roads or entirely new connections away from the road • narrowing of traffic lanes to provide cycle tracks on the verge, or cycle lanes. Substandard width cycle lanes should be avoided, particularly where HGV flows are significant • traffic calming to enable cycle users to share / cross the carriageway. Full width vertical deflections will not be suitable in industrial sites • new crossing facilities

Swindon – Link to South Marston Industrial Park; before (left) and after (right) Provision of high quality traffic free tracks on existing verges and a new crossing benefits employees who already cycle, and will encourage new users

St James Road industrial estate, Northampton; before (left) and after (right). The carriageway was narrowed to create a 2.5m wide section of shared use track connecting to a new riverside track

1.5m wide cycle lanes retrofitted to existing industrial estate roads by narrowing the general traffic lanes to 2.8m in each direction, Northampton

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Technology parks generate higher numbers of light goods vehicles and private cars rather than HGV traffic. These roads can be suitable for physical traffic calming measures, Leamington Spa

Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

7. Retail and leisure developments 7.1 Siting retail and leisure developments close to and well connected with housing and other employment sites will help to maximise the potential for walking and cycling. 7.2 Retail and leisure developments are large employers and the guidance on route networks, cycle parking design and travel planning for employment sites applies. 7.3 Retail and leisure sites also attract high volumes of customers. Cycle routes and customer cycle parking should cater for a range of cycle types, including cargo bikes and family groups with trailers and trailer bikes. Access should, wherever possible, enable cycle users to avoid riding through car parks with manoeuvring vehicles. Home delivery services can help people to shop for bulky and heavy items without a car. 7.4 Lighting for routes and cycle parking is needed for retail and leisure developments that attract evening use. Clear signing is important as customers will tend to make less frequent journeys and be less familiar with available routes than commuters.

Cycle parking

7.5 Retail and leisure sites attract high volumes of customers, who will require short stay parking in locations that are overlooked and conveniently close to the building entrances. Cycle users should be able to cycle right up to the parking; they should not be required to dismount. 7.6 Retail and leisure sites commonly comprise multiple destinations and may have several entrances. Cycle parking for each building or cluster of units is greatly preferable to a large, more distant cycle parking area. For shops, it is desirable that customers can wheel trollies to the cycle parking and deposit them there. To return the trolley to the shop would require them to leave their shopping unattended.

Customer cycle parking should be easy to find and situated conveniently close to the building entrances. Cycle parking for each building is greatly preferable to a large, more distant cycle parking area

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7.7 Retail premises require cycle parking for employees and visitors. The number of cycle parking spaces is calculated based on Gross Floor Area (GFA). 7.8 Sports and recreational facilities and faith and community venues have cycle parking standards based on relevant public floor area. 7.9 Leisure facilities such as cinemas and theatres have cycle parking standards based on the number of seats, sometimes with an additional allocation based on the number of employees.

Table 7.1 Cycle parking for retail and leisure developments Development Type

Number of spaces

Food retail

1 space per 25m2 GFA1 up to 1500m2 thereafter 1 per 75m2

Non-food retail Network development should provide for future development phases. Early construction of pedestrian and cycle networks through future development plots will maximise connectivity for occupiers of early development phases

1 space per 25m2 GFA

up to 1500m2 thereafter 1 per 75m2

Financial and professional services

1 space per 30m2

Food and drinks

1 space for every 10m2 of dining area

Museums, Exhibition venues

1 space for every 2 members of staff

GFA to include some visitor parking

Visitors: on merit

Cycling and walking network enhancements beyond the development site are important to maximise accessibility and use of active travel modes. A 20 mph limit, footway widening and a cycle contraflow improves the public realm and provides accessibility and advantage to pedestrians and cycle users

Sports and recreational facilities and swimming baths

1 space for every 10m2 of pool area and 1 for every 15 seats provided for spectators Places of assembly including cinema, theatre, stadia, auditoria and concert halls

1 space for every 3 seats

Place of worship, public halls and community centres

1 space per 15m2 of public floor area

Source: Cambrige Cycle Parking Guide

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1 space for every 25m2 net floor area or

Sustrans Design Manual • Chapter 11: Cycling in new developments (2015, draft)

8. Public Buildings 8.1 Hospitals, universities and colleges attract large numbers of employees and visitors and typically have several entrances and multiple departments or destinations within the site. Cycling and walking network provision within the ‘campus’ will need to cater for direct access to all destinations and include clear signing. Universities, colleges and schools will create peaks of movement demand between lectures and network capacity will need to cater for this. 8.2 These public buildings tend to operate into the late evening or 24/7 and lighting and natural surveillance of routes and cycle parking will be particularly important. Because hospitals, universities and colleges often occupy large sites, provision should be made for public cycle and pedestrian access through the campus, to avoid creating a sizeable barrier to permeability in the area. Cycling and walking provision should avoid conflict with busy access roads and car parks. 8.3 Schools commonly have fewer entrances and public access through the site is rarely acceptable. Schools generate large tidal flows of pupil journeys within defined periods at the start and end of the day. Route networks will need to cater for the peak flows and for less experienced users. Good quality networks and cycle parking in schools are important to establish healthy travel patterns in young people.

Cycle parking

8.4 Cycle parking for hospitals, universities and colleges should provide for long-stay parking by staff and students, and a high turnover of short to medium stays by visitors / patients and other students. 8.5 Long stay staff/student cycle parking is recommended in covered secure areas within or adjacent to each building, as described for employment sites. 8.6 Visitor cycle parking should be provided close to the campus accesses and adjacent to the entrances to key visitor destinations within the site. Clear signing (commonly map-based signs) is required showing the cycle parking locations and cycling and pedestrian routes to individual departments. Adequate cycle parking capacity and convenient locations are important at hospitals to prevent informal parking on railings and other street furniture which can inconvenience mobility impaired visitors. 8.7 Although school sites are often locked and secure outside of pupils’ arrival and departure times, access control and/or careful siting of cycle parking to ensure natural surveillance is desirable to prevent concerns about vandalism of stored bikes by other pupils. Cycle parking for pupils should be covered. Some visitor parking near reception is also needed.

Table 8.1 Cycle parking for new public buildings Development Type

Number of spaces

Clinics and surgeries

2 spaces per consulting room and 1 space for every 3 professional members of staff

Nonresidential schools

Cycle spaces to be provided for: 50% of children between 5 and 12 and 75% of children over 12 years

Nonresidential higher and further education

Cycle parking for all students using the site and

Crèches and Nurseries

1 space for every 2 members of staff

1 for every 2 members of staff

1 visitor space per 5 children Hospitals

On merit

Source: Cambrige Cycle Parking Guide

8.8 The Cambridge Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments includes the cycle parking standards set out in table 8.1.

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9. Transport improvement schemes 9.1 New road schemes and other transport infrastructure projects should include high quality infrastructure to encourage walking and cycling. Most new road schemes and guided bus corridors are capable of delivering enhanced parallel routes for walking and cycling and should also provide crossings and junctions to cater for desire lines traversing the main alignment. Localised junction improvements should also provide enhanced provision for cycle and pedestrian movements to improve accessibility, convenience and safety. Severance of walking and cycling routes and desire lines should be avoided.

Non Motorised User Audit

9.2 Major transport improvement schemes should include a Non Motorised User (NMU) Audit commencing early in the design process to identify desire lines and the appropriate provision to be made for pedestrians and cyclists. The aim should be to enhance permeability for pedestrians and cycle users. Future desire lines to cater for planned development should be considered as well as existing movements. 9.3 The NMU audit should check that the scheme delivers the quality of provision required at each relevant design stage, and post-completion. New road schemes can be harsh environments for pedestrians and cyclists. Positioning new tracks away from the carriageway edge is usually the preferred solution. If this option is not achievable, signs, lighting columns and containment barriers should be sited at least 500mm outside the track margins and a grassed verge retained between the track and the road edge, Rugby Western Relief Road

Tracks alongside the new road alignment

9.4 Cycle and pedestrian tracks alongside new road schemes should be included as standard practice within 5 miles of an urban area and in other situations where a track would provide a connection between existing or planned cycle routes and footpaths or provide for a clear desire line. 9.5 Key design issues include: • cycle tracks should be separated from the carriageway by a verge or margin strip where traffic speeds exceed 40mph. Wide verges and landscaping can provide a much more comfortable cycling environment and soften the overall visual impact of the road

Cycle track alongside guided busway, Cambridge

• it may be appropriate to deviate the cycle/pedestrian track alignment away from the main road to create a more attractive cycling/walking environment provided this does not create detour or personal security issues • traffic signs, lighting columns and vehicle safety barriers should be placed at least 500mm outside the margins of the cycle track of a new shared use track, to maintain effective width • cycle track crossings of side roads should avoid detour and delay to cycle users and pedestrians. Signage and the carriageway alignment on the approaches to side road crossings should reduce vehicle speeds

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• bridges and other structures carrying new roads across rivers, railways and other barriers can provide important new routes for cyclists and pedestrians. Cycle track provision should be included in the design of new structures, which link into cycling and walking networks on each side

Crossings of the new transport alignment

9.6 Crossings and junctions of the new transport corridor should provide for existing desire lines and future routes that are expected to arise from planned development. In determining the appropriate number of crossings and junctions, there will be a trade-off between providing closely spaced crossings/junctions to maximise cycle and pedestrian permeability against cost and safety considerations. 9.7 For routes in urban areas subject to a speed limit of 30mph or less, the presumption should be for a very high degree of permeability, with frequent crossing options available to pedestrians and cyclists, including locations that are not available to other vehicles. 9.8 On higher speed roads, cyclists should not be expected to deviate more than 50m where at grade crossings are achievable and no more than 125m where grade separation is required (the latter figure corresponds to a network mesh width of 250m).

The alignment of this new road scheme severed existing cycling and walking routes. The need for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge was identified at an early stage and included in the construction works, Tottenhoe, Oxon

9.9 Crossings may comprise: • uncontrolled crossings with priority to cyclists where vehicle speeds are less than 30mph and traffic volumes are low (less than 4000 vehicles per day two way) • uncontrolled crossing of higher speed roads where cyclists give way to road traffic (with or without a refuge) • controlled at grade crossings (zebra crossing shared with cyclists or toucan crossings) where higher traffic and/or cyclist and pedestrian volumes merit crossing control. For toucan crossings, detection loops on the cycle track approaches to the crossing are recommended to trigger the cycle phase as the cyclists approach • grade separated crossings (bridges or subways) where traffic speeds exceed 50mph with two-way flows of 8000 vehicles per day and/or the topography makes grade separation desirable (e.g. where a road is in cutting) 9.10 Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 7: Cyclists at Junctions and Crossings provides further guidance on the appropriate form of crossing for different speed flow traffic compositions. 9.11 Sustrans Design Manual Chapter 4: Streets and Roads and Chapter 5 Traffic Free Routes: Conceptual Design provide guidance on cycle track alignment and design.

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10. Key references Cambridge City Council (2010), Cycle Parking Guide for New Residential Developments Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (2010), Manual for Streets 2 - wider application of the principles Cyclenation (2014), Making Space for Cycling: A guide for new developments and street renewals Department for Transport (2007), Manual for Streets Scottish Government (2010), Designing Streets Transport for London (2014), London Cycling Design Standards Transport for London (2009), Stand and Deliver: Cycle parking in London Transport for London (2006), Workplace Cycle Parking Guide

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