Walk & Cycle
Please note that the views expressed in the below consultation summary were recorded during the Reference Group meeting held September 2001 and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BMTP team.
Introduction
The study team attended the Northern Ireland Cycling Forum (23-10-01) and the Northern Ireland Walking Forum (11-12-01). The forums bring together officials from the regional government, relevant government agencies and interest groups. The forums have published consultation and policy documents and these have been used to highlight some of the problems associated with both walking and cycling in Belfast in the text below and also some of the solutions put forward. Use was also made of the comments made during the respective forum.
Contributors argue that these are modes that have been relatively neglected over the previous decades and given the inherited build environment and strong car culture it will require considerable effort to increase the importance of these modes in making work and shopping related journeys.
Increased pedestrian priority, setting out of signed and attractive walking routes incorporating appropriate street furniture and facilities and the promotion of mixed use development are among the solutions put forward to increase walking The promotion of cycling will be helped by attempts to create a segregated and joined-up network serving key destinations as well as the provision of changing, storage and parking facilities.
Walking
Consultation work done for the development of a NI Walking Strategy, raised some of the following main issues:
Problems
- Car parking on footpaths
- Severance caused by new road schemes
- Footway congestion
- Accessibility problems for the mobility and visually impaired
- Pedestrian safety i.e. lighting, no footpaths, concealed entrances
- Problems concerning priority between dedicated walks and public road
- Lack of proper enforcement of clearways is a key city centre problem
- Lack of pedestrian signage to key destinations
- Poor provision of street furniture, in particular, public seating to benefit older
- Pedestrians and those with shopping to carry
- Pavements are in poor condition
- Insufficient crossing facilities, many traffic lights do not have pedestrian phase, pedestrian signals are not re-active, many crossing are staggered and so pedestrians have to wait twice to cross the road, and the ‘green time’ does not allow pedestrians long enough to get out of the road.
- Too many buses in Donegal Street
- Route information in the city centre is very poor and needs to be addressed
Suggested Walking Improvements
- Walkways should be provided between new developments and existing centres
- Developments should be located near to main centres as to encourage walking and reduce the requirement to make car journey
- Pedestrian areas should be promoted in the city centre
- Traffic Impact Assessments should give more consideration to walking
- Quality walking routes should be developed i.e. width, design, surfacing, kerb heights and signage
- Improve the provision of street furniture, such as seating, lighting, bins etc
- Priority made for pedestrians at traffic lights
- Promote walking as a good exercise
- Promote tourism by, for example, developing history trails
- There should be more all red stages at junctions so to improve pedestrian safety
- Improved city centre maintenance and litter collection routine needs introduced
- Greater use of mapped information for pedestrians
- A City Centre Management Initiative is needed to manage better policing CCTV, especially after shop closing time when more lighting and security are needed.
- City Centre pedestrianisation is welcomed as long as access is maintained for the mobility impaired and emergency vehicles
- More public toilet facilities are needed in the city centre
- Greater attention needs to be given to walking buses and Safe Routes To School (SRTS), before car culture sets in with children.
- While improved car access in and around Belfast city offers a means of bringing life back to the city, there is a danger that too much traffic will deter pedestrian use, and so reduce its attractiveness.
- A balance needs be struck between vehicle access and pedestrian comfort
Cycling
Problems
- The ‘car culture’ dominates the use of preferred mode
- In the past, cycling has not received support from planning authorities as a matter of priority, making it difficult to create a segregated and joined-up network within the existing build environment
- The prevalence of motorised traffic and the lack of segregated cycle lanes throughout the city is seen as a substantial deterrent to the uptake of cycling
- Existing cycle lanes do not always serve key destinations
Suggested Cycling Improvements
- The creation of a mapped, joined-up network serving key destinations is needed to encourage more cycling
- Policies to take more cars and other vehicles of the streets would improve the attractiveness of cycling
- Cycle parking and changing facilities should be included in all new developments and so some existing buildings, such as leisure centres, should be retro-fitted to help promote cycling.
- There are mixed views towards shared cycle and pedestrian paths; some participants feel that the wide pavements in Belfast offer an opportunity for joint use, whereas others feel they would be dangerous. People with impairment are particularly opposed to shared paths
