Cycle route evaluation

London has been planning a cycle network for over 20 years. Voluntary organisations have been active and official bodies have not been idle. Some progress has been made - but to what end? Herein lies the problem. The 'London Cycle Network' is partly for leisure and partly for commuting but the sections of the routes which serve these very different purposes are NOT DEFINED. The network comprises a weird mixture of :

• scenic sections beside rivers
• paths marked on main roads
• lengthy diversions through suburban housing estates

An alternative planning policy would have been:

• plan leisure routes through areas of high scenic quality
• plan commuter routes where there is evidence of commuter traffic, with all changes made in the interests of making journeys faster and safer

Following desire lines is always good policy but there is a particular difficulty with cyclists. It depends on tradition, on land use (universities are big generators) on relief, on facilities (road space and parking space) on on climate, on weather.

I have made both leisure and commuter journeys on the Isle of Dogs and have used bits of the routes. The only occasion on which I cycled a whole route was when following it to take photographs. An appriasal could be made as follows:

• length ratio of designated route:shortest route
• proportion of route of high scenic quality

The network itself joins nodes together. But what are the nodes?

• shopping centres?
• supermarkets?
• schools?
• railway stations?
• parks?

The routes could be assessed descriptively and evaluatively