£10m roundabout redesign for Basingstoke - but it'll be so dangerous there's no provision for cyclists at all

What England needs is an Active Travel Bill like what the provinces have

I've never really found it too much of a problem. Sort of.

I have the joy of commuting (by car) from home to Aldershot and my driven route embraces the A339 and the M3 via the Black Dam roundabout, a journey of 24 miles.

When I choose to commute by bike I have a far more direct route that avoids the A339 altogether (and the M3, obviously). Again a journey of 24 miles on roads that are in the main unsuitable for lots of motorised traffic. Tractors excepted.

I used to ride from home into the centre of Basingstoke (a 'joyous' place) and my route passed through Old Basing and into the town centre, alongside Eastrop Park. There was an underpass that linked the two but was some distance from the M3.

Basingstoke is not the most cycle friendly town but there are many quite suitable routes into and around the town. The Black Dam roundabout is not a necessary part of most routes, I'm sure. But I don't suppose it is that much worse than the majority of junctions onto the motorways up and down the country.

And, I don't suppose that the roadworks will be completed in the 34 weeks scheduled (and which started 6 months later than originally scheduled). Oh joy.

The article on Pedallar has been updated to show the 2 alternate routes for a 2.3 mile journey from Old Basing to the B&DBC council offices (and the nearby War Memorial Park).

The mayor of B&DBC and others have been asked for follow-up info about how much of the £10m was allocated to ensuring the alternate routes that they suggested are useable (ie. not overgrown, wide enough etc) and can be found (ie signage). Also asked was whether, because the new roundabout is not safe for cycling, traffic orders will be put in place.

Pedaller: Highways Agency admits £10m Basingstoke roundabout unsafe for cycling

~Andrew~

I know the location well and ride a lot in the area but have never had any need to go near that god awful roundabout on a bike. There are plenty of quieter alternatives. Maybe this isn't the point but you could spend the money provisioning for cyclists better elsewhere.

Bracknell is another roundabout town but it has done a half decent job of making itself bike friendly by building an extensive series of cycle paths. This however is the only + point I can give this concrete hell hole, and its actually a necessity, because local drivers and commuters seem intent on trying to kill you should you dare ride on the road.

Maybe this conversation happened:
"Well, we don't have enough money to build a Dutch roundabout, and if we build something we can afford the cyclists will all hate it and complain it's not Dutch and refuse to use it. So why bother with cyclists at all?"

Cycle clubs in Basingstoke:
CCB (Race) - already mentioned.
North Hants (Race) - based in Monk Sherbourne within 2 miles of Basingstoke
Oakley Pedalers (Recreation) - within 5 miles of Basingstoke
Breeze (Ladies) - meets in Basingstoke

There are also a few new clubs popping up in the surrounding villages. So cycling in the town/ area is certainly popular.

Direct route from Old Basing to Basingstoke? Either the cycle path through Crabtree plantation or take Basing Road to enter through Eastrop Park. Both are quiet, well used and pretty quick, while removing the survival gauntlet that is the junction in question.

Let me clarify, i'm not saying lets give up on cycle infrastructure. Far from it. BUT as cyclists we need to pick our battles. There are already viable, well used alternatives to this junction.

Said junction leads to (S) motorway, (W) dual lane ring road, (N) three lane ring road, (E) main trunk road all of which carry national speed limits. Do you really want to cycle on these types of roads?

Martin: I'm not at all local, but it appears from maps that if one wanted to get between old Basing and southern Basingstoke, to avoid that junction would be a significant detour.

Why shouldn't we be demanding high quality direct routes?

Two words for you Martyn: Induced demand.

I know Basingstoke very well. It's always been a 'motorists first' town. Cycling on any road in the town is dangerous. Basingstoke's population is 90,000. It ought to have hundreds of club cyclists, but Cycle Club Basingstoke (CCB), it's only club, has always struggled to get new members. This once thriving market town is now a very sad place for cyclists to live.

Almost as annoying as the perception that all drivers think that they have a divine right to road space is the increasing number of cyclists/ cycling groups that think all roads should cater for cyclists.

Personally i would not cycle on or around the link roads of that roundabout as it is just too busy. I will happily sacrifice cycling provisions in order to make the road one lane wider and increase capacity. Why? Well there is a chance that cars will then use the intended high capacity infrastructure and stay off the local lanes.

Ok, ok. So there is an argument for people who commute and don't just ride for leisure. If i needed to traverse that junction everyday to get to work i would be researching alternative options, and there are a few. Google maps and local authority websites hold this information. I'm pretty sure on this development there will be built in ways to avoid the roads.

We need to get out of this 'provide for all users' attitude on the roads. Build the main roads and bypasses for cars and increase their capacity. They can have the soul free 4 lane tarmac rivers. I'll happily roll through the country lanes in the serenity of nature.

My best advice from someone whose ridden these roads regularly over 25 years is simply to avoid Basingstoke, either looping to the south or north.

Strange - I've just spent the weekends in Basingstoke driving over the very roundabout whilst it's under contruction. Chaos now and looks like it could be chaos later. Appalling design but given the number of motorised vehicle using it i'd say avoid it if you can or take your time and claim you roadspace if you cycle. Good luck.

Good luck to anyone who tries to get into or out of Basingstoke across the A339 at any point on a bicycle. It's a kind of Berlin Wall, built to keep cyclists from escaping or entering. Once you do manage to leave Basingstoke and start heading towards civilisation you realise that it's in the other direction- places like Alresford, on lovely cycling roads. Oh, and I once spent 2 hours looking for that elusive M3 underpass before giving up and heading home

I'm struggling to see how this junction costs £10 million anyway- that sort of money surely should be buying overpasses or underpasses suitable for motor traffic?

I used to commute by bike from Alton to Basingstoke but thankfully this particular roundabout - if it even existed back then - wasn't on my route. I see that NCN 23 now connects Basingstoke and Alton, but most of it is still on road. The big problem for me was riding in dark winter evenings, which on the main A339 road was terrifying, and the tubes often punctured as I couldn't see potholes when dazzled by oncoming cars. However it would also have added several miles to the journey and probably have been just as dark and dangerous.

Re Black Dam roundabout, if I'm correct in my understanding of how they approach this in the Netherlands, they're unlikely to try and crowbar cycling infrastructure alongside that for motor vehicles on such a big and busy roundabout, but instead create well-designed and well-lit dedicated underpasses.

Clearly a case of Can't-be-arsed-ness.

they could provide an alternative if they had the will

If it isn't considered safe for cycling, then create an order prohibiting cyclists from using it - while simultaneously building a brand new, exclusive cycle path that cyclists can use. One of those floating roundabouts, like the nice Dutch people built, would be ideal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovenring

The Hovenring was 6.3 million Euro.