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Cars could be slower than bikes on England's urban A roads within a decade

Department for Transport reports average speed is down to 18.4mph

According to The Telegraph, the average speed of an urban driver will be less than that of a cyclist within a decade. Surely there are obvious conclusions to draw from this? Yes, there are, according to the RAC. They say we need more by-passes, tweaks to traffic light sequences and for cars to be allowed to use bus lanes.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures reveal that the average vehicle speed of cars on A roads in towns and cities dropped from a white-knuckled 19.3mph in 2014 to 18.4mph in 2017.

The Telegraph compares that to the average speed of a male cyclist on Strava, 16mph, and concludes that if the decline continues at the same rate, cars will be travelling slower than cyclists by 2027. (Well, it’s a good way to get a headline.)

Speeds aren’t actually a great deal higher when rural A roads are also included. Average speed at morning rush hour is 23.7mph and during the evening rush hour it’s 22.2mph.

Unsurprisingly, all 10 of the slowest local authority areas in England are in London. In the City of London, average A road traffic speeds are now 7.6mph. Manchester has the slowest speeds outside London at 15.3mph.

Include cyclists in London's average traffic speed figures urges Baroness Jenny Jones

The RAC said government proposals, “should include extra investment into reducing congestion at pinch-points, looking at further town by-passes to redirect traffic, and resequencing traffic lights so authorities are optimising traffic flow.”

It also suggested ‘smart’ bus lanes to maximise the use of road space.

Nicholas Lyes, the organisation’s roads policy spokesman, added: “At some point, the Government may even have to look at road pricing as an alternative to the current taxation system to help manage demand, as an alternative to the current system of motoring taxation.”

Andy Burnham plans £160m investment in Manchester’s cycling and walking infrastructure

So what was the Government response to the news?

A DfT spokesman said it was investing £23 billion in roads "to help cut congestion, shorten journey times and boost the economy".

He added: “We recently launched plans which will see utility companies charged up to £2,500 a day to carry out works on Britain’s busiest local roads – incentivising firms to work on quieter roads or outside of rush hour - to cut delays due to roadworks.

“Additionally, we are consulting on a Major Road Network which will improve connections between towns and cities across the UK and deliver safer, faster and more reliable journeys for drivers.”

Study finds London's most congested roads AREN'T on cycle routes

Edmund King, the President of the AA, took a slightly different view.

“For years, the AA has argued that more could be done to encourage drivers to leave their cars on the outskirts and take public transport or car share into urban centres.

“But a lack of joined-up thinking in planning or a desperate urge to milk cash from drivers in the form of parking charges has left car commuters with no option but to join the queues.”

A spokesman for Greenpeace said: “This should be another red light flashing on the government dashboard. Air pollution and congestion go hand in hand.

“To solve this twin challenge ministers should incentivise people to take up cycling, walking and use public transport more.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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36 comments

Avatar
efail replied to ktache | 6 years ago
10 likes

ktache wrote:

I have just had to cross Reading to pick something up from the sorting office.  Total gridlock into town, then a nice run along the kennet, with a little more gridlock at the other end.  And a breeze on the way back.

They were sold the fantasy of the open road.  They were all lied to.

Not one of them travelling faster than me to be able to close pass.

It's carmeggedon out there folks.

Just about every advert you see for cars on the tv has only one car in it. I wonder why?

Avatar
CarlosFerreiro replied to efail | 6 years ago
6 likes

efail wrote:

Just about every advert you see for cars on the tv has only one car in it. I wonder why?

ASA broadcast standards - 3.1 Advertisements must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
Hmmm.... 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to ktache | 6 years ago
1 like

ktache wrote:

It's carmeggedon out there folks.

That game was great. I liked the mod that gave the peds really big heads.

Avatar
Canyon48 | 6 years ago
11 likes

Edmund King is exactly correct. There is no incentive to make people want to ride bikes (or use public transport) over driving. Until this is sorted out, most people will drive.

The UK average age is just over 40 (and the average age is slowly increasing), about 1/4 to 1/3 of adults are obese and about 1/3 are overweight.

Avatar
Stef Marazzi | 6 years ago
3 likes

They know what the solutions are. They are just too stupid to implement them.

Avatar
EddyBerckx | 6 years ago
8 likes

Am 100% leaving the RAC for the AA at my next renewal, they're stuck in the stone age

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