An experimental cycle route network was in operation in Portsmouth between November 1975 and June 1976. The routes were located on lightly-trafficked roads away from parallel major roads and a number of new traffic management techniques were employed to make them as safe and convenient for cyclists as possible in the circumstances. This report presents the results of studies of the use of the routes as a whole and of the traffic management features in isolation. Although some motorists ignored the restrictions that were intended to limit the amount of motor traffic using the cycle routes, the overall effect of the experimental measures was to reduce motor vehicle flows to about two-fifths of their original levels. Cycle flows rose by about one-third. At least half of this increase was due to the experimental measures. No changes in the number of accidents involving cyclists on the routes could be detected during the experiment as the annual numbers of accidents before and during the experiment were low. (Author/publisher) (The abstract No of Part I is IRRD abstract 231737; the abstract number of Part II is IRRD 241112).
Abstract