Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive

I loathe shared use paths. That's why I like the Jennyfield Drive Cycleway. At least they've designated separate cycling and walking areas, even if it is only with a white line.

Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive: Map

Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive: Segregation

The path is 3m wide in total, and it is divided in half with a white line.

The new Cycle Infrastructure Design LTN 1/20 is a superb document, but I slightly disagree when it says don't divide a path with a white line.

Dividing a path is so much better than lumping everyone together. At least with a white line people know where they are supposed to be. It avoids the 'one pedestrian goes left, one pedestrian goes right' farce you get on true shared use paths.

In fact, LTN 1/20 does not recommend shared use paths at all in urban areas - and Jennyfield Drive is in an urban area. It recommends separate facilities.

Quick and Cheap Improvement

The Jennyfield Drive Cycleway could be upgraded to a proper, segregated facility, but that would cost a lot of money and no doubt take a long time. For a quick and cheap improvement, a raised trapezoidal strip could be added to separate the two paths.

The segregation is one issue, but arguably a bigger problem is the lack of priority at side streets.

Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive: Priority at Side Streets

The Jennyfield Drive Cycleway gives way at every side street - the entrance to the Hydro, Stonebeck Avenue, Harewood Road, Norwich Drive, and Crowberry Drive.

It is clear that cycle tracks should have priority over side streets.

There are plenty of designs in LTN 1/20.

Luckily on Jennyfield Drive no physical changes to the route of the cycleway are needed. All that is required is to paint new give way lines.

There's even a raised table already in place at the Stonebeck Avenue junction.

If North Yorkshire County Council genuinely wanted to improve the cycle network, there's no reason why they couldn't get on with giving the cycle track (and footway) priority over side street traffic post-haste.

Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive: Crowberry Drive

The cycleway ends at Crowberry Drive. In theory, residents of all the new houses down on the A59 Skipton Road would reach the cycleway via Crowberry Drive. In reality, if the objective is to encourage them to get about by bike, there should be segregated cycle tracks on the A59 itself.

Crowberry Drive is quite busy, as it is the main link between a large housing estate and the A59. It needs at least some measures to make it safer for cycling - for example, 20mph and traffic-calming.

Harrogate Cycle Infrastructure - Jennyfield Drive: Other Points

Extending the Route

The cycleway gives up at Crowberry Drive, but it should continue.

Jennyfield Drive west of the Crowberry Drive junction is wide, with sweeping curves, which leads to quite high speeds. Also, there are very many houses, which means it is not very quiet.

There is plenty of space, so no reason why the cycleway could not continue.

Repainting the Bike Symbols

The bike symbols need repainting.

Bus Stops

Ideally the arrangements at bus stops would be upgraded to LTN 1/20 standards.