Burton Station Street Cycle Lanes

 After a relatively quiet end to the summer, I was invited to an event to celebrate the opening of some new cycling infrastructure in Burton.  Having attracted attention in the local media, as mentioned in our blog Autumn update last year, the Station Street cycle lane project is now complete.  

At Cross Street junction with Regional director Clare

Station Street, rather unsurprisingly links Burton town centre with the railway station.  As a busy route into the town centre it has not always been the most popular route for cyclists and the signed National Cycle Network route has been signed via quieter side streets with links to the station from those streets.  Whilst supposed to be subject to a 30mph limit, like a lot of places, this is not always the case with speeding and overtaking being noted on several occasions despite being a built up area. 

Approach to Burton Station

The result of the scheme is a safe segregated cycle lane running in one direction on either side of the road with priority for cyclists given at junctions and clear marking at traffic signals.  The work has been completed to a high standard and it is very clear which part is for cycling as the pictures will show.  Most people should be able to use them as intended.  Hopefully it will encourage those who aren't as confident as experienced cyclists to cycle into town.

Clear marking at start of segregation.

The finished scheme has not been easy due to enforced design changes and the archeology beneath Station Street.  The initial design had points where it would have too narrow for buses to pass and although it could have been managed with a priority chicane it was appropriate for a redesign to ensure that the problem was resolved.  During construction and realignment of paths on the street, it was important to take care around several obstacles hidden beneath the surface.  As normal this includes services such as water, gas, fibre optic cables and particular to this location were old tram tracks from the Burton and Ashby Joint Tramway.

Clear marking at junctions

Given these obstructions, the end result has been well achieved and it was good to be able to celebrate the opening at a small publicity event set up by Staffordshire County Council (SCC).  I was invited along with Sustrans Regional Director Clare Maltby, SCC Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, David Williams and East Staffordshire Borough Council cabinet member for regeneration and development, Rob Hawkins.  Details of the press release on Staffordshire County Council website can be found via this link.

Brewery entrance junction.

During the event, Clare and I rode our bikes up and down a few times.  I was impressed by the space afforded to cyclists and the very visual signposting of the path.  The path runs all the way from the Guild Street junction to the station as a continuous segregated cycle lane in direction of the station.  From the station back into town, the first section from the station is on the main carriageway until the Mosley Street junction where the segregated cycle lane starts.

Due to the redesign there are a couple of nip-points, specifically around the pedestrian crossing near Grants Yard junction where the path is narrow.  Feedback has been given on this and hopefully a small tweak will be made soon.  The main other issue with the scheme is that it currently stands alone due to lack of other dedicated infrastructure in the area but hopefully will become part of a more integrated scheme for the town going forward and this may see NCN route 63 resigned in the future.  I've already started using the lanes on my daily commute to monitor usage despite it being a detour to use it.

Recently I drove to Burton Station to pick someone up and it was the first time I'd driven up the street since the changes.  The change to the road is a subtle narrowing but there has definitely been a change to the street scene which should encourage drivers to drive appropriately.

There has been a negative media rhetoric focusing on the disruption caused rather than the benefits of the scheme.  Even the report about the opening, which can be found here, has a headline focusing on potentially negative aspects despite carrying a relatively positive and well balanced story which explains that no local money from highways budget was spent on the scheme.

However, no point dwelling on those negatives when there are so many positives relating to the finished product.  I hope it is followed by further infrastructure soon.