According to Active Travel England (ATE), many British roads aren\u2019t currently wide enough to be safe for cyclists. On \u201cstandard\u201d British roads – relics of Victorian 12-foot width standardisation \u2013 the necessary 1.5 metres needed to safely pass a cyclist is not possible.<\/p>\n
Under new guidance from the active travel body for England (outlined in a 16 point document titled, \u2018Critical Safety Issues for Walking, Wheeling and Cycling<\/a>\u2019) roads should be narrowed to force drivers to move lanes in order to overtake cyclists, or widened to enable safe overtakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cCollisions from alongside are one of the most frequent types of collision for cyclists and are more likely where lane widths encourage close passing,\u201d reads a statement from ATE. \u201cThe risk is reduced when lanes are 3.9m or wider, while lanes narrower than 3.25m are usually narrow enough to discourage drivers from attempting to overtake a cyclist when it is unsafe to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n New research from the University College London into “near misses” on London’s roads<\/a>, published this month, showed that the most commonly reported near misses were close overtakes.<\/p>\n Narrower roads leave more room for pedestrians, too \u2013 on King William Street in London, road lanes are currently being narrowed to below 3.25m to create space for new trees and seating. This \u00a33.3 million project is a precursor to a \u00a343 billion road building programme across England set to implement ATE\u2019s guidance.<\/p>\n The case to widen roads seems strong, too. With the amount of SUVs in England\u2019s cities increasing tenfold over the last 20 years, there could be more competition for space on the country\u2019s roads if the trend continues. Cars do only seem to be getting bigger<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might seem like tinkering with history but not only is shifting lane widths good for helping cyclists stay alive, it\u2019s also good for making places nicer too,\u201d Simon Munk , London Cycling Campaign’s Head of Campaigns and Community Development told Zag Daily.<\/a><\/p>\n When it comes to the implementation of the guidance, ATE suggests changing existing road markings during routine maintenance, so two opposing lanes are of varying sizes \u2013 one between 3.25m and 3.9m and the other reduced to 3.25m or increased to 4.05m.<\/p>\n