Better Guisborough for cyclists

For me as a new resident of Guisborough it is sad to see that there is such promising possibilities to have decent cycle routes in the town.

While out and about I have noticed two things in terms of cycling options. There are routes already in place that need improving to make them suitable for cycles. New builds have got away with estates that are poor for pedestrians and cyclists alike.

It comes down to the council has shown little to no imagination in this area when passing planning in the town. Nobody has said that they want to make Guisborough one of the best places in the UK to travel by bike. Or they have they’ve been ignored by the rest of the council.

Of course the town would need a complete survey carrying out first, but there are some obvious routes that can be improved. For example the old railway could be properly linked to other routes to make it ideal for crossing Guisborough. It could do with some work.

The Spine

But let’s say you want to go from the far end of Hutton ward (Stokesley road area for this exercise), you could follow the railway line to the Rugby club then join a properly laid out cycle lane to take you to the junction with Whitby road and then pick up the existing cycle way that goes to Laurence Jackson school as well as other places. For example as below where I’ve started from Hutton Village road there is a route possible:

But that route needs work. See below a newly completed cycle lane between Budapest and Szentendre in Hungary. I tend to refer to Hungary because Szentendre is a similar size to Guisborough and is Hungary is supposedly poorer than the UK.

The route in the picture is about 13 miles although not all of it is quite this perfect, but all of it is far better than the railway line which is muddy and full of potholes. The Budapest route has refreshment points along the route where cyclists can fill water bottles. It even has a bike repair point where spanners are available. At the weekend it is busy with families out to enjoy the route. It might be that the cycle route shown is too perfect for some but these are conversations the town should be having and with a council that recognises the importance of improving the town infrastructure. Compare it with the rail line in Guisborough.

Of course it is important to ensure the rail line remains an excellent route for walking and jogging and when it is designed this can be built in. We need to start demanding better infrastructure.

Coming back to pedestrians, the path from the rail line to Sainsbury is dreadful. That and other joining paths need to be improved.

Joined Up

Having looked around Guisborough I see many paths and cut throughs that could be widened and made safe routes for cyclists. Firstly there needs to be a change of attitude to which mode of transport has priority in Guisborough. At the moment it is clearly the car. There are fast roads that cut through the town, there is a lack of road crossing points and there are places with very narrow pavements and sometimes only a pavement on one side of the road. These are all things that can be resolved. See my article on improvements for pedestrians here

All of this doesn’t work against the car. Improving all modes of transport helps create a better balance that improves the town. We often think of cars being polluting through their emissions, but the sound pollution is also a major disturbance in the town. See my article on improving the car experience in Guisborough here.