Sections of Peterborough’s Green Wheel ‘no longer safe’ according to review

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans has spent the past four years reviewing the National Cycle Network (NCN) with an immediate focus on on-road sections.

Matthew Barber, head of partnerships (Midlands and East) at Sustrans, said that on July 1: “We removed large sections of on-road NCN deemed to be unsafe, and we reclassified other sections; this means they failed our safety standards but continue to be recognise as a locally important route..

“It’s had implications for the Green Wheel. The route from Newborough to Eye to Flag Fen has been entirely reclassified. There are unfortunately on-road sections on that route which fail our safety thresholds because average speed and average vehicle flows are too high.

“We’re working with Peterborough City Council to improve this.”

The Green Wheel is a 45 mile cycle route which runs around Peterborough’s perimeter.

The route uses a mixture of traffic-free paths, quiet roads and urban cycle lanes, but cyclists have complained that it has been allowed to fall into a poor state.

In the summer, the council announced it was to spend £500,000 on a programme of works to improve the Green Wheel.

A route is deemed unsafe by Sustrans if a 12-year-old could not cycle on it on their own.

Another area which is “very close to failing the safety threshold” is Castor Road between Peterborough Milton Golf Club and Marholm.

However, the route between Peterborough and Stamford has completely failed the safety threshold, according to Matthew.

The route, National Cycle Network 63, is from Ailsworth to Stamford Road, then Ufford, Pilsgate, past the main Burghley House entrance, then onto Stamford.

“I’ve used that route a lot, and I’m disappointed to see a link between Peterborough and Stamford go, but sections of the route failed our safety thresholds because there’s too many cars travelling too quickly,” said Matthew.

“There are sections which are 60 mile per hour roads with tight bends and blind summits. You wouldn’t want an unaccompanied 12-year-old riding on large sections of this route.”

A new group called Connect Stamford is also looking to create a Stamford Green Wheel, he added.

“We need these routes to be safer. Road cyclists are often confident, but as a city we want our families and new inexperienced cyclists to feel safe and have a wonderful time whilst out on their bikes. And for that they need high quality infrastructure that protects them. For us, there are areas which need improvement.

“There are so many people out there who are enthusiastic and passionate about improving the network for cycling and who would cycle more often if they felt safe. The route is only as good as its weakest section. We need to be coordinated and have a vision for connecting our towns and cities with infrastructure that is suitable for everyone.”

While some road sections have been deemed unsafe due to going beyond the threshold for speed and volume of traffic, there are also off-road sections which Sustrans will focus on too.

One example given by Matthew was the farm track along Corporation Bank between Peakirk and Newborough which he said was difficult to cycle on but has not been prioritised for removal because it “doesn’t pose an immediate threat”.

He added: “We recognise that people need to be able to trust the Green Wheel and the National Cycle Network more broadly. Both are busy and fast roads, and poorly maintained, pot holed, eroded cycle paths and tracks are an unacceptable standard.”