This is a brilliant, in-depth analysis of the pros and cons of the notorious Beeching report; a report commissioned by a corrupt politician who ran a motorway-construction business.
Transport minister Ernest Marples founded (and majority owned) Marples, Ridgway and Partners, a Westminster-based roads builder. Marples was transport minister from 1959 to 1964. He was also a touring cyclist.
As well as commissioning Beeching’s infamous report, Marples also commissioned the Buchanan Report of 1963, one of the most influential – and damaging – reports ever printed. The report was used to smother the UK in asphalt; especially urban motorway asphalt.
My drone photo of Six Hills interchange in Stevenage, taken yesterday before my history talk in the town later. The middle bit is part of the cycleway network. Roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/Stevenage
Sure, Stevenage has some duff bits of infra but also some excellent stuff. Motorists above; cyclists at ground level.
And the duff bits — bollards in the middle of the post-1980s cycleway! — here being made slightly more visible by @TinaCyclist
This dystopian future for Leicester is from the city's Traffic Plan of 1964. Sixteen-lane motorways would funnel cars into the centre.
The plan — groundbreaking for the time — was the work of Konrad Smigielski, Leicester's chief planning officer between 1962 and 1972. (That's him on the left).
However, his plan for 16-lane motorways wasn't serious: it was a warning. As an alternative he suggested a pedestrian-only city centre, with exterior (and smaller) motorways and park-and-ride schemes.
However, with my road historian’s hat on it’s interesting to note that many new roads in 17th and 18th centuries were laid out with help of cricket pitches. 1 Gunter’s chain = 66 feet = 1 cricket pitch. Salt Lake City roads were made 132-ft-wide in 1847, two chains wide.
How much of a road geek am I? I have a Gunter’s Chain in the garage.
I don’t ride with a camera so asked @NewcastleCC for CCTV of a dangerous manoeuvre from this refuse lorry driver. His manager took my complaint seriously and driver has received ticking off and will get some retraining.
Good that Newcastle’s bin lorries have full-vision windscreens and see-through panels but drivers also required to use that extra information not to intimidate.
Driver was playing follow-my-leader with a colleague’s truck ahead when behind me before this narrowing. I took primary position but then jumped out of the way when driver was clearly not slowing down.
Travelling by train to an East Yorkshire port city today, returning this evening. Tonight, the likelihood of me not tweeting “I’ve just been to Hull and back” is zero.
Off to do some 1930s cycle track research in the fab-looking @Hullhistorynews archives building, and then shoot detailed ride-along video of one of the period tracks. Bikeboom.info/1930s
Sutton Road Bridge in Hull looks to have 1930s cycle tracks running past it and through it, but council minutes 1934-9 — read today at @Hullhistorynews — don’t mention ‘em. Hmm. Still, got vids & pix. bikeboom.info/1930s