In recent months, as part of the Horsham Cycling Forum Group meetings, I’ve met with some other local cyclists and discussed how we can improve cycling in Horsham. One of the initiatives is to map out routes into Horsham town centre, highlighting the best and safest roads, and any potential problems on the route. My initial task is to map north west access to the centre via Wimblehurst Road so I’ll be out on my bike with camera over the weeks ahead.
- I’ve also been reading the As Easy As Riding A Bike blog where part of the route into Horsham has been described. It doesn’t cover the exact same route but will be a useful reference for me. Thanks to the blog author for their post.
When I’m out doing this, I’m intending to highlight what I think is the best route into Horsham from the Rusper Road area, just north of Littlehaven station. It will not necessarily be following the main roads but using residential roads as far as possible. I’m also intending to use a couple of short footpaths between roads if these make sense. It might be quite easy to convert a short section into a shared use path so I think this is worthwhile, particularly when many of the other routes into Horsham are busy and sometimes narrow. Even if cycling is not allowed on a path, surely walking your bicycle for 10 – 20 feet is better than a busy or narrow road?
- Update: A possible route from north Horsham into the town centre that I’m considering. It’s not the shortest route but I cycle this all the time and it uses some quiet roads.
Well done and good luck with this. Here are my comments about your favoured route (which seems a perfectly good one to use).
Speaking personally, I don’t bother with twiddling about down Speedwell Way; I just carry on down Coltsfoot Drive into North Heath Lane (If I was too scared to cycle that bit then I would be too scared to use North Heath Lane later on, plus some other parts of the route closer into town).
Further in towards town, I agree that Wimblehurst Road is a problem (it is narrow and busy with buses and traffic queues). I see that you choose to use Richmond Road instead. However, personally, I only actively avoid Wimblehurst during peak times (when there is a horrible queue to join North Parade) but at these times, Richmond Rd is also a poor choice because there are Collyers drop offs on the double yellow lines and at other dangerous points, learner drivers and sixth formers wandering into the road plus there is poor visibility for traffic from Gordon Rd (because of the trees). Also, you then have to turn right across the rush hour traffic into Hurst Rd. An alternative for this later part of the journey (especially with small children) is to go down the Fire Station Passage and across the Park, giving reasonable access to a number of points in town. The downside is that, despite cycling now being permitted in the Park, currently there is not a continuously legal route through.
My view on ‘cycle routes into town’ is that we should concentrate on eliminating danger spots so that it is safe for cyclists to take any of the roads into town rather than ‘herding’ people onto a single ‘approved’ route. The problem with designated routes is that you have to go out of your way to get onto them (extra time and effort) and many people (including new users who are inherently more vulnerable that regulars) will not find them anyway.
By the way, I think the little blue ‘cycle’ signs that are stuck on lamp posts along certain roads are virtually useless. They do not tell me where the route goes to and they do not make the road any safer (I bet very few motorists even notice them).
Thanks for the comments! Yes, appreciate the difficulties you describe and I hope to photograph/describe the problem points in the route.
I want to highlight how residential roads are often underused and that they can be quiet and often shortcuts when you are cycling. That’s the main reason for using Speedwell Way but Colstfoot Road is also good (although the area near the shops entrance can be busy on Saturdays).
Thanks for the heads-up on the Fire Station passage. I don’t know that but will check it out.