1. Glossary of regularly used cycling terms
(with thanks to many and in particular,
Armadillo - A moulded block of 100% recycled PVC which is bolted into the surface of the carriageway to help provide full or light segregation of a cycle track or zone.
Advanced Stop Line (ASL) - Sometimes called a bike box or a cycle reservoir, ASLs are stop lines for cyclists at traffic signals which are marked beyond the stop line for general traffic ASLs are for pedal cyclists only and motor bikes and car drivers risk a FPN (fine and points on their licence) for stopping in them.
Bikeability - the ability to cycle and/or a term for the extent to which an environment is friendly for bicycling
Central London Grid -A network of Quietways and Cycle Superhighways will - when completed - make up 100km of safer cycle routes.
Connect2 cycle route - focuses on overcoming barriers – barriers which prevent people cycling and walking – trafficked roads, railway lines, rivers, and difficult terrain. It sets out to create shorter routes, far more attractive routes, to change the local map, and to focus equally on providing for pedestrians, those with impaired mobility and cyclists. Run by Sustrans.
Contra flow cycle lane - a lane in which traffic flows in the opposite direction of the surrounding lanes. Contraflow lanes are often used for bicycles or bus rapid transit on what are otherwise one-way streets.
Cycle Superhighway - A cycle route which is completely physically separated from motor traffic and wide enough to accommodate the number of people wanting to/ expected to use it.
Cycle Track - A "road" provided in or by the side of a highway which has a made up carriageway. Can be in the carriageway, but separated (sometimes referred to as protected) from traffic, on a footway (legally "converted" to a cycle track) shared with pedestrians or segregated from pedestrians.
Filtered Permeability - Essentially the creation of access points and junctions which can only be used by cyclists (other traffic excluded) in order to create an open cycle access network so that users can get advantage over motorised traffic. An area reviewed for filtered permeability would end up with no through route for traffic (which would need to stick to main routes), but completely accessible for cyclists.
Modal Filter - A feature used to limit access by certain modes of transport - to 'filter' out some modes! Modal filters are used to achieve filtered permeability.
National Cycle Network –a network of signed paths and routes for walking, cycling and exploring outdoors spanning 16,575 miles across the UK.
Passenger Car Unit (PCU) - A traffic modelling method to assign a relative weighting of different transport modes relative to cars in terms of space taken up on the road which is set at 1.0 PCU. Cycles are often 0.2 PCU (5 bikes per car). Buses and lorries are often taken as 3.5 PCU. The value can vary according to the conditions. There is a suggestion that when looking at the impact on pedestrians an cyclists, HGVs should be given much higher PCU value to reflect the risks they create for vulnerable road users in urban situations.
Quietway - Signposted cycle routes, run on quieter back streets to provide for those cyclists who want to travel at a more relaxed pace. The route should be direct, well signed and traffic flows likely to be less than 2000 PCUs per day.
Refuge - A physical, kerbed "island" placed in the carriageway design to assist pedestrians and cycle users to cross the road in more than one stage, but without giving any specific priority.
Scramble – phases of a signal that give pedestrians and/or cycles the green in all directions, so that they can cross in any direction including diagonally across the intersection
Segregated cycle lanes - a part of a road that is separated by a line from the rest of the road, for the use of people riding bicycles. They should generally be designed to be one-way, on either side of the road, with cycle traffic running in the same direction as adjacent general traffic lanes.
Sinusoidal A description applied to a type of speed hump designed to make passage easier and more comfortable for people riding bikes, while slowing down vehicular traffic.
Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) – known as Traffic Management Order (TMO) in London - A legal instrument used by highway authorities to control, manage, prohibit or direct traffic using streets or roads under the Road Traffic Regulation Act Implemented following a formal process and will end up set out in a signed and sealed legal document. Users will know that a TRO is in place by the presence of signs giving effect to the order (such as speed limits, no entry, cyclists only, parking places, banned turns etc).
If you have a correction or update, please – thank you !