Came across this as am trying to figure out if there's a safe route on the bike for me to get from Romsey to visit my Dad in Southampton General - this has helped out massively to show the route between Sainsbury's and the hospital which is the bit I was most unsure about. Great video, and fantastic to see how much has and is being done to make cycling in Southampton a pleasant, safe experience.
There's been a lot of changes I've been meaning to get around to filming, however I've not been able to find the time to do so over the past 18 months due to my personal life being especially hectic. Plus seeing all those previous projects being canned or downgraded last year by the previous Conservative administration, along with the current Labour administration being stuck in a holding pattern until the all-change election next year for fear of being booted out on transport-related issues again, has dampened my spirits somewhat on these matters. I will get back out there with the camera at some point. It's just about trying to muster up the motivation to do so.
I was a child in the area in the 1980s. If I remember rightly, there were barriers preventing any motor vehicles from entering that section at all. At was pedestrians and cyclists only.
Born and raised in Lordshill, SO Hampshire Hog all the way Born on Lower Brownhill Road This is amazing to see, I can’t believe it’s on RU-vid. Thank you so much dude!! I haven’t been here since 1988. I moved to Florida and been here ever since but this is bringing back a flood of memories. Would love to see Milbrook, St. Heliers place and that car park 💜🙏🏻
22:20 This junction is so confusing. It may have a dedicated cycle traffic light but it's not at all clear to me where I'm supposed to go when that light turns green, other than "somewhere to the left". Do we go to the central island where the other traffic light is, or all the way across, or what? I feel some extra signage or markings on the road would help here. And, as you say, it's bizarre that there's no equivalent when coming from the other direction.
I've got a mount on the handlebar, just to the right of the stem. I also had image stabilisation set to maximum on the camera, though it also helped that the 4k rendering problems in DaVinci Resolve had also been fixed by the time I made this video.
Did you use a different camera for this, or do something different with the processing? The video quality on your other videos is great, but on this one it seems to be overcompressed, and skipping a few frames every second.
It was a relatively new camera (GoPro Hero 9), but I had already used it for the St Denys ATZ video. From memory, the version of DaVinci Resolve that was out at the time was an absolute nightmare for 4k video. Often I'd leave it overnight to render a video and it would just crash - that's why this one is only 1080p since that would at least render something. So it's likely a combination of the downscaling and buggy renderer - you may also see a few framed dropouts towards the beginning of the SCN1 Town Quay video. Thankfully Blackmagic Design seem to have ironed out the 4k bugs, I didn't have any of those issues with the SCN4 Lordshill video. That said, filming on a grey January day didn't help matters either!
I appreciate your videos. I recently got back into cycling after a gap of 20+ years, inspired in part by watching the SCN and ATZ schemes being developed around me - see, it works! But I've found the council's own information can be rather lacking. The main SCN page has that horrible "tube map" style map that is largely useless, while their geographical maps of Southampton's cycleways appear to date from 2012 or even earlier... Signage along the routes is often not great, and markings can be confusing (I made exactly the same mistake as you at 3:35!) so it's really helpful to have a complete video of the route, pointing out some of the gotchas.
Thank you for your kind words. Thankfully the markings on that corner have been erased so the natural assumption is now to follow the path around. Though it's still a tricky corner with the potential to collide with someone coming the other way if you're not careful.
Thanks, I was unsure on whether to slow or keep going when I saw the indicator, but I was almost level with the back when the driver started to move out (lens width makes things look further away than they are). My thoughts were to stay in view of their wing mirror, but leave myself enough space to move out if they did go for it.
@@thecyclewaysofsouthampton my gut feeling is they didn't want to give way to you and were then probably itching to get past. been in this situation many times and then subject to some horrendous close passes by buses driven in an absolutely shocking manner within southampton.
Fancy doing a video on the new "pop up" cycle lane (AKA actually a bus lane) on Bitterne Road West? I'm considering switching to that route to get from Midanbury to the SCN3 by Bitterne Precinct instead of going via Chessel Avenue but I'm not the most confident cyclist so would be good to see how it looks in person! Love your videos btw. Great to see Southampton getting more bike-friendly. Maybe one day we'll be like Utrecht...
Thanks for your comment! I probably won't be covering the Bitterne Road West bus lanes as they're still bus lanes first & foremost and not suitable for less confident riders in my opinion. The bus lanes also end just before the most difficult bit, the steep hill up to Maybray King Way, so you'd be mixing with traffic that rarely does 30mph. Despite the problems I faced, Chessel Avenue is still probably the safer of the two routes. You just need to be aware of traffic in front and behind you, don't put yourself in a position where you can be close-passed, and be prepared to move into gaps to let cars through. It's not a route I'd recommend for families but it's doable for someone with low experience if they're careful. That said, if you're coming from Midanbury, would another option be to use Dean Road from the Big Cheese roundabout, then use the underpass under Maybray King Way?
SCN1 East isn't on the radar for a while, though the route for that will likely be the existing NCN2 along Woolston and Weston Shore through to Netley. The next route in that part of the city will likely be SCN5 East along Portsmouth Road as part of the Transforming Cities fund. No timeframe for that yet but I imagine that'll be within the next couple of years.
I've used the SCN3 section from Windhover to Upper Deacon Road a few times, (after which I cross at the traffic lights and go through the residential section to Woolston and over the Itchen Bridge). The SCN3 section is great for building fitness, it's almost all long ups or downs with no flats. Can't wait until I can commute again!!
One year since I've been able to commute due to Covid, so to mark the occasion I watched this video, (and the SCN3 one), to remind me what I've been missing.
Thank you. I'm in the same boat, I abruptly started working from home about a week before everyone else as one of my wife's work colleagues had just returned from Italy at the time. SCN1 was my commute route all the way through to Town Quay. It's now highly unlikely I'll be going back to the office 5 days a week but there are some days where I do miss the ride. Nowadays I only ever go into the City Centre on the occasional weekend to do some shopping.
Yes it is. Welcome to Millbrook. Likely because they've parked their car on the grass right in front of their house instead of wanting to walk a few more metres to the roadside. There's also a number of houses round here that have driveways despite being nowhere near the road, accessing it involves driving over the green in front.
Good video. I can only hope the improvements will be greater than what we've seen, adhering to LTN 1/20. I think this route is mostly accurate apart from the end. According to signage and the maps SCC sent me, the S2/S1 junction is outside the Key & Anchor and S2 heads up Park Road and Firgrove Road. After that I suspect the route you followed is roughly right.
That could well be the case. I was basing this guess on the sign where Millbrook Road East meets Paynes Road, where it points left for S1 and right for (S2) and (S3). There is a small S3 sign that directs up Bourne Road, but I don't remember seeing any direct S2 signs along Millbrook Road East.
Yeah, the big problem is that Oakley Road has historically been a bus corridor (and currently is with Bluestar's route 7) so modal filtering won't work without ANPR-enforced bus gates. Romsey Road is even narrower yet carries significantly more traffic so that's out of the question for a cycle route without a drastic change for traffic flow. Oakley Road also runs through the ward of Councillor Steven Galton, one of the most vocal critics of the Labour administration's cycling plans. As it stands it's safer for residents of Millbrook & Maybush to do their shopping by bike at Lordshill Centre rather than Shirley, and with the refurbishment of the cycle route through Lordshill and Lower Brownhill due as part of the SCN4 re-routing & extension the difference will become even more promenant.
Firstly, I should have said King George's Avenue at 8:25, not Regent's Park Road (whoops), I found this error too late to re-render this video. Regent's Park Road is at the far end of Oakley Road! Secondly, a big shout out to the driver of FV56 KYP (10:03) who's very lucky that this footage didn't get sent to Hants SNAP as I didn't fancy doing a second take or delaying this video by 6 months.
Nice video, you mentioned a link from Totton to Hythe, is there more info on that? At the moment getting from Hythe to Totton is like an extreme sport. Termination at Totton is a long way from the Forest!
Thanks! It's mentioned as part of the Transforming Cities bid, on page 5 of this document under "SCN1 Southampton-Totton-Hythe Cycle Route": transport.southampton.gov.uk/media/1321/scr-tcf-stakeholder-update.pdf
There are many other topics that I could have touched on in this video, for example how the introduction of an LTN can lead to the phenomenon of "traffic evaporation" where some motor journeys just disappear (rachelaldred.org/writing/thoughts/disappearing-traffic/). However I wanted to keep this video fairly short and precise so I'll leave that for a follow-up. Twitter reactions to the St Denys ATZ still generally appear positive, though reaction to a post made by Southampton City Council on Facebook today is a bit more finely balanced: facebook.com/SotonCC/posts/3801959263182399
Good and well researched this one - do you work for the transport dept? Please try and get the council to use dedicated paths, rather than shared as it is always awkward to ring your bell when wanting to pass.
I'm actually a software developer by trade, completely unconnected to the council, and in the grand scheme of things a relatively recent convert to all this. I only started cycling less than 2 years ago when I heard that a route was being constructed along the Redbridge Causeway (what later became SCN1). I absolutely loved having 4/5ths of my journey to the City Centre free from traffic, and that made me enthusiastic about making sure the same sort of opportunities are given to everyone else around the city. I can only imagine what this is like for those that have been campaigning for this sort of thing for decades.
Nice video. Indeed this section was the first part of the SCN I properly visited when it was finished. It does seem more lack-lustre every time I look at it now. Hopefully LTN1/20 will stop this kind of thing in future. I am excited to see more progress on S5 too in the coming months as I return to uni (next week actually). P.S. I have obtained some documents regarding signage and official route colours, so if you would like them please let me know
Looking at some of the signs here I've now just realised that the routes are referred to both as SCNx on documents and Sx on signs. Regarding SCN3/S3, the route seems fairly decent in places but needs some improvement and definitely widening in places. Personally I would fell some of the trees along the route to make space for a wider path if new ones were able to be replanted nearby. Some of the junctions are definitely confusing as you say, why do we still have staggered crossings and uncontrolled pedestrian crossings at traffic light junctions! At least the cycleway is there now, this should encourage more people in from the east as many of the cycle routes thus far have been in the west and central areas of the city. Regarding the signage at 13:45, I would assume the no cycling sign has yet to be removed, but then the tactile paving a few meters later suggests otherwise (horizontal lines on tactile paving indicate a no cycling area whereas vertical lines indicate a bicycle only path). The entrance to that pedestrian area is a "no motor vehicles" sign nonetheless, and not a "no vehicles" sign. SCN4/S4 also seems decent in that area, although the brick paving on entrances to junctions is really unnecessary. Paint will be more easily seen and won't make the surface rough unlike the bricks when they eventually become displaced (they will, trust me!). However, when the track runs out, that's a big pile of shite. At least parking restrictions should be put on that road if the council do not intend to start work on that section yet. Athelstan Road - remove the bloody hatching! There's a 6'-6" limit on it, no reason not to! But the better option instead of all of that would be to route SCN4/S4 along Bittern Road West. There is no need for that section to be a dual carriageway given that the road bridge by Bitterne station prevents a dual flow of traffic into the city anyway. Still, at least there is a clear signed route into the city. Got to look at the good points...
I believe the "S" prefix is required because it needs to be differentiated from NCN routes, same reason why London routes are prefixed with "C" and "Q", and the same reason why red isn't used on the SCN "tube" map. Given these plans were originally made in 2018 and came from DfT funding as part of what was primarily a road upgrade scheme, on top of the fact that SCC were relatively inexperienced in cycleway design matters at the time, probably explains why SCN3 is "almost" good but falls victim to compromises. Given the backlash that some of the pop-up cycleways are receiving locally and nationally, I don't think felling the trees is a politically wise move at the moment, though could be done in future if demand for the space rises in future. The council has committed to planting 2 new trees for every 1 lost, so at least this would be offset. I think the No Cycling sign applies to Bitterne Precinct in general, in this case perhaps it can be moved back a few metres to just beyond the Red Lion. Replacing the block paving with asphalt down that side path would also be nice. I have a feeling that Maybray King Way will eventually be the route of SCN3 down to Northam Bridge, there's already some horrible "legacy infrastructure" at the junction of West End Road. However I guess the council will need to measure the impact of the temporary bus lanes first.
Apologies for the particularly squeaky brakes in this video, they tend to get a bit loud when the weather's wet. Also I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce "Windhover" so apologies if I got that one wrong as well. One positive I forgot to mention in the video is that the route is very well signposted. Considering I don't know this area of Southampton at all, not once did I feel lost. It's good to see the route branding appear on signs as well, I've also noticed this on SCN1 in the west.
I would love a proper permanent cycle lane .Across the whole of the UK with a steel barreya to make sure the traffic does not get to close to the cyclists
This is another nice addition to the network, this will be great when fully complete allowing students from Gateway and Wessex Lane halls to cycle to the city centre easily. This will be most beneficial for students, many go shopping and eat out either in Portswood or the city centre (I can vouch for that personally)! I've only cycled down this road southbound once, and it was easy due to the lack of parking and wide road. After Thomas Lewis Way butts in though it wasn't so easy, so I diverted by the Mount Pleasant level crossing to get to the city. Good to see more lanes are appearing nonetheless.
Yeah I was filming SCN3 in Thornhill and Bitterne today, so I was trying to figure out the best way of getting to Portswood from Northam Bridge. I went via Mount Pleasant and Onslow Road, but stopped and walked on the pavement just before the TLW junction. My legs had had enough of all those hills east of the Itchen! It's a road I rarely use but I can definitely see its value.
Really nice video, I've yet to try out this section on Hill Lane but it's quite a bit away from me (I'm over Bitterne way). Have you had a chance to investigate the pop up bus lanes on Bitterne Road West? :)
I live on the far western side of the city so that's a long way out for me. I still haven't gotten round to filming SCN3 yet even though that's been open for a while, so I'll need to get that done first. Truth be told I'm still sticking fairly closely to the lockdown, working from home and only venturing out once a week to get the shopping, but I'm on holiday next week and the weather's looking decent, so I might head out that way.
Great video, thanks. I still wouldn't use that route due to the islands (the bit with no cycle lane) - had enough close calls with cars and vans cutting me up particularly along Shirley Road/High Street.
Yeah, that's probably the biggest thing that will need to change. There's more than enough room for a decent sized pavement and cycle lanes if the refuge islands go and the road is narrowed enough to allow pedestrians to cross without the need for an island. Coach & bus parking for King George VI school might be an issue though. Shirley Road & Shirley High Street are on a compleltely different level. I refuse to cycle along them, usually I go along Foundry Lane instead. Shirley Road is going to need a complete re-imagining, but the process of fixing it is going to be long and expensive unfortunately.
It depends. From what I'm aware the north western section of the common has specialist status due to the wildlife living in the denser wooded area. The Flats and Coronation Avenue are lit because they're wide open spaces and less likely to disturb wildlife. The introduction of lighting could interfere with the wildlife in the area, but then again I'm not a naturalist so I don't know the ins and outs of the Common's smaller local residents. You'd also need to improve access to the Common from Burgess Road so that those on bikes would be able to enter and leave the Common without needing to dismount. This is currently not possible as the Pointout Path exit leads onto a narrow pavement hemmed in by a guard rail. Finally, riding around the common for leisure is one thing. Riding as part of a commute is another. Having used this lane for a couple of weeks now (and once before these changes went in), I prefer this route as I no longer have to concentrate as hard on anticipating the movements of other people, having to weave around groups and hope that particularly excited dogs don't suddenly bolt in front of my wheels. The Common should be a relaxed environment for all to enjoy at a leisurely pace. If it means, as someone who's just looking to get to the shops and back, I'm one less impediment for those that want to enjoy the Common how they want to then I'm all for it.
Great video, I hope they make this permanent and redesign the roundabouts like you suggested. I have also nearly been run over at the zebra crossing at the bottom on burgess road!
use it or lose it AND seriously please SHARE this: Our councillors NEED to get more positive feedback on the changes currently being delivered as part of So'ton's Green Transport Recovery Plan, as many are still getting more negative feedback. Find your cllr here www.southampton.gov.uk/moderngov/mgFindMember.aspx and also cc Traffic.Orders.Legal@southampton.gov.uk and Councillor.S.Leggett@southampton.gov.uk
I thought this road would be unsuitable for a cycle lane. Proves me wrong! Once the parked cars are removed you can see the avaliable space. I'd like to see a two way segregated cycle track on the side closest to the common, that'd avoid the need to implement measures at junctions for a north lane.
The argument I'd have against having a two-way track is that it would prevent a "free" left turn up Hill Lane from Bellemoor Road, which is another popular cycling road. But yes, it's amazing how much space is taken up by parked cars.
You know this better than I do. I tended to cycle mainly using what is now CS5 when I was at Glen Eyre. I've visited this junction a couple of times but had different ideas on how to manage it. This has shone it in a new light for me. Also, that mini roundabout has been there for years judging by the ancient direction signs nearby. About time it was upgraded to a traffic light junction
Just rode this new route again. The whole road is gridlocked! Sadly people have chosen to use the car post lock down. I rode past two council employees sat counting the cyclists using the new route - I waved to them, to make sure they counted me. I am pretty sure the pop up route will disappear and revert back to 4 lanes, so make use of it now while it is still there folks. I recommend to start your ride from the Chilworth end, as it will be downhill all the way.
Out of interest what time of day was this? I live a bit too far from Bassett Avenue to make any use of it, but I've been keeping tabs on Google Maps and havent't seen any patches of dark red (and not even that much red). I appreciate that there will be differences in what Google reports and what's actually happening on the ground, mind.
Hello mate, do you know if its easy to ride from Northam to cantell School? No school buses in September and I was looking to buy a mountain bike for my son.
No idea sorry, I'm not that familiar with that part of the city. My best guess for queiter roads would be the boardwalk up to Horseshoe Bridge, Belmont Road and Grosvenor Road up to the Uni, cross over Burgess Road then Dahlia & Primrose Road. Alternatively if he's able to get to Onslow Road, the U6H will take him most of the way.
Hi, the route where this pop up lane has been built was supposed to be where the SCN5 was supposed to be built anyway? From Chandler’s ford to southampton city centre. Do you know when they will finish building the SCN5?
The section between Northlands Road and Burgess Road was due to be made permanent anyway as the consultation for that section was made just prior to the lockdown in March ( transport.southampton.gov.uk/avenuelovers ). However north of Burgess Road SCN5 was originally planned to only use the shared paths. Given that this pop-up lane now exists suggests that the council are now thinking about creating a permanent segregated cycleway all the way up to Chilworth Roundabout, linking in with HCC's shared path starting behind the Shell garage. Likewise with the upcoming pop-up lane on Hill Lane which will become the longest section of SCN4 so far will lay the groundwork for a permanent lane. According to the Green Transport Recovery Plan document, we should expect a decision on the Bassett Avenue section by the end of August.
Southampton Cyclist that sounds exciting! I hope there definitely becomes a permanent segregated cycle path all the way to Chilworth roundabout. I’m looking forward to cleaner air and more active nation. HCC’s shared path starting behind shell garage, is that just the wider pavement that’s planned there? So not a seperate segregated cycle path? Thanks for the reply btw :)
@@taibabajar It is a shared pedestrian/cycle path that starts at Chilworth roundabout, goes behind the shell and accross Botley Road (the road that goes to Chilworth) and then runs down towards Asda, where it joins the existing cycle network (NCN24). Yes, shock horror, shared path in the 21st century - but actually, no. It's a really good quality path (mostly... there is one dodgy junction). It's 2.5-3.5m in most places, few pedestrians because of location, very smooth surface - driving past today I saw street sweepers on the path, so super clean too. An actual example of an appropriate use of shared use cycle infrastructure - it's generally not appropriate once you reach the urban environment, but in a rural area or between settlements it's fine, especially with the width of the new path. On that note - a number of the traffic light crossings in the cycle network beyond asda into Valley Park & North Baddesley to the west and Eastleigh to the... east... have had their priorities adjusted in favour of pedestrians and cyclists, especially the crossings going around the Asda roundabout. Getting into Southampton by bike is... not a doddle, but it's a darn sight easier than it ever has been before. I personally will be using it, although if they revert the changes it would put me off cycling into Soton.
Excellent video review this! Thanks so much for putting it together. I've shared on the new Southampton Street Space campaign page... facebook.com/SouthamptonStreetSpace
