Strava to be used to identify popular Devon cycling routes for repairshttps://t.co/mH5v9IYZKb— Devon Live News (@DevonLiveNews) July 9, 2020
Strava is set to be used by Devon County Council to decide where some of the additional £27m of spending on Devon’s roads will be allocated... the extra spending will go towards roads that are used by cyclists or walkers...
An extra £6m will be spent on Devon’s principal road network, with £3.2m extra of bridges and structures, with £17.7m to be spent on smaller roads, such as ‘C’ and unclassified roads, with a focus on improving the condition and resilience of high-usage local route networks.
By coincidence, it wasn't many months ago that we mentioned Strava on this blog. We posted What Strava tells us about AI’s haul route – how Aggregate Industries had claimed one local route network was hardly used by anyone, and how Strava showed otherwise:
In the past, Aggregate Industries' consultants have disputed that Birdcage Lane is used by pedestrians:
The roads adjacent to the application sites are not ideal for pedestrian use. 4.1
It was of course nonsense. Aggregate Industries, if asked, would no doubt still dispute that these quiet lanes have amenity value. Show us the proof, they might say. And modern technology does.
Strava: a social fitness network, that is primarily used to track cycling and running exercises, using GPS data.
Click on the screenshot below to show the pedestrian use of Birdcage Lane:
Strava also tells us about the B3174 – the road that Aggregate Industries wants to use to haul sand and gravel. The company's previous TA said the B3174 was unattractive to cyclists. The latest TA is silent on the matter of cyclists and the interaction with up to 216 HGV movements a day, save for:
3.2.13 There are no designated cycle routes within close proximity of the proposed mineral extraction site, however proficient cyclists may utilise the network of quiet lanes.
Clearly they use more than just the quiet lanes. The screenshot below shows cyclist use of the B3174:
It was yet another example of Aggregate Industries' consultants saying one thing, and reality – with the help of some modern technology – telling us the reverse.
But it's good that Devon County Council are recognising the benefits of Strava to identify popular high amenity pedestrian routes across the County. It means the data presented above can hardly be disputed.
