I’ve been reviewing a few documents from the South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (which cover Sheffield) and was shocked at the cost of some of their cycling initiatives. I’ve collated most of the examples I could find from the LSTF funding bid from 2011, most of these schemes will be constructed/run in the next 2/3 years.
All of these figures come from the LSTF Bid documents which are available here but they’re pretty tough to read! Annex 01 has maps/descriptions and Annex 02 has detailed costings.
Cycle Stands
Installation and purchasing of 1000 Sheffield style cycle stands (BEST4)
- Purchase cost: £113,000
- Installation cost: £100,000
- Total cost per stand: £213
Public/Workplace Bike Maintenance Sessions
Running of 500 Dr Bike maintenance sessions, 11 bikes safety checked per session, 5500 bikes in total checked with minor maintenance carried out (BEST4)
- Total cost: £202,000
- Cost per session: £404
- Cost per bike worked on: £36.72
Cycle Training Sessions
7000 people trained to Bikeability level 2/3 (BEST4)
- Total cost: £296,000
- Cost per person: £42
Cycle routes
Most of the routes below are in cities so I expect the cost of altering infrastructure is higher given the density of the urban enviornment.
3 routes in Barnsley totalling 11.6km in lenghth, mostly segregated off road facilities (BARN2)
- Fees/Site Supervision (Consultancy): £192,000
- Signage: £12,480
- Construction: £2,021,000
- Total Cost: £2,225,480
- Cost per km: £191,851
1 route from the Dearne Valley to Swinton, 1.2km in length, majority is segregated off road facilities (DEAR2)
- Signage: £14,000
- Construction: £224,000
- Total Cost: £238,000
- Cost per km: £198,333
3 routes totalling 15.2km, mostly unsegregated on road facilities (DEAR4)
- Fees/Site Supervision (Consultancy): £115,000
- Traffic management (for construction?): £11,000
- Signage: £35,000
- Construction: £603,000
- Total cost: £764,000
- Cost per km: £50,263
1 route totalling 13.3km, route already in existance from Sheffield to Rotherham along the river Don, improvements to surface and junctions, completely off road route along a canal/river (DONV5)
- Construction: £1124,000
- Signage: £24,000
- Fees/Site Supervision (Consultancy): £64,000
- Total cost: £1,212,000
- Cost per km: £91,127
1 route 3.15km in length between Rawmarsh and Rotherham. Mostly unsegregated on road facilities along a major A road. Includes an upgrade to a pedestrian bridge across a railway line, river and canal (DONV6).
- Construction: £1,095,000
- Signage: £18,000
- Total cost: £1,113,000
- Cost per km: £353,333
The cost for this last scheme seems to have been increased because of the need for £193,000 for bridge upgrades and £400,000 for new toucan crossings. Excluding these items gives a cost per km of £165,079 which is more inline with the other projects.
It seems that adding cycle infrastructure is expensive, cycle training is VERY cheap, and cycle stands are supprisingly expensive. I wonder how these costs compare to those in other areas of the country, around the world and what the incremental cost of these are if they are added to a larger road construction project. Does anyone know?