Bridges of Oxfordshire

Whilst visiting friends and family in the UK, I took the opportunity to take my kiwi wife to Oxfordshire. It was a glorious spring day and we rode our bikes along the Oxford canals. On the journey, we came across some wonderful examples of cycle bridges and footbridges that would work equally well in NZ parks and along the coastal paths of NZ… I hope these images help inspire!

Interestingly you will notice that the majority of these bridges do not have NZ Building Code (NZBC) compliant vertical balustrade infills, and many have balustrade infills with gaps greater than 100mm. We found these bridges not only beautiful but also functional. We didn’t see a single errant child climbing them or falling through (!). This is a good reminder of why adopting the full NZBC guidelines on balustrade design (intended for domestic/commercial buildings) can be a bit "OTT" when applied to footbridges or cycle bridges. For most footbridges, the small children in these environments are already heavily supervised in family groups which significantly reduces the risk compared to a domestic environment. Balustrade systems generally account for 10 to 20% of overall footbridge costs and thus a common-sense approach to cycle/footbridge balustrades (like these examples from Oxford) could provide NZ councils with substantial savings on their cycleway infrastructure. Food for thought? Personally, I am a big fan of stainless steel horizontal wires closely spaced (as shown on some of these Oxford examples). They are practical, durable, modern, economic… and in my opinion safe.

In conclusion: 1) enjoy the photos, 2) get inspired, & 3) think about how we can get better economy and durability from our balustrades when designing new bridges and cycleways in NZ.