[4] The Bicycle Union was renamed the National Cyclists' Union in 1883,[5] and continued to campaign for highway improvements, successfully pursuing an 1885 legal action, with support from highway engineer Thomas Codrington, regarding the road between Birmingham and Halesowen.
[6] In October 1886, the CTC and NCU pooled resources and formed the Roads Improvement Association.
[16] This described the aims of the RIA: In 1909 when the British government's Road Board (a forerunner of today's Department for Transport) was established, Jeffreys resigned as honorary secretary of the RIA to become the Board's first secretary,[17] though he continued to recognise the pioneering role of cyclists.
(In his 1949 book, The King's Highway,[18] he noted: "Cyclists were the class first to take a national interest in the conditions of the roads.").
[23] In 1891, the League created the Roads Improvement Bureau, which published pamphlets and articles in magazines and newspapers.
[25] Modelled on the British organisation, the Irish Roads Improvement Association was established in April 1897 by, among others, Richard J.