For me it use to be those little islands that cars give you the squeeze at when they misjudge how fast you’re going, but it’s fast becoming these “traffic calming” one way things…

Coming up to one today (with priority) and I suspect the ATS van behind me thought i was going to go for the little cycle lane, despite me riding in a fairly primary position at around 25mph (about the speed of the car in front). So he pulls out and floors it probably to try and get around me quickly just as I’m moving into the oncoming lane to get around the outcrop. It was a pretty damn close call 😕

Going through the little cycle cut through is even more dangerous IMO, loads of crap on the tarmac, but worse than that you emerge the other side at the same place that cars are pulling back into your lane, usually with stopped oncoming traffic meaning there isn’t sufficient room for them to do so! They should just not bother putting the bike lane there. Just a really poor bit of road furniture for cyclists.

If road engineers were prosecuted and imprisoned any time a cyclist was killed or injured in an accident involving these sorts of crap cycle facilities, they’d soon stop putting them in.

I’ll second that, absolutely stupid design.

How about combining the two? Regular traffic island plus little cycle lane either side:

Streetview

Neil, that is a bloody good idea.

Lifer, that is bonkers road design, pushing the traffic towards where the cyclist would be merging back in 🙁

Just lucky that my motorbike CBT drummed in the lifesaver checks many years ago now otherwise I’d likely have had a nice trip in an air ambulance today!

My nomination is stop signs. What do they achieve that a give way doesn’t? You can only proceed when it’s safe in either instance so what’s the point?

We have a couple of sets of those on one of our local roads……one set has a cycle bypass lane like in the OPs picture, the other has a gap of around 4″ with 4″ high kerbs on both sides so pedal clipping kerb or wheel rubbing kerbing and subsequent crash is inevitable…….just doesn’t make any logic apart from they ballsed up the design/build.

In town the little cycle lane is going to be blocked by a parked car at the far end anyway.

Nothing to do with traffic, but I always think these are bloody dangerous when you’re on a bike:

Some of them aren’t too bad. But some of them have you holding on for dear life when travelling at any kind of speed.

And those yellow rumble strips at night make your cars eat headlight and taillight bulbs from experience!

Near us, the main entrance to the secondary school, they put those ickle cycle lanes in with bollards. What has now happened is that the residents all park between each cycle lane are. This now means the cyclists have to use the road anyway. Waste. Of. Time.
This road: https://goo.gl/maps/Ti33h

And this:

There are loads of those traffic islands on the final few miles of my road commute. Stupid thing is, if they’d moved the lanes of traffic together they’d have 2m of space on the left to put in a cycle path. But no, they’ve moved the traffic as far away from the middle as possible then wasted acres of good tarmac by painting white hatchings over it and putting in traffic islands. Insane.

Apart from a narrowed road *does* slow most drivers down.

I keep hoping that as the popularity of cycling increases they might elevate the design of cycle paths above the status of an afterthought. No evidence of it yet though.

Yes but why narrow the road by wasting a load of tarmac?

Take the traffic islands and hatchings out of here then move the traffic lanes together and put in a cycle lane on the kerbside of the road.

Narrowed road, slower traffic AND space for cycling.

My nomination is stop signs. What do they achieve that a give way doesn’t?

Oblige you to actually stop?

Tactile cycle paving…horrible stuff on a road bike when its slippery.

Although having googled for an image, I’ve just found out its the wrong type…it should be this stuff:

More info here…apparently its a national problem, http://www.ctcdevon.co.uk/newton_tactile_2007.htm

I’m gonna go with a classic …. mini roundabouts.

it’s a junction that no-one actually knows how to use, and it’s a load of paint !! great..

I think the cycle lane that meanders around the road, bus stops and parking spaces on Manchester’s Curry Mile is my least favourite bit of “infrastructure”.

Roundabouts with several sets of traffic lights around the circumference. My LA excel at these, retro-fitting louvred filters because motorists got confused and saw the next green set when they should have stopped at the red one before

If you want a traffic-light controlled crossroads then build one, it takes up less space, has fewer drainage problems and is less likely to become totally jammed up [/rant]

Guess which side of the pavement is ‘ designed ‘ for cyclists.

I would love to put the ‘designers’ and councilors , and idiots that signed it off, and built it on bikes with 800mm bars and make them ride up the ‘cycle lane ‘

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fourbanger – Member
My nomination is stop signs. What do they achieve that a give way doesn’t? You can only proceed when it’s safe in either instance so what’s the point?

They put them in were visibility splays are not possible and or there is no space for a significant bellmouth and you effectively have to swing out wide as you join the carriage way. Both situation were stopping and checking are a fantastic idea so they make you do just that.

My nomination is stop signs.

Just be glad we are not like the USA, where they have four way stops at every junction, even when there is fantastic visibility and hardly any traffic!

Stop signs are fairly rare, at least where I am I can only think of a few. Actually I can’t think of them, but I know there are a couple!

Singletrackmind, none of your links show any cycle infrastructure?!

Thing is, after you have stopped, you then have to give way anyway.
At a giveaway, if there isn’t a clear view or there is traffic coming, you have to stop anyway.
So what difference would it make if they just did away with stop signs?

AHh
Yes, You are correct .
The footpath on the left is a dual use footpath and cycle lane.
The cycle lane is approx 60cm , with interspaced bollards , lamposts and road signs. Not possible to ride down safely unless your on a hipster fixie with 300mm bars .

This is one of my favourites, not a major problem as you just give way but it’s the only place I’ve ever seen anything like this

On the other hand this, in my opinion, is a cracker. It’s not too obvious from the photo but it’s a steep uphill. Like has been said, the cycle bit is dodgy due to squeezing through and having pedal strikes. The main issue i think is the fact the give way is not on the same side as the build out. OK it allows uphill traffic to keep going, but why not just put the build out on the same side as the give way ?

Coming up to one today (with priority)

confused by the OP; if you have priority (“oncoming” traffic in your pic) you don’t have a “little cycle lane”, that serves the side without priority, ie. the traffic that has to give way, and allows the cyclist to continue in that direction safely WITHOUT giving way.

I assume you’re describing a different lay-out to that pictured, but the only ones I know of around me are as pictured and I’ve described.

You are gonna hate me I know but I vote this, well this particular one..

The CS3 Tower Hill-Canary Wharf.

If you’ve ever ridden it with a bunch of commuters, you’l know exactly what I mean… 🙄

Simmy: is that even a cycle lane past the island bit? There are no road markings and it’s so narrow I always assumed bits like that are just to let water drain past without making a massive puddle on the uphill side of the island.

Crashtestmonkey, yes sorry, the one in the photo isn’t the actual one but just the first one I found on google images. On the actual one the island is in the middle of the lane with priority. Basically the arrows are in the other direction from shown on the photo. I should really have grabbed the proper image off google maps but was short on time.

Thing is, after you have stopped, you then have to give way anyway.
At a giveaway, if there isn’t a clear view or there is traffic coming, you have to stop anyway.
So what difference would it make if they just did away with stop signs?

Because at some junctions you can get away with a quick glance and not coming to a stop, but by not coming to a stop you don’t have time to take a proper ‘look twice’ check. There is a junction near me where there have been several accidents, often involving motorbikes. Its a T junction on a long bend with an often flouted 40mph limit. You need to stop properly even though there is no Stop sign…it needs one. People usually pull out in front of traffic coming from the right as they haven’t got time to check more than once unless they stop…and the limited visibility is the side they have to concentrate on.

By putting in a Stop sign, it is an offence to not stop so you can be prosecuted without actually waiting for your unlucky day when you are arrested for death by careless driving.

(clicky)