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luke/monro biker
when ever i see roads crossing the cycle path like that im reminded of the late great Jason MacIntyre (thats what the ghost bike as you enter fort williams there for)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_MacIntyre
I will actively avoid any cycle path that does that.
is that a photo of den helder graham - looks like it 😉
Yes, exactly like that situation. Sadly Jason wasn't as 'lucky' as my mate. There needs to be so much more done.
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why you should always stop at those junctions even if theres never NORMALLY anything there.
Just to add to this, the ashurst to lyndhurst road was never narrowed to create the cylepath, it was a footpath before that. Sadly, it's too narrow to allow pedestrians and cyclists to use it safely. The original plan was to create a path on the other side of the fence, however the very anti-bike verderers put a stop the that sharpish.
is that a photo of den helder graham - looks like it
Sadly the real London cycle "superhighways" are more likely to do this:
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[i]"Hey cyclists - stop here and give way to the proper traffic that might want to turn."[/i]
Aaaaaargh!! 👿
Never use the bike lane [url= http://tinyurl.com/d6jq6pm ]here[/url] on my commute - while the surface is generally OK, it's on the pavement next to a fence (not on the roadside) and is full of pedestrians, dog walkers, etc. It runs right past the front door of a health centre, various bus stops, and has "give way" indications every time it gets to a junction. If I were with my kids I'd use it, but as part of a transportation plan it has all the hallmarks of box-ticking greenwash.
On the other hand, [url= http://tinyurl.com/ccfnpka ]the M609[/url] has a fully separate cycle lane (just to the left of the road iself) that's great for road biking, you see loads of chain gangs hammering up and down it at the weekend. Unfortunately it's nowhere near my workplace 🙁
The cycle paths that give way at junctions are a nightmare, you have to look through 270 degrees to see everything you're required to give-way to.
It basically creates more junctions for a cyclist, when the junctions are the most dangerous bits.
Even as a pedestrian you have a right-of-way over any car turning into the junction (not that most car drivers realise this).
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one of the classics on my commute and thus why i use the railway most of time.
we have 3 or 4 set ups like that along that stretch !
Genius!
Does that central island house the shrinking ray to allow cars to get past?
TR thats great - I assume it implies that cyclists have right of way, so you'll happily know you're in the clear as you lie beneath the wheels of a juggernaut.
[url= http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl ]This on the other hand[/url] is a Sustrans route which deposits you down a steep hill between thick bushes on a path which is 1 person wide, and slightly raised too so you can fall right off the edge if trying to pass someone, straight onto a blind corner with traffic coming off the dual carriage way from behind you as well as cars coming out of the side road. Its even better in the dark as its unlit!
Edit - streetview link fail, lets try this:
[url= http://goo.gl/maps/yphnP ]Here we go[/url]
TR: those are put there (with the highlighted bit past the traffic islands) to alert motorists to the fact that they can't pass a cyclist at that point, there isn't space to do so.
At least, that's the general idea of them. In practice, what it's actually doing is using both the traffic island AND the cyclist to slow down traffic. In other words, the cyclist is seen by traffic planners as a bit of a mobile speed chicane. Lethal.
[i]Highway code 183
When turning
• keep as close to the left as is safe and practicable
• give way to any vehicles using a bus lane, cycle lane or tramway from either direction[/i]
Does this mean all cyclepaths?
Are the stupid multiple give ways on a cylepath mandatory ?
The problem is we have no decent design standards, only some fairly iffy "guidance" on what constitutes a good cycle facility. [url= http://www.dutchcycling.nl/ ]If only there was a country somewhere that had already spent the last 20 years ironing out all the problems...[/url]
Which is why you joined Sustrans and your local cycling group to make sure your money is more wisely spent in the future... ?
I joined sustrans many years ago and continue to make a monthly donation. I've complained to the council on several occasions. We still get very poorly designed/ maintained paths, often in places they're not wanted.
Are the stupid multiple give ways on a cylepath mandatory ?
No.
http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/priority-of-cycle-tracks-across-side-roads/
One of my favorites...
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There's one on my way to work into one way traffic.. the wrong way. So you're heading into oncoming vehicles with irrate motorists always giving you the finger, assuming you shouldnt be there.
[i]TR: those are put there (with the highlighted bit past the traffic islands) to alert motorists to the fact that they can't pass a cyclist at that point, there isn't space to do so.[/i]
Blimey, you can't complain about that! On my route they remove the cycle lane at that point to [i]invite[/i] drivers to push past!
Here's my favourite on my way to work. (I avoid this route)
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So that's nice, they've seperated us from the "real traffic"...
but hey, what's that fence on the left. Swing streetview around and you'll see..
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Yes! share your journey with school kids! Goes on for a couple of miles that. And I've been shouted at a couple of times by drivers to get on the cycle path. I think I was quite polite to the one stopped in traffic 🙂
A customer of ours in the shop I worked in in st Andrew's refused to use the cycle path after he had an accident on it
I am sure they got a massive fright and I am sorry they got slammed,but(IMO) there is no way it's a dangerous cycle path ,even with the farm and golf access roads,there is plenty visibility (regardless of who thinks they have right of way).
The only time it gets sketchy is with ice and frost(cause cycle paths aren't worth gritting are they 🙄 ) .
I would never want to go back to using the [s]race track[/s] road beside it
There's one on my way to work into one way traffic.. the wrong way. So you're heading into oncoming vehicles with irrate motorists always giving you the finger, assuming you shouldnt be there.
The problem there isn't really the cycling facility - [url= http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2010/02/one-way-streets-in-uk-and-netherlands.html ]a bit of increased cycle permeability is a good thing[/url] - the problem is educating the motorists.
oh i know why its there
shame folk are impatient ... they will actively overtake on the other side of the island , sit behind tooting to try and make your move over - i activly move to the edge of the cycle lane to leave no room for confusion.
its even better if a bus stops at the bus stop ! - cars cant get past and traffic backs up for ages at busy times !
I'm thinking of making up some signs that say:
THIS ISN'T A CYCLE PATH
THIS IS A PAVEMENT
And putting them up on selected local facilities. Just so the local council, drivers et al don't get the wrong end of the stick.
Nah don't do that MrAgreeable.
Half the drivers may shout [i]"Get on the cycle path"[/i], but you can bet that if you do the other half will shout [i]"Get off the pavement"[/i].
What they really want you to do is go away.
Aside from Sustrans, some other people lobbying for proper, usable cycle infrastructure:
http://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/
And even the CTC seem to be getting in on the act:
http://beta.ctc.org.uk/ctc-declares-support-for-quality-segregation-while-still-opposing-farcilities
I think the CTC finally realised that sitting on the fence was losing them membership.
one of the classics on my commute and thus why i use the railway most of time.we have 3 or 4 set ups like that along that stretch !
That is almost right outside FIL and MIL house... spooky!
There is another belter as seen here just outside the hoose - UK's narrowest road! http://goo.gl/maps/nWbbZ
How about this contender for the UK's narrowest shared use pavement?
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http://goo.gl/maps/k9fKK
Ironically placed on the pavement between the Tyne Bar and [url= http://www.thecyclehub.org/ ]The Cycle Hub[/url].
Not ridable by anyone whose bike includes such elaborate features such as handlebars or pedals.
Popping down to the jumble last week I pointed that out assuming that some wag had stuck it up as a joke. I like it even more if it's official.
Well to be fair it doesn't appear as a shared-use on [url= http://www.tyneandwearltp.gov.uk/maps/ ]my big map of Newcastle cycle lanes[/url].
I can only assume they [i]meant[/i] to put up an "On road cycle lane" sign like this:
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It'd be interesting to know how on earth they decided that cycling on these particular pavements was perfectly acceptable whilst its illegal on all the other pavements.
It'd be interesting to know how on earth they decided that cycling on these particular pavements was perfectly acceptable whilst its illegal on all the other pavements.
It does seem very arbitrary.
I discovered recently (on the [url= http://www.gatesheadcycling.org.uk/forums/78/linking-coulthards-lane-sunderland-road ]Gateshead Cycling Forum[/url]) that the final part of my commute isn't actually shared use and I'm using it illegally. 😳
Obviously there are no signs to actually indicate this. It seamlessly transitions from shared use to normal pavement, then back to shared use, then normal pavement again.
My illegal route takes me straight along an empty pavement by some towerblocks and unused wasteland, causing absolutely no harm to anybody.
The [i]official[/i] route apparently diverts at right angles, through an underpass, into the busy town centre where it cunningly mixes shared use and on-road facilities, before diverting through a pedestrian precinct and another pedestrian underpass - causing maximum inconvenience for everyone involved.
[url= http://goo.gl/maps/kubAB ]Heres another corker near me[/url] - got to be a contender for the shortest and most pointless cycle lane ever? (Totton nr Southampton - promoting itself as a 'cycling city')
ps how do you link streetview images to appear in a post?
That doesn't look like a cycle lane; that looks like a marking to indicate that the road is promoted and used as a cycle route. You're quite welcome to draw your own conclusions about how effective these things are, but it's a lot less stupid than going "let's put in a cycle lane that's only 24" long".
That doesn't look like a cycle lane; that looks like a marking to indicate that the road is promoted and used as a cycle route.
Agreed. But that nicely illustrates the problem with these signs and road markings. Even cyclists don't know what they mean!
ps how do you link streetview images to appear in a post?
Simply... screenshot (Control+PrintScreen), save as an image, upload to your favourite image host then post here as normal. 😀
when ever i see roads crossing the cycle path like that im reminded of the late great Jason MacIntyre (thats what the ghost bike as you enter fort williams there for
Not that I want to politicise this, but I think he was actually on the road when he was killed.
Here are a couple from my commute:
First and favourite:
Shared use cycle path, for a few metres at least!
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[url] http://goo.gl/maps/t5O41 [/url]
and
As well as crossing a couple of roads this shared path has these little beauts. Cycles are indicated to ride nearest the hedge btw so if someone steps out you've got no chance! Also plenty of leaves and pedestrians on this stretch of path.
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[url] http://goo.gl/maps/YMfoS [/url]
Road the whole way for me!
First and favourite:
Shared use cycle path, for a few metres at least!
Far be it for me to be picky but surely this is quite reasonable - looking at StreetView it just continues the shared cycle path on that side of the road for the few metres after the side road up to the toucan crossing where it crosses the road and carries on. Apologies if I missed something.
The other one is daft though!
Other side of the toucan crossing:
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Okay now I'm confused. It's like they've attempted to make a simple junction safer by making it way more complicated.
Or maybe it was meant to be a route to that school??
Just following up the post above, my understanding was also that Jason was not on the cycle path. The driver of the van claimed that he thought Jason must have been on the path, because he did not see him. However the judge ruled that the accident was entirely due to the driver's failure to keep a proper lookout when turning.
So that case is not an example of an accident involving a dangerous cycle path, but I do agree that paths that are interrupted by access junctions are inconvenient and potentially risky.
GrahamS - Member
Okay now I'm confused. It's like they've attempted to make a simple junction safer by making it way more complicated.
Or maybe it was meant to be a route to that school??
If it is for the school (likely) it's still way more complicated than it needs to be. Back up the main road in the first picture I posted there's a parade of shops with bus stops, a car park and mini roundabout (which has all been redone recently) so if they were bothered about creating a safe way for kids to cycle to school I'd assume they would have extended it up past all those hazards. But it could just be a token 'facilities for cyclits'.