Cyclists in Edinburgh have won their case against the council over being injured on the tramlines. It was always going to happen - the design being so poor that its obviously dangerous to cyclists - you are forced to either swerve out into traffic or cross the lines at a shallow angle and in one place the cycleway runs between the lines.
“I have no hesitation in rejecting the defenders’ cases of contributory negligence.
A welcome and interesting judgement in light of the recent case where a cyclist was judged to have been a fault for hitting a pedestrian that stepped out in front of him without looking; the judgement effectively indicating that the cyclist should have been riding in a manner that mitigated the incompetence of any everyone else.
Interesting we had a week in Amsterdam some years back and saw literally 1000s of cyclists crossing tramlines; we saw just 1 instance of someone getting their wheel caught. The difference here of course being that the cycling infrastructure was brilliant with designated cycle lanes crossing tramlines at obtuse angles; I guess that in Edinburgh (like the rest of the UK) it's not that clever.
It lethal.
for example here the lane is marked between the tracks. Or you ride along the edge and get cars right at your elbow - the right hand lane and the other two are on different phases of the lights
https://goo.gl/maps/KPQwPD7wGrEAKhLM9
Or further up princes street going east - you either have to swerve out from your lane into tha adhjacent one to cross at an obbtuse angle or cross at a shallow angle
Or down at heymarket where it has been redesigned 3 times and this is the result note the foot wide cycleway that then directs you across the tracks at a shallow angle
https://goo.gl/maps/m3A5SNgdFHcRAufP6
Girl i worked with was on one the cyclists. She had some facial scars but a couple of the cyclists were pretty badly hurt.
She managed to complete her PhD although said she had moments of memory loss.
Almost 200 injured cyclists treated at RIE from crashing on the tram tracks. 60+ of which had broken bones
One death
won damages?
Someone died. The pricks who allowed the lines to go ahead in the way they have been implemented should be in jail.
Now they've been proven to be dangerous the ****ing lines need tarmac'd over.
when people first started complaining I thought seriously how bad can it be, but yeah it's truly terrible and lethal, that hook at Haymarket that fires you either into the tram track or under a citylink coach doing 45 is just astoundingly bad.
especially as spokes commissioned a report from dutch transport specialists for a cycle route that would have been safe which was ignored.
Pjay you have misunderstood the case you referred to.
Pjay you have misunderstood the case you referred to.
Ah, okay; apologies. I was under the impression that the ruling indicated that the cyclist should have been aware enough in his cycling, and travelling at a speed low enough, to avoid hitting anyone stepping out in front of him and his failure to do so contributed to the accident/liability (even if the person he hit was acting foolishly); strikes me as a "By the grace of God" moment. I may have misconstrued things.
In any event, it's good that the Edinburgh ruling doesn't blame the cyclist.
I find driving on the tram tracks around Sheffield in the car scary enough, I cannot imagine what it must be like on a bike - in the wet!
Its fine if the road design lets you cross at right angles to the tracks. The issue here is you either have to swerve from one lane to another or cross the tracks at a very shallow angle - or in the case of the first pic I put up you have to cross to between the tracks and then back across them again which obviously cannot be done at an oblique angle. Its not the tracks themselves thats the issue - its the road design
I find driving on the tram tracks around Sheffield in the car scary enough, I cannot imagine what it must be like on a bike – in the wet!
Not ridden the Edinburgh ones but I've come off on the Sheffield ones trying to turn off west street towards Mappin.
If they're going to allow bikes to travel on the tram routes then they have to show some consideration over how you're going to get off. Although the difference is in Sheffield they didn't even bother with the magic paint.
All that said, i wouldn't like to see bikes used as a reason to object to new tram lines. They just need planning for together not with bikes as an afterthought.
It’s bloody lethal and I avoid them Completely now even if it’s a big detour. Not worth the risk.
Fatbike seems to be a good way of dealing with tram tracks. When you have 5" tyres you are not going to fall into the grooves.
For a normal skinny tyred bike the Edinburgh tram tracks are really dangerous.
The whole Edinburgh tram project is an absolute disgrace. £800 million pounds for less than 9 miles of tram lines. £55,000 per metre.
and it doesn't interface with either the mainline trains or even the airport properly. 100m open air walk at the airport to get the tram No access to Waverly station.
when people first started complaining I thought seriously how bad can it be, but yeah it’s truly terrible
Pretty much this. I live in dalry and have to cross them to get to the office. It's obviously easy enough to avoid them when not surrounded by cars, but when it's busy and you are having to hold your line you can't easily take avoiding action. I wouldn't fancy crossing them on road tyres, especially not in the wet, and I expect I probably have above average bike handling skills (for the average Edinburgh commuter).
I (thankfully ) had left Edinburgh before the trams were built.
Was visiting by bike a couple of years ago, and followed a friend round Haymarket. Felt distinctly twitchy and I'd say am confident on a bike and round most town obstacles. And that was on a lovely summer day.
The whole Edinburgh tram project is an absolute disgrace. £800 million pounds for less than 9 miles of tram lines. £55,000 per metre.
It's now used in case studies around what not to do in town planning, infrastructure build, project management and public finances.
Pretty much everyone involved at Edinburgh Council should be in jail or never allowed to work in public office again.
Turning from Lothian Road onto Princes Street (first of TJ's links) is the only one I have to deal with, and only occasionally. This is fortunate as it makes me nervous every time I do it.
Fatbike seems to be a good way of dealing with tram tracks. When you have 5″ tyres you are not going to fall into the grooves.
At last, a use for fat bikes.... 😊
I was under the impression that the ruling indicated that the cyclist should have been aware enough in his cycling, and travelling at a speed low enough, to avoid hitting anyone stepping out in front of him and his failure to do so contributed to the accident/liability (even if the person he hit was acting foolishly); strikes me as a “By the grace of God” moment. I may have misconstrued things.
The judgement was far more nuanced than the reporting accompanying it.
I find driving on the tram tracks around Sheffield in the car scary enough, I cannot imagine what it must be like on a bike – in the wet!
They are f'n dangerous - have been many cyclists injured by the Sheffield tram tracks since their inception back in 1991 or whenever.
Pretty much everyone involved at Edinburgh Council should be in jail or never allowed to work in public office again.
Those that can't.... go into public office.