As in, cycle lanes going the ‘wrong’ way up one-way streets, to make them effectively two-way for cyclists.

What do you reckon? Good or bad?

Not a good idea especially when cars park on said cycle lanes and block them

For narrow slow back streets, I think it’s a great idea. Speeds are so low there’s not really a danger imo.

Really, really useful to be honest. If there’s space, why not?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v8f-oEIwlU[/video]

Filmed in Chester, northgate street to garden lane, Garden lane has no lining and very few signs to tell motorists its a contra flow cyle lane.

I use one every day. cuts out a few minutes and quite a lot of traffic. pedestrians stepping out without looking are more of an issue, but that’s true on both directions.

Thinking about the alternative route has made me realise that Eastcheap’s a better bet at the moment, as Fenchurch St is closed going west.

So thank for asking!

There is one between my house and the station that is great as it means I can take a straight line through town instead of being sent on a tour of back streets.

What does annoy me is cyclist going with the flow of traffic who decide that the cycle lane on the right hand side of the road is for them and refuse to move out the way of those folk using it correctly ie against the traffic flow.

Quite a few added around the North Laine area of brighton recently. Back streets mainly so work well IMO.

Quite a few added around the North Laine area of brighton recently. Back streets mainly so work well IMO.

only one i know is terrifying to use tbh as it is poor/dangerous at junctions – cars cut the corner as its one way and they beep and abuse you for going the “wrong” way

There’s one in Manchester I sometimes use but it always unnerves me, think it’s the cars that reverse out onto the road.

http://goo.gl/maps/Jgqo6

There’s one in Farnborough which I used to use but now avoid.

Basically it ran between the kerb and residents parking “lane” and so has wing mirrors sticking out and numpty car drivers opening their doors etc into the cycle lane. So I stopped using it and found a nice offroad detour 🙂

Linky to Google StreetView Cycle lane starting on the left hand side.

I was thinking about these the other day going down one from Cotham Brow to Stokes Croft in Bristol. Really good idea if there is room (just in this case) but the problem I did notice while stuck in traffic is that other cyclists don’t realise it is for people coming up the hill (its on the right of a one way road going down hill) so they bomb it down the cyclepath the wrong way and then nearly hit people coming up.

Was a useful ass-hat sat in his car right on the cycle path the other day too.

There’s one near me which is dead handy when I ride home from work as it means I can avoid a dual-carriageway and roundabout which is ludicrously busy 5-6pm.

Of course, as this screen shot from Google Street View illustrates, some bell-end is normally parking in it:

or alternatively it is commonly used as an extension to the pavement by groups of pedestrians. It’s slightly downhill – so pretty easy to pick up a fair bit of speed – and quite amusing to watch them scatter! Not that I’d do that of course. 🙂

“only one i know is terrifying to use tbh as it is poor/dangerous at junctions – cars cut the corner as its one way and they beep and abuse you for going the “wrong” way “

+1

I use one (with trepidation) through a city centre, very very very rare for a car driver to look both ways – they’ve already angled the car to turn one way while simultaneously looking in the other direction to look for other cars.

I always expect bad driving, but this bad planning of cycle lanes, IMO.

There are quite a few of these already in That Lunjon. Most are the SuperHighways and painted Blue but then we have the normal dotted line segmentation types where “other users” are not clear on the distinction..nor direction of traffic allowed, so we get squeezed and pushed like we do in more normal traffic flows..
But then who rides within these?? and we’re often found going up oneway streets the wrong way anyway..

So I’m not bothered about where they are…

I sometimes use the one portlyone links to, bit scary cars belt up it pretty quick, many seem to be surprised you are there. There’s one nearby too but that’s abused by parked cars and cyclists* going the wrong way on it.

Good idea if you could get everyone else to respect them (that proviso being the same with all cycle lanes really)

*possibly POBs if we’re being fussy.

http://goo.gl/maps/Hujvd

This one is less than ideal, but luckily quite short and I’m glad it’s there. Main problem is doors of the parked cars opening and folk stepping out without looking. At least its clearly marked as a cycle lane.

There are a couple round here which are useful on my commute to save me trawling round a busy one way system. Both are properly segregated from the main carriageway. Sadly it doesn’t stop delivery drivers for Pizza Express bumping up over the kerb into the cycle lane on one of them which then doesn’t leave anywhere for me to go (legally, at least).

As with many things, they work if they’re done properly and that’s where the problem is rather than the concept in itself.

There’s a few in Nottingham. Don’t like them. Pedestrians don’t look both ways crossing them and car drivers glare/shout abuse as they don’t see the no-entry except for bikes signs.

This one has the added bonus of being hidden to buses as they turn into the street and cut the corner where the cycle lane is.

As a highways engineer who designs these and other cycling facilities for a living, there are some very very bad examples of these around.

However, when done correctly then can be very useful for cyclists and the street as a whole. They are an extension of ‘modal filter’ concept i.e you make cycling the fastest and most convenient way to get around, and ‘punish’ other vehicles.

The one I am thinking of lets you get off a busy main road pretty quickly after a bridge, and access a load of back access lanes and walkways that get you to businesses much more easily than you otherwise would. I’d probably be riding it anyway even if it wasn’t marked.

Oh and I like this ‘modal filter’ concept, I was thinking about that just the other day.

What view would the law take if you were riding in the cycling lane and encountered this car, so you bunnyhopped up the bonnet and rode over the top before dropping off the other side al la Peter Sagan or Martyn Ashton?

I mean really returning roads to two ways is often better, but well designed contraflows have their place IMO

In Brussels you tend to have whole areas where all of the one ways are two ways for bikes (I think it is done on a per commune basis). It reality it seems to work rather well as long as the road is wide enough. The downside of the ‘per commune’ thing is that is sometimes seems to be applied on roads that aren’t wide enough but those I just avoid.

Like

(and modal filters rock)

I use one going through Stockport town centre, it’s actually part of the Trans Pennine Trail

Trans Pennine Trail

I’ve had a bus driver aim at me, I taxi driver call me a T*** and plenty of drivers gesticulate that I shouldn’t be there.

It’s still better than the alternative route

What view would the law take if you were riding in the cycling lane and encountered this car, so you bunnyhopped up the bonnet and rode over the top before dropping off the other side al la Peter Sagan or Martyn Ashton?

this is something I wonder quite often! Unfortunately I lack the skillz… could always dismount and run across the car hoisting my bike CX style though!!

I think where they’re dangerous or unhelpful is where they are the exception, then you get some of the behaviours described above: people not looking, abuse from drivers etc.

The Brussels solution sounds much better – if it is the norm then other road users will expect to see cyclists going the other way rather than be startled by it.

I mean really returning roads to two ways is often better

Oh? Interested to hear the expert theory on thus.

Usually one way roads were often built as a way to manage motor traffic, usually private vehicles. Other modes of transport (peds, cyclists, public transport etc) are an afterthought. I.e often cars dominate in one way streets to the detriment of everyone else.

For narrow slow back streets, I think it’s a great idea. Speeds are so low there’s not really a danger imo.

I used to use one, but got fed up with drivers aiming straight at me thinking I was going the wrong way, all because they’re too dumb to read a street sign.

Cambridge is full of them. They are slightly confusing to drivers as they’re not that well signed and half of us (cyclists) treat all one way roads as being as such anyway…..

Wokingham needs one through the town center, otherwise it’s either the pavement, or go round the one way system to go 100 yeards. Getting through on a bike is bad enough avoiding douchebags pulling out where the road turns into a contraflow buss lane and cars have to turn off left (i.e. drivers coming the other way are turning right, look for a ‘bus’, if none then pull out into the cyclist.

None on my regular commute but given the general ignorance of the Highway Code, lack of respect for speed limits/priorities and general antipathy towards cyclists which is the normal culture for driving in the UK I’m not too sure they’re a good idea.

If people knew what they were for and drove accordingly I’m sure they’d be fine

If people knew what they were for and drove accordingly I’m sure they’d be fine

Nope, drivers would still hate cyclists.

got one in Princes Risborough high street which is now eastbound only for motorised traffic – what was the west bound side of the road is now parking for cars by kerb & contraflow for bikes near centre of road, trouble is any car parking on the south side of the road (unless they happen to be left hand drive) has to actually pull into the cycle lane before they can even see if any bikes are coming, wouldn’t use it if you paid me.

there are quite a few in leicester city centre. use them quite a bit and quite like them. plenty of motorists trying their hardest to rubbish the idea but on the whole in my experience they work pretty well. have had a couple of run ins with local plod telling me off for riding the wrong way. always fun educating them. one of them took exception to my right to be there and started to try to do me for dangerous cycling (or what ever it is), and properly quizzing me about my bike. he decided against it after about 15mins of talking to him. i was perfectly friendly so never did work out who had pissed on his chips.

started to try to do me for dangerous cycling

We’re screwed really aren’t we, when even the Police aren’t well enough educated about the needs of people riding bikes

We’re screwed really aren’t we, when even the Police aren’t well enough educated about the needs of people riding bikes

Sadly the Police are no more intelligent / educated than your average car driver….

think the comment above about needing to consider the need for one way streets hits the nail – often only there to provide on street parking and/or higher traffic speeds – managing traffic routing by closing off street ends to cars but allowing bikes would be a less car-centric way of managing traffic flow

incidentally one on my regular route into the city centre is always exciting as people looking for parking spaces can’t deal with a cyclist in the way even more so than usual – and to get a right turn traffic light at the end you have to leave the right side lane and ride up the left side to activate the sensors then cross back! ho hum