Britain's daftest cycle lane?

[Ellis456]

Don't know if already posted:




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ne-Warrington-15ft-road-puts-bikers-spin.html

 

[machew]

A close second must be the Selly Oak new road with lamp-post every few yards in the centre of the cycle lane

 

[ohnovino]

The last line of that article made me laugh:

"This is one of the reasons it costs so much to learn to drive nowadays."

Really?! The cost of driving lessons is affected by the implementation of 15ft cycle lanes?

 

[Bayerd]

Looks like it's been there a while, they've only just noticed it now?

 

[Canrider]

I must admit I didn't think it was going to be much, given the link and given the longstanding shopping of silly cycle lanes that goes on on the internets.

However.

I think this actually is the daftest cycle lane ever. The semi circle (so, longer than the road segment it adjoins), the markings (including the double-dashed give way), and the moss or gunge or whatever Cr*p has partly overgrown the tarmac (which I bet was laid straight on dirt after the turf was removed).

 

[dellzeqq]

It is silliness of a high order. And it's remarkable that the Mail is catching on....

 

[Glover Fan]

I think if you read the comments, it is obvious that this serves a safety purpose in that it allows cyclists to use the semi circle if they are turning right onto another road where they can get a pedestrian view of the road so it is safer to cross than go into the middle of the road. Obviously designed for less able cyclists and those who are afraid to go into the middle of the road. Apparently popular on the continent.

But hey ho, any excuse for the Daily Wail to have a stupid and unbelieveable scoop.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

How about this one, just up the road from me? A cycle lane that starts at a lamp post, and throws you onto the road just before the crest of a hump back bridge? But that isn't all, just turn the camera around and check out the pinch point (designed to stop overweight vehicles using the weak bridge).

A recipe for disaster.

 

[gaz]

Lets look at it at a whole. the concept is a well used one, often to allow cyclists to make a right turn into a minor road safer.
But the application here is perfect, the idea in this situation is to allow cyclists using the cycle path to turn right on the roundabout without using the rest of the paved path all the way around. They cross from the right, to the left and then wait at the end part for a gap in the traffic to join back on the road. Personally it's not done properly as you do really need to think about it before you try and use it.

Worse ones are

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVcq3-MbD5I[/media]

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Hk1njxae4[/media]

 

[gaz]

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8r77g52xcQ[/media]


[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1NN9oUnghg[/media]

 

[Canrider]

Lets look at it at a whole. the concept is a well used one, often to allow cyclists to make a right turn into a minor road safer.
But the application here is perfect, the idea in this situation is to allow cyclists using the cycle path to turn right on the roundabout without using the rest of the paved path all the way around. They cross from the right, to the left and then wait at the end part for a gap in the traffic to join back on the road. Personally it's not done properly as you do really need to think about it before you try and use it.

I don't get it.

It's somehow safer to wait for a gap in both lanes of traffic to cross over both of them, then wait for another gap in the left lane of traffic to rejoin? That's two traffic interactions. If there was a big enough gap to cross over both lanes and get on the semicircular path, there'd be a big enough gap to just turn right into the LH lane in the first place and nevermind the path.

 

[adds21]

I don't get it.

It's somehow safer to wait for a gap in both lanes of traffic to cross over both of them, then wait for another gap in the left lane of traffic to rejoin? That's two traffic interactions. If there was a big enough gap to cross over both lanes and get on the semicircular path, there'd be a big enough gap to just turn right into the LH lane in the first place and nevermind the path.

I don't really get it either, but they're quite common. Here's one near me.

Personally I'd rather (and do) turn right using the right filter lane, but I can see that some people on bikes might prefer to cross "as a pedestrian".

 

[Arch]

The last line of that article made me laugh:

"This is one of the reasons it costs so much to learn to drive nowadays."

Really?! The cost of driving lessons is affected by the implementation of 15ft cycle lanes?

I was going to say that...

I know why it's so expensive to learn to drive nowadays. I saw a driving school car the other day, and on the side it boasted:

"Free Theory Test tuition" (Funny, I learned all that stuff from my instructor in the course of driving anyway, and from the Highway Code* [actually, I learned before the theory test. But I test myself online periodically, and rarely get more than one wrong, and that's generally a braking distance, because I don't think in metres, I think in time between me and the vehicle ahead])

"Free Hazard Perception tuition" (See above, plus common sense)

"Free Online Highway Code" (What like this one freely available to all?)

If all those freebies are a bonus, there must be people charging extra for them....

 

[growingvegetables]

My favourite - and I see people use it to turn right from Burmantofts Street into Nippet Lane; come up the cycle lane, use the ASL to get into to the right-turn cycle lane ... all of 6 inches wide, between two lanes of moving traffic, the left hand one moving fast (it's hidden behind the truck).

Takes you to the lights, and there's a cycle lane out.

Or is there? The drain cover is well below the surface, and far from level, and since Google photo was taken there's a large pothole as well.

Great place to be. Brilliant for close passes. All those car and van drivers so relieved to be able to put their foot down now they're out of the city traffic.

 

[Mad at urage]

How about this one, just up the road from me? A cycle lane that starts at a lamp post, and throws you onto the road just before the crest of a hump back bridge? But that isn't all, just turn the camera around and check out the pinch point (designed to stop overweight vehicles using the weak bridge).

A recipe for disaster.

Similar one here http://maps.google.c...=12,251.49,,0,0
Having just cycled along a mandatory cycle lane* (with car parked in it of course, turn the camera around and go back a bit) which makes it OK for cars to pass too close within the solid white lines, you get a sharp left across the dropped kerb ( great in the rain!), then cross the road to the continuation of the cycle route just before the dual carriageway starts: That is, you cross the road (no crossing, not even a zebra) just by the increase in speed limit, where the cars coming over the hump-back bridge start to accelerate for the DC!


*Yes, we know it's not mandatory for cyclists to use it, but car drivers don't know this.