Campaigning against dodgy cycle lane what do I do?

[jugglingphil]

Cripes. However, they've made it quite easy to fix: the outer line should be the inner line of a new cycle lane. Or just paint some cycle logos outside the outer line. The traffic lane is plenty wide enough to sacrifice a bit more width (if it's anything more than 3m wide then you've probably got a speeding problem).

or they could remove on street parking, there will then be loads of room for a good cycle lane.

 

[benb]

That is shoot.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

^ dang. He said it first.

Utter shite, designed and installed by someone who probably never lost his stabilisers and resents cyclists to this day.

 

[kalaika]

It looks quiet in the pic but thats unusual, its more often than not nose to tail traffic, its a main route in and out of town.

That's not a bike lane. It's a death trap. Too narrow, too close to the cars, and what on earth is that kink about?

 

[Banjo]

I have contacted the Town Council via their online message system .Had this reply within 24 hours.


Dear Mr Hodges

Thank you for your email I have forwarded your request to our Highways department and they will investigate.
If you feel we can be of any further assistance please contact us again.
Kim Farley
Customer Service Representative
Vale of Glamorgan Council

Will let you all know how it goes.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I suggest you email bac k tomorrow

Dear Kim

I do feel you can be of further assistance to me as it happens.

Can I have the contact details for the person in the Highways Department you have forwarded my request to please.

Regards

Banjo Hodges

I suggest you do this becayse if the Vale of Glamorgan Highways Department employ the sort of chimps that design and create cycle lanes like that monstrosity I strongly suspect that investigating things, and responding back to you, will be completely beyond them.

Oh yeah, and ask to see the risk assessment....

 

[CamPhil]

Put up posters on all the lamp-posts along that stretch pointing out that the highways authority have chosen do accept joint liability of any doorings that occur by deliberately creating the hazard, and giving postal and email addresses for the highways authority, as well as telephone numbers.
Replace as necessary.
Lamination makes them last longer, as will the use of heavy duty non-releasable cable ties.
FOI the highways authority for the name of the person responsible for placing them there, and the details of their professional indemnity insurance coverage (they'll be needing it).
Research all cases of doorings and copy them to the highway authority, placing particular emphasis on those which have occurred in door-zone cycle lanes.
Send them a link to the Youtube video shot by the New York cyclist who was (wrongly) fined for cycling outside the cycle lane (Google should find it).
Never mind - it's here:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ

Nearly 5 million views on it now.

 

[theclaud]

Blimey Banjo - that is a bit of a shocker. There are more of these appearing, you say? Can you post a Google Maps link with the location?

 

[dawesome]

They painted lanes in door zones in Waltham Forest:

 

[snorri]

It would be interesting to drop into any correspondence with the roads authority that you have to use this road in connection with your work, and you are thinking about informing the Health and Safety Executive as these road markings constitute a hazard in your workplace.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/roadsafety/index.htm
I was having problems with some poorly marked road works, and was getting nowhere with the roads authority until I mentioned HSE and the problem was sorted pdq, I will never know if this was just a coincidence.
Road works guarding is just a temporary measure and the OP is concerned with markings of a more permanent nature, but it's worth a try.

 

[Gandalf]

I have no idea if road design was a factor here, but it does show how serious the consequences can be. R.I.P.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9516706.Police_appeal_for_witnesses_to_fatal_crash_in_Beckenham/

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to a crash in which a cyclist died.
James Darby, 44, was cycling along Upper Elmers End Road in Beckenham when he was in collision with a stationary blue Fiat Panda.
The incident took place on Saturday January 7 at about 6.10pm.
The car was parked on Upper Elmers End Road and as the female driver was getting out of her car, Mr Darby collided with the driver's door.
He was taken to Kings College Hospital where he remained unconscious and in a serious condition until he died on January 22.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as head injuries.
No arrests have yet been made. Enquiries continue.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact the Collision Investigation Unit at Catford Traffic Garage on 020 8285 1574 or to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

[subaqua]

or they could remove on street parking, there will then be loads of room for a good cycle lane.

no, councils have a mandate to put in "cyclelanes" as quickly as possible with no thought to cyclists. must keep the motorists happy at all costs.
my route home got changed for the worse under a road "improvement" scheme by removing 1 lane and putting in a cycle lane . oh and widening pavements for cars to park on meaning the 1 mtr wide lane is right in the door zone.

my local concillor doesn't give a monkeys as its 20 yards outside of the boundary of her ward. local MP hasn't responded to letters yet. even the guy at the council responsible doesn't care.

 

[Richard Mann]

I have no idea if road design was a factor here, but it does show how serious the consequences can be. R.I.P.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/9516706.Police_appeal_for_witnesses_to_fatal_crash_in_Beckenham/

12m road, intermittent parking both sides, lots of median markings. Yup, I'd have said the road design was definitely the problem.

If they'd gone through the loop of trying to put in cycle lanes (or whatever) and resolved the design, then it probably wouldn't have happened.

But they hadn't.

{A potential resolved design for that road would be 2.3m bays both sides, 1m cycle lanes and zebras. Or a 3.0m bay one side, 1.5m cycle lanes and zebras. Or cycle tracks parking on one side, and zebras. The first has the most taming effect.}

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

A year ago, I wrote to our highway authority about dangerous cycle lanes in our area. One paragraph of my email said:

An additional problem that exists is that a significant number our cycle lanes are frequently blocked by cars that park across the lane, and in some instances are compromised by the existence of adjacent park spaces, thus requiring cyclists either to ignore the cycle lane altogether, or ride through the dangerous car door opening zone. Again, these lanes need to be improved by means of changes to the parking regulations in those places, or improvements to the design of the cycle lanes to eliminate these problems. Examples of these problems include all of the cycle lanes in both directions along the A6 from Farnworth through Kearsley toward the boundary with Salford (but these are not the only examples).

The reply that I received contained the following response to that paragraph:

There are, as you state, lengths of cycle lane along these roads which are permanently blocked by parked vehicles. These lengths of cycle lane would not be installed nowadays unless an appropriate parking lay by could be created with room for a cycle lane on the outside with enough room to avoid opening car doors. Simply implementing parking/waiting restrictions is not the answer as on the majority of lengths of road where this occurs many of the vehicles belong to residents of adjacent houses and do not have any alternative parking provision.

So the residents' convenience trumps the safety of cyclists.

 

[pshore]

If you needed another example:

BBC News: Holloway Road: Killed cyclist 'may have hit car door'

Definitely write to your local councillors asking for help. I mean, how hard can it be to stop the council from doing work ?