Cycle lanes what do we think?

[ComedyPilot]

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=e...d=ElYcCzk0B5hi8MwEaVpsSg&cbp=12,45.13,,0,2.63

One time I rode here the river-side path was closed, but a diversion was clearly marked to join a path at the other side of the motorway. There is ample facility to encourage people to cycle to work on the port, as well as for cycle tourists to get to and from the port

 

[Arch]

And of course, it's possible to have enjoyable cycling without cycle lanes, if driver attitudes are right. The most 'foreign' cycling I've done has been on little roads in France, where drivers are much more prepared to give you space, hold back until it's safe to pass. I have to admit I've not done a lot of cycling in big cities over there, but the general feeling is much nicer in towns. Good facilites are useful. Bad facilities are dangerous. Good driving trumps it all.

(That said, the Avenue Verte out of Dieppe is an off road route I know well, and that's lovely).

 

[ComedyPilot]

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=e...id=obFB-avkzoPlKAmY2vyJAg&cbp=12,50.55,,0,1.1

Typical of on-road facility, but solid white line makes it illegal for vehicles to com into it, and NO parking

 

[ComedyPilot]

And of course, it's possible to have enjoyable cycling without cycle lanes, if driver attitudes are right. The most 'foreign' cycling I've done has been on little roads in France, where drivers are much more prepared to give you space, hold back until it's safe to pass. I have to admit I've not done a lot of cycling in big cities over there, but the general feeling is much nicer in towns. Good facilites are useful. Bad facilities are dangerous. Good driving trumps it all.

(That said, the Avenue Verte out of Dieppe is an off road route I know well, and that's lovely).

I'll get back to you on this soon - just want to illustrate what we are missing

 

[Arch]

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=e...FjB3Dlgonklj9BvKRyg0iw&cbp=12,206.56,,0,-1.23

After leaving the ferry terminal, the path immediately is there to the right

Last time I came back from France, my mate and I came off the ferry, did a badly signed lap of Portsmouth, and ended up back at the ferry terminal. I suggested we just get back on the next ferry to France...

I remember something (I think I saw it on David Hembrow's blog) about a place where a road crossed a canal via a swingbridge. When the bridge opened, the traffic was held up. Cars had to wait, but a high footbridge was put in for pedestrians and cyclists to cross - albeit the cyclists had to walk their bikes up and across, but it still saved them waiting.

After a while, the footbridge was becoming congested, such was the volume of foot and bike traffic. So they built another one!

Can you imagine such importance being placed on the convenience of non-car users here, even if the numbers of them warrented it?

 

[Arch]

I'll get back to you on this soon - just want to illustrate what we are missing

Oh, I'm not decrying your point at all. Just that there are many ways to get it right!

 

[ComedyPilot]

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=e...=28bGKyOg-q7ZOnqctY11ww&cbp=12,51.76,,0,-3.14

But, I hear you say, I am a racing cyclist/time trialist/gerbil, where can I get my kicks? Inter-town facilities are well paved and wide open with little cycle traffic, so you can happily get your socks off on them.

If you have the means, I fully recommend you ride on the Afsluitdijk, it's so choice

 

[ComedyPilot]

But, I hear you say, I am a weekend cyclist, an just want to ride around exploring my local environs. Well, my little chum, you are catered for too, possibly the most.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=e...d=0s2dsLCf3DNGZd3njVXwKQ&cbp=12,32.29,,1,5.11

The white sign near the give way sign is typical of the mapping provided. It gives cyclists an overview of the area, and to navigate you just pick waypoint numbers for that area and follow them to do your route, ie 45, 47, 51, 53, 56, 28, 25, 17. Each way point is clearly marked, and you even get countdown warnings that a waypoint is close. Add to that the national signage for long-distance routes, and local (commuter) routes, and you have a fully integrated cycle infrastructure.

I used a mix of all 3, national ones, so I knew I was going in roughly the right direction, commuter ones, so I knew about local towns off the route so I could detour for food/water/massage (ahem) and the waypoint ones for quick navigation of multiple turns, such as in a forest of national park where lots of cycle tracks merge. These are mainly signed in the way of 'mushrooms' - small metal posts in the ground with waypoint number and directions/km painted on. Keep an eye out though, they're easy to miss if you day dream.

To get through an area quickly, I would stop at a sign when I entered a new area, see where my route wanted to go, then note down the sequence of waypoint numbers, and off I'd go.

 

[ComedyPilot]

From my experience in the Netherlands, their towns and villages are very similar to ours. There are main routes in and through, and smaller residential or service streets. Main through roads all have seperate cycle lanes as do a lot of the smaller streets. But residential ones tend to have either shared lanes painted on them, or non at all. That is where it gets good, NL residential speed limits are lower than ours, so cars tend to be going slower and the sharing of them is safe, and the presumed liable part of the law, and the outrage that is shown if a cyclist is hit makes NL drivers a damn site more careful than UK drivers.

For a lot more info than I can even begin to convey, have a look at this blog by a Brit in the NL - http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/

In some aspects when pontificating about cycle infrastructure I feel a bit like Morpheus from The Matrix

Take the Blue Pill, and carry on being subjected to death and injury on a daily basis - no exaggeration at all - 61 cyclists + killed this year so far

Take the Red Pill, open your eyes to the communities we could have, and the freedom from car-dependence

 

[Arch]

That is where it gets good, NL residential speed limits are lower than ours, so cars tend to be going slower and the sharing of them is safe, and the presumed liable part of the law, and the outrage that is shown if a cyclist is hit makes NL drivers a damn site more careful than UK drivers.

Also, of course, most drivers will also be cyclists. Empathy, man!

 

[snorri]

Mind you, it's not all glee and joy over there
With all these paths available some cyclists may wish to Whoop for joy, if you are so tempted best to
check the nearby signage as in some sections of segregated path silence is demanded as here....

Silent Territory.
Under provincial regulation it is forbidden to break the silence in this area.


Edited to add a smiley just incase anyone thought my post was anything other than lighthearted.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Also, of course, most drivers will also be cyclists. Empathy, man!

Yes, forgot to mention, in the NL, from a population of 16 million there are 14 million regular cyclists. In the UK we have an estimated population of 58 million from which we have a MASSIVE 5 million regular cyclists. That means that in the NL 90% + of car drivers are likely to also be cyclists, where in the UK by the same calcs cyclists are outnumbered around 10:1 by non-cycling road users - and our poiliticians wonder why we are killing cyclists?

 

[ComedyPilot]

Mind you, it's not all glee and joy over there
With all these paths available some cyclists may wish to Whoop for joy, if you are so tempted best to
check the nearby signage as in some sections of segregated path silence is demanded as here....
View attachment 11482
Silent Territory.
Under provincial regulation it is forbidden to break the silence in this area.
.

Trust me, by the time you have cycled to those areas, the whooping for joy has been replaced by a silent internal fuming about how your country has shafted you, and possibly caused the needless deaths of hundreds of people because of poor or non-existent cycle lanes.

 

[machew]

For true cycle path comedy, Birmingham must be up near the top. Brand new road (Selly park New Road). There is a nice slalom down the cycle path

And one for the thin cyclist

 

[Arch]

I find myself wondering how it affects other road crash statistics? Does having to think about vulnerable road users (whether due to legal ramifications, or just because if the general ethos) make people generally more careful and patient, or are all bets off once you're dealing with car-on-car interaction?

From my limited experience driving in France, I can't really say.