Cycling contraflows along one way streets

[summerdays]

Cycles aren't treated the same as cars ... we can't use motorways, and don't have to have a licence to use the road either. Many contraflows I imagine, were put in because of problems created by the cars such as using back roads as rat runs and trying to control congestion/traffic flows.

Maybe there are sufficient numbers using the contraflows around here but I don't think I've ever been shouted at for using one. The main problem I've found is when they are blocked by parked cars etc.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I use 5 on a regular basis.
4 in Northampton and 1 in Kettering.
My main problem with them all is they are not wide enough.
http://maps.google.co.uk/?ll=52.237774,-0.889474&spn=0.000007,0.00618&hnear=Sywell, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom&t=m&z=18&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=52.237775,-0.889695&panoid=Zg5Y_4KnY1-FI5l1dpdtyA&cbp=12,94.07,,0,17 Looks fine untill you try to ride a recumbent trike down it.
If my inside front wheel is 6" from the curb then my outside front wheel is a couple of inches over the line.

Then again most cycle lanes are not built for trikes around 1 meter wide.

 

[Richard Mann]

If the speed is low there's no significant safety issue (as the Belgians found when they converted thousands in the space of a few months). If you've got a safety problem then reduce the speed until the drivers behave themselves. 99% of one-way restrictions for bikes should be removed.

 

[Lurker]

"If the speed is low there's no significant safety issue (as the Belgians found when they converted thousands in the space of a few months). If you've got a safety problem then reduce the speed until the drivers behave themselves. 99% of one-way restrictions for bikes should be removed."

Sounds good to me. Do you have a source for that information about Belgium BTW? It would be useful to have this.

 

[Richard Mann]

Sounds good to me. Do you have a source for that information about Belgium BTW? It would be useful to have this.

Not to hand, but it was one of the reasons why the DfT finally allowed No Entry Except Cycles. If DfT approves it for use by HAs then it's effectively passed a strategic safety review. Who are we to quibble? Move on.

 

[Riding in Circles]

The attitude to cyclists on the continent is significantly different to that of the UK.