Cycling Superhighways - Hit or Miss?

[Red Light]

On the negative side, we clearly have the issues with junctions tragically shown up with the deaths at Bow. For a true CSH these junctions needed difficult decisions to re-allocate road space from cars, and these decisions were sidestepped to make compromises that simply don't work. And we have, on CS2, vast stretches where the blue paint covers part of the inside lane to make it appear that you can fit two lanes of traffic + a cyclist on the road when you cannot. Again, I assume done in the name of traffic flow.

Danish research shows that one blue lane crossing a junction reduces accidents and injuries by 13% and 22% respectively but two lanes (i.e. one each way) increases accidents by 23% and injuries by 37% while four blue lanes increases accidents by 61% and injuries by 138%. So blue lanes are not the answer to junctions.

 

[MacB]

Not having ridden them but having experienced onroad cycle lanes that do all of the criticisms above then I've voted for number 4. All cyclists should be more aware and understand road position etc, but they aren't and are unlikely to be, especially new cyclists encouraged out by such projects. False confidence would be my biggest concern closely followed by motorists gaining the impression that cyclists should only be on blue paint.

In some ways cyclists are displaying the same sort of road sense as a lot of motorists, ie follow the dotted line regardless. When I have ridden in London one thing that always strikes me are the number of cyclists that overtake me, on either side. This mainly happens when I've stopped(I'm not that slow) either for legal reasons like a red light or a crossing. But also when I've stopped based on a judgement call, not enough space to proceed or not wanting to go up the inside of certain vehicles. I'm also sure that I've made poor judgement calls and made progress when hanging back would have been wiser.

 

[Richard Mann]

Danish research shows that one blue lane crossing a junction reduces accidents and injuries by 13% and 22% respectively but two lanes (i.e. one each way) increases accidents by 23% and injuries by 37% while four blue lanes increases accidents by 61% and injuries by 138%. So blue lanes are not the answer to junctions.

That's in a rather different context: grid crossroads, turning moves permitted (but obliged to give way) to straight-ahead cycle and pedestrian traffic. A signalised roundabout with grade separation is rather different (principally the geometry, but there's also an absence of straight-ahead moves).

 

[gaz]

I use CS8 every day, and have to say I think it's the best thing since pneumatic tyres. To be fair, I only use the bit from Chelsea Bridge (is it Chelsea Bridge? Anyway, from where it arrives on the North side of the river) along to Lambeth Bridge, so not a lot. But it has turned my commute into an absolute joy for that part. Nice and wide, plenty of room to overtake other cyclists without having to get involved in amongst the cars, and it's a nice surface to ride on. Just get my head down and go for it. Wish they would put them in many other places across London - I'd add a CS8 branch line down to the Kings Road and continue it along the Embankment from Parliament Square to Blackfriars, where there is already a wide cycle lane which could easily be converted. Don't ask me to design how you'd get it down by the Houses of Parliament and round Parliament Square though.

I guess I can see why some parts are not perfect in some places (and I've never been there, but can only conclude that the Bow flyover is a nightmare given recent events) - but compared to not having them, it's not much short of a revolution for cyclists. When the decision was taken to add them, could we have expected much more given the actual role of the car in society (as opposed to Utopian visions of what it should be like)?

The rest of CS8 is pretty poor, taking you through the door zone, taking back routes which are slow. the bit between batersea and just before HP is rather good.

These routes still give us the same problem as every other cycle lane. It's there, so it is presumed that we must use it. I've been told by every kind of motorised vehicle driver to get in the cycle lane whislt using CS7.

 

[dellzeqq]

Danish research shows that one blue lane crossing a junction reduces accidents and injuries by 13% and 22% respectively but two lanes (i.e. one each way) increases accidents by 23% and injuries by 37% while four blue lanes increases accidents by 61% and injuries by 138%. So blue lanes are not the answer to junctions.

the majority of junctions on CS7 are side streets in to the main road that is CS7. I think that there has been a marked decrease on encroachment from side streets, which is an Extremely Good Thing

 

[Flying Dodo]

Has there been any H&S assessment on the quality of blue paint used? On some parts of the blue network it seems to have some anti-slip quality added to it, whilst on others, it seems a tad shiny, which might make for interesting pedalling if it's icy.

 

[gaz]

Has there been any H&S assessment on the quality of blue paint used? On some parts of the blue network it seems to have some anti-slip quality added to it, whilst on others, it seems a tad shiny, which might make for interesting pedalling if it's icy.

There has been, the shiny sections are actually just as grippy as the normal road.

 

[dellzeqq]

some of the white lines at the edge were put in raised, and if one were to go across at an acute angle in the wet, then one would have been in trouble - but these have worn down now. I saw a crash on the Clapham Road caused by the white line and almost came to grief myself. The shiny stuff started off slippy but is now no slippier than the rough stuff - I did some testing when it first came out and some of the path on the Elephant and Castle bypass was slick in the wet.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

I have gone for four.

I use cs7 and it would be amazing but for:

The parking bays in it (by tesco in Kennington always has a lorry outside it, immediately followed by a cracked, rubbish section of road and a bus stop.

The fact it forces you to jump across traffic which is in itself jumping the other way at Oval (I always ignore the CSH here and turn from the first lane instead (from
Brixton Road).

It's covered in leaf mulch right now.

Taxis.