How to get a junction changed

[jon.mithe]

Hello,

Wondering if anyone has any advice on this. On my commute into work there is a really ambiguous awful half junction / merging of two roads which is a nightmare, especially or cyclists. Its always "fun" navigating it and today a cyclist got struck by a car on it (he seemed ok but was shaken up) and myself and another cyclist stopped to deal the situation / paramedics etc. I've seen so many near misses on that junction and have been involved in one or two myself. Its a bottle neck junction as most people going through it are going around the one way systems they have in that area.

I want to complain somewhere about it but have no idea who the correct people are. I'm guessing is it the council that manage this? i.e. I should complain to them? My friend mentioned there should be some cycle campaign in the area that would be pushing various things. Its only a matter of time before another cyclist is hit.

About the junction, its in Bermondsy / London, the Juntion between Rotherrithe New Road and Rotherithe Old Road.

http://www.openstree...oom=18&layers=M

Heres a diagram of whats going on:

The junction looks better than it actually works. It seems simple enough to keep lane position and come across when necessary. But the problem is given the sweep, some car drivers tend to belligerently merge into that lane regardless of the cyclist and likewise alot of cyclist follow the natural route to come across in front of traffic. Generally most car drivers merging in actually stop and wait as they have to change lanes to avoid the bus lanes, but the nasty drivers are the one that arbitrarily continue and brasingly come across. Another instance is often the cyclists are ahead, starts comming across, but as the car gets around the corner the guy at the same time accelerates fast to start merging in. Its just prone to problems.

It seems the way that juntion should have a give way line somewhere preventing the eastbound traffic arbitrarily punting forward, i.e. to control the flow of cars / determine who has right of way. Most drivers who drive this junction drive it in that way, the problem is the ones that dont.

Anyways would be nice to know what people think and especially who I can complain to. Doubt anything much will happen though :/

Thanks,
Jon

 

[HLaB]

A bit OT but I must admit m'lord that when I was unconfident cyclist in Dublin at a similar junction but with traffic lights and no bus lane, where I was regularly doing the manoeuvre of the red line, coming from the left and immediately turning right (cars were doing green and red) I used to RLJ

Back on topic, if the junction has got a bad record hopefully it has been highlighted by the council's road department for improvement but I reckon the best people to contact would be your local cycling campaign, they'll know who to press.

 

[G-Zero]

Jon,

I agree with HLab about your local cyclecampaighn, but I would still put your concerns and observations on record with the LA. Find out who the head honcho for your highways is and do it by email, expressing your fears that its only a matter of time before a cyclist is seriously injured, or worse.

Is the painted chevron area where the two lanes merge, big enough for a short dedicated cycle area, where a cyclist could give way to traffic on the red route, and wait for a gap in safety.

If it is a major commuter route, they'll be reluctant to back the red route flow up with give way lines.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Hi Jon,

The people you should talk to for advice and assistance are http://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/. Their campaigns page mentions a couple of Sustrans ''Connect2'' plans which may help.

In the meantime, there's a workaround if you're travelling along the Lower Road to Tower or London Bridge. Instead of turning right into the one-way Old Rotherhithe Road, you can continue along the New Rotherhithe Road, take a right at Raymouth Road and then left into Southwark Park Road/Grange Road. You'll end up a little further south but it only adds a short distance and it's less fiddly.

I can't remember the entrance to Southwark Park, off Hawkstone Road, but it might also be possible to follow the Rotherhithe New Road to the roundabout, take the last exit and get into the park there - some of the paths in the park are fine for cycling on. That's worth checking out: it might turn a tricky junction into a walk cycle in the park.

 

[ohnovino]

I imagine the easiest solution for the council would be to mark that central island as shared use, so cyclists can cross the eastbound traffic and then re-join on the left of them, as shown below:

 

[Bigsharn]

As above, the easiest thing to do is shared use (it'll cost the price of a metal sign and two jubilee clips to replace it... maybe £100)

The only problem I can see with this is, how would the cyclist get from the road onto the shared use path? The majority of cyclists are kerb huggers, so not many would have the swing to get onto that island. A traffic light would work a lot better (as it has here) but could be costly.

On second thoughts, it might be an idea to show them that streetview link as an example of how a junction should be done

 

[jon.mithe]

Thanks for the help. Yeah I will try and get in contact with the cycle people and take it from there.

Was wondering why the junction looked more sensible on the diagram then it feels to cycle. I made a small mistake, where I've drawn section where the 2 lanes merge, I've drawn a white dashed line from the triangle cheveron to the bus lane. Yeah that line does not exist. Its just a big open space of tarmac which unfortunately cyclists are just put in the middle of.

There used to be a cycle lane on the leadup to that, but they removed it when they redid some stuff on the road, or just failed to put it back in.

Anyways, thanks again for the help,
Jon.