Legal to join road from Toucan crossing?

[Matt_Sheffield]

Hey,

I use this junction on my commute. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9570737/Crossing.jpg

It is a Toucan crossing (so mixed use). I cross into the central reservation, press the crossing button and all the cars stop nicely to let me enter the road...

Is this a legal maneuver? I see no reason why it isn't as I don't cross the solid white line on the red, but something about it seems wrong...

Thoughts?

Cheers

 

[gaz]

Legally not a problem imo. I do it on my commute.

For it to be sensible to do then you need to make sure it's done without endangering pedestrians and not cutting it close with the light phasing.

I wouldn't personally push the button and make traffic stop and then do it, but more treat it like a side road and join when safe. The last thing i want to do is annoy drivers that are just about to overtake me.

 

[wheres_my_beard]

Isnt the whole point of Toucan crossing that they are for cyclists and pedestrians to stop traffic to allow them to cross?

Presumably a nice secondary role is to allow cyclists to join when oncoming traffic and following traffic is stationary, although I would imagine that it is there to connect cycle lanes.

 

[Lucheni]

I'd be interested to know the legality of this as well.

I'm thinking the cycle path should continue after the crossing and then feed into the road at some point a little further up but I know in practice that doesn't always happen and I reckon joining the road from a toucan crossing could really wind up some of the less civil motorists whether it's legal or not.

I can't really see much harm in doing it though. It's very similar to walking across a pedestrian crossing and then getting on the road with your bike when you reach the other side.

 

[summerdays]

There are some toucan crossings where it is legal to cycle upto the lights on one pavement but not on the other side of the road... so the only place you can go is join the road.

 

[PoliceMadAd]

Surely it would be legal, because IIRC, theres been a news story about a council that plonked a pedTL crossing over somebodys driveway entrance. The driver HAD to use the crossing to gain entry to the road, and that was in a motor veh, which would surely have the least legality to do it.

 

[Wankelschrauben]

I do something similar on my commute if I can't filter into the right hand lane I'll pull up, hit the button wait for the lights to change and put my bike infront of the traffic ready to go.

It has caused arguments with some drivers but nothing a "calm down dear" can't get them a little angrier about.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

We have one in the 'sham where upstream of the toucan the bi directional cycle path is on the pavement and downstream there are two on carriageway cycle lanes one northbound one southbound on the other side of the road. Heading north you have little choice but to stop the traffic to leave the on pavement path and join the cycle lane unless just blundering out into traffic is your thing. Never feel 100% comfortable doing it though.

This weekend say a mum and two kiddies, all abike, wait for the toucan light before crossing the road and joining the cycle lane on the southbound side, where they proceeded to ride north, into the oncoming traffic!

 

[marinyork]

Thoughts?

The council put in crossings as it is appreciated that the A61 is a very difficult road to cross for cyclists (infact there aren't enough). Unfortunately the path only runs on one side. Until the new corridor is built things won't improve (although a bus lane may mean the death of cycle facilities, it is not completely clear). The path is just the wrong side of the road unfortunately. Please do whatever you feel is necessary for your safety.

A much clearer designed example just down the road of course.

 

[perplexed]

Hey,

I use this junction on my commute. http://dl.dropbox.co...37/Crossing.jpg

It is a Toucan crossing (so mixed use). I cross into the central reservation, press the crossing button and all the cars stop nicely to let me enter the road...

Is this a legal maneuver? I see no reason why it isn't as I don't cross the solid white line on the red, but something about it seems wrong...

Thoughts?

Cheers

I do a similar thing at the same sort of junction (not this one). It's the only way to get across a dual carrigeway where the cars are doing a pretty much constant 40 -50 mph, without standing there for goodness knows how long waiting for a gap.