Proposed CYCLOPS Junction...

[wiggydiggy]

It's this one, on the A6 in Oadby, so actually Leicestershire county council, rather than Leicester city council.

https://www.leicestershire.gov.uk/r...ects/the-parade-oadby-cyclops-junction-scheme

At a quick glance that seems an ideal solution, it's three lanes on 2 of the entries to that junction. I think it makes it much safer for cyclists.

 

[RyanFrog]

Yes, I live in the Netherlands and they are at almost every junction in my city. They are utterly brilliant. In Groningen, the bike lights turn green (while all car lights are red) simultaneously for bicycles from all directions. It works so well, even at rush hour when one might see 100+ bikes crossing a cross junction over a span of thirty seconds. Unfortunately it hasn't taken off in most other cities as most commuters are always in a rush! (There have been a few disastrous experiments in cities like Rotterdam). I'll be in Greater Manchester for a few months soon and hope to experience this concept taking off in the UK!

You can check out what I'm talking about in the first few seconds of this video:

Spoiler: The Video

 

[sheddy]

Needs to be designed and built in a 20 zone

 

[Mazz]

You can check out what I'm talking about in the first few seconds of this video:

Spoiler: The Video

Fascinating video. I'm very envious - Groningen looks like a Utopian place to live if you're a cyclist.

 

[alicat]

Yes, I'm envious too. I loved seeing that child with its feet hanging off the front of the cargo bike.

 

[Mazz]

I loved seeing that child with its feet hanging off the front of the cargo bike.

Who’s this cool customer?

• Croc-style shoes
• Ice white socks with navy blue trim
• Modestly-understated joggers and jumper
• Arms folded defiantly, it's a look that shouts "I'm in Gronigen and nothing's gonna stop me."

 

[mjr]

Having come upto one on NYD in Manchester (it's near work), the three of us riding just used the road. They are OK if you aren't at all confident, and don't want to make progress.

They should be good if you want to make progress: the bike signals should go green before the carriageway ones and can actually be timed to go green before you have to put a foot down. Confidence can't fix the problems with the usual road signals letting motorists go at the same time.

They are confusing to all road users.

I don't see what's confusing: you pick your route through the junction and wait if you get a red light. It's not at all confusing to carriageway users or walkers because it's basically the same as any other junction, although with slightly longer reds for carriageway users and more greens for walkers than the more common layout would have. Maybe it's a little confusing for some cyclists who don't realise that you don't have to wait for a light turning left and can do right turns from the ahead lane, but that'll be less so as they become more common.

There is also a complicated junction near where I work, but the designers have made the bike lane and pedestrian land switch sides a few times - fortunately it's not heavily used by either pedestrians or bikes.

Side-switching is a complete 🤦 but designers have been making that mistake for decades. Hopefully the signing matches in each direction, unllike one I've seen.

There is also a 'cycling roundabout' in Salford which is a joke.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...sion-after-roundabout-cyclists-opens-25712973

If only that was a joke. Someone needs to go back to design school!

Just what is wrong with a pedestrian/cycle crossing, rather than anything overly complicated.

Where? Instead of the roundabout? Nothing. It should probably have been a zebra or two across the cycleway.

But if you mean instead of the CYCLOPS, well a "toucans all round" layout has numerous disadvantages, including that you have to push the beg button to use a toucan so it can't easily be given a green wave.

 

[RyanFrog]

They should be good if you want to make progress: the bike signals should go green before the carriageway ones and can actually be timed to go green before you have to put a foot down. Confidence can't fix the problems with the usual road signals letting motorists go at the same time.


I don't see what's confusing: you pick your route through the junction and wait if you get a red light. It's not at all confusing to carriageway users or walkers because it's basically the same as any other junction, although with slightly longer reds for carriageway users and more greens for walkers than the more common layout would have. Maybe it's a little confusing for some cyclists who don't realise that you don't have to wait for a light turning left and can do right turns from the ahead lane, but that'll be less so as they become more common.


Side-switching is a complete 🤦 but designers have been making that mistake for decades. Hopefully the signing matches in each direction, unllike one I've seen.


If only that was a joke. Someone needs to go back to design school!


Where? Instead of the roundabout? Nothing. It should probably have been a zebra or two across the cycleway.

But if you mean instead of the CYCLOPS, well a "toucans all round" layout has numerous disadvantages, including that you have to push the beg button to use a toucan so it can't easily be given a green wave.

Lord. Reading this makes me want to double down on my relatively recent and not particularly serious pipe dream of becoming a local politician to sort out / create the infrastructure for bike lines in urban and rural Lincolnshire. I figure that eight years of living in the worlds 'bicycle capital' plus a few cross continental bike rides should qualify me for the job

Is it really that hard for these folk with degrees in city planning / Infrastructure / ect...? Can't they just send some folk out to Denmark / Netherlands and see which aspects of their infrastructure will fit specific regions across Britain?

 

[mjr]

Is it really that hard for these folk with degrees in city planning / Infrastructure / ect...? Can't they just send some folk out to Denmark / Netherlands and see which aspects of their infrastructure will fit specific regions across Britain?

Generally, I think it's no longer the officers with the technical degrees who are the problem. There are a few obsessed with vehicle flow instead of people flow but they aren't difficult to spot and challenge. The problem is the politicians in two major ways: those who insist that officers prioritise motoring or at least don't upset any motorist ever (the types who refuse to lose even one car parking space), and occasionally those who set rules or laws for things like traffic signals that Dutch-like designs cannot meet.

If you really want to chnge things, persuade the politicians, or become one if you can tolerate it.