ASLs..... Worth the paint?

[fimm]

Here in Edinburgh there was actually a campaign with posters on the back of buses telling motorists that they should stop at the first ASL line and cyclists that they should stop at the second (i.e. not run the lights). It was said that there was going to be a campaign of police enforcement of them as well (for both kinds of road user), but I'm not aware of that actually happening.

 

[Amanda P]

My problem with them is that at a junction you don't know, you can't tell, when you arrive at the back of a queue, whether there's an ASL at the lights or not.

More than once I've cycled through an unfamiliar city, and waited at the back of several queues only to find, when I reach the lights, that there's an ASL there and I could have filtered through if I'd known. But if I once assume that there'll be one, I usually arrive at the junction to find that, for once, there isn't, and I've nowhere to be.

Painting things on the road is only any use if you can see the bit of road they're painted on - ASLs are usually obscured by other traffic, and indications of which lane to use are often hidden by stationary traffic too.

If we could have a sign some way before the traffic lights confirming that there's an ASL, and if there were a proper, car's width, bike lane leading to it, then great. Usually there's neither.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I 'liked' the above and I think it makes sense.

Nonetheless, I think there are already too many roadside signs - too many not because they might confuse road users, but too many because they can end up rendering ugly what has a chance not to be ugly.

So I 'like' the above post but disagree with it at the same time.

Nothing if not inconsistent.

 

[Trail Child]

They are testing these ASLs here on a few junctions in this city (the City of Ottawa is pretty bike friendly and promotes cycling really well). I'm not sure they will work, because I find drivers haven't been told anything about them so no one knows what they mean. I actually learnt more about them here then through our City. More education is given about the segregated bike lanes and shared bike lanes than anything else, because I think that's the way they want to go.

 

[summerdays]

we could have a sign some way before the traffic lights confirming that there's an ASL, and if there were a proper, car's width, bike lane leading to it, then great. Usually there's neither.

I like the idea of sign showing the lanes (and potential ASL), I know sometimes there are, and there is too much urban clutter, but it is useful to know before you get to the junction which lane you should be in (fine once you know the junction). That is why I sometimes look at the bigger junctions on an unfamiliar route on Googlemaps first.

 

[theclaud]

Thank you for all those responses. Opinions seem mixed.

I appreciate the positives and am slightly surprised there were so many. I do get the point of the post saying they give that little bit of space to filtering bicycle between the fog lights and the stop line. That holds water for me, although I remain slightly on the 'Waste of Paint' side of the fence.

I'm slightly surprised that no-one else admitted to my occasional habit of using them to get to the front of the Traffic Light Grand Prix grid, although there is some suggestion of that along Millbank.

I continue to see ASLs everywhere. I'm pretty sure that many, many road users have no idea what they're for.

It does strike me that a local authority keen to show its commitment to sustainable transport initiatives might point to the cycle lanes and ASLs it has put in place.

I like them, although I don't like the silly lead-in lanes they often have. I like them for their symbolic value. I like them because they confer legitimacy on what I intend to do anyway. I like them because they are often full of cyclists.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

I like them, although I don't like the silly lead-in lanes they often have. I like them for their symbolic value. I like them because they confer legitimacy on what I intend to do anyway. I like them because they are often full of BMWs

FIFY

Or it seems that way to me, anyway

 

[theclaud]

FIFY

Or it seems that way to me, anyway

True enough. I consider this annoying but I simply position myself in front of them, in the happy expectation that they will find this even more annoying.

 

[growingvegetables]

Timely too - Leeds are doing a consultation for a traffic scheme; includes implementing 3 ASLs on one traffic lights.

2 of the proposed ASLs would be "left hook traps", the 3rd makes a a whole lot of sense.

Now, whether they pay any attention to my witterings is anybody's guess

 

[RWright]

I wouldn't think it bothers RWright very much at all, if his avatar location is correct.

Yes it is correct location. It does bother me that they would put metal post in the middle of the bike path, I am thinking it is to slow them down on exit maybe, but it still looks very dangerous. I live in a town with a population of just under 30,000 and we have little if anything that caters to cyclist, no cycle lanes that I have ever seen, just a two mile shared use greenway that hopefully they will extend. Chapel Hill is a university town about a half hour north of where I live. It is the most cycle friendly town I know of in the area. It has nothing compared to what I have seen on just some of the London videos posted on this forum, not to mention all the other towns with canal paths, shared paths ect.

The UK is far ahead of anywhere I have personally ever been with the infrastructure that is in place for cyclist. This thread is fascinating for me, if someone had mentioned ASL to me before reading it, I would have replied 55/M/NC I think all ideas they come up with for cyclist might not be the best idea but at least they are doing something there for you. I am neither for or against an ASL, I am not experienced enough with them to have an opinion. I just find it nice to be able to think about how to try and handle them if I ever get a chance. I am already terrified at the mention of a roundabout and there are only maybe 4 of them within a thirty mile radius of me.
Sorry about going off topic.