Matthew_T
"Young and Ex-whippet"
- Location
- Prestatyn, North Wales
There is a dual carriageway on my route to work that used to be okay to cycle on. It used to have two lanes and I was able to cycle in the left lane with traffic often moving into the next lane to overtake me and give me room.
Now however, the council have changed the road in both directions and turned it into a signal lane road (but kept the double lane width).
Link to Map
They have put diagonal stripes across the whole of one lane on either side of the road. This would be okay if the lane closed was the overtaking lane as people would still be able to give me room. However, on the commute home, they have opted to close the inside lane creating a pinch point here and here.
They are also making a traffic signal ped crossing here, for reasons I cannot understand as there are hardly any pedestrians around here.
The speed limit is currently 40 although that is just temporary. I can imagine the speed limit would be 50 or 60. Which if course means that people will be doing close to 70 (wide open road, no speed cameras, police rarely venture this far).
So I now have the unfortunate problem of having to negotiate these problematic areas. There is another route I could take which involves going through a caravan park and crossing a train crossing, but realistically it is not a convenient route (it is when the weather is bad though).
Its not like I can ride on the stripes either because they are that bumpy and rough, I would end up falling off. And taking primary through the pinch points would be very dangerous with cars approaching at break-neck speeds.
Why have the council decided to do this? The road was much safer before and everyone got to where they wanted to go a lot quicker.
I am going to get a very bright rear light so that when the nights draw in, cars can see me (most of the route is unlit).
Now however, the council have changed the road in both directions and turned it into a signal lane road (but kept the double lane width).
Link to Map
They have put diagonal stripes across the whole of one lane on either side of the road. This would be okay if the lane closed was the overtaking lane as people would still be able to give me room. However, on the commute home, they have opted to close the inside lane creating a pinch point here and here.
They are also making a traffic signal ped crossing here, for reasons I cannot understand as there are hardly any pedestrians around here.
The speed limit is currently 40 although that is just temporary. I can imagine the speed limit would be 50 or 60. Which if course means that people will be doing close to 70 (wide open road, no speed cameras, police rarely venture this far).
So I now have the unfortunate problem of having to negotiate these problematic areas. There is another route I could take which involves going through a caravan park and crossing a train crossing, but realistically it is not a convenient route (it is when the weather is bad though).
Its not like I can ride on the stripes either because they are that bumpy and rough, I would end up falling off. And taking primary through the pinch points would be very dangerous with cars approaching at break-neck speeds.
Why have the council decided to do this? The road was much safer before and everyone got to where they wanted to go a lot quicker.
I am going to get a very bright rear light so that when the nights draw in, cars can see me (most of the route is unlit).