Cycle lanes encourage motorists to drive closer to bikes...

[Origamist]

The cycle markings painted in the middle of the little used inner lane? I think that is a great idea!

I am a little bit bewildered by this, however:

Why should this be so? It is like that strange piece of legislation that requires ASLs to have little feeder lanes into them so cyclists can get into them without (apparently!) breaking the law.​

1. I prefer the cycle markings to a cycle lane.

2. Yes, it's true (withflow bus lanes we're talking about). Although many councils don't seem to realise...

 

[thomas]

This is part of my commute and includes some recent changes.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingenglan...ds/2009/03/additional_information_lambeth.pdf

How do people feel about these cycle markings (see bottom of page 2)?

They were going to deploy a cycle lane, but decided against it.

ohh, nice! B)

I'm against cyclelanes in a way, just because nearly all the ones I deal with are poor. There is a reasonably good one on the way to work, and are some nice big cycle markings on another road in Woking.

I don't really trust cycle lanes, or those shared baths enough to use them. I just don't want to risk being stuck in a bad position.

 

[gavintc]

By preference, I like bus lanes over cycle lanes. Yes you have buses and taxis to worry about. But, up here in Edinburgh, the professional drivers tend to be more reliable and competent and I trust them more. I know this does not seem to apply in London and other cities. In addition, I think speed and confidence are major factors. As a roadie, I will be spinning along at 20+mph, and am with much of the traffic. A slower or more hesitant rider, may enjoy the perceived safety of a dedicated lane.

 

[Origamist]

It's not new.

See Warrington Cycle Campaign 2005 report
http://www.warringtoncyclecampaign.co.uk/

Yep, but that is not a rigorous or robust study. The recent findings use a proximity sensor.

 

[GrasB]

It may well not be faked & if it isn't I hope that photo went to the police, also that guy is lucky the wing mirrors were high up. When I get home I'll try & remember to take a photograph of my shoulder injury, 8 years after a bus gave me a little more space than that.

View attachment 4203
Okay the shadow on the left is from my cycling shirt but the reason you can see it is because the texture of the skin changed due to being shredded & the mark on the right was where an exposed bolt took a bite out of my shoulder blade.

 

[summerdays]

Did anyone catch the bit about this on BBC breakfast this morning?
Talk of some lanes being dangerous.
I think they were in Bristol, they have closed one lane of a two way bridge to motors, one lane is now traffic light controlled for the motors and the other is two way traffic for cycles(and peds?)
A lady from Sustrans and a cycle solicitor campaigning for the onus to be on the other motor vehicle driver involved when a vulnerable road user is hit, like Europe etc.

I crossed that bridge just as they were probably filming yesterday. I hate that bridge - its so confusing... its ages since I last crossed it, and so I forgot what I had decided was the safe thing to do if coming from the centre (stay in the queue with the cars), and instead crossed over to the cycle lane - got in the way of an oncoming car, so moved further over, and realised I was cycling towards a cyclist. I ended up getting off and walking. On my way home there was a cyclist just cycling on the wrong side of the road all the way along the road, cycling towards me - that is probably his preferred technique to get across the bridge. I've got to cross it every day for the next two weeks.

Glad they got in the bit about the idea of changing the law though but it wouldn't of been the site I would have picked in Bristol.

 

[dellzeqq]

Highway code states: give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car

Yet councils paint cycle lanes on roads that give the impression its fine to overake a cyclist as long as you dont enter the lane.

Given that most cyclist will cycle in the middle or to the right hand side of the lane that could be inches away.

Surely this contradicts the highway code, yet council and CTC think cycles lanes are ok!

what on earth makes you think that?

 

[purplepolly]

what on earth makes you think that?

Maybe he doesn't realise that if it weren't for the CTC it would now be compulsory to use cycle facilities.

 

[HJ]

Most cycle lanes are so badly implemented that they should just be abandoned, a blanked 20 mph speed limit would be a much better idea...

 

[GrasB]

Maybe he doesn't realise that if it weren't for the CTC it would now be compulsory to use cycle facilities.

Quickly followed by the banning of bikes as a form of transport when the number of peds who are completely oblivious to & sent flying by quicker cyclists becomes to high.

 

[cheadle hulme]

Same over here - quite a few drivers do not understand or care much for cycle contra-flow lanes.

Too right. This one in Manchester regularly has me playing chicken with misguided self righteous cabbies wanting to teach me a lesson.

Foreign students are particularly vulnerable to reversing motorists out of the parking bays.

 

[trsleigh]

Most cycle lanes are so badly implemented that they should just be abandoned, a blanked 20 mph speed limit would be a much better idea...

+1

 

[Twenty Inch]

Mrs Dr Bollo picked up a 'Times' on the train home yesterday evening (what I'm saying here is that I didn't buy it!!).

I suppose the surprise is that such an article appears in the Times at all. I was even more surprised by the editorial on page 2, which stated the case for cyclists and against cycle lanes more directly than I've ever seen a right-leaning paper do before. That actually feels like progress...

It's because the Times has realised that many cyclists are white, middle-class men in higher income brackets, like their readership. Plus the kciking we gave them over Matthew Parrish and that dumb bint motoring correspondent they used to have.

 

[BSA]

what on earth makes you think that?

CTC have a policy on cycle lanes and tracks. Nowhere in the policy does it say we shouldn't have them, therfore they must think cycle lanes (in general) are ok.

 

[jonesy]

CTC have a policy on cycle lanes and tracks. Nowhere in the policy does it say we shouldn't have them, therfore they must think cycle lanes (in general) are ok.

No, that's not fair. The CTC has lobbied strenuously to ensure that the DfT's guidance on cycle infrastructure advocates good practice and follows the recognised 'hierarchy' of measures.

See links from here:
http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=741


The CTC certainly doesn't not argue that cycle lanes (or any other measure) are a 'good thing' in general- they should each be considered on a site by site basis and only installed if appropriate and designed to meet the standards. One of the biggest problems we have in the UK is that the guidance is almost universally ignored by local authorities, to such an extent that poorly designed schemes are now what is expected, usually with an assumption that sub-standard is better than nothing at all, when in fact the contrary is often the case.