Doing a right turn through lanes of traffic...

[Feastie]

Okay so there's this little stretch of my cycle back home that REALLY bothers me.

Basically, it's a 3-lane (plus a 4th bus lane on the far left) road, and it's all one-way. And there are perpetually cars parked on the right hand side of Lane 3. So it looks a bit like this:
Bus lane / Lane 1 / Lane 2 / Lane 3 / Parked Cars

This road forms out of 2 separate 2-lane one-way roads merging together, controlled by traffic lights as to which one of these roads is filtering forwards into the big one way road.

So the picture is a bit like:
Bus lane / Lane 1 / Lane 2 / Lane 3 / Parked Cars
^^^^^^
Road1 Lane1/Lane2 ----- Road2 Lane1/Lane2

The big problem I have is that I approach via Road2. Approximately 100metres up the big one-way road, I need to turn right onto a side-street in order to get home.

So, I go in Road2 Lane2. The problem is that there are all these parked cars directly in front of me! So I have to stay pretty central for my own safety, as otherwise I'd have to swing left in front of other cars and in my experience they're not observant enough to see that the parked cars will force me to do this and predict this happening. Obviously we've just stopped at these filtering traffic lights, so I have no speed at all and have to start from dead, which means I creep off pretty slowly (as quickly as I can go, but it's not exactly car-engine fast).

ALWAYS I have people either passing extremely close to me on my left forcing me into the line of parked cars OR alternatively if I ride out more centrally, drivers beep me all the time! I myself am a driver as well and I know that what I'm doing is appropriate for how it would be if I were a car (I'm in the right hand lane because I need to turn right!), it's just as a cyclist I'm not big enough or fast enough to get the same respect as a car.

I've considered going in the left-hand lane (of Road2) but then it would be worse because I'd have to cross over into the right-hand lane's worth of cars over a span of just 100metres which is crazy dangerous as they're all going faster than me.

I'm actually starting to feel (purely from the number of beeps, which I'd originally written off as impatience but am now starting to worry about) - anxious that I am somehow doing this wrong/illegally??? Does anybody have any thoughts/tips? To be honest just reassurance would also be great if I'm doing it correctly.

Thanks in advance!
(Also this is merging off up from Eversholt Street into Camden High Street just after Mornington Crescent Station, on the off-chance that anybody actually knows the part I'm talking about or feels like Google-mapping it).

 

[Beebo]

I have one similar right hand turn across 3 lanes on my route, you just have to take the lane as early as possible and hold position in the centre of the lane. I try to use the traffic lights to my advantage and manouvre myself into the correct lane whilst cars are stopped.

Of course if you still dont feel safe then there is nothing wrong with getting off a walking through a tricky junction. Discretion being the better part of valor and all that.

 

[BentMikey]

Got a google streetview link for us?

 

[Feastie]

Of course if you still dont feel safe then there is nothing wrong with getting off a walking through a tricky junction. Discretion being the better part of valor and all that.

Very true! It's so much quicker to cycle it though -- especially because the high street pavement is often thronging with slow-moving people! When some of the cars sound angry/I've seen them already do some stupid over-taking on the way along and don't fancy being in their way, I do indeed hop off for a bit of a walk.

Got a google streetview link for us?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=NW1 0hh google maps&ll=51.535006,-0.138881&spn=0.001895,0.004506&client=safari&oe=UTF-8&hnear=NW1 0HH, United Kingdom&t=m&z=18&layer=c&cbll=51.535006,-0.138881&panoid=6jVxlxOccet375jG0fisOw&cbp=12,323.36,,0,19.18

^^ That's the junction and my turning is just a bit further up on the right (Plender St.). The white van thing parked on the right is usually joined by a whole row of cars parked along there.

 

[martint235]

I'd stay in what is Lane 3 in your first post and a safe distance away from the parked cars. As you approach the first parked car you could signal that you are pulling left but I'd be concerned about that confusing a driver into thinking that I wanted to cross ALL the lanes. So basically take a line about a third of the way across lane 3.

 

[GrasB]

If you want to stay on the road & not walk it you're making a right turn, you hold to right most usable lane.

ALWAYS I have people either passing extremely close to me on my left forcing me into the line of parked cars OR alternatively if I ride out more centrally, drivers beep me all the time! I myself am a driver as well and I know that what I'm doing is appropriate for how it would be if I were a car (I'm in the right hand lane because I need to turn right!), it's just as a cyclist I'm not big enough or fast enough to get the same respect as a car.

The beeping is an indication you have got your road position correct as this means motorists are wanting to make dangerous passes (as noted by the beginning of the quoted paragraph.

 

[lejogger]

Personally i'd ignore the lane where the parked cars are. You shouldn't be bullied into using it as you run the risk of being doored or steered into a parked vehicle. So ignoring that and the bus lane you've got two usable lanes. Of these I'd take strong primary in the centre of the right hand lane that will keep you eqidistant from the parked cars and those undertaking on the left... As Martint235 states you can always keep a little to the left if you're worried about doors swinging open, but I would probably be more concerned about drivers on your left borrowing your lane if there are buses in the bus lane.

It's only for 100 metres so no one will be held up for long and it's your safest option (which is priority).