hackbike 666 said:
Your views on Blackfriars Bridge interest me as I have used this bridge for years as with Southwark Bridge.
Well, to be brief:
I can't be... I tried, but I can't...
You've seen it through various designs in your time and there have always been problems - but starting south and heading north before the current works (which look a mess):
on the approach to the bridge there are narrow lanes at the pedestrian lights. The lights bottle up vehicles and seem to elicit a sense of frustration in drivers who then race onto the bridge with little regard for cyclists dealing with an awkward line past the large amount of metalwork in the carriageway and I think granite blocks set in the gutter (all horrendous in the wet). It's also a prime spot for a left hook with traffic looking to dart down Upper Ground.
The new bike lane as it crossed the bridge was lovely and the only issue I had with it when I was commuting was that taxi drivers obviously couldn't believe that anything so wide should only be for cycles. As the bus lane ended some drivers assumed that the cycle lane must be for left turn only and I was occasionally squeezed when I didn't expect to be. I don't think that these were issues with the design just that you can't escape the company of cretins. However the width of road available at the north end of the bridge before the junction was a mixed blessing: good visibility for an informed decision on how to approach the junction when busy; or an excellent cue for people to believe that they could steam through the junction - in flowing traffic I suffered murderous left hooks as the wide radius of the left turn on to the embankment meant drivers could sweep rapidly across you and I'm sure many cyclists steamed up the inside of obviously turning vehicles.
At this point the segregated cycle lane heading on to New Bridge St made things very murky. If a cyclist were to head for it they would be taking themselves across the noses of the traffic waiting to enter the junction from embankment which often had an enterprisingly created second lane meaning that many drivers would fail to see an approaching cyclist. The cycle lane closely followed the railings on the inside which also had a news stand just inside them at the apex. Shortly afterward the railings finished just before the junction on the left. This arrangement created a blind bend just before a point where pedestrians would look to run across rather than use the crossings, emerging cars would cross the lane, cabs would pick up fares and the confused would attempt to turn down a one way street realize their mistake and jump on the brake pedal with both feet. If a cyclist sensibly avoided using the lane because they had no way of knowing if it was passable they then had to contend with the lane creating a pinch point on the main carriageway, less wary two wheelers passing on the inside (motorbikes frequently used the segregated cycle lane) and aggressive attempts to pass by following traffic.
The general layout of the junction meant that a vehicle in the inside lane leaving the bridge could reasonably be expected to turn left, go straight on or turn right. Vehicles in the outside lane could be expected to go straight on or turn right. The junction would often back up from congestion in any direction. Merge Hell. The phasing was also tight on the lights controlling this portion of the junction and amber gamblers would often cross your path.
Heading south from New Bridge Street there are narrow lanes with raised and sunken iron work with a wide radius turn to the left to facilitate left hooking. As the road rises to the bridge it bends through a shallow S-bend that drivers will straighten pinching cyclists to the kerb. The cycle lane isn't wide but has no particular horrors as it crosses the bridge within a bus lane. As the end of the bridge is approached things get hairy. The bus lane and the cycle lane end just before a bus stop and a pedestrian crossing at which point the road splits into four lanes before the traffic lights. What do you want? A bus to overtake and pull in? Heavily braking traffic to cut across from right to left? A pedestrian dash? A squeeze in a narrow lane? A right turn that has to be negotiated through three lanes of traffic? You can have it all, right here and at the same time, and on a rough, lumpy downhill patch of road.
p.s. Speed limits don't seem to apply on London's bridges other than Tower Bridge. You need a full sus to head north from Waterloo Bridge, though you can do it on a road bike heading south where you have cycle lane apart from where you need it as the road narrows as you leave the bridge.
You did ask for it.
)
