So sick of this roundabout

[LOGAN 5]

I used to get off and walk round on the pavement at Old Street RAB (London) when my commute took me that way as traffic there is fast, furious and mean and doesn't allow for cyclists at all. Thought it safer to walk. Don't keep doing something you feel is dangerous (me thinks of my Brixton route which I'm now changing).

Remember that awful story of a woman called Vicky I believe who got killed by a bus over Blackfriars Bridge a couple of years back and she was heard to say at work that the cycle lane/bridge layout was dangerous and a cyclist would get killed there one day.

Don't let it be you. If you don't think or feel it's safe then it probably isn't.

 

[MartinC]

Give yourself a pat on the back - good riding.

Big roundabouts can be the pits. Sometimes you know it's just impossible to bring the risk into the range you consider acceptable. If that's the case then finding another route or workaround is the intelligent and enjoyable response. I often do.

 

[Jake]

hmmm, there are a couple south of the river where I decided to take the pavement route just because of safety, (if i am coming from the south that is). Not sure of their names, but i think one is london bridge? where the cinema thing is in the middle of it.

 

[MessenJah]

Sounds like you done well there in a very awkward situation. Is it one of those rubbish rbts where a dual carriageway just continues straight through with little or no deflection encouraging stupid people to go fast? ie the road going bottom left to top right.

That's right, it's a fairly small roundabout, smaller than it looks in the picture - but it's on the inner ring road which is stupidly a 40mph max speed limit road. It should be a 30.

 

[DJ]

Well anticipated

Well done for not getting splatted I think I would have been terrified!

I must admit I keep off main roads as much as possible, ie go across parks, quieter roads etc.

The way I see it, is if I am near vehicles then my chances of being hit are greater.

I know you cant do that when couriering, but you can avoid hot spots!

 

[LOGAN 5]

The awful new design of Waterloo roundabout is a disaster for cyclists. There's a really complex layout of cycle lanes with sharp corners taking you into the bus section and then back out on to the road again where you still have to cross fast traffic to get over the bridge. Going south is a bit better as it's possible to get a bit of speed up on the downhill to negotiate the RAB as long as you look out for left hooking buses/taxis - well taxis doing anything really!

Waterloo RAB not nearly as scary as the equally appalling layout of the Vauxhall gyratory motorway on a bike.

 

[BentMikey]

Vauxhall gyratory is on my commute - taking it like a car would, I find it quite easy now. I often do the lazy option and ride through the middle though, depending on how busy with pedestrians it is.

 

[LOGAN 5]

BM, isn't the middle the bus stop section? Are you going west to east or south to north? Didn't think there was a route through the middle. The cycle lane is a disaster skirting the junction which means cyclists have to stop at several points with traffic lights.

I always try to get behind somebody else and cycle like mad to get over it.

 

[BentMikey]

I don't know about the cycle lanes - I wouldn't use most of those anyway. I just go in the road as it's quicker and safer, IMO.

As for going through the middle, I'm on the south-north route from Oval to across Vauxhall Bridge. There are two ways - one is to follow the road around, turn left into the bus route, and cross at the bus lights. The other is to go on the pavement as you enter the roundabout (it's shared for bikes), go slow, and join the bus section at the same place.

 

[Origamist]

In the Netherlands RaBs are designed differently. They are more often than not limited to a single lane and the approach lanes retard speed due to the drivers needing to turn more sharply in order to negotiate the tighter bend of the RaB.

In addition, there are usually segregated cycle paths that run parallel to the RaB and motorists have to cede to cyclists who want to cross the approach/exit lanes.