traffic virgin needs explained...new bike lane

[WeeE]

..in Glasgow. Walking along Argyle Street the other day, I noticed there's a new (to me, anyway) cycle lane starts at the Buchanan St crossing / Bank of Scotland corner on St Enoch Square, and runs along against the one-way system past where Woollies was, and seems to stop after 100 yards at the end of the block, on the junction where you cross Jamaica/Union Street to go under the hielanman's umbrella.

Non-driver new to cycling, me very mystified. Looks like a great way to commit suicide under a bus, especially them coming down union street and turning left into the one-way...no, especially them coming straight across the junction - I couldn't see any continuation of the cycle lane there.

What's it for? How do you use it?

 

[the_bing]

ride on the pavement. you'll get shouted at but you'll live...

 

[MrRidley]

You don't use it, you avoid it, the reason it's there is Glasgow city council, are trying to promote cycling with the Commonwealth games coming up, of course it was a non cyclist who thought it would be a good idea to put it there.

 

[purplepolly]

What's it for? How do you use it?

I think you just answered your question

Looks like a great way to commit suicide under a bus

 

[WeeE]

Ah... thanks, folks. I thought it must only appear scary and nonsensical because of my extreme lack of experience.

(Waiting for the Cycle Craft I ordered to arrive.)

 

[gavintc]

I use it every morning. I come out of Buchanan St at around 8 am (at that time, it is open to vehicles and pedestrians) turn right and then head along toward the Central Station bridge. I have been using it for over 2 yrs and find it perfect. There are rarely delivery vans parked on it.

The most dangerous part of Argyle St comes after you leave Central Stn and heading westward toward the M8 bridge. Cars coming into town love to turn in front of you as if you do not exist.

Do not ride on the pavement at that point - it is always full of peds.

 

[WeeE]

I use it every morning. I come out of Buchanan St at around 8 am (at that time, it is open to vehicles and pedestrians) turn right and then head along toward the Central Station bridge...

You can cycle in Buchanan Street at certain times? I had no idea. Is it legal 6pm-9am?

So when you come down Buchanan street, do you cross with the pedestrians and get into this lane from the crossing? Does that mean that the traffic against you is basically stopped while you're going along this 100-yard lane?

Looking at it (bearing in mind I'm new to being a road user) I couldn't figure out what light/signal you would use to get under Central Station or to turn left.

Also presumed the no-right-turn goes for bikes too - would that be right...er, correct?

 

[gavintc]

At 8am, Buchanan St is a sea of delivery vehicles and the rising bollards are down to allow vehicle access. By 9am, I think the road is closed to vehicles. Certainly, if I am ever late for work, I will not use Buchanan - just too anti social. I am not certain when the bollards are dropped in the morning, but it is a full of trucks at 8 am. Peds keep to the pavements on the side and the middle is a truck zone. I come form Queen St Stn and cycle down crossing 2 roads, waiting for a safe gap in the crossing traffic.

When I get to the bottom of Buchanan, it is normally only buses and taxis coming from the right. I wait for a gap and then get into the little cycle lane. Buses are used to cyclists and keep clear - never had a problem. At the lights at the end of the little cycle lane, (Argyle/Union St junc) there is a cyclists light. Wait for it and then I head west under the Central Stn Bridge.

At the end of the day (usually about 5 to 5.30pm), I stay on Argyle and follow it around the one way road, past GOMA and George Sq back to the station. Buchanan is just too busy with peds at that time.

 

[WeeE]

Hmm... It does look pretty different in the middle of the afternoon - a lot of cars mixed in. It's probably going to be a while before I ride my bike around the city-centre.
Of all the things about road signs and markings, it's actually cycle lanes I find most confusing - the lack of consistency, the entry/exit points & what happens at traffic-calming points and junctions, why a given lane is there at all sometimes, and - mostly - why they suddenly disappear where & when they do.

 

[gavintc]

IMO, cycle lanes are something to use once you have checked them out from the road. If I come across a new one, I tend to avoid it, look at it and work out if it is worth using. In the main, I avoid. The little one on Argyle saves a whole load of diversion (for me) or squeezing it with the cars in the city centre.

There are some dreadful ones that leave you stranded.

 

[WeeE]

I sat in a pub in Cambridge St the other day (where you walk off Sauchiehall St to get to Cowcaddens subway) and all through a long lunch, there was a truck double-parked there on top of the cycle lane the whole time. (My old mum was amazed when I pointed out the green bit and told her what it was). A bit of shopping later, the same four cars were still parked there, but by now it was two cabs that were double-parked on the cycle lane itself, with the drivers standing chatting (I think it did used to be a taxi-rank). A cyclist did actually come up the on-path lane from the underpass, and of course, had to carry on along the pavement to get to the Renfrew St junction. He looked kind of used to it.

 

[Coco]

Not sure where you're going to/coming from, but the one that runs along the Clyde is quite good. Apart from a shared path at the Casino, the path runs along from Glasgow Green to the Kingston Bridge.

 

[WeeE]

Thanks Coco. If the Commonwealth games were in Govan, I daresay they'd extend the Clyde cyclepath this way!

 

[BearPear]

Can I just hijack for a second and just ask Wee for a heads-up on the cycle craft, as a fellow newbie I think I could do with some too!

 

[WeeE]

Can I just hijack for a second and just ask Wee for a heads-up on the cycle craft, as a fellow newbie I think I could do with some too!

Cycle Craft comes highly recommended by just about everyone I've spoken to - experienced people as well as newbies have said it taught them something useful about the reality as well as the theory. You can get it (the 2007 edition) new for £10.99 from Amazon if you're willing to wait a week or so. (usually £12.99) or a bit less 2nd-hand.
"Cyclecraft, published by The Stationery Office, is the definitive guide to safe and enjoyable cycling for both adults and children. Whether you are new to cycling, looking to extend your skills, or wanting to know how best to teach your children to cycle, Cyclecraft offers practical advice on how to ride a bike confidently and safely in modern traffic conditions.... The author of Cyclecraft, John Franklin, is a consultant and registered Expert Witness on cycling skills and safety and was a member of the reference group that set up the National Standard."