barq
Senior Member
- Location
- Birmingham, UK
Hi
I've recently started cycling a different way to work. Frankly I'm not used to using cycle lanes and I've encountered a confusing one. My route is shown by the red dotted line:
I ride up the cycle lane on the main road (shown on the right). What I want to do is turn left. However the cycle lane stops dead just as you start to turn. There is a dropped kerb and some white lines on the pavement which mean you are supposed to mount the pavement and then cross the minor road and using the traffic island (the grey trapezoid shape in my diagram) to carry on alongside the main road on a shared use pavement.
Now my problem is that I'm trying to go left, not carry on. But in order to leave the cycle lane and ride on the main part of the road, I'm supposed to signal right (aren't I?). This confuses the hell out of cars because they assume I've got stuck in the cycle lane and want to come out in order to stay on the main road. But if I don't signal they seem to expect me to be following the cycle lane up onto the pavement and I nearly get squashed.
Just to clarify the diagram: The end point of the cycle lane is more ambiguous than in my picture - it really is absolutely on the turn.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
I've recently started cycling a different way to work. Frankly I'm not used to using cycle lanes and I've encountered a confusing one. My route is shown by the red dotted line:
I ride up the cycle lane on the main road (shown on the right). What I want to do is turn left. However the cycle lane stops dead just as you start to turn. There is a dropped kerb and some white lines on the pavement which mean you are supposed to mount the pavement and then cross the minor road and using the traffic island (the grey trapezoid shape in my diagram) to carry on alongside the main road on a shared use pavement.
Now my problem is that I'm trying to go left, not carry on. But in order to leave the cycle lane and ride on the main part of the road, I'm supposed to signal right (aren't I?). This confuses the hell out of cars because they assume I've got stuck in the cycle lane and want to come out in order to stay on the main road. But if I don't signal they seem to expect me to be following the cycle lane up onto the pavement and I nearly get squashed.
Just to clarify the diagram: The end point of the cycle lane is more ambiguous than in my picture - it really is absolutely on the turn.
Any thoughts or suggestions?