Winding Cycle Paths - Thoughts

[oldwheels]

Couple of cycle paths near here are a pain. One has a few 90 degree corners and the other has hairpins on hills which can be tricky. God forbid you have a bike with bad toe overlap or you could be in difficulty trying to pedal uphill and turn sharply at the same time. Gentle corners are fine.

The one from North Connel towards Ft William is a bit of a nightmare with short sharp hills on right angle bends and Sustrans barriers on some. In bits you have to cross the main A828 with bad sight lines and not enough room to make a clean turn in many of them. Getting the trike round a 120 degree bend with Sustrans barriers on a narrow uphill is just not possible. I have covered a lot of it on 2 wheels but my last venture on 3 was difficult in bits to put it mildly.

 

[annedonnelly]

I've never seen any bat roadkill so sonar must work even near vehicles... is there any evidence that bats actually use the green bridges [the ones with overhead 'wire tunnels']

Some stuff here about the impact of roads on bats, though like a lot of things we need to do more studies into the effects we're having on wildlife.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I know your comment isn't aimed at me, but I do. My 10 mile commute takes me about 40 minutes on the roads with junctions and traffic lights etc. I would, in theory, use cycle paths if these were clean and comparable in journey times but with the added bonus of not having to mix it with the potentially lethal metal killing machines.
If taking the cycle path meant that same journey was going to take an hour or more due to indirect route and frequent forced crossings of the other transport routes then it just isn't feasible and I won't use it.

The other side of the coin is that there will be many slower and more nervous riders, maybe with children with them, who won't use a path at all, if it's inhabited by the nutters who think they're on a 10 mile TT.
I'm not suggesting you would ride inconsiderately, but a lot of riders who want to go fast, are totally intolerant of anyone slower than them and will force their way past with very little room to spare. Cycle paths are not the place for this sort of antisocial behaviour, and riders who are unwilling to tolerate being held up by slower cyclists should stay off those paths and mix it up with the cars. Suddenly having a speed freak cyclist appear from nowhere inches away from behind, then fly past is not pleasant for family groups or any slow riders.

 

[I like Skol]

The other side of the coin is that there will be many slower and more nervous riders, maybe with children with them, who won't use a path at all, if it's inhabited by the nutters who think they're on a 10 mile TT.
I'm not suggesting you would ride inconsiderately, but a lot of riders who want to go fast, are totally intolerant of anyone slower than them and will force their way past with very little room to spare. Cycle paths are not the place for this sort of antisocial behaviour, and riders who are unwilling to tolerate being held up by slower cyclists should stay off those paths and mix it up with the cars. Suddenly having a speed freak cyclist appear from nowhere inches away from behind, then fly past is not pleasant for family groups or any slow riders.

Unfortunately you are describing bad behaviour that is also displayed by some drivers, where it is equally unpleasant but also massively more dangerous. There are just inconsiderate people in all walks of life
Cycle paths can be used safely and efficiently, the two concepts are not exclusive of each other. Whatever you do there will always be idiots!
People will not use cycle paths in sufficient numbers if doing so is as inconvenient and time consuming as riding with only one pedal and having to progress by riding in a series of repeating spirals.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The other side of the coin is that there will be many slower and more nervous riders, maybe with children with them, who won't use a path at all, if it's inhabited by the nutters who think they're on a 10 mile TT.

His quoted time gives an average of 15 mph, hardly 10 mile TT speeds.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Unfortunately you are describing bad behaviour that is also displayed by some drivers, where it is equally unpleasant but also massively more dangerous. There are just inconsiderate people in all walks of life
Cycle paths can be used safely and efficiently, the two concepts are not exclusive of each other. Whatever you do there will always be idiots!

I agree the issue is idiot behavour by the most impatient element of all road users. The problem is that unless you engineer out the ability to ride at nutter speeds on cycle paths, the nutters will in many instances use them - and in a manner that's antisocial. The only way to reduce it is to build cycling infrastructure in such a way that the cycle path does not allow the rider to go quite as fast on the path as they could achieve on the road. 3 mph pedestrians and 10-12 mph cyclists can co-exist relatively harmoniously. You can't say the same when adding 20 mph cyclists into that mix.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

His quoted time gives an average of 15 mph, hardly 10 mile TT speeds.

Riders like Skol aren't the problem, the headbangers who try to emulate urban cycle couriers or weekend racers are. Maximum speed at all costs.

 

[Mr Celine]

@BrumJim can you tell us how long this proposed cycle path will be, or how long the major transport corridor is?

 

[BrumJim]

@BrumJim can you tell us how long this proposed cycle path will be, or how long the major transport corridor is?

I'm afraid not. I'm only looking at a small part of it which is adjacent to the bat mitigation structure. The bit I am looking at is only a few miles long, and it is the countryside, so not really normal commuting territory.

Just interested to see what people's thoughts are on this.

 

[Archie_tect]

Some stuff here about the impact of roads on bats, though like a lot of things we need to do more studies into the effects we're having on wildlife.

Anne,
Here's the bat bridge across the Haydon Bridge bypass on the A69- effectively a wire tunnel that the bats are supposed t follow across the road at a safe height... if they have proved effective it's a fairly cheap solution- or the wire cages could be slung under footbridges to give the bats a safer passage over a busy road.

 

[the_mikey]

It depends on what the expected user base is, and what utility it will be expected to provide and why. What is this cycle route expected to be?

 

[BoldonLad]

Anne,
Here's the bat bridge across the Haydon Bridge bypass on the A69- effectively a wire tunnel that the bats are supposed t follow across the road at a safe height... if they have proved effective it's a fairly cheap solution- or the wire cages could be slung under footbridges to give the bats a safer passage over a busy road.
View attachment 561475 View attachment 561474

So, THAT is what those things are!

Maybe I am particularly thick, but, if the bats cross at this height, surely, they are safe from traffic without the wires?

 

[annedonnelly]

So, THAT is what those things are!

Maybe I am particularly thick, but, if the bats cross at this height, surely, they are safe from traffic without the wires?

But maybe it's the wires that encourage them to fly higher. As I say there probably needs to be further study. But in the grand cost of building & maintaining the A69 surely a few thousand spent on some posts & wire is peanuts and if it does some good.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Anne,
Here's the bat bridge across the Haydon Bridge bypass on the A69- effectively a wire tunnel that the bats are supposed t follow across the road at a safe height... if they have proved effective it's a fairly cheap solution- or the wire cages could be slung under footbridges to give the bats a safer passage over a busy road.
View attachment 561475 View attachment 561474

I've seen things like that and wondered what they were. Thanks for the info.

 

[matticus]

Yes, the idea is to give them a guiding path! Several schemes in the UK, and France and Germany have some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bridge#cite_note-14

Evidence of success seems mixed, but as bats are vv vulnerable species now, it could be worth trying these things