cyclists and cycle paths/lanes?

custardy

alastairq wrote: »

excellent idea......however, the issue seemed to be, from your viewpoint, about what could be done to improve matters regarding cycle tracks or routes?

Without knowing you personally....and without malice, I offered the hilited view.

Which is, if reflected upon, a very common re-action on the part of people, is it not?

and to add...although no longer a 'cyclist' as such...I agree LA's need to pay particular attention to the maintenance and improvement of cycle routes..especially if they are to encourage greater usage?

I witness far too much ignorance regarding cyclists, from motorised road users......it's a shame the whole issue has developed such an antagonistic vein.

Its not really about improving them,its paying lip service by plonkling random bits of path down
far better they just dont bother
In Edinburgh we have a lot of greenway Bus/bike/taxi routes(Ive never understood the taxi bit,how does a taxi help cut congestion when its often ferrying one person?)
so in theory it should be a fairly cycle friendly city(except those bloody hills!)
however its not so friendly having a double decker glued to your !!! or overtaking you with mm to spare and then slamming the brakes on at a stop
or even worse(for those who know Princess street) letting passengers off at random points as they queue,while you cycle up the inside

HouseHuntr

alastairq wrote: »

By 'cycle lanes' [or 'paths'] I was referring to those specially constructed, and separated from the main traffic flows.


Those cycle lanes which consist of simple road markings aren't really included in this topic...since the cyclist is already mixing it with the general traffic flow...........


My observations concern cyclists who refuse to use dedicated, separated cycle paths/routes/lanes, which often parallel the main road....and who create the impedance to traffic flow the cycle route was partly intended to alleviate? [plus, separating cycles from other vehicles, for safety reasons?]

OK, fair enough!

The trouble is the law has dictated that cyclists do not have to use those specialised lanes even though they were put there to keep them safe/alleviate confliction with motorised traffic.
One day traffic laws may hopefully apply to all road/cycle path+lane users rather than cyclists getting away with anything they want!

NEH

This old chestnut...comes up again and again on MSE. Wish people would limit their discussions of this topic to twice a year or something...

Cycle paths as in the ones off the road can't be used by a lot of cyclists for common sense reasons. think of all the cars using the road and imagine all the crap that gets thrown up etc..well that tends to land in the cycle path hence why so many don't use them as it can cause injuries, damage to bikes etc and time...One commuter my hubby knew had 2 punctures in one trip to work, needless to say he didn't make it on time....As for getting them cleared councils are overly quick to mend potholes never mind clear a cycle path...

So spare a though for cyclists next time instead of accusing them...

As for parking in cycle lanes it is in the highway code because I was worried about it when i was learning to drive and my instructor thought it was ok....I double checked it as I didn't want to risk failing my test for it....

"240

You MUST NOT stop or park on

• the carriageway or the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency (see Rule 270)
• a pedestrian crossing, including the area marked by the zig-zag lines (see Rule 191)
• a clearway (see 'Traffic signs')
• taxi bays as indicated by upright signs and markings
• an urban clearway within its hours of operation, even when a broken white line is on your side of the road, except to pick up or set down passengers (see 'Traffic signs')
• a road marked with double white lines, except to pick up or set down passengers
• a tram or cycle lane during its period of operation
• a cycle track
• red lines, in the case of specially designated ‘red routes’, unless otherwise indicated by signs

Any vehicle may enter a bus lane to stop, load or unload where this is not prohibited (see Rule 141).

[Laws MT(E&W)R regs 7 & 9, MT(S)R regs 6 & 8, ZPPPCRGD regs 18 & 20, RTRA sects 5, 6 & 8, TSRGD regs 10, 26 & 27, RTA 1988 sects 21(1) & 36] "

kittykarate

Until I started cycling, I used to think 'Bloody cyclists - so many cycle lanes and cycle paths around, why are they here on this road'

And then tried cycling to work one day :mad: Did the cycle route planner and discovered that while there appeared to be a load of cycle paths near me from my car window, most of them were bloody barking mad.

For example - a safe cycle route that suggest that I should somehow manage a right turn on a busy, wide, 40mph road to get onto the hospital grounds to pick up a cycle path that had disappeared for 1/2 a mile. The paths that are shared usage, you should not go very fast on them (I nearly drop to walking pace) as they are shared and you risk hitting dogs and other wandering things. So then it seems bloody pointless to use them. One shared usage path I've been on has road signs in the middle of cycling section, so you end swerving into the pedestrian section.

I suggest that if you object to the amount and type of cycle lanes around, you try and cycle some of your 'normal' journeys. Then you might discover how random the provision is, and why cycling on the road starts to seem like a good idea.

Billy-no-Money

kittykarate wrote: »

Until I started cycling, I used to think 'Bloody cyclists - so many cycle lanes and cycle paths around, why are they here on this road'

And then tried cycling to work one day :mad: Did the cycle route planner and discovered that while there appeared to be a load of cycle paths near me from my car window, most of them were bloody barking mad.

Exactly!

When I ride my bike I'm trying to get from A to B in a reasonable time, not just going out to look at the scenery. I started commuting two years ago, and tried to use the cycle paths, but they're either well off my route or involve so many extra junctions and dismounts that they're not worth the bother.
Instead I base my routes on the ones I would drive, but as time's gone on I've found my own little diversions to avoid particular junctions - or sections of road which bring out the worst in some drivers (mainly the incompetent rather than the aggressive).

In most urban situations a car driver spends most of their time following the car in front - or if they're not they'll catch up at the next set of lights. Being held up by a cyclist for a few seconds makes next to no difference, unless e.g. it means a light turns amber before they get to it.

On my pushbike I might be passed by 10 cars, then nothing for a minute or two. Conversely on my motorbike I'll frequently get past a queue of 10 cars, then have the road to myself the rest of the way. The roads here are largely empty, but seem full to a driver because they're usually one of those 10 cars!! (and the one at the front never goes above 25mph ....)

IT'S NOT THE CYCLISTS MAKING YOU LATE FOR WORK!!

freakybacon

Could it possibly be that there is a pot of money that councils can get their hands on if they have a certain amount of cycle lanes?

custardy

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Edinburgh,+United+Kingdom&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.972233,98.085938&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Edinburgh,+United+Kingdom&ll=55.933432,-3.268552&spn=0.000521,0.001497&t=h&z=20

theres a good one
as you can see,its a shared pavement/cycle path (note they had to paint around the signs
however they could easily have made a dedicated cycle path with the space available

if you look to the top of the screen,the council built a dedicated guided busway which runs for a few miles,they could have built a cycle way at the same time and took bikes onto a nice safe and fast dedicated route which bridges 2 busy juctions rather than crossing them
the bus route is now closed and the buses are back adding to the conjestion on the road
the council are busy ripping up the bus route for a tram route with no though to a dedicated cycle path

rev_henry

sequence wrote: »

i've never been there so i'll take you word for it. Despite the huge number of bad lanes, there are some very good ones. Theres one near me that runs along a "left only lane that leads to a motor way" the cycle lane has sensors that detect an approaching cyclist and stop the traffic, so that you cross straight over to the straight on lane. Pretty good i always use it.

i want a go on this!!!

missile

There are some roads near me where the the pedestrian islands have been enlarged. The cycle lanes are the recommended width, but the space left for a vehicle to pass is not enough for a family car never mind a 4x4 or a commercial vehicle. Absolutely crazy situation :mad:.