New bike lane infrastructure in Brighton has come under criticism after several cyclists reported injuries.
When the latest upgrades to National Cycle Network Route 20 were announced, Brighton & Hove City Council’s Cabinet member for Transport said the new segregated cycle lanes “have made it easier for people to cycle and walk through this busy part of the city while better junctions and wider pavements have made it safer for all road users.”
But Trevor Muten has now apologised after The Argus reported that two cyclists have broken their wrists in recent months and several more have reported injuries thanks to a deceiving kerb.
Before the work was completed, the cycle lane was segregated but shared space with pedestrians, enabling easy access to Preston Park.
But now, the segregated cycle lane has a variable kerb that has proven deceptive for several cyclists still attempting to cross over into the local park.
The Argus heard from 70-year-old Dave Brown, who broke both of his wrists when he didn’t spot the new, raised kerb, causing him to be “thrown to the ground”.
Another resident, Daniel Balev, described how the low kerb meant a pedestrian had been able to walk into the cycle lane, forcing him to attempt to swerve out of the way. He then fell and broke his wrist when he hit the kerb.
The council say cyclists should not be entering or leaving the park at this entrance, despite them being able to do so before the latest upgrades were carried out. And, based on resident’s reaction to Brown’s story, the council seem to have fallen short in its objective for “everyone to enjoy the new spaces and improvements safely.”
Several residents reported not knowing the kerb was there until they hit the ground. One described £500 worth of damage to his bike and clothes. Another described how they lacerated a kidney when crashing along the cycle lane.
The council say that the Preston Road scheme “has been subject to a Road Safety Audit along with an independent inspection by Active Travel England. We are currently monitoring usage, gathering feedback and planning some additional measures to make it clear to cyclists that they should remain in the cycle lane.
The council added that some resident’s calls for paint-only infrastructure “pre-dates current design guidance” that recommends physical separation between travellers.
“At the Preston Road cycle lane, pedestrians and cyclists are separated by a raised kerb. This design has worked well in other locations. We are considering adding further lining following feedback.”
14 thoughts on ““Badly executed” cycle lane under fire after broken wrists and lacerated kidney among reported injuries”
Quote:
I’m all for calling out bad infra but what does he want, a three foot fence each side to stop pedestrians walking into the cycle lane?
He might have meant that the
He might have meant that the very low kerb allows pedestrians to wander into it inadvertently, whilst a more substantial kerb might trigger a bit more awareness of the delineation?
OnYerBike wrote:
Maybe…and then how long before pedestrians are complaining of their broken wrists from tripping over it?
Indeed – in the UK there will
Indeed – in the UK there will likely be an order of magnitude (more?) pedestrians around compared to cyclists, some of them with visual impairments etc. So it *has* to work for them *.
And haven’t we seen exactly those stories about “deadly cycle lanes” due to variable, high or surprising level changes in eg. the Keynsham optical illusion lane etc?
* Allowing for a bit of “this is all new to us” learning by trial and error – so *any* change likely some people will do something odd. And noting that despite our protestations we often follow routes we know with minimal conscious attention to the humdrum business of just getting about. Heck, that applies to driving…
People do like to complain,
People do like to complain, and I’m not saying it is a better solution overall (as I understand it, low kerbs are deliberately used in order to be more forgiving in case a cyclist does need to exit the cycle lane).
But I do think the combination of low kerbs, the use of painted lines, and variable kerb heights does add to confusion and make it less intuitive to identify where there is a height difference. Looking at the image captioned “Preston Road new cycle lane” in the article, it’s not clear to me whether or not the cycle lane is flush with the pavement at that point. It might be (in order to facilitate level access to the bus stop), but it’s unclear if it remains flush further up the road away from the bus stop, despite visually looking very similar.
So the first cyclist wants no
So the first cyclist wants no kerb and the second wants a higher one?
RayG wrote:
…and the third cyclist wants it just right.
I wonder what kind of bike Goldilocks would ride?
One of these?
One of these?
She’d need one that’s faster
She’d need one that’s faster than this:
Bloody cyclists wanting to
Bloody cyclists wanting to have their cake and eat it too!
Maybe not here but along the
Maybe not here but along the seafront? YES PLEASE.
Also as already pointed out, the locations from Google within the article are nowhere near each other!
Maybe some temporary red
Maybe some temporary red paint warning of the danger of using a previous desire line, and some permanent white arrows suggesting the safer route into the park?
Not great photos to
Not great photos to illustrate the change, given the two viewpoints shown are nearly a kilometre from each other and pointing in completely the opposite direction!
A better google maps location for a “Before” to compare to the Council’s “After” image would be:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cs6WUYXALBvKyprj7
But I imagine the “Before” pic is where people are actually crashing; I wonder if BHCC has removed the amazing “swap sides” feature going south past Preston Drove, where the cycle/pedestrian sides of the shared pavement swap sides while going round a corner, just to make things interesting.
I broke a rib during the
I broke a rib during the improvement works for the new cycle lane when the diversion sent me off the new bit of cycle lane onto the road over a rain grate who’s slats we’re aligned with my wheel..
This bit of infastructure is clearly cursed though.. the cycle lane used to incorporate a large tree with no widening of the cycle lane, at least that has been fixed. I have some sympathy for the planners , the Springfield/ Preston Dyke road interchange is a mess. I use it on foot, by car and cycling and I’d say it’s equally awful for all users