“Impressively dumb” narrow cycle lane criticised as “box ticking exercise” after repainted lane barely covers double yellow lines; Steep gravel climb awaits Vuelta peloton + more on the live blog
Thinnest bike lane in the UK?
It’s good to be back, stumbling through emails, eyes filtering through tabs for what could make a mildly amusing blog lead. And I think I’ve found an answer, or at least one that would be slightly funny if it weren’t also a little tragic.
Thinnest bike lane in the UK?
by
u/special_noodles in
ukbike
“Brighton and Hove is often talked about like a cycling paradise, but this is apparently a cycle lane. The top of Dyke Road. It’s a popular route, in and out of town yet this is deemed acceptable.”
It should be said the poster is referring to the gap between the white lines and the kerb, rather than the pavement where the photo is taken. I say gap, but as can be seen from the photo, the lane is entirely swallowed up by the double yellow lines painted to restrict vehicles from parking there.
A further search engine rummage finds it is genuinely a bike lane that runs along Dyke Road, though even when the lane begins there’s no real sense the authorities are interested in protecting the cyclists.
In fact I would go further and say that this lane is actively endangering all road users, attempting to pen cyclists in an unreasonably narrow space, increasing the odds of clipping a kerb, and giving drivers the self-confidence to ignore normal overtaking standards to drive past the cyclist without affording additional space, presuming the paint is infrastructure enough.
The original poster adds this current disaster began when it was recently repainted, branding the new lane “pure nonsense”.
Fellow cyclists are unimpressed…
“That’s actually a cycle lane? That’s impressively dumb on the part of whoever signed that off.”
“Box ticking exercise”
“Absolutely bonkers. That’s Brighton and Hove council for you…especially if this is being repainted as a cycle lane, it needs a formal complaint, which should lead to a road safety assessment update by a competent person against the latest cycle infra standards that explicitly calls out this substandard trash.”
“That’s not a bike lane. Ignore it and take primary position.”
Indeed, the latter advice seems wise, and means once again individual cyclists will endure the wrath or irate drivers for taking the safest position on the road and not using cycle infrastructure. Some things never change…
RIP Yayoi Kusama
With her penchant for polka dots, we almost certainly expected the Japanese artist to incorporate a bicycle in to her work and sure enough, the ever reliable Cool Bike Art account on Bluesky has delivered…
RIP Yayoi Kusama
— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) 27 August 2026 at 09:38
Holibobs
I will share one, and only one, photo from my little (voluntary) escape from this website. I went to Paris to visit friends and decided (like many a tourist) to visit Montmartre. Many a traveller go there to channel their inner Amélie, but I went with a more velo-focused purpose in mind…
It takes a lot for me to share evidence of a tortured smile beyond the realms of a private social media account. But for Wout van Aert, the world is his…
View this post on Instagram
Insane Facebook Marketplace ad of the day
Because fat people are clearly the cause of what’s wrong here…
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
7 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
Re. the Montmartre photo - couldn't you have found suitable facilities before taking it? Who do you think you are - Tom Dumoulin?
Tester reviews product on its intended use case. Commenter posts bizarre response.
@hmsgenoa Not least because 15D nylon is basically tissue paper, so unless you're using a serious groundsheet underneath or camp exclusively on pristinely mowed, well-cared for lawns you're going to need to replace this tent every time you use it. I understand the desire for 'ultralight' but having encountered one of these big Agnes tents in a shop, I would never use one in anger, they seem way too fragile. I'll keep my Snugpak Ionosphere which cost £100 and has survived a lot of rocks/twigs/being shoved into bike bags with all sorts and is still fully functional 5 years later.
Yes, and this is one of the questions in the annual Active Travel England self-assessment that councils have to fill in - whether they take the opportunity of resurfacing to improve cycle facilities. My council (North Yorkshire) fills in the form to say it does, but when I asked, it was unable to provide a single example of having done so.
The depth of incompetence in B&H is incomprehensible. This must have gone through several iterations of planning and approval. Something Like ... Requirement for a cycle lane on this road - Discussed and approved by Council. Road engineer creates design plan - Approved. Funding - Approved Operatives turn up to implement - Jobsworths don't query Inspector signs off job - Approved as per plan
Not sure that's allowed - send them back to SURREY, where they belong.
Interestingly[citation needed] how wide they need to be depends on the context. "The gap between the edge of the carriageway and the nearest edge of the longitudinal lines ... should be approximately 250 mm. ... Of the three widths that are prescribed for yellow lines, the 75 mm size should be used on roads with a speed limit of 40 mph or less, and 100 mm on roads with a higher limit. In areas regarded as environmentally sensitive, the 50 mm wide line may be used. ... The gap between double lines must in all cases be the same as the width of each line."
Climate effects will continue, yes, but not 'regardless'. Climate scientists say that every tenth of a degree matters. Some heating is already baked in, but what we do from now on has an impact too. The UK is responsible for a small but significant proportion of current emissions. They are the only emissions that we in the UK can do anything about, so we need to get them down as fast as possible. "It's too late" and "there's nothing we can do because China" are just the latest excuses from people who want to convince others that we can and should do nothing about our climate problem.
Tester throws dummy out pram cause he has to go back to the Stone Age #tubeless #ahhdiddums
7 thoughts on ““Impressively dumb” narrow cycle lane criticised as “box ticking exercise” after repainted lane barely covers double yellow lines; Steep gravel climb awaits Vuelta peloton + more on the live blog”
It would make much more sense to me that whenever roads are being resurfaced, active consideration should be made about how it road can be reconfigured for all users in mind and not just cars – for example how a particular road/segment fits in with the overall bike infrastructure and planning.
Yes, and this is one of the questions in the annual Active Travel England self-assessment that councils have to fill in – whether they take the opportunity of resurfacing to improve cycle facilities.
My council (North Yorkshire) fills in the form to say it does, but when I asked, it was unable to provide a single example of having done so.
If B&H had consulted some cyclists beforehand they would have saved themselves the cost of engaging a lining contractor to paint these idiotic lines.
The thought process has clearly been “We need width X for the widest vehicles to proceed on the speed limit in a car free manner. So that leaves width Y for the cycle lane. They ought to be grateful.”
The problem is that some motorists will expect cyclists to stay within the lane, while riding over drain covers, debris etc as well as clipping pedestrians with their handlebars.
And riding on all that lovely slippery yellow paint.
Looking at Streetview its a typical pre 2009 farcility. Council’s wont get funding for them from central government today and those with a relatively recent record of installing them will get put to the back of the list for future funding.
My own local council never reinstalled a section of such a farcility (much to my pleasure, as its easier to take the secondary, before transitioning to the primary for a right turn on a busy road) so as not to jeopardise future funding.
The depth of incompetence in B&H is incomprehensible.
This must have gone through several iterations of planning and approval.
Something Like …
Requirement for a cycle lane on this road – Discussed and approved by Council.
Road engineer creates design plan – Approved.
Funding – Approved
Operatives turn up to implement – Jobsworths don’t query
Inspector signs off job – Approved as per plan
Re. the Montmartre photo – couldn’t you have found suitable facilities before taking it? Who do you think you are – Tom Dumoulin?