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Cycle paths

by Robint
Wed, May 24, 2017 15:15
4

Hi Pedalphiles

I am a lifelong cyclist and formerly a London cycling commuter (Putney to Moorgate). For cyclist its called a rush hour because of the rush you get crossing Trafalgar Sq every morning.  I did that for 3 years unscathed, but this was in the days before BOJO , his bikes and ill conceived cycle paths.

So thats my bona fides guys.  I now wish to solicit opinion from experienced users on the merits of urban cycle paths

I am having a monumental battle with my local Council regarding their wholly incompetent implimentation of a new pavement mounted cycle path scheme.  The Council gort a £2.3mill grant from the Dft and are spending it irresponsibly resulting in a scheme that will make cycling safety very clearly worse and impair pedestrian safety.

The Council planner admitted that he was a pedestrian and had carried out his design according to  Government guidelines LTN 1/12 and had ticked all the boxes.  I retorted that he could not possibly understand the requirement for safe cycling if he had no cycling experience himself.

If readers would like more details of this disastrous waste of public money I can post photos which show clearer than words what any experienced cyclist would see.

So my question is, have any of you experienced incompetent cycle path designs by your local authority

 

 

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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4 comments

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exilegareth | 7 years ago
1 like

@Robint

Have you ever wondered about how you sound, or how others, like council employees, experience your communication style?

I cknowledge that you believe your being a lifelong cyclist is part of your bona fides (must have been messy in the nappy wearing stage of your lifelong experience) but have you ever wondered if other people have  a different, but equally valid,  set of experiences to yours? They might even be qualified highways engineers....

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LastBoyScout | 7 years ago
1 like

I also cycle along Wokingham Road and have mixed feelings about the cycle lane that's been installed, especially given that the (generally) very wide foot paths on both sides are designated "shared use" between cyclists and pedestrians and they haven't been reduced to make more room for the bike lane.

In general, it seems to get very little use and most of the people using it are experienced, confident cyclists that would be on the road regardless of whether there was a lane there or not. Many other cyclists, including adults, still use the pavement and ignore the lane.

It wouldn't be so bad if the lane was continuous, but it fizzles out in many places, often directing cyclists onto the pavement, for example around the junctions and where there are pedestrian refuges.

It's a great thing for cycling on in rush hour when the cars are all nose to tail. On the other hand, it's a nightmare when I'm on the motorbike in rush hour, as it has the effect of pushing the cars closer together and greatly reducing the filtering gap on the outside of the cars.

I could go on, but I can't be bothered.

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Robint | 7 years ago
1 like

Thanx RM

lets all have more anecdotes.

fyi a tactic I pursued with some success when dealing with intransigent lgo's is to threaten to

a) change rate payments to a manual pay in book system and send them mothly checks

b) make you payements late up to the first warning

c) deduct a small amount from the monthly payment Say £10 for inconvenince created by lgo's

 

I did this when my council waste contractor repeatedly failed to service a litter bin outside my house on a regular weekly basis (which was what was needed.  This went on for a year creating a nuisance and causing me to empty the bin myself (even though we are paying for this service and our bin is an essential asset to our green space..  So I started fining the Council £10.  They threaned me and I offered to see them in court and counter-sue for damages.

They sent someone round to talk. I conducted the interview via my video entryphone and recorded it. The Cuoncil agreed to do their job properly if I would pay the arrears.  I agreed but only after I had seen the Council keeping its bargain.  I paid up 4 months later and 2017 they have only slipped up once.

These massive stonewall corporations (profit centres) can be made to yield to the little man, but you have to be prepared to maintain a scrupulous paper trail and put the time in to pursue these self serving mandarins. Send recorder letters to the CEO.  They don't like it up 'em

 

The photo attahced show the pathway embankment in question. The Council are planning to put a bi-direction CP about a foot from the front walls.  You can see residents walking straight into speeding cyclists obscured by high hedges and pillars

 

 

 

Avatar
Rod Marton | 7 years ago
1 like

Yes. Wokingham Road in Reading was so bad that the council promised to remove it (it was reported here some time ago, though I can't find a link). Having said that, it is still there, and I still commute on it (except for those parts where it is too dangerous to use and I adopt primary position).

More generally, I should think everyone reading this has experienced incompetent cycle path designs. Competent cycle paths are much rarer.

I have also been involved with traffic calming campaigns with my local authority and found the transport department to be a load of blinkered, incompetent stick-in-the-muds, with a complete inability even to analyse the data they collected. Not that they were going to let evidence get in the way of their preconceptions, anyway. I'm going to have to stop here, even remembering this is elevating my blood pressure to dangerous levels.

So you are not alone.

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