[IanMSpencer]

https://youtu.be/RvQ35Rl6JLo

The highlight is the vanishing cycle lane – before you get to the point where you can join the shared use pavement (as yet unmarked) but after the car lane has been narrowed to force cars towards the kerb.

Knowle, Solihull are having their third(!) attempt at the cycle lane from Knowle to Solihull. I’ve made a video really to record the poor implementation, not yet complete. In fact, that’s a point I failed to make in the video, there are cointradictory roadmarkings due to the partially complete nature of the changes but no warnings. For example, at the end of the video, they have introduced some “Orca” cycle lane dividers with no alert for the motorist (who shouldn’t be there) or cyclist. It’s a regular route for our Sunday club run – what could go wrong?!

I’m on the case with the Council, and really the point of the video is to put on record that if a “reasonable person” can see the flaws in their scheme, then their legal team should be sitting down hard on the Highways Department to sort themselves out before indefensible claims start coming in.

Apologies for this quick and dirty video, it is not made to entertain, so feel free to chew your fingers down to stumps to relieve the boredom of watching it!

Topic

[IanMSpencer]

Agree on the positive – my
Agree on the positive – my original email did complement then on the general strategy. Before the Orcas, the lane downhill was a significant improvement.

What is letting them down here is the detail. The solution for me is that they need an entrance off the roundabout – dig back a bit of the embankment, they’ll be removing the 40mph sign, and bingo bikes aren’t on the pinch point – so cyclists will be far more enthusiastic about using it.

[chrisonabike]

Again – I have a little

Again – I have a little knowledge of the way of the cross you’re embarking on there. Good luck and stay positive! Something which I’ve picked up is that it doesn’t hurt to say nice things to them where you can too – I see the transport convener up here (Leslie MacInnes) is yet again coming in for a kicking from drivers in the local press. Edinburgh can hardly be claimed to be having a war on the motorist – I wish they would! – but the waves of outrage when any change is mooted are unceasing and never seem to lessen. So if they *do* achieve something positive praise can help since normally all they’re hearing is angry squeaks!

[chrisonabike]

The “design principles” on

The “design principles” on show here (if you can discern any…) are quite familiar to me from Edinburgh. I think the worst of it is those “armadillos” – as you point out they’ll be invisible in the dark / under leaves and even ignoring the danger factor they’re pretty useless as “protection” from cars. The Edinburgh solutions are much more visible – 4 foot long blocks with a 30 cm height, with reflective “cat eye” features at either end and reflective wands. However the bases are still dark and matt so where they’ve lost the wands they’re unhelpful.  Think they’ve been implicated in a cycle accident (South Queensferry) although can’t find any follow up on that. Edinburgh does have at least one lane with smaller “armadillios” from a previous generation of infra (here on streetview). Maybe worth looking up any issues associated with those (Spokes – the local cycle group – might know)?

Nowadays I’m torn – do you engage, critique the detail and try to ensure that the worst stuff is mitigated or that opportunities (a dropped kerb, some permeable filter) are not missed? Or do you say “Stop. You’re wasting money again. If it needs done do it properly.” And by properly we really mean “more expensive than the local authority hoped e.g. costs more than paint”.  Not nearly as expensive as a new road, it doesn’t have to be beautiful or “perfect” (beware “cool designs”…) but it must be continuous, properly address junctions, not full of posts / signs / trees, sufficient width, fully protected where needed, connect to other routes…

In your case looks like there’s plenty of actual space there should they have the will do actually do this right.

I mean, it’s not like there is an entire country full of this stuff nearby – which  just coincidentally has the highest rates of cycling in the world – that you can look at without leaving your computer, see thousands of videos on, with a whole series of official documents in English at all levels setting out how to do it. No, couldn’t work here!

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