Long queues of cyclists have been reported on Blackfriars Bridge resulting from the new barriers that were installed in the wake of the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks. Thousands of cyclists are being forced to squeeze through one lane with three Transport for London (TfL) staff said to be on hand to manage the bottleneck.
Blackfriars Bridge lies on the capital’s North-South Cycle Superhighway, a hugely popular route during rush hour.
Huge metal and concrete bollards were recently installed at each end so that where previously people could ride two abreast in both directions, now there is only room for single file.
The position of the barriers at the south end lets cyclists travelling in opposite directions pass each other, the ones at the north end don’t.
A number of people have taken to social media to complain about the situation, including the BBC’s Tom Edwards.
I understand extra security on #London bridges but #BlackfriarsBridge is a mess! Blocking cycle paths can’t be the safest answer @TfL? pic.twitter.com/khsu7frwnU
— Natalia Marczewska (@NataliaComms) June 13, 2017
@SadiqKhan & @TfL Please can the #barriers on #blackfriars-bridge be wider apart. I appreciate they need to be close but #notthisclose pic.twitter.com/IadYIFkGPs
— Tom Price (@twprice56) June 12, 2017
Absolute shambles on Blackfriars – thousands of cyclists have to squeeze through one lane due to security barriers pic.twitter.com/Zd8DythyTC
— Tom Edwards (@BBCTomEdwards) June 13, 2017
A spokesman for London Cycling Campaign told the London Evening Standard that there was a “real safety risk” with cyclists being forced into “often quite fast traffic” as a result of the barriers.
He added: “These barriers had to go up very fast indeed. We hope that something can be done to modify or change them to provide security and not make things worse for cyclists.”
A TfL spokesperson merely repeated a previous statement, saying: “The Met has installed barriers to increase security on London’s busiest bridges. We are working with them to ensure that these barriers affect cyclists and pedestrians as little as possible, while ensuring the security of all road users.”
14 thoughts on “Huge queues of cyclists on London’s Blackfriars Bridge due to security barriers”
I don’t get this. The
I don’t get this. The terrorists are driving cars, not bicycles. Surely it makes more sense to block the main carriageway rather than the cycle lanes?
jmaccelari wrote:
Not sure you’ve though that comment through.
Duncann wrote:
I think he knows exactly what he is saying.
How long before cyclists say
How long before cyclists say bollocks and use the road instead?
The flow across the bridge
The flow across the bridge was already unnecessarily constrained due to the initially questionable traffic light phasing. That’s now unarguably stupid since there is no longer the option for vehicles to turn onto the Embankment – but the traffic lights still hold up north-and-southbound traffic as if there were.
Entirely predictable… I’m
Entirely predictable… I’m sure this will stop all terrorists though.
You’d just go on the road on
You’d just go on the road on that part of the commute surely.
Also worrisome is that people
Also worrisome is that people will injure themselves on the massive ‘lugs’ on each side used to lift them into place. Pedestrian or Cyclist, they’re a real hazard.
Its daft because theyre only
Its daft because theyre only at the north end an you can still drive up onto the bridge from the south.
ALl they needed was one in the middle of the path on the north side and no car would be able to get on to the footpath/cycle lane. Instead some moron thinks putting 3 there will stamp out terrorism.
Security theatre improves the
Security theatre improves the appearance of safety
As I mentioned on a previous
As I mentioned on a previous article, handcyclists don’t fit through here at all – and we can’t even dismount to go round!
That’s part of my commute. I
That’s part of my commute. I normally commute outside the busiest part of rush hour, and it’s not too bad then. On Monday I was there at the very busiest time and it was horrendous.
It’s not made better by the large number of people who think they’re more important than the rest of us, and jump the queue, blocking on-coming cyclists, and giving the poor sods from Tfl who have to supervise this a hard time when they try to exert some discipline. People who do that are no better than the twats who jump motor traffic queues by speeding along the bus lane.
This is a shit measure, but it’s temporary until they come up with something more discreet and effective. In the meantime, when stuck in it let’s try and behave like reasonable adults.
1.8m gaps (the standard for
1.8m gaps (the standard for bollards!) would block almost every car. 2m gaps would block trucks and make it hard for vans and cars (I go through 2m width restrictions on my way to work, motorists have to negotiate these very slowly).
A gap narrow enough to block a motorbike will block a cargo bike, a mobility trike, etc.
From the pictures I’ve seen, the gaps between the blocks are thoughlessly narrow. Vastly narrower than they need to be, creating congestion.
I’ve been there, they dumped
I’ve been there, they dumped down more barriers than necessary making it difficult for people to get through. It really is a wtf were they thinking situation. They need to take one of the barriers away and reposition the others a bit, they can do this whilst still blocking vehicles.