Ealing to scrap almost all LTNs – ‘consultation’ with handful of responses used as ‘referendum’; Council under fire for ‘Britain’s biggest bike lane’; New Masters hour record; Bike on roof shocker; Search for thief; Bike fairy + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Council under fire for 'Britain's biggest bike lane': 11 ft-wide Dorset cycle lane is too much for some
We’re getting in touch with Dorset Council and BCP Council (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) to find out some more details about this one for you…the headline in The Telegraph this morning is ‘Britain’s biggest bike lane leaves drivers with less room than cyclists’, Mail Online went for ‘Britain’s BIGGEST bike lane: ‘Shambolic’ 11ft 2in-wide cycle path is larger than 9ft 5in road lane it runs next to – and forces drivers to pull over to avoid a CRASH’.
The cycle lane on Wimborne Road West has been built using a portion of the £79 million Dorset Council and BCP Council were awarded by the Transforming Cities Fund in March 2020. As part of the county’s active travel upgrades, this 2.3km new cycle and walking route on Leigh Road and Wimbourne Road West has been built. The speed limit has also been dropped from 40mph to 30 mph. It isn’t clear exactly where on the 2.3km stretch the artist’s impression above is, but it gives you an idea of what the lane might look like when complete…
However, since certain publications got hold of the pictures of the new cycle lane looks currently, the council has found itself under fire. One local told the Mail Online the project is a “shambles”. In the same story it is said the lane is 11ft 2in wide, compared to the 9ft 5in lanes running parallel. Any mathematicians amongst you can work out that means the road is 18ft 10in wide, so is still significantly wider than the segregated cycle route…some residents claim the narrowness of the road has caused lorries clipping wing mirrors and road rage between motorists…
How it looked before…
How it looks now (plus Mail Online’s headline)…
https://t.co/Vyt7bw7Ara Crazy cycle lane! #Wimborne #Dorset
— Cath Parslow 💙 (@73cath) August 18, 2021
We’ll bring you more from Dorset Council and BCP Council when we have it.
What (some) locals told the press (Mail Online)
Caused to ‘drive properly’ and ‘overtake only if safe to do so’ oh the horror
— Andy Barclay (@drewsparkley) August 19, 2021
The Mail Online took the news of the 11ft-wide Dorset bike lane well…here’s what some locals told the news outlet…
A 38-year-old woman, who works at garage on the B3073, said: “There’s more room now for cyclists than there is for drivers. We have a Jewsons building merchants on the road that lorries use all the time. Just the other day we had two articulated lorries smashed their mirrors trying to pass each other on opposite sides of the road. Other lorries are having to pull into the cycle lane to pass safely. It’s an absolute shambles. There is the same amount of traffic going in and out of the town, but now half the amount of space. Cyclists who are still using the road are getting abuse from drivers – even those on the opposite side of the road.”
A 62-year-old man said his garden was seized by the council 60 years ago to make the road safer. Now he says he is perplexed as to why they’ve narrowed it again. He said: “People here are not very happy with the over exaggeration of the cycle path. We were never informed and no letters came through our letter box about it. I noticed one morning in January that they were building it. A neighbourhood consultation asked how the area could be improved and whether cycle routes could be better, which many people agreed to without understanding the details of what would be built.
“The whole thing is just a big gamble. It is the main road into Wimborne and the width could cause real issues for emergency vehicles because the layby has been removed. Around 50 per cent of the vehicles on the road are trade and heavy goods vehicles. It’s chaos. In the past you could overtake a bike whereas now you can’t safely do this.”
Mail Online did not include any positive thoughts from locals about the lane, just an AA spokesperson who said the lane “actively encourages” drivers to look out for cyclists and keep a safe distance.
“Caused” and “forces” doing some heavy lifting there.
— 리암 (@LiamNB) August 19, 2021
Fully segregated cycle route: Paddington to Wapping
I cycled from Paddington to Wapping today at 5pm, almost entirely on segregated cycle lanes. It took me 45 minutes, and I passed 383 bikes (incl. 6 children), four escooters and one electric skateboard (not including anyone going in my direction). Bravo @willnorman @MayorofLondon pic.twitter.com/GRvCcgiQzv
— Olivia Baskerville (@highmedieval) August 18, 2021
How much does a 22-year-old double Tour de France winner make? €6 million, according to Italian media reports
Tadej Pogačar is reportedly earning €6 million (£5.1m) per year at UAE Team Emirates, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Slovenian doesn’t even turn 23 until next month but has already won two Tour de France titles, a Monument and an Olympic medal. Last month he signed a new improved six-year contract to keep him with his current employers until the end of 2027.
At the rate of €6 million a year, he will have raked in at least €36 million (£30.7m) by the earliest possible date he could leave the team. An article in L’Equipe last year suggested that Chris Froome €4.5 million (£3.8m) and Peter Sagan €5 million (£4.3m) were the peloton’s highest earners, a title Pogačar has now eclipsed.
Oh to be a generational talent with the potential to dominate a sport for the next decade…
Bike fairy leaving charms on bicycles in Vancouver in tribute to a friend
An anonymous bike fairy has been leaving charms on bicycles in Vancouver. Vancouver is Awesome shared the story after spotting the Bike Fairy Instagram page where the mysterious resident leaves miniature models on lucky rider’s bikes.
“Ultimately, the goal is to kind of share the love for cycling and bring joy to people who own a bike,” the Bike Fairy told Vancouver is Awesome. The idea was inspired by a friend who passed away in 2017.
“He was the original Bike Fairy,” the current Bike Fairy continued. “He sadly passed away on his bike in 2017. The model is kind of based on him in a lot of ways. The spirit of the idea is originally from him.”
The Bike Fairy hits the streets, bike paths and coffee shop bike racks of the Canadian city to look for bikes worthy of the charms. However, it doesn’t always go to plan…
“I have got caught once when I was visiting in Portland. We were going shopping there and checking out the cool doughnut shops and the breweries. It was a rainy day and I spotted a nice bike I wanted to tag and a guy came running out asking what the hell I was doing to his bike. People don’t like you touching their bike. In a city like Vancouver, where having your bike stolen is almost a right of passage, people definitely keep one eye on what they’re doing and one on their bike.”
In the genre of cyclists having ‘mysterious’ items left on their bikes…remember the live blog story that blew up online last November? ‘Too much protection: Cyclist makes a grim discovery‘. Definitely not the work of a Bike Fairy…
Liam talks to Andy Smallwood - CEO of Ribble - about the brand's new aero bike built with the brief of being “the fastest aero road bike in the real world”
Ribble’s new aero machine is the big story of the morning. Liam sat down with Andy Smallwood, the brand’s CEO, to talk through the new bike. For all the juicy details about the bike built with “the fastest aero road bike in the real world” brief, check out the full story here…
"It’s almost like they should slow down and drive more carefully": Get the tiny violins out for all the Dorset drivers moaning to the Mail Online
Great to see the “secret power of a bike Lane” causing vehicles to swerve, and lorries to clip mirrors. There are more powers in a bike Lane than we realised …. Build more to increase more secret powers
— ⚫️Davinaswims (@davinaswims) August 19, 2021
Not much sympathy for drivers complaining about the width of Wimborne’s cycle lane…here’s the best of the reaction…
It’s almost like they should slow down and drive more carefully… oh wait if they did that you wouldn’t need a segregated bike lane
— Martin Smith (@Martintastic) August 19, 2021
AKA forcing drivers to act sensibly while on the road in charge of a vehicle. No wonder they don’t like it.
— vic bates (@victorbates) August 19, 2021
“There’s more room now for cyclists than there is for drivers”
This is what it is all about.
Just petty childlike jealousy and general annoyance that drivers aren’t the top of the tree with most space any more. https://t.co/JFcfUzt0wa— Real Gaz on a proper bike #fbpe (@gazza_d) August 19, 2021
LightSKIN unveils “world's smallest StVZO bicycle front light"
Korean company LightSKIN has revealed the Ultra-Mini-Light (U2) which it says is the smallest light to meet Germany’s StVZO regulations, measuring 28mm wide and weighing 25g. The light is powered by a dynamo hub.
StVZO – Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung – are road traffic licensing regulations developed by the German government. In order to comply, lights must provide a minimum of 10 lux (10 lumens / m2) in the area 10m in front of the bike, and the beam pattern must be levelled off to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic. In other words, the shape of the beam on the road will be rectangular with a horizontal cutoff point. Of course, there’s no requirement for lights sold outside of Germany to conform to these standards.
“Unlike many competitors, the LightSKIN U2 is extremely functional thanks to the wide range of different mounting options,” says LightSKIN. “Due to its flexibility of being mounted both above and below the bracket, the U2 can be installed anywhere, such as fork crown, stem, handlebar and mudguards. This is also made possible by the small dimensions and featherlight weight.”
LightSKIN gives the U2’s dimensions as 28mm wide, 19mm high, and 34.7mm long. The company says that the aluminium housing also offers excellent cooling characteristics because of the small distance between the LEDs and the bracket, allowing heat to be optimally transported outwards.
The LightSKIN U2 offers 150 lumens of light and is priced €99.
Police search for suspected bike thief who collided with and seriously injured pensioner
Essex Police have renewed their appeal for information after an elderly woman in her 80s was hit by a suspected bike thief as he made his getaway on a bike stolen from outside Lidl. The incident happened at around 2.50pm on July 22 at the Greyhound Retail Park in Southend and the woman was rushed to hospital in a life-threatening condition. She is still recovering from her injuries.
The suspected thief fled the scene in the direction of Sutton Road. Essex Police have asked that anyone with information should call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit via 101 quoting incident 840 of 22 July. Information can also be submitted online at Essex Police’s website.
New Masters hour record
Piotr Klin of Coventry Road Club reclaimed the UCI World Masters Hour record this week, setting a distance of 50.094km to take the 30-34 age group title. The multiple-time Polish Masters National Time Trial champion improved on his previous best of 49.649km at velodrome Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes. Klin postponed his effort last year due to the pandemic, but used the time to fine tune his performance and kit.
Riding a BMC Track Machine TR01 with Walker Brothers wheels and a new refined front end set-up supported by his employer, Warwick Manufacturing Group from the University of Warwick, Klin beat his previous best at the famous Mexican velodrome which sits at 1,887m above sea level.
Klin undertook his effort at the same velodrome in the same week as American Ashton Lambie who yesterday stunned the world by becoming the first man to ride a 4km team pursuit in under four minutes.
Bike on the roof vs height limit: There's only ever one winner
Morning evening one… first world problems know… but height barriers and roof racks can catch you out if you are rushing 😥 pic.twitter.com/zXPT4sekfI
— wekin (@keithcolville) August 19, 2021
Rider dies at Leadville Train 100 mountain bike race
A rider died in a crash at the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race on Saturday. Details of the incident have not been released but several competitors confirmed rumours the rider crashed on a descent.
“The entire Leadville family is deeply saddened by the passing of an athlete,” Jordan Titus, a spokesman for race owner Life Time said. “This athlete embodied the spirit of Leadville and our thoughts and sympathies are with their loved ones at this difficult time.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment to the Durango Herald and a spokesperson said she was unable to comment “out of respect for the participant.” A moment of silence for the man was held during Sunday’s awards ceremony.
Ealing to scrap almost all LTNs - 'consultation' with handful of responses used as 'referendum'
THREAD: Ealing council has released the results of its consultation, a sort of hyper-local referendum, on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
Whether you support them or not, I think we can all agree this process is the blueprint for how NOT to make decisions on transport policy. pic.twitter.com/cWTZKuGUyE
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) August 17, 2021
Ealing Council’s website bares the statement ‘Ealing Council fully committed to active travel schemes including LTNs where supported by residents’. The council sent out a consultation on the future of the area’s LTNs and received a whopping 22,000 responses out of 340,000 (6.47 per cent).
Areas which expressed support for LTNs will keep their schemes. Areas that didn’t will, after a short deferral period, have their LTNs removed. 70 per cent of Adrienne Avenue residents backed the schemes, 27 per cent opposed, so the referendum-style consultation means that one stays along with Deans Road and Montague Avenue. However, the further seven schemes are not going to be continued.
Adam Tranter, Bicycle Mayor for Coventry, explained in a Twitter thread (which is well worth five minutes of your time) why “whether you support them or not, I think we can all agree this process is the blueprint for how NOT to make decisions on transport policy.”
In the instance of Adrienne Ave (LTN 48), 70% of residents supported it. The total sample size for the group which ultimately “made the decision” is 33 people.
It’s fair to guess that a coordinated response of anti-LTN groups outside Ealing dominated the “non-resident” responses
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) August 17, 2021
He concluded: “In almost all cases, boundary road residents responded with a resounding ‘no’ to Ealing LTNs. This is because of the successful narrative that LTNs cause congestion to boundary roads and worsen air quality of main road residents. The trouble is: the data doesn’t back that up.
“This thread isn’t even really about whether you support LTNs or not. It’s about the importance of political leaders making decisions in keeping with the huge crises that are looming – climate change being the main one. You don’t make those decisions through referenda.
“We should absolutely get feedback from local residents in LTNs across the country – their design means they can be tweaked and improved. But we can’t ignore data and back conjecture instead.”
Ealing Council tried to sweeten the news with the announcement of five new School Streets, as well as emphasising that it is now a 20mph borough. Leader of the council, Peter Mason explained they promised to listen to local people’s views and act on the results.
“We will continue to explore future LTN schemes, but we will only be implementing where we are satisfied that the data and public support them. Some of the fears around increasing traffic times and poorer air quality that some people have expressed concerns about have not come true, but we cannot definitively say they have got better because of our LTNs either,” he said.
19 August 2021, 08:13
19 August 2021, 08:13
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Latest Comments
"~15% of the riding time that I’m forced to use the road(because the infrastructure for cycling is insufficient or nonexistent) " Amsterdam?
Same here. I have a helmet with built in front and rear lights and have a red light clipped onto my bag plus lights attached to my bike front and rear but still have drivers putting me in danger. My commute is about two miles and I normally have around four incidents a week where I have to brake hard or take other evasive action to avoid being hit by distracted drivers. A big percentage of these are drivers coming on to roundabouts when I am already on them.
Glasgow's South City Way sounds great, does it not? As a user from before and after I wholeheartedly welcome the construction of the segregated route, but so much of the detailed construction is poor, if not unsafe. I provide a link to a presentation I made when construction was half complete (a personal view) and the construction errors remain outstanding to this day: crossed by high speed flared road junctions, poor colour differentiation, car door zone risks and so on. And yet cyclists come because they feel safe. It's a complex subject but IMHO the feeling of safety (or lack of) is a critical component. https://drive.proton.me/urls/B67AK44G90#CFueBGjscoWr
I can only conclude that you haven't been into a city in the last few years. Food delivery riders in particular are riding overpowered "eBikes" that are basically mopeds ... powered only via the throttle without pedalling at significantly more than 15mph. Problem is they look like normal bikes/ebikes and not like mopeds so that is what people describe them as. My reading of the article is that it is those vehicles that are being talked about here.
I have the Trace and Tracer, which have essentially the same design, albeit smaller and less powerful. The controls are a little complicated but only because there are loads of options. In reality, once you've chosen your level of brightness, you'll only cycle through 1 or 2 options and it's dead simple. The lights are rock solid, bright, with good runtimes. The only thing I find annoying is charging them - if your fingers are slightly wet or greasy, getting the rubber out of the way of the charging port is a pain in the arse.
Dance and padel is all very well, but when is Strava going to let me record my gardening?
You can use it to check whether it's raining.
If it's dusk, i.e. post-sunset, then the cyclists should have lights on and thus the colour of their top is irrelevant. If you want to complain about cyclists not having lights when it's mandatory then by all means do but their top has nothing to do with it.
All of my Exposure lights with a button allow cycling through the modes with a short press. I have five of those; it would be odd if Exposure didn’t allow this functionality with the Boost 3. I also have two Exposure Burners if I remember correctly: they are rear lights for joysticks that clip on and are powered through the joystick charging port. They don’t have a button. None of my Exposure lights have failed. I looked at the Boost 3 review photos but none showed the button, so far as I could tell. I also have Moon lights. Good experience generally. One did fail, possibly because it was so thin it used to fall through the holes in my helmet onto the ground. Also, the UI and charge indicators vary for my Moon lights. Perhaps the latest ones are more consistent. My worst lights ever were from See.Sense.
Steve really doesnt like exposure products does he? Boost and Strada marked down for being too complicated. While the Zenith and Six Pack reviewed by his colleagues give them rave reviews (as most exposure products have on road.cc), the Zenith even touted as 'even more intuitive to use' with the same controls.
91 thoughts on “Ealing to scrap almost all LTNs – ‘consultation’ with handful of responses used as ‘referendum’; Council under fire for ‘Britain’s biggest bike lane’; New Masters hour record; Bike on roof shocker; Search for thief; Bike fairy + more on the live blog”
The amount of space they’ve
The amount of space they’ve given cycling with that bike lane is ok, but as ever, the actual implementation is woeful. The worst bit being the undulating tarmac and raised kerbs between driveways. Plus, why not paint lane markings on it? Why the cycle symbols plonked seemingly at random down the middle? Arrghh!!!!
Still under construction
Still under construction though so maybe not how it will look.
I see the daily hate has a photo of a cyclist using the road with a caption saying he isn’t using the cycle lane. No shit sherlock, if you look at right hand side of the photo, you can see that bit is still being built and is barriered off.
Fair point. I guess
Fair point. I guess overlaying with red tarmac, painting lanes and hatched areas where it undulates next to the road and the raised kerbs would help a lot.
HoarseMann wrote:
is the kerb between the road and cycleway raised? the kerb between the cycleway and footpath definately undulates for the driveways.
wycombewheeler wrote:
Yes, it looks like there is a raised chamfered edge kerb between the road and cycleway – there’s also a large raised bus stop kerb.
Fair enough the bus stop, but the rest is just going to cause unnecessary undulation when riding along.
To be fair, it does look
To be fair, it does look bl00dy ugly!. No doubt a friend of the council was awarded the contract, and totally ballsed’ it up. Doesn’t look anything like the concept, and what’s with the speed humps!? …you can also bet there’s no provision for maintenance and it will quickly become coated in debris and become a puncture-paradise.
PS> Motorists have plenty of room there.
If you’ve got evidence of
If you’ve got evidence of corruption (you say there’s “no doubt”) please, please report it to the Police.
Could do with a couple
Could do with a couple decorative trees in the middle, but obviously not small bushy ones. Something more like a pine tree barrier would look good.
Give it a few weeks, the
Give it a few weeks, the local residents will think it gives them an additional couple of parking spots outside of their house.
Maybe the council will
Maybe the council will helpfully paint parking bays in it, like they’ve done with a bus lane in Milton Keynes.
Saving grace is the redways – but of course, shared use, giving way at every junction and front doors opening almost directly onto it – I would still ride down the road here.
I mean, do they (the van,
I mean, do they (the van, lorry and car drivers etc.) not have the exact same amount of space on the road that they had before?
johnsonmoog wrote:
I doubt it, the story gives a figure of 18’10” for the road, which is only 2.85m per lane. This is very narrow for UK roads, clearly the road was not this narrow before, especially as a resident reports having lost his garden in the past to make the road wider.
A typical HGV is 2.6m wide + mirrors, so I can see whay they are having problems when lorries pass each other.
wycombewheeler wrote:
But it is a B road, some B
But it is a B road, some B roads are just single carriageway with passing points, so is it that out of the ordinary for a UK road or simply the locals have been treating it like a motorway for decades ?
Awavey wrote:
It’s a four digit B road, too. Not the sort of road that’s supposed to be a main route to or from anywhere…
brooksby wrote:
It’s a four digit B road, too. Not the sort of road that’s supposed to be a main route to or from anywhere…— Awavey
I think single track roads with passing places are usually undesignated (i.e. no number) not B roads
wycombewheeler wrote:
There’s plenty of 2-digit B roads in the north of Scotland (and possibly parts of Wales) which are single track roads with passing places. A lot of the A roads in the far north west of Scotland (including the Inner and Outer Hebrides) are single track roads with passing places as well.
Loads of places in England
Loads of places in England too, e.g. here
wycombewheeler wrote:
I’ve cycled on the B8016 in Islay and had to pull to the side to let an oncoming lorry past.
https://goo.gl/maps/FNkAxSDZqYkmjqGZA
Also the need for a wide road
Also the need for a wide road seems to be based on the claim “Around 50 per cent of the vehicles on the road are trade and heavy goods vehicles”. The Photos don’t reflect this. I presume the photographer hung around for a bit but didn’t actually manage to capture any issues.
You do have to wonder why
You do have to wonder why around 50% of the vehicles on a four digit B road are trade and heavy goods vehicles…
Isn’t there a main (or, more major) road they could be using?
Certainly looks an issue for
Certainly looks an issue for 2 buses
Would be better to see the actual scheme documents with the design widths rather than a ‘measurement’ drawn on a photo.
I don’t think there are any
I don’t think there are any buses using this road (but I might be wrong). Lots of lorries going to/from the new housing development along here though
The plans show they are
The plans show they are moving a bus shelter as part of the works. Although I suppose that does not mean buses currently run !
Plus
Bus routes
There may be affected bus stop locations throughout the works. Our engineers will liaise with any affected bus companies. Check if there are any route disruptions on Traveline.
wycombewheeler wrote:
Wasn’t that 60 years ago? I’m sure i read that somewhere…He can’t still be annoyed by that surely…
He was only two years old at
He was only two years old at the time – presumably it ruined his childhood.
Jenova20 wrote:
must have been some childhood trauma that as he is only 62. But if the road was widened as it was the trunk road, and it is now no longer the trunk road replaced by the paralel A31 there should be no issue making it narrower again. Certainly the “they made it wider for safety, why are they undoing that?” is not valid if the status of the road has changed.
I still think lanes of 2.75m are a little snug, although I have looked for guidance which allows roads to be as narrow as 5m (7.3m where used as bus routes). I think the “normal” width of a single lane is 3.65m
“A neighbourhood consultation
“A neighbourhood consultation asked how the area could be improved and whether cycle routes could be better, which many people agreed to without understanding the details of what would be built.”
I’d really love to know this fella’s views on Brexit
IanMK wrote:
He’s probably quite happy if he voted to leave, as we left.
Jenova20 wrote:
Yeah, cos that’s worked out so well for everybody, hasn’t it…?
IanMK wrote:
There was an article on R4 this morning about Milton Keynes, and one person was asked what they thought of Brexit to which the response was “I voted for it but then they put Boris in charge, and I didn’t want that.”
The article talked a lot about transport, but didn’t manage to mention the cycle network.
Saying its an 11′ wide cycle
Saying its an 11′ wide cycle lane vs the cars only have 9′ something (as the tabloids have all been printing) isn’t exactly comparing like for like, though, is it? The cars have 9′ something in each direction.
It’s an 11′ wide two way cycle lane, so each direction gets maybe 5’6″. A little over 1.5 metres, or – another way of looking at it – a decent and recommended amount of space.
Another way of looking at it
Another way of looking at it then is if Mr cyclist in that picture rode down the centre of the bike lane, the gap the cars in their nearest lane would then be giving would be the recommended passing distance of a vehicle to a cyclist.
Thank you – that’s a much
Thank you – that’s a much better comparison!
You beat me to that comment
You beat me to that comment Brooksby.
However, a bit of digging on google maps shows that prior to the cycle lane being installed the road was circa 23 feet wide so they have lost around 4 feet of road space total if the Daily Heil’s calculation of current width is accurate.
But not along the whole
But not along the whole length of that road, by the time you reach the Shell garage they are using protected turn lanes frequently and further beyond that the road looks no wider than its ending up now with the cycle lane.
But why let the small matter
But why let the small matter of facts get in the way? Utterly. Depressing.
If you ride in the middle of
If you ride in the middle of one half of the 5’6″ cycle lane, the middle of your bike will 2’9″ from the carriageway. Assuming 2′ for handlebars that leaves 1.5m – 1’9″ = 0.96m. So motorists should be 1m from the edge of the carriageway, when passing oncoming cyclists (or 1.5m if they’re in an HGV). In short, the carriageway is to wide :p – they should have installed a verge and the carriageway 3.65m wide, one way.
Ah, but it’s segregated. And
Ah, but it’s segregated. And we all know that so long as the cyclist is in “their” lane then it doesn’t matter how close the motor vehicle gets…
I live in Wimborne and am
I live in Wimborne and am interested to see what the cycle ends up being like when it is finished. A few points:
Your “before” picture is not of the road in question but a side road near the top end
The cycle lane does seem to have made the road feel very narrow to drive on but I think this is good as it will make cars drive slower. I can see how there might be issues for HGVs
I’m not sure as it is not finished yet but it look like cyclists will have to cross the car part of the road at least once
Closer to Wimborne there will be no cycle lane it seems which does seem to make the whole thing a bit pointless
This road does get busy and congested but it shouldn’t be any more busy after the changes as there has been no loss of lanes for motorised vehicles
In summary I am going to wait and see
Seventyone wrote:
To be honest, the drivers I notice on the road who have the most spatial awareness are truck drivers. On many narrower A roads, I’ve seen them keep their vehicle within the lane most of the time; and they tend to give me ample space when passing.
By comparison, cars along the same section will straighten the bends across lines, drive too close to a cyclist (even when following a truck that has just managed to give me plenty of space… if the truck driver can do it, how come a car driver finds it so difficult to fathom?).
Just had a great thought to
Just had a great thought to reduce road congestion – there are a lot of 4×4’s on the roads now, so instead of widening a major road, why not just plough a dirt track alongside it?
These compulsory 4×4 lanes would be a bit slower and bumpier than the road and you might get the odd puncture. But it would give 4×4’s somewhere safe to drive, where they can only crash into eachother.
Shut up and take my money!
Shut up and take my money!
16 likes (at time of writing)
16 likes (at time of writing) – I think that gets you a debate in Parliament doesn’t it?
Ah lovely…. gammons angry
Ah lovely…. gammons angry that two way cycle lane takes up less space than two way road… seriously, if you cant get your vehicle safely down something 9ft5in wide you either have a stupidly big vehicle (especially for a road with houses etc) or you are an awful driver! The idea that roads should be made cater for increasingly large vehicles is the wrong way round – if you want a big vehicle you might find there are places it cant go!
This reminds me of the
This reminds me of the complaints in The Telegraph from 4 x 4 drivers that domestic garages were too narrow for their cars. They wanted a campaign to make make garages wider.
It never occurred to them that their cars were too wide.
So many questions. A campaign
So many questions. A campaign to force housebuilders to make future garages wider? Or a campaign for someone to come and replace their existing garages?! To be fair, it’s probably not just 4x4s – I expect many garages are now too small for a modern Fiesta.
Kapelmuur wrote:
That’s just priceless. Fanbois of the dreadful govt that deregulated the housing industry, removing obligations to provide housing that was fit for purpose wanting to regulate the construction of garages for their fat c*nt w*nk panzers.
Captain Badger wrote:
This reminds me of the complaints in The Telegraph from 4 x 4 drivers that domestic garages were too narrow for their cars. They wanted a campaign to make make garages wider.
It never occurred to them that their cars were too wide.
— Captain Badger That’s just priceless. Fanbois of the dreadful govt that deregulated the housing industry, removing obligations to provide housing that was fit for purpose wanting to regulate the construction of garages for their fat c*nt w*nk panzers.— Kapelmuur
Few people seem to use garages for their cars anyway, nowadays – most seem to be used as a shed.
Some people near me had a new extension and garage built. Obviously can be accessed directly from the house rather than going outside. And they have NEVER yet parked a motor vehicle in it.
brooksby wrote:
Garages are for bike storage, obviously 🙂
A lot of houses on my road have converted their garages to extra rooms. As you say, pretty much no-one puts a car in them.
One of the comments about
One of the comments about that cycle lane is from a woman who works in the garage.
The website about the project is at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/highway-improvements/leigh-road-cycleway/leigh-road-cycleway-wimborne
There’s another artists impression on it which shows (coincidentally!) the road by the garage.
It looks like the (maybe) four feet of roadway that’s been reallocated from motor traffic to shared use was hatched off dead space anyway…
That scheme is rubbish.
That scheme is rubbish.
As any fule kno the lamp post should be in the middle of the cycle lane !
(PS what is the name of that road in bristol with all the trees in the cycle lane ?)
Coronation Road in Bristol. A
Coronation Road in Bristol. A tree strewn masterpiece.
Coronation Road in Bristol. A
Coronation Road in Bristol. A tree strewn masterpiece.
Coronation Road, Bedminster.
Coronation Road, Bedminster. As seen here:
Thanks both. Just had a look
Thanks both. Just had a look via street view. Noticed a barber shop sign dumped in the middle of it too !
hirsute wrote:
That’s Coronation Rd (part of the A370). I’ve now come to the conclusion that the cycle lane blocked with trees and lamp-posts along there isn’t as bad as the tiny segment on the other side of that road:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4444559,-2.6164166,3a,75y,185.32h,80.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s54owG-5ThTgboOdC9F2kIA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
It’s ridiculously short and mainly covered in loose gravel and in my opinion the worst line to take through that corner. There tends to be a lot of heavy vehicles going that direction so if you use that bit of cycle lane then you’re almost encouraging dangerous overtakes. Strangely, I’ve never had a problem with any of the large vehicle drivers going in that direction and I go along that road a lot.
But anyway, here’s a pic of the infamous blocked section (it doesn’t even go all the way along Coronation Rd which is typical for Bristol cycle infrastructure attempts)
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4463017,-2.6060182,3a,75y,65.02h,92.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGaVswwGzXx7TcxmyYtq7Xw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
One of my local faves.
One of my local faves.
For those unfamiliar with the A369, yes, that space between the porch and the barrier really, really is the shared use cycle path. Helpfully, bins have been left out for scale.
https://tinyurl.com/dnvdacrk
Nurse, the screens !
Nurse, the screens !
I asked the council about
I asked the council about that porch, back when they were first consulting on the shared-use path alongside the A369.
Apparently they were unable to talk the owner of the cottage into doing anything voluntarily, and they would have had to run it as a full compulsory purchase in order to force them to change it.
It does give you good practice on manoeuvering, though…
Surely they could have
Surely they could have started the safety fencing two sections further down as the drop doesn’t seem too bad there.
Need to pay David RandomNumber to get one of his building attracted cars to drive down that route to sort the porch out.
Mary Willoughby wrote:
Never noticed that one, though I haven’t been along there in a while – I often go up Beggar Bush Lane and turn towards the bridge, so maybe I’ll make a little detour to appreciate its genius design (though from the road).
hawkinspeter wrote:
Its just next to the car park for the George Inn in Abbots Leigh.
In which car park, incidentally, a new cafe has opened called “The Bikeshed Cafe” – http://bikeshed.cafe/
Some of the comments on that
Some of the comments on that Mail
articlehysteria are hilarious:Is every Mail reader an idiot
Is every Mail reader an idiot like this one?
Pretty much, by definition!
Jenova20 wrote:
Next time someone asks me what a rhetorical question is…
TheBillder wrote:
They’re catering to their readership: apparently hot headed petrol heads – If that changes, then they’ll have to change their stance on cycling, but unfortunately “the war on motorists” is a profitable angle for them.
Cyclists should be forced to
Cyclists should be forced to pay the same vehicle excise duty the car drivers have to pay! That would show them.
Anyone told him we do pay the same as car drivers for this one. No pollution, no payment.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
It was one of the replies, along with mentioning electric cars…
I agree with the comments
I agree with the comments that the road is narrow but looking at the link to the scheme that brooksby gave, this is deliberate.
“The B3073 Leigh Road was previously part of the strategic east/west route across Dorset before the A31 was built. This project aims to create more of a neighbourhood community road rather than the feel of a trunk road and will help residents to enjoy the area more on foot or other means such as bike, scooters, mobility scooters and wheelchairs.”
Drivers should be using the main roads instead.
I suspect having seen a few videos from user garysbikechannel of the huge amount of traffic around that area, it is one way of reducing demand for roadspace and parking.
(The bike on roof rack story)
(The bike on roof rack story) – let’s face it, we’ve all done it…
I was warned by a neighbour,
I was warned by a neighbour, so not happened to me apart from when I reversed into a parking spot under a tree ! (no damage done)
I did get a funny look from a bloke another time when I asked him to move his van so I could get by. I then pointed to the 2 kayaks on the roof which were not going to fit under the tree !
A friend of mine did this a
A friend of mine did this a couple of decades ago. The two destroyed bikes were less than two months old! Fortunately, he had purchased them with a credit card that offered purchase protection insurance and covered 100% replacement.
I don’t think he’s done it again.
Not me, I drive a van for a
Not me, I drive a van for a reason!
I’ve seen a very lucky example though, a guy pulled into a parking garage and forgot his brand new CAAD 10 on the roof racks. The saddle wedged under the ceiling, the roof racks bowed until they touched the car’s roof but nothing broke.
I have been toying with the
I have been toying with the idea of one of those van-derived MPVs (à la Citroën Berlingo) with the idea that I could shove two bikes directly in the back (rear seats folded/removed as applicable). I don’t want to drive an actual van van, but something like a Berlingo or Ford Tourneo might be OK. But I’ve never actually tried, do bikes even fit in the back? Does anyone have any experience?
My friends used to have a
My friends used to have a berlingo (or pope mobile as I liked to call it). They could fit 2 adult and 2 kids bikes in the back ok. Just a bungee cord to keep it in place.
I even got a lift off them when I punctured !
Judging by the 4 lane
Judging by the 4 lane gridlock traffic jams I see on the M25 every day in the Egham /Chertsey area, motorways must cause traffic jams and pollution, and there are no cycle lanes or cyclists there – so who do the motorists blame for the traffic jams and pollution on motorways? If motorways cause traffic jams and pollution should they be removed.
kingleo wrote:
Surely there should be an Ealing style referendum on motorways?
Trouble is cars will win.
Trouble is cars will win. They always seem to in any discussion on planetary concerns.
I think some do genuinely
I think some do genuinely believe the only answer to vehicle congestion is like the LA highways, if only there was another lane…so just keep adding them. Maybe only when the world is a gigantic tarmacd car park theyll work it out.
The Wimborne bypass A35 runs
The Wimborne bypass A31 runs parallel with this road, so this B road should be used for local traffic only but was probably used by a lot of drivers avoiding a snarled up bypass caused by millions of caravanners heading to Devon and Cornwall. When it was a 40mph limit most drivers were closer to 50mph because it was very wide and 40mph feels too slow (and being a longer route than the bypass they had to floor it in order to make that marginal gain). It’s funny that drivers are now complaining about them getting close passed by oncoming traffic and having to slow down. It is now safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and I expect quieter traffic noise for the residents living along it.
The truth is out there…(and
The truth is out there…(and certainly won’t be found in the Mail)… https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2021/08/20/statement-on-recent-press-articles-concerning-wimborne-road-west/
Thanks for that link.
Thanks for that link. Brilliant. Also :
From the article : “It is stated in the highway code that motorists on any road should not attempt to overtake cyclists if there is oncoming traffic in the opposite lane and there is insufficient room to pass the cyclist safely. This is particularly important when cycling through stretches of roadworks. Drivers should wait until it is safe to pass, giving the cyclist plenty of room as they pass. Attempting to crowd cyclists off the road, so as to squeeze between them and an oncoming vehicle is dangerous driving and has been the cause of cyclist injuries and fatalities in the past.”
I think someone needs to make the police aware of the last sentence as they don’t even seem to deem this behaviour careless driving let alone dangerous.
That’s a bad result for LTNs,
That’s a bad result for LTNs, but then you can’t count opinions from people who didn’t respond. Doing it over the phone might have been more effective.
Jenova20 wrote:
But you can count opinions from people who might not live in the area or indeed the country, as well as those from people who responded multiple times and were counted as a separate person each time; both of these were possible in the Ealing consultation. Maybe 7,000 votes were genuine locals in favour and 15,000 out-of-towners voting against, or 5,000 people voting three times each (lest I be accused of being a tinfoil hat merchant, I’ve seen LTDA and UTAG supporters on Twitter encouraging precisely this). We just can’t tell as the survey is an utter farce and a ridiculous basis for making policy.
Rendel Harris wrote:
They’ve reported the views of non residents, but the decision has been made on the masis of residents views only anyway.
With no verification or
With no verification or validation that they were actually residents!
wycombewheeler wrote:
As rct also states – Each side can say the other doesn’t come from the area, and shouldn’t get a say in the matter. These “whoever complains the loudest” consultations need to be replaced with a better system.
Drivers have 60% of the space
Drivers have 60% of the space, and cyclists only 40%, on a local road not a trunk road.
Or considering the pavement as well.
Drivers have 1/2, cyclists have 1/3 and pedestrians have 1/6
But drivers are so entitled they consider this unfair.
The biggest bike lane, turns
The biggest bike lane, turns out to be quite ordinary. And the road that is too narrow is actually wider than the minimum specification (i.e. over 21ft). The whole story is complete fabricated bollocks by the mail etc. to incite hatred towards cyclists.
https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2021/08/20/statement-on-recent-press-articles-concerning-wimborne-road-west/
Unsurprisingly, lies from the
Unsurprisingly, lies from the Daily Hate on the cycle lane
Articles claim: The cycle lane at this point is wider than the vehicle lanes
This is incorrect: The total width of the two-way cycle lane on Leigh Road is 3.5m (11ft 4in) and the total width on the two-way road is 6.5m (21ft 3in).
Articles claim: The cycle lane and road is not built to Highways standards
This is incorrect: Both the cycle lane and road conform and in fact exceed Highways standards.
The total width of the two-way cycle lane on Wimborne Road West is 3.5m (11ft 4in) and the total road width is 6.5m (21ft 3in). There is nothing unusual about these widths (there are many similar in Britain) and they conform to Highway standards.
https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2021/08/20/statement-on-recent-press-articles-concerning-wimborne-road-west/
If you are bored, here are the local comments
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/19525778.confusion-cycle-lane-wider-half-adjacent-road/