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tricitybendix
I tend to assume stupidity over malice, but it has the same effect.
In the east, there is a segregated bike lane on the A13 from Canning Town to Dagenham that I've taken once or twice but it's just unpleasant. The only people that really use it are Hard Core Long Distance Commuters, and not many of them. Ocassional weekend leisure pootlers, but where's the leisure/pleasure in the route? It's much nicer to be on normal roads, and be able to get from a range of start/end points easily without all this crazy wait for the next footbridge business just to cross the road or get off the flyover. It makes cycling less attractive, and because it's billed as being "safe/good for cyclists" people who are unfamiliar with cycling will naturally just think this cycling lark is crap. And then, years later, planners can point at it and say "We provided this brilliant 10 mile segregated cycle path but no-one uses it. So clearly that whole endeavour to make things better for cyclists is a complete waste of time."
I guess the easy bit, as far as transport planners are concerned, is that because there are fewer junctions it's easier, and no-one walks there anyway, so may as well use one of the pavements. People don't just want to be able to get from A to B 'safely', they want to feel part of the city while they do it and not just grit their teeth and get on with the monotony of cycling alongside a bloody great big triple carriageway. Ultimately for me it's one big argument against segregation.