Boris:- Fix Bow Roundabout

Actually they're making the symptoms worse.

Epic trackstanding.

Actually, the roundabout is probably safer now than at any time since it was built. I ve been riding across it since 1981.

The problem with it now are caused by the increase in traffic, the volume of cyclists crossing the Lea there and those cyclists varying degrees of skill. When I last rode it regulary only knarled old club men from Essex commuted along that rode.

The other problem, and it's a major one for East London, is that there are only 4 road crossings of the Lea Between Canning Town and Tottenham. So sooner or later cyclists have to mix it with the all the traffic coming in from Essex. Canning Town is even worse, but fewer people come in that way.

What we need is more cycling only routes across the Lower Lea. Yes, there is the canal route into Victoria , but its indirect and badly sign posted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17618659

^^

there are not many cyclists use it because it is so intimidating and dangerous.

imo no we don't want more crappy cycle lanes = segregation.

we want tfl to make it and london safer = 20 mph.

yes tfl it can be made safe = 20 mph.

= integration.

20mph, while desirable, would not be enough to do there, Phil. I've worked on junctions for more than ten years and I can assure you that you just don't tinker with crap junctions like Bow, you start again. (I know that you'd be fully in favour of that, too. As you also know, I'm always keen to tell you that 20mph is only part of the full solution. :) )

Bow Church needs a proper town centre--roughly halfway between Mile End and Stratford. That means taking out the roundabout entirely, creating a simple crossroads junction with much simpler motorway access arrangements (although the best thing would of course be to get rid of the motorway altogether), as well as access to goods, services, employment and education.

I literally live around the corner from the fly over, met with a bloke yesterday. He later told me he got knocked off his bike by a van at bow flyover 2 weeks ago, helmet cracked and was in hospital for a few days.

One other issue with this roundabout is the amount of exits to lanes, most roundabouts with as many exits as this one have 3 lanes, not 2.

Yes Bow roundabout is terrible. Was there last week to have a look. I took some pics which ill post when near a computer. In 10 mins i saw 2 potential left hooks. One where the cyclist road out of the separated bit going straight and a driver turned left missing him just. Many people rode onto the pavement because a bus was parked blocking the narrow separation. Also saw 2 cars clip the concrete segregating the cycle lane one puncturing its tyre. Full report to follow.

and i thought going over the top of the flyover was dangerous

can you get a plan view of the roundabout
i can't see which section is so dangerous ?

is it the bit passing the McDonalds ? there are traffic lights and cycle lanes now i thought that would have done the job ?

Going over the flyover seems the best option avoiding all that bad overcomplex mess below. The cycle lanes and advance lights for cyclists seem to have worsened the situation and added additional waiting time for riders. Many jump the red so they have added a sign on the traffic light " cyclists stop on red"

All of the Bow roundabout is a totally appalling 'design'. There's no particular specific problem that could be isolated, and therefore no point in tinkering with it any further, it just needs to go. Bow is the location of a missing town centre, roughly halfway between Stratford and Mile End. Historically left largely undeveloped (because it is in the flood plain of the River Lea) except for the railway line and now the motorway that replaced it, given that hydraulic engineers now reckon they've got the flood plain sorted, there's no reason why it shouldn't be developed (but properly, not like the disgraceful pile of Tati-esque dystopia that is Westfield). In that process, a proper, simple crossroads needs to be developed which should de-emphasise the motorway access function.

Is one big problem that more traffic wants to access the motorway below than travel over flyover, is this right? Maybe signage and satnav could be altered to send more traffic to the A13 junction.

A far better solution would use the wasted space on the "roundabout" or in reality the inefficient crossroads. If traffic lights hold motor vehicles before the slip roads rather than the current point, a separated cycle path next to flyover could go straight across junction, motor vehicle lanes shifted to the left therefore remove all left turn conflict, and synchronise cycle straight across phase with motor vehicle access to motorway on opposite corners.

As boris said about henleys corner the current solution just screams fuck you to anyone trying to walk or cycle there.

There are lots of possible ways of trying to 'improve' the current junction, but it's not worth bothering with them. Arguing for this sort of scheme would imply acceptance of the current basic design ('roundabout', flyover), and you'll get embroiled in all sorts of pointless technical discussions about motor traffic capacity. Such small schemes will only delay progress. You need to start again here, from scratch. There's just too much wrong with it to try to address individual aspects.

Some images showing the mess:

Too much signage. Motor cycles use the cycle lane. Riders have to stop twice to get through on a short cyclists only phase which doesn't eliminate...

...conflict with left turning vehicles which is the major desire line for the drivers. The additional wait encourages rider to RLJ causing more conflict and the stupid stop on red sign on the traffic light

The bus in the bus stop blocks the access to the cycle lane causing riders to ride on the pavement or move into the main traffic stream (Which is probably better)

I would opt for the flyover which is generally less busy, to go straight towards stratford

What's the difference between the flyover and the roundabout? Like where do they each take you? I went through there once on the way to pick up some stuff from Jeez and did the roundabout on the way there, then the flyover on the way back. Both took about the same length of time* because they were both so horrifically congested (this was between 12pm and 2pm on a weekday).

The roundabout takes you to the motorway, yeah? But what else does it do that the flyover doesn't?

*actually not strictly true - the roundabout took longer as I had to get off my bike and stand by the roadside for 10 minutes to figure wtf I was supposed to do there

You can travel straight through the roundabout to end up where the flyover takes you, too. The latter is just more direct, but obviously not that much use when it's congested, too.

The strategy of getting off your bike and observing a confusing junction before tackling it for the first time is an excellent one, by the way. More people should do this. In an ideal world, we'd only have junctions where this wouldn't be necessary, of course.

To me, the most bizarre feature (among several) of the (wider environment of the) roundabout and flyover arrangement are the contraflow lanes designed to get you to and from Marshgate Lane and Hunt's Lane, respectively.