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the excellent Diamond Geezer blog has more
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Went to have a look at this on Saturday, Started on the CS2 at Aldgate and rode out to Stratford.
On the way out I had 3 or 4 very close passes and that bit of blue paint is fucking misleading and confusing. Took me a while to realise I should be out in the middle of the lane, which only makes me look like an arsehole to drivers who wonder why I'm not in the blue bit.
Riding the segregated piece north of the flyover I was almost totally alone, One other cyclist going souoth on my return trip was the only interaction I had all the way.
The only problem is that all the left turns across it are 'wide open' with the segregating kerb stopping metres short of the junction allowing cars to turn across you very fast. This alone should convince people it's no safer than unsegregated.
The general experience is much more pleasant, you just need to make a good shoulder check every 30m to check you're not about to get splattered...
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Are cyclists expected to give way to left turning traffic at the side roads?
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Are cyclists expected to give way to left turning traffic at the side roads?
No, but with the corners being that wide cars meet the cycle lane at a bad angle and at a high speed. In Holland the left turns are very sharp so that you meet the cycle track at 90 degrees and having had to slow down.
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But you can't have cars being required to slow down! That's unthinkable!
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Out of curiously, why shouldn't you do that normally?
Because risk compensation.
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I almost became one of the first to have an accident on the segregated sections last week but it was totally my own fault. The day before it was offcially due to open I sneaked through some cones on the eastbound section and was merrily hooning along with my skinny 23c tyres when I hit a drift of the blue shingle that had'nt finished being been smoothed out. Cue deathgrip, the wobbly noodly feeling of a bike undecided as to its next moves, followed by relief at managing to stay upright and an undeserved self congratulatory 'like a boss' smugness. I prompty returned to the road to take my chances with the hrududu's.
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If the path is not on the road, highly doubt you'll get beeped.
My experience of riding on the road where there's an off road cycle lane alongside it, even one shared with pedestrians, is one of regular harassment and being deliberately put in danger.
When I lived in Nottingham, I used to ride this way daily:
I would always have to mix it with the pedestrians and crap covered surface on the shared use paths either side, as taking the road, despite there being a whole lane to overtake and fairly mild levels of traffic, would result in constantly being cut up, beeped at, and abuse hurled at me.
Non cycling friends would rarely have any sympathy when I'd complain of it. Well you should be on the cycle lane shouldn't you?
Fuck segregation.
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My experience of riding on the road where there's an off road cycle lane alongside it, even one shared with pedestrians, is one of regular harassment and being deliberately put in danger.
When I lived in Nottingham, I used to ride this way daily:
I would always have to mix it with the pedestrians and crap covered surface on the shared use paths either side, as taking the road, despite there being a whole lane to overtake and fairly mild levels of traffic, would result in constantly being cut up, beeped at, and abuse hurled at me.
Non cycling friends would rarely have any sympathy when I'd complain of it. Well you should be on the cycle lane shouldn't you?
Fuck segregation.
Fuck badly designed segregation, poorly implemented.
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nice idea but.
no safe way of using flyover westbound.
full of shrapnel and water.
cyclist in front of me nearly got left hooked 3 times eastbound.in my opinion using that road is now much more dangerous.
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I fear for the day when a cyclist is injured through no fault of their own riding on a road, but they are found partly liable because they did not use nearby poorly designed infrastructure.
Drivers expect us to use infrastructure even when it elevates the potential risk to all road users (such as cycle lanes next to parked cars).
There are enough accidents where despite no head injury the cyclist is viewed in a poor light for their lack of helmet use, more poor infrastructure will just open us up to more victim blaming.
Strict liability would have a greater impact on UK road culture.
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I fear for the day when a cyclist is injured through no fault of their own riding on a road, but they are found partly liable because they did not use nearby poorly designed infrastructure.
Highly doubtful as long the Highway Code still stated that you don't have to take the cycle path/lane if you feel it doesn't reduced the risk.
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Given you can drive headlong along the wrong side of the road at a blind corner, crash into and kill a cyclist and get off scot free, the Highway Code counts for shit.
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I do actually think that depending on your speed it might be good practice to take the (slow, badly surfaced) segregated lane if available.
We all have to make compromises somewhere and let's face it cycling does slow down motorised traffic (except in congestion). If I was pootling along at say 15, I'd rather go segregated at 12 and thus free up the main carriageway. If I had bigger legs and could cruise at 25 then I'd say fair enough take the road...
Ofc all depends on prevailing conditions
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About
Cycle Superhighway Extension - East.
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and they've put down a decent surface, gritty style not just the blue paint that becomes like ice in the wet