Documenting Ireland's cycle lanes

tomasrojo · 30-09-2009 12:31pm

A quiz where users have to guess what the cyclist is meant to do?

onimpulse · 30-09-2009 12:32pm

Freewheeling Ed wrote: »

Attachment not found.

This is the cycle track at Kilmainham.
Its seems they got a normal car lane and added a cycle lane, reducing the car lane to a really narrow lane, and so most cars just ignore the cycle track.

I cycle this every day & I hate it - it's so dangerous as you're forced to weave in & out of traffic to avoid the cars stopped in the cycle lane.

There should be just one lane of traffic & a cycle lane but drivers make two lanes out of it & take up the cycle lane as well. I accidently hit my handlebar off a womans wing mirror a few weeks back & hurt my hand in the process but didn't do any damage to her car at all...she rolled down the window & started screaming at me? She was stopped in the cycle lane & I'm to blame?

I'm only sorry I hurt myself & not her car...

Doctor Bob · 30-09-2009 12:32pm

tomasrojo wrote: »

A quiz where users have to guess what the cyclist is meant to do?

I was thinking of location, but why not!

tomasrojo · 30-09-2009 12:38pm

onimpulse wrote: »

I cycle this every day & I hate it - it's so dangerous as you're forced to weave in & out of traffic to avoid the cars stopped in the cycle lane.

There should be just one lane of traffic & a cycle lane but drivers make two lanes out of it & take up the cycle lane as well.

I just treat it as a normal two-lane road. It effectively is still, despite the cycle-lane markings. I don't know what you're meant to do when it's like it is in your photo. Walk around to the lights?

tomasrojo · 30-09-2009 12:38pm

Doctor Bob wrote: »

I was thinking of location, but why not!

Ok, sure I'll set up the thread and see what happens.

Traumadoc · 30-09-2009 12:51pm

Is Eamon Ryan the local TD?

tomasrojo · 30-09-2009 12:56pm

Traumadoc wrote: »

Is Eamon Ryan the local TD?

Yes, he's one of them.

MR_BAB · 23-10-2009 9:43am

No point having cycle lanes if cars and other vehicles are gonna park or drive in them, they should be cordoned off or something along those lines to prevent cars parking or driving in them.

seamus · 23-10-2009 9:50am

onimpulse wrote: »

I cycle this every day & I hate it - it's so dangerous as you're forced to weave in & out of traffic to avoid the cars stopped in the cycle lane.

There should be just one lane of traffic & a cycle lane but drivers make two lanes out of it & take up the cycle lane as well. I accidently hit my handlebar off a womans wing mirror a few weeks back & hurt my hand in the process but didn't do any damage to her car at all...she rolled down the window & started screaming at me? She was stopped in the cycle lane & I'm to blame?

I did this route for about a year. I found at that point, that you're actually better off slowly crawling up the path than sticking on the road. This allows you to avoid the traffic but also makes you visible to the cars coming out of the petrol station. There's generally a chance to rejoin the traffic once you meet the traffic lights.

If I was to do it now, I would probably avoid that whole area or cycle down the middle of the road.

tomasrojo · 23-10-2009 9:54am

MR_BAB wrote: »

No point having cycle lanes if cars and other vehicles are gonna park or drive in them, they should be cordoned off or something along those lines to prevent cars parking or driving in them.

Funnily enough, when I suggested such a thing to Dublin City Council for the contraflow/wrong-side of the road facility on Inchicore Road, they assured me that an inspector had gone to Inchicore Road (for an unspecified amount of time) and seen no encroachment on the lane and no speeding, so I was wrong to suggest there was and there was no need for segregation. So there, apparently.

Since then I've had two extremely close passes by a speeding bus and a car attempting to use the cycle lane to overtake another car. The main problem being that when you're going in the same direction as the one-way motorised traffic, you are on the overtaking side, and very close to the cars too.

Maybe we need another thread: condescending and wrong replies from DCC?

SourKraut · 23-10-2009 10:49am

On mandatory use: I lived in Germany for a few years (hence the daft user name) and there you'll get irate motorists beep at you if you dare to use their road where there is a bike lane available! The lanes there are better than here, often completely separated from the road. Still there's times when I liked to ignore the mandatory-use law and go on the road because it was my decision that it was much safer on a fast stretch not to have a pedestrian suddenly wander into my path when I'm traveling at 30+ kph

has there ever been a prosecution for not using a bike lane in Ireland?

tomasrojo · 23-10-2009 11:08am

SourKraut wrote: »

has there ever been a prosecution for not using a bike lane in Ireland?

Not a one.

What is it with mandatory lane laws? They have them in Germany, Copenhagen and in the Netherlands they certainly expect you to use them, even if there is no law (there may be; I don't know).

If the facilities are great, you don't need to force people to use them. And if they're not great, you shouldn't force people to use them.

tomasrojo · 23-10-2009 11:10am

It does seem to be the case, whatever way you look at it, that segregated cycle facilities are not suitable for fast cyclists. I think that's conceded by facilities advocates now. Hence, the "Slow Cycling" movement. Making a virtue of a drawback.

SourKraut · 23-10-2009 11:36am

There's a law in Germany. they distinguish 'sports' cyclists somehow though, i.e. if you have skinny tyres and you're feet are clipped into the pedals then you have to use the road, you're not allowed on the bike path

I think the mandatory law is something like "we've spent all this money on bike lanes for you, now you HAVE to use them, alright children?"

petethedrummer · 23-10-2009 11:38am

tomasrojo wrote: »

Funnily enough, when I suggested such a thing to Dublin City Council for the contraflow/wrong-side of the road facility on Inchicore Road, they assured me that an inspector had gone to Inchicore Road (for an unspecified amount of time) and seen no encroachment on the lane and no speeding, so I was wrong to suggest there was and there was no need for segregation. So there, apparently.

You should go and take pictures and send them back along with their reply. I can take that road home and I'll take some pictures or over the weekend.

The reason I don't use it is because I was beeped and driven at by a taxi, when I was using it.

blorg · 23-10-2009 11:41am

I think they can be fine in certain circumstances for kids or people not in a rush if well designed. Junctions can still be a problem but OK if they are not frequent. Has to be a personal choice whether to use or not though, there is research out there that shows that commuters will not use a slightly longer segregated facility (and why would they, they are in a rush to get to work.)

Not always so great though

tomasrojo · 23-10-2009 11:52am

petethedrummer wrote: »

You should go and take pictures and send them back along with their reply. I can take that road home and I'll take some pictures or over the weekend.

The reason I don't use it is because I was beeped and driven at by a taxi, when I was using it.

I was thinking of doing that. However, I sent them a shirty enough reply when I got their condescending reply, so I think they might just ignore all future correspondence.

I get driven at quite a lot using it in the contraflow direction; I've given up using it in the same direction as the traffic flow, because of all the close passes. This morning a van drove towards me, parked in the middle of the lane and then threw a door open in front of me as I tried to go around (having been forced into oncoming traffic by them). I'm not sure that at any stage they were aware I was there. Well, until I involulntarily blurted out 'FFS' as the door opened in front of me.

Lumen · 23-10-2009 11:54am

tomasrojo wrote: »

Well, until I involulntarily blurted out 'FFS' as the door opened in front of me.

OMG, did he LOL in response?

tomasrojo · 23-10-2009 11:54am

Mega LOLZ, I imagine.

mmclo · 23-10-2009 12:29pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24338829@N02/4036385377/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24338829@N02/4036385991/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24338829@N02/4037135290/

4036385991_4a34388256_m1.jpg

4036385377_8a3aa88078_m2.jpg

4037135290_b61d8f7596_m3.jpg

Great Western Way, undoubtedly due to buses, can't seem to get them on to the official Flicker site

blorg · 23-10-2009 12:49pm

mmclo wrote: »

Great Western Way, undoubtedly due to buses, can't seem to get them on to the official Flicker site

monument · 23-10-2009 3:29pm

mmclo wrote: »

Great Western Way, undoubtedly due to buses, can't seem to get them on to the official Flicker site

Having photos location or geo tagged is a requirement of the group.

Click "Add to your map" on the left side of the flickr page showing the photographs. It's just under the "Additional Information" banner and "(C) All rights reserved" text.

Thanks in advance for adding them.

blorg wrote: »

That is because of the licensing chosen by the uploaded- all rights reserved.

The license does not matter.

blorg · 23-10-2009 3:34pm

Sorry misinterpreted that one.

DirkVoodoo · 19-04-2010 9:23pm

Wow, just wow!

Went on the new section of cycle lane on the luas extension works in Sandyford. If you are heading away from the existing Luas terminus, it's a small stretch of cycle lane up to the lights at the entrance to Sandyford Industrial estate. I really should have got a photo!

Basically I saw it was open, went onto it and was dodging the large, unswept chippings and avoiding the manhole covers in case any happened to be open (wouldn't surprise me). Anyway, suddenly the track just ended, I'm on concrete and then what I can only describe as meditteranean villa style roofing tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern at 90 degrees to each other. This was mad, I'm amazed my wheel didn't catch and throw me off.

Anyway, after getting through that minefield I was left on more concrete. I looked ahead and the concrete was narrowing into a wedge at the traffic lights. To my left I saw more tarmac cycle lane on the opposite side of the tracks, so I can only guess that they will be putting in a crossing on the tracks? I was left to bunny hop off the kerb at an odd angle (not enough space on the wedge) onto a road where traffic regularly speeds over 60 km/hr.

Mad! Who designs this crap? While the luas works were going on I have been quite happily using the road without incident.

SerialComplaint · 19-04-2010 9:32pm

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Anyway, suddenly the track just ended, I'm on concrete and then what I can only describe as meditteranean villa style roofing tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern at 90 degrees to each other. This was mad, I'm amazed my wheel didn't catch and throw me off.

Was this tactile paving, designed to highlight crossing points for blind people?

Cord%20Cropped.jpg

petethedrummer · 19-04-2010 9:34pm

They must have built it in the 90s and only opened it up now. That kind of thing doesnt happen anymore.

DirkVoodoo · 19-04-2010 9:36pm

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Was this tactile paving, designed to highlight crossing points for blind people?

No, I am well familiar with that as it used quite a bit. This was something entirely new to me. Like I said, villa tiles: big lumpy and not really suitable for cycling. Also, I can't understand why they would be there, I don't think there is a stop there, pedestrian lights are another 50m or so up and down the road, so why people think blind people might need to cross at the most unsafe point on the road is beyond me. I can only reason that it is there to slow down bikes, which it did for me, and nearly threw me off to.

Like the above, but each lumpy tile was at 90 degrees to it's neighbour.

chakattack · 19-04-2010 11:26pm

SourKraut wrote: »

There's a law in Germany. they distinguish 'sports' cyclists somehow though, i.e. if you have skinny tyres and you're feet are clipped into the pedals then you have to use the road, you're not allowed on the bike path

I think the mandatory law is something like "we've spent all this money on bike lanes for you, now you HAVE to use them, alright children?"

That sounds ideal to me

chakattack · 19-04-2010 11:38pm

tomasrojo wrote: »

Is it this junction they're referring to?

Given that it's a segregated lane, how is the cyclist supposed to leave the off-road cycle track before the junction?

Given the mandatory-use legislation, the cyclist is also surely forbidden to leave the off-road cycle track.

Agreed, if the lane wasn't on the foot path the design would be acceptable and it would be very simple for a "confident cyclist" to merge with traffic and continue straight. If you point this is out to them it might help them see the futility of footpath/cycletrack hybrids.

monument · 24-04-2010 3:08am

markpb wrote: »

I give up!

DLRCoCo wrote: »

The safety audit has already been carried out. I am not able to release a copy of it to you but I can paraphrase the findings. The audit highlighted the difficulty cyclists heading towards the Beacon along Drummartin Link Road may have travelling straight thought this junction.

The council responded by stating that the proposed layout requires cyclists to stop and look behind them before crossing the left turn lane. A more flowing alignment would lead to cyclists potentially coming into conflict with high speed traffic on the approach to the left turn into the new road. The council believed that the current alignment is more appropriate.

This was accepted by the audit team and they requested that the area continue to be monitored.

On April 9, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council told me their transportation department "have completed road safety audits up to Stage Three (i.e. post-construction) on the Sandyford to Drummartin Link Road Scheme (now known as Benildus Avenue), which includes for the cycle lane infrastructure at the junction of Benildus Avenue and Drummartin Road. The report is not yet finalised and therefore not available to distribute at this time."

I didn't get a chance to reply to that yet, will be asking how long it is due to take.

Documenting Ireland's cycle lanes

Comments