Bad cycle lanes, and bad cyclists: send in your photos

smackyB wrote: »

"...freewheel down hills.." - Are we meant to get off the bike going downhill or something?

Nah, you should pe pedalling while going down hill so that the ones behind don't have to be on the brakes all the time.

I'm gonna send this in.

Here's a few whoppers from the top of my head. It's not even a conclusive list but just a few memorable ones I pass by quite often. It seems that bicycle lanes are designed either for an average speed of less than 15km/h such that dismounting or stopping is taken to be not an issue (very slow by cycling standards, even for the inexperienced), or for the ease of motorists than than for the safety of cyclists (i.e. get the cyclists off the road). In most cases it would be safer to either not have any bicycle lanes, or to have them on-road and more sensibly placed. It's entirely understandable that unattentive motorists will collide with unattentive and unassertive cyclists in the examples I show below.

Going eastwards on Kilmacud Road Upper, at the junction with Silver Birches - if you stay in the bicycle lane in order to continue straight through the junction as the paintwork suggests, you're encouraging unwary motorists to left hook a cyclist (cut you off). As a cyclist you're better off taking the lane than using the designated bicycle lane.

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.289437,-6.234991&spn=0.000541,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&z=20

Similar situation on the N81 coming from Saggart/Citywest/Blessington towards Tallaght. An segregated on-pavement bicycle lane merges onto the road, forcing users to merge back into traffic exactly where a motorist is most likely to left hook a cyclist. A disjointed bicycle lane suddenly appears in the straight-ahead lane 10m after the turning lane. Use the arrows to move forwards three or four times through the google maps street view link to see the full picture. The segregated bicycle lane reduces motorist visibility and awareness of cyclists, and provides inexperienced cyclists an initial sense of security or safety leading whilst later forcing them into a dangerous merging situation.

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.280593,-6.389628&spn=0.000544,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&z=20&layer=c&cbll=53.280593,-6.389628&panoid=cAWK5hz9qUQoLr13GwjHVg&cbp=12,41.03,,0,14.79

Roundabouts with outer circumferential bicycle lanes. Examples of these on four exit roundabouts are linked below. These are lanes which are the leftmost lane of traffic on a roundabout, but still on the roundabout unlike the pedestrian crossing islands. These lanes are a hazard for cyclists who take anything except the first exit on the roundabout. Experienced cyclists 'take the car lane' in the same position as a car would, i.e. left lane for first and second exits, and right lane for third and fourth exits. Inexperienced cyclists using the provided bicycle lane are likely to be left hooked by traffic if they take any exit with the exception of the first.

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.306407,-6.321059&spn=0.000544,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&layer=c&cbll=53.30636,-6.321159&panoid=tCUlCs267z7-4zIM1GHpcw&cbp=12,56.49,,0,16.57&z=20

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.302656,-6.309093&spn=0.000544,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&layer=c&cbll=53.302742,-6.309158&panoid=lK1AqD_t7k_l2WMqiDDJog&cbp=12,108.42,,0,13.51&z=20

Segregated pavement bicycle lane with multiple junctions/ramps/yields in sub-urban areas. Dangers of getting left hooked by cars at every junction, requiring cyclist to yield or risk being run over. There are seven of these dangerous junctions in a 500m stretch on Cypress Grove Road. On-pavement lane in suburb encourages walkers, runners, schoolchildren and parked vehicles to block the bicycle lane. Danger of vehicles reversing out of driveway onto bicycle lane. Similar issues on Grange road, with multiple entrances out of Marley park as dangerous junctions due to left turning vehicles from the main road, and vehicles exiting the park - four or five such junctions in a 250m stretch. None of these issues with be present with an on-road bicycle lane.

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.301835,-6.309519&spn=0.000544,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&layer=c&cbll=53.301924,-6.30944&panoid=pC4v6OpP6GEQ32oljHvstA&cbp=12,196.38,,0,7.9&z=20

http://www.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.301835,-6.309519&spn=0.000544,0.00142&sll=53.289476,-6.235333&sspn=0.000541,0.00142&t=h&mra=mr&layer=c&cbll=53.301924,-6.30944&panoid=pC4v6OpP6GEQ32oljHvstA&cbp=12,196.38,,0,7.9&z=20

This one in Galway surely has to be right up there. A load of separate cycle tracks in sequence, each no more than a few yards long, with the cyclist brought into conflict with traffic on the side roads every time... recipe for disaster.