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

Jawgap

Following on from Fintan O'Toole's piece, the paper of record is now looking for photos.....

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

In Tuesday’s Irish Times, Fintan O’Toole wrote about Irish cyclists’ poor behaviour and encroachment on to footpaths: “They hurtle round corners without looking. They freewheel down hills. They ride three abreast – I’ve seen elderly people and parents pushing prams forced out into the traffic. And when they crash into people, as they do, their usual reaction is to curse at the stupid pedestrian who was too slow or too thick to get out of their way.”

The article drew more than 200 comments from readers (it doesn’t take much to start a slanging match between cyclists and motorists/pedestrians). One aggrieved cyclists responded that: “The cycling path network is for the most part rubbish. Often poorly maintained, full of broken glass with low overhanging trees and sometimes occupied with pedestrians and joggers.”

It is news to nobody that cyclists behave badly or that our limited network of cycle lanes is poorly designed. Mike McKillen, chairman of cyclist.ie, says: “The key question is why cyclists are up on the pavement. It’s because most of the facilities are crap. So why would a cyclist use them?”

smackyB

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

Hmmzis

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.

DirkVoodoo

Ah, so the entire paper is now going down the hysterical mob route.

How about we start sending in pictures of good cycling, for balance.

No Pants

How about we all just ignore them. If they want to sell a newspaper, maybe they could pay journalists or something like that rather than asking the public to send them material, which they then repackage and sell.

buffalo

"In the interests of promoting harmony and respect between the two-wheeled and four-wheeled communities, The Irish Times invites readers to further polarise the debate by sending in pictures of people we can demonize, and point and say, 'that's why cyclists are the spawn of Satan', while claiming our tongue was firmly in our cheek."

I can't see any way this can't lead to harmony and respect - why didn't we do this years ago!? Thank you, The Irish Times!

mirv

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

daragh_

Contraflow right outside my office in Kilmainham.

Usually filled with taxis and tour buses servicing the Hilton. Called in to the local cop shop to ask what they could do and they were indifferent. Wonder why?

radia

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.

Brad768

radia wrote: »

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.

I've always thought it's ridiculous. You have to stop every 10m to check for cars from the junctions.