Cycle Lane Cleaner.

pablo128

I'm not a cyclist. I used to be, until I could afford to insure a car. I read some of the threads in the cycling forum now and again, and one thing that crops up is the complaint that cycle lanes are full of glass and other crap. I would have to grudgingly agree. Only a few minutes ago I spotted another thread about punctures, which prompted me to start furiously googling. And I came up with this.
http://www.scarab-sweepers.com/Products/minor.php

Would there be a case for lobbying local councils for something like this? Would you be more likely to use cycle lanes if they were clean?
Discuss.

crosstownk

pablo128 wrote: »

Would you be more likely to use cycle lanes if they were clean?
Discuss.

Maybe but in reality probably not. If I'm doing 30km/h in a (dedicated) cycle lane then I'll be fouled by slower cyclists, pedestrians, dog walkers, etc.

In an advisory cycle lane it would be a plus but the street sweepers usually see to this if somewhat infrequently.

De Bhál

I live in Dublin, those things are commonplace. Don't know about the rest of the country.

pablo128

De Bhál wrote: »

I live in Dublin, those things are commonplace. Don't know about the rest of the country.

I live in Dublin too, but I've never seen one cleaning a cycle lane. I'm talking about the footpath type cycle lanes. Have you seen them on cycle lanes?

Wishbone Ash

Those street sweepers are used for litter. Litter is not really a problem for cyclists. I doubt that they would lift glass/metal/stone fragments which are more of a problem.

aFlabbyPanda

I usually just pester the local city/county council with emails and after a few weeks they'll eventually clean the cycle lanes.

De Bhál

No, I've never seen one up on a footpath cyclelane.

pablo128

De Bhál wrote: »

No, I've never seen one up on a footpath cyclelane.

Would you think it would make a difference, maybe on cycle lanes where using the road would be a bit more hazardous?

Just to add, I'm not trying to troll or flame. It's just something that has been at the back of my mind for a while. Problem - vs - solution. That kind of thing.

Wishbone Ash

pablo128 wrote: »

... It's just something that has been at the back of my mind for a while. Problem - vs - solution. That kind of thing.

I don't understand where you're coming from. You seem to think cycle tracks are not cleaned because local authorities don't relaise that there are suitable vehicles available. It simply down to budgets and prioritising limited funding. We could have spotless cycle tracks but something else would have to suffer.

pablo128

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I don't understand where you're coming from. You seem to think cycle tracks are not cleaned because local authorities don't relaise that there are suitable vehicles available. It simply down to budgets and prioritising limited funding. We could have spotless cycle tracks but something else would have to suffer.

Well moreso that they don't realise cyclists aren't using them because of the debris on them, rendering the money spent putting them in in the first place wasted.
As I said in the original post, would there be a case for lobbying the council to give them a once over now and again?

RobertFoster

The debris isn't the only thing that puts me off cycle lanes.

eeeee

The poor design of the vast majority of off road cycle lanes puts me off before I get to the crap and debris strewn about them. And the pedestrians, dogs and slower cyclists that use them. The conditions of most of these paths puts them beyond use too. Seeping them is one of the smallest problems with them!