Whats the solution to cycle lanes being blocked?

Harrybelafonte · 23-08-2017 03:10PM

Get rid of them. End segregation now! Raises fist to the sky!

Chips Lovell · 23-08-2017 03:21PM

grahambo wrote: »

And when questioned about it they encourage people to use Public Transport (Not Cycle btw!)
What people in DCC don't get is that people in Dublin like using their cars, they don't like public transport.
It's been seen time and time again that people are prepared to sit in their cars for hours so long as it means they don't have to use Public transport.

Except that's not really born out by the figures. Number of people driving into town is dropping while number of buses, cyclists and pedestrians is increasing.

I think DCC knows people like driving, it's more a case of realising that we're running out of capacity for cars so need to encourage a more efficient way of getting workers in and out of city.

tomasrojo · 23-08-2017 03:30PM

grahambo wrote: »

And when questioned about it they encourage people to use Public Transport (Not Cycle btw!)
What people in DCC don't get is that people in Dublin like using their cars, they don't like public transport.

There are more people arriving in Dublin city centre on public transport (50% modal split) than in cars (37% modal split). In particular, on the north quays there are about ten times as many people in buses as in cars, and there are more cyclists than people in cars.

magicbastarder · 23-08-2017 03:39PM

worth pointing out that the quays being reduced to one lane for cars is largely a reaction to the fact that the luas is going to reduce carrying capacity for the quays anyway, as the luas will be crossing every three minutes.

plus, when you've a scarce resource (space on the quays), it's bleedin' idiotic not to prioritise the most efficient use of that resource.

Pinch Flat · 23-08-2017 03:42PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

worth pointing out that the quays being reduced to one lane for cars is largely a reaction to the fact that the luas is going to reduce carrying capacity for the quays anyway, as the luas will be crossing every three minutes.

plus, when you've a scarce resource (space on the quays), it's bleedin' idiotic not to prioritise the most efficient use of that resource.

I hear you. But there's a lot of people that insist in driving from the end of their driveway to their place of work - ideally, to their own desk if they could get away with it. A lot of people haven't joined the dots that Dublin is making no new provision for private cars and, instead, eating into the space they occupy to avail of more efficient transport means i.e. buses and luas.

It's going to be painful for the solo car commuter for the coming years until eventually they find alternative means to get to work.

C3PO · 23-08-2017 03:46PM

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

If you take a look at the Road Traffic Regulations, they're perfectly entitled to park in a cycle track to make deliveries or to load (for a limited time) where no loading bay is available.

If you are see this 'almost every morning', you should be expecting it and take up an appropriate position in good time and use a bit of assertiveness.

Asking a 'big brand' why they hate cyclists is a bit naive IMO and does the rest of us a disservice. What would you suggest the driver do?

Hmm .. wasn't aware of that! Better stop yelling abuse at the guy who delivers to the Chinese opposite Blackrock College at about 4.15pm everyday so!!

tomasrojo · 23-08-2017 03:47PM

It's not a lot of fun being a public-facing member of DCC, I get the impression.

Chips Lovell · 23-08-2017 03:56PM

tomasrojo wrote: »

It's not a lot of fun being a public-facing member of DCC, I get the impression.

My favourite DCC story involves a drainage engineer who fielded a call from a member of the public complaining about blocked drains in her house. Frustrated, he eventually asked her if she'd tried calling the guards. "No, why would I call them?" was her reply. "Because they've about as much to do with it as we do".

Beta Ray Bill · 23-08-2017 04:55PM

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Except that's not really born out by the figures. Number of people driving into town is dropping while number of buses, cyclists and pedestrians is increasing.

I think DCC knows people like driving, it's more a case of realising that we're running out of capacity for cars so need to encourage a more efficient way of getting workers in and out of city.

I agree with those figures quoted, but the traffic is getting worse.

We used to be able to get into town for 8am if we left at 7:30am
Now if we don't leave by 7am, we may forget it.

I use a bicycle and user a motorbike and I can say for sure over the last 4/5 years the traffic is getting worse and worse.

My Ex would never ever use public transport or cycle, it's a concept so foreign to her that she could never accept it.

The other problem is that it's expensive to use Public transport if you have somewhere else to go rather than work
IE dropping off/collecting kids
Public transport just inst an option, to expensive.

Chips Lovell · 23-08-2017 05:03PM

Traffic is heavier alright, which is the reason more and more people aren't driving.

There's a lot more efficiencies to be found I think. While I accept that there's some people who have no alternative but to drive, going by census data there's still a lot of car journeys being undertaken when there are realistic alternatives, e.g. children being driven to school when the school is within walking distance.

magicbastarder · 23-08-2017 05:06PM

grahambo wrote: »

I use a bicycle and user a motorbike and I can say for sure over the last 4/5 years the traffic is getting worse and worse.

i don't think there's any argument there. employment figures are up. there are more people trying to get to work.

tomasrojo · 23-08-2017 06:55PM

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

Traffic is heavier alright, which is the reason more and more people aren't driving.

"No-one goes to that club anymore. It's too crowded."

Tenzor07 · 23-08-2017 07:17PM

Solution is that Gardai are out on bikes, or foot ticketing motorists for parking in cycle lanes...

As you can see one car driver decides to stop and look at his phone and 20+ cyclists have to push out into the main traffic lane because of one person!

AndrewJRenko · 23-08-2017 11:51PM

MysticMonk wrote: »

I don't understand the need to hurtle everywhere at breakneck speed when there are pedestrians and other hazards around.

And yet, when they ride on the road, the place least likely to have pedestrians and other hazards around, you complain about that too?

Shouldn't all those drivers be on the M1 anyway? I mean, we build all these motorways and they won't bloody use them!

CatFromHue · 24-08-2017 01:50AM

I'm fairly live and let live on this.

It can be annoying but when I'm walking on the path I have to sometimes step on the road to get around obstacles, when I'm driving I sometimes have to go into the other lane/side to get around an obstacle and I don't see why it shouldn't be the same when cycling in a cycle lane.

It's all about how you adapt to obstacles when out on the road.

Slow down, look over you shoulder to make sure it's safe, and then go around it.

uck51js9zml2yt · 24-08-2017 02:34AM

Was cycling up O'Connell Street yesterday and had a motorist beeping me and refusing to use the other empty lane.
Kept telling me to use the cycle lane that was jammed with cyclists.

Beta Ray Bill · 24-08-2017 07:53AM

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Solution is that Gardai are out on bikes, or foot ticketing motorists for parking in cycle lanes...

As you can see one car driver decides to stop and look at his phone and 20+ cyclists have to push out into the main traffic lane because of one person!

I get what you are saying but at the same time, I'd rather them pull over and look at their phone rather than keep driving and look at it.

People need to be able to pull over. Clearly looking at a phone might not be that important.

There will always obstacles on the raod, ya just need to be ready for them I suppose.
Yeah it's a pain in the hole, but that city driving/riding/cycling for ya.

Tenzor07 · 24-08-2017 08:46AM

grahambo wrote: »

I get what you are saying but at the same time, I'd rather them pull over and look at their phone rather than keep driving and look at it.
People need to be able to pull over. Clearly looking at a phone might not be that important.
There will always obstacles on the raod, ya just need to be ready for them I suppose.
Yeah it's a pain in the hole, but that city driving/riding/cycling for ya.

Yes of course, though pull over into a parking space which doesn't cause an obstruction or a hazard to other road users, and is also illegal to block a cycle lane...

cdaly_ · 24-08-2017 10:04AM

grahambo wrote: »

I get what you are saying but at the same time, I'd rather them pull over and look at their phone rather than keep driving and look at it.

People need to be able to pull over. Clearly looking at a phone might not be that important.

There will always obstacles on the raod, ya just need to be ready for them I suppose.
Yeah it's a pain in the hole, but that city driving/riding/cycling for ya.

So, if they're going to stop and obstruct traffic to look at their phone, why not stop in their own lane? Why take the opportunity to put a whole other lane of traffic to inconvenience/danger?

AndrewJRenko · 24-08-2017 11:44AM

CatFromHue wrote: »

I'm fairly live and let live on this.

It can be annoying but when I'm walking on the path I have to sometimes step on the road to get around obstacles, when I'm driving I sometimes have to go into the other lane/side to get around an obstacle and I don't see why it shouldn't be the same when cycling in a cycle lane.

It's all about how you adapt to obstacles when out on the road.

Slow down, look over you shoulder to make sure it's safe, and then go around it.

So I presume you'll have no problem if all those cars and vans just stop in the driving lane instead of the cycling lane. They'll only be a few minutes, I promise. You can just get around them - no biggie, right?

PaulieC · 24-08-2017 12:48PM

grahambo wrote: »

I've said for years now that deliveries around the city centre should only be made between 9pm and 6am. The amount of traffic it would take off the road during rush hour would be huge.

So people who own small businesses and who work for larger businesses should be made come back into work during the night to take deliveries ? That doesn't seem too practical.

average_runner · 24-08-2017 01:28PM

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Solution is that Gardai are out on bikes, or foot ticketing motorists for parking in cycle lanes...

As you can see one car driver decides to stop and look at his phone and 20+ cyclists have to push out into the main traffic lane because of one person!

Be great if the gardai were out doing this and also could pull in a few of those cyclists in all black and no lights on their bikes in that clip!!

CatFromHue · 24-08-2017 01:50PM

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

So I presume you'll have no problem if all those cars and vans just stop in the driving lane instead of the cycling lane. They'll only be a few minutes, I promise. You can just get around them - no biggie, right?

In a lot of places where there is no cycle lane this happens and people are able to deal with it

Wishbone Ash · 24-08-2017 02:26PM

Weepsie wrote: »

An occasional instance of a vehicle pulling in somewhere in an open road, which is fairly rare in my experience, is different by to a repetitive instance of vehicles blocking cycle lanes.

It's a bad analogy....

I don't think it's a bad analogy. The vast majority of towns and villages throughout the country do not have cycle lanes but do have shops and other premises requiring deliveries and cyclists are able to manage. I don't think CatFromHue was referring to open roads.

magicbastarder · 24-08-2017 02:50PM

Weepsie wrote: »

Obstacles in cycle lanes are there nearly exclusively due to bad design or because people think it's okay to inconvenience one type of road user consistently

this is something i actually only copped recently - i live with a bus lane outside the front of the house. it's in operation 16:00-19:00, and people have no compunction in parking in it during the day.
however; it has an explicit 'red' cycle lane also; the cycle lane has a solid white line, which (someone correct me if i am wrong) means it is mandatory, i.e. cars are not allowed in it. the hours of operation for the bus lane do not apply to a mandatory cycle lane, do they?

07Lapierre · 24-08-2017 03:03PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

this is something i actually only copped recently - i live with a bus lane outside the front of the house. it's in operation 16:00-19:00, and people have no compunction in parking in it during the day.
however; it has an explicit 'red' cycle lane also; the cycle lane has a solid white line, which (someone correct me if i am wrong) means it is mandatory, i.e. cars are not allowed in it. the hours of operation for the bus lane do not apply to a mandatory cycle lane, do they?

Yes..that is correct (I think

)

AndrewJRenko · 24-08-2017 03:11PM

average_runner wrote: »

Be great if the gardai were out doing this and also could pull in a few of those cyclists in all black and no lights on their bikes in that clip!!

Congrats on managing to spot them in the difficult lighting conditions. You must have been eating your carrots.

CatFromHue wrote: »

In a lot of places where there is no cycle lane this happens and people are able to deal with it

Usually the vans and trucks deal with it by parking fully or partially on the path, causing danger and inconvenience for many people, especially people with disabilities.

magicbastarder · 24-08-2017 03:46PM

07Lapierre wrote: »

Yes..that is correct (I think )

yeah, that's my working assumption. which is a bad design; the stated hours of operation of the bus lane are fooling people into thinking it's OK to park there. it's a good wide road, so usually not a massive issue, but just a little bit thoughtless.

07Lapierre · 24-08-2017 04:33PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

yeah, that's my working assumption. which is a bad design; the stated hours of operation of the bus lane are fooling people into thinking it's OK to park there. it's a good wide road, so usually not a massive issue, but just a little bit thoughtless.

I think this Covers it:

26.—(1) When parking a driver shall ensure that the vehicle—

"(h) will not, in such a way as to interfere with the free movement of pedestrians along a footway, be wholly or partly on the footway or projecting over the footway, or (if it is not a pedal cycle) be wholly or partly on a cycle track ;"

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1964/si/294/made/en/print

Beta Ray Bill · 24-08-2017 05:59PM

PaulieC wrote: »

So people who own small businesses and who work for larger businesses should be made come back into work during the night to take deliveries ? That doesn't seem too practical.

Fair point, you'd be talking about shift work then. It would definitely cost more to run a business in this manner.

cdaly_ wrote: »

So, if they're going to stop and obstruct traffic to look at their phone, why not stop in their own lane? Why take the opportunity to put a whole other lane of traffic to inconvenience/danger?

Eh because if you stopping you pull over to the left so as not to cause and obstruction? Isn't that driving 101?
Not trying to smart but if the pull over to the left then cars and bikes can overtake. if he stop in the middle of the Lane he's gonna hold up traffic for miles which will affect cyclists further back.

Dont get me wrong I agree he shouldnt stop there, but again.... Welcome to Dublin City.
This will behavior will never stop, ya best come to terms with it, cause there's d*ckheads everywhere!

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Yes of course, though pull over into a parking space which doesn't cause an obstruction or a hazard to other road users, and is also illegal to block a cycle lane...

This is in development:
http://www.thejournal.ie/cycle-lanes-dublin-2-3467614-Jun2017/

Good(ish) for cyclists, bad for Motorists, most of roads for this change are wide roads with 3/4 lanes or roads where cars part and right angles to the curb

The plan is to have the cars park parallel to the curb (reducing parking space by at least 50% (Probably 66%) Thereby increasing traffic congestion in the city centre. (Making it worse for everyone including cyclists).

Again, poor planning by DCC, cyclists thing they are getting a good deal with the above but the reality is we're not.

Whats the solution to cycle lanes being blocked?

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