Documenting Ireland's cycle lanes

cyclopath2001 · 12-12-2008 10:58PM

monument wrote: »

Apparently, it's meant to be used by cyclists going both directions. As can be seen in this picture, the southbound bus lane is a bus-only lane.

Is that a non-legal (peds+bicycle) 'cycle track' sign I see in the distance?

Also, can't find the legal ref for that bus lane sign with no bicycle in it?

DirkVoodoo · 13-12-2008 04:26PM

Just coming back from saturday spin and I decided to use the cycle track as the stretch of road was an 80 km/hr zone. Big mistake! Fo starters the "red grip" surface was not compacted like the ones you normally see, so lots of loose chippings popping up.

As I approached the roundabout (the stretch of road in question is parallel to the M50 near Moreen park) the cycle lane did what most of them do: it disappeared!

Nice bit of railing as well. There is a detour through a (dodgy) passageway and then through the housing estate. But if I were coming down here at night I would feel safer on the road.

kenmc · 13-12-2008 05:16PM

That bit of track is especially bad Dirk, after it goes through the wall it goes through a really dodgy estate. An ex colleague of mine used cycle through it to get to work in Leopardstown - one day there was a burnt out mattress on the cycletrack, a big pile of rusted springs. On the way home (heading away from the beacon court) as he was heading home in the dark an oncoming cyclist didn't see the pile of springs and cycled right into it, and ended up tangled up in it, his bike was tangled up in it and he got some nasty cuts.

blorg · 13-12-2008 05:54PM

I cycle on that path through the estate daily, it's not generally that bad although admittedly there is occasionally a burnt out car (generally they are kind enough to do this on the side so it doesn't take up the entire cycle track.) The surface quality is a lot better than the cycle track along Blackthorn Drive and going through the estate you avoid at least one set of lights and generally have good fortune with the other. Thing that annoys me most about it at the moment is there are generally mucky streams of water coming out of the building site to one side of it.

DirkVoodoo · 13-12-2008 07:32PM

Yeah i went though a few of those today alright, more like lakes they were. After you go through the estate it is quite tricky to get across to the beacon without dismounting and walking (not easy in spd-sl) so I cycled back up the road, pulled a u-turn and merged back with the traffic.

The actual track surface was pretty woeful too, not really friendly to road bikes on 700x23s.

Waterfall1975 · 26-08-2009 03:35PM

I dont have photos to post but gotta mention the route from dublin centre to heuston station & vice versa. It's so bad; just so dangerous. Bike lanes come & go and are often ignored by motorists. All-vehicle lanes widen & narrow dramatically. Potholes lie everywhere. Motorists park illegally. Tight weaving is often the only option in order to make any progress. Cyclists are just not catered for. Guess we're just not wanted.:(

Jip · 26-08-2009 03:44PM

Since someone else resurrected this thread I might as well ask about the one on Manor Street in Stoneybatter where the shops are as I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread or the flickr site, unless it's there under a different name. Now and again you might see it clear as per the road signs as obviously a garda would have been around ticketing. But the vast majority of the time it choc a bloc with illegally parked cars, and on more than once occasion I've seen gardai walk by without taking any action. This not only makes it lethal for cyclists but fairly dangerous for people driving too.

petethedrummer · 26-08-2009 04:58PM

Jip wrote: »

Since someone else resurrected this thread I might as well ask about the one on Manor Street in Stoneybatter where the shops are as I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread or the flickr site, unless it's there under a different name. Now and again you might see it clear as per the road signs as obviously a garda would have been around ticketing. But the vast majority of the time it choc a bloc with illegally parked cars, and on more than once occasion I've seen gardai walk by without taking any action. This not only makes it lethal for cyclists but fairly dangerous for people driving too.

I'll be taking pics of that soon. I can't quite remember but it might be one where its a cycle lane at certain times of the day and not at others. They are my favorite sort of cycle lane. They're so laughable terrible.

JMJR · 26-08-2009 05:48PM

Waterfall1975 wrote: »

I dont have photos to post but gotta mention the route from dublin centre to heuston station & vice versa. It's so bad; just so dangerous. Bike lanes come & go and are often ignored by motorists. All-vehicle lanes widen & narrow dramatically. Potholes lie everywhere. Motorists park illegally. Tight weaving is often the only option in order to make any progress. Cyclists are just not catered for. Guess we're just not wanted.:(

I always take the Luas route in preference to the quays

Nietzschean · 26-08-2009 06:44PM

Waterfall1975 wrote: »

I dont have photos to post but gotta mention the route from dublin centre to heuston station & vice versa. It's so bad; just so dangerous. Bike lanes come & go and are often ignored by motorists. All-vehicle lanes widen & narrow dramatically. Potholes lie everywhere. Motorists park illegally. Tight weaving is often the only option in order to make any progress. Cyclists are just not catered for. Guess we're just not wanted.:(

Honestly i find that route one of the better bits around dublin... its slower moving traffic and so randomly complicated with lanes appearing/disappearing i find the drivers tend to be paying much better attention to me/stuff around them. As long as your confident, hold your line and make yourself visible its not too bad at all. Abolishing any sort of cycle lane sections on there would be an improvement but other than that its pretty good.*

*Being on a road bike my experience might be a lot different than a commuter since I can go as fast/faster than most cars get to go along there

monument · 26-08-2009 10:15PM

Waterfall1975 wrote: »

I dont have photos to post but gotta mention the route from dublin centre to heuston station & vice versa. It's so bad; just so dangerous. Bike lanes come & go and are often ignored by motorists. All-vehicle lanes widen & narrow dramatically. Potholes lie everywhere. Motorists park illegally. Tight weaving is often the only option in order to make any progress. Cyclists are just not catered for. Guess we're just not wanted.:(

The northern quays aren't too bad, although overall the route could be a whole lot better. Between Parkgate Street and Blackhall Place is fine, and between Queen Street and Chancery Place (at the end of the Four Courts). But between Blackhall Place and Queen Street the road narrows and you're left merging with buses, taxis and other traffic out of bus lane hours. And between Chancery Place and Custom House there's a hold list of problems. But I still say it's doable.

It's the same old story -- cycle lanes are ok/good where there's a bit of straight road with no junctions, entrances or parking along it.

The south quays are a desaster in lane layout, road surface etc. While I say the north quays is doable, I'd avoid the south quays -- use Dame Street > Lord Edward Street > Christchurch Place > High Street > Thomas Street > James Street, and come down to the station via Steven's Lane along the Luas track (walk if you need to).

Waterfall1975 · 27-08-2009 08:31AM

Thanks for the feedback. I've tried the luas route a few times but it's a bit bumpy & junctions are messy. Haven't tried Dame st route, didn't fancy the hill up to Christchurch.
It's just a shame that the route is so bad & its viability as a commuting option is almost non-existant.
In theory it's ideal for exercise - 2x10min stints each day - and that benefits me greatly. Plus I have the bike in town if I want to get around at lunchtime.
Anyway, It isn't even being included in the first wave (?) of the city bike scheme, probably because of the road conditions.

petethedrummer · 27-08-2009 09:44AM

Waterfall1975 wrote: »

It's just a shame that the route is so bad & its viability as a commuting option is almost non-existant.

There isn't a street I would not go down in dublin on a bike. Take your time and don't ride too close to the kerb or parked cars. They are all navigable. There are pensioners going round on bikes in Dublin, so you'll be grand.

They didn't put the velibs at heuston because it would result in all the bikes being moved by heuston commuters to stations in town. I think they want to keep the distribution even, or something.

Jip · 27-08-2009 10:15AM

petethedrummer wrote: »

I'll be taking pics of that soon. I can't quite remember but it might be one where its a cycle lane at certain times of the day and not at others. They are my favorite sort of cycle lane. They're so laughable terrible.

That's exactly it, it's a clear way/cycle lane during peak times and is well signposted but nobody takes any notice of it whatsoever. The irony will be that the day you go to take pics will be the day it's actually clear due to a garda doing his/her job up there.

BostonB · 29-08-2009 02:52AM

Nietzschean wrote: »

Honestly i find that route one of the better bits around dublin... its slower moving traffic and so randomly complicated with lanes appearing/disappearing i find the drivers tend to be paying much better attention to me/stuff around them. As long as your confident, hold your line and make yourself visible its not too bad at all. Abolishing any sort of cycle lane sections on there would be an improvement but other than that its pretty good.*

*Being on a road bike my experience might be a lot different than a commuter since I can go as fast/faster than most cars get to go along there

Can't agree. Seen lots of accidents along the south quays. Lane markings are insane, and theres lots of jockeying for space. At peak when its jammed you might have a clear run on the bike, but once it starts moving traffic moves very fast, indeed it used to be a common for speed traps along there.

BostonB · 29-08-2009 02:54AM

JMJR wrote: »

I always take the Luas route in preference to the quays

Is that not illegal. Even if its not. Its very slow, lots of junctions.

JMJR · 29-08-2009 09:03AM

BostonB wrote: »

Is that not illegal. Even if its not. Its very slow, lots of junctions.

It's all of the above, for most of the way, but my criteria for using it is personal safety. For a trip from O' Connell st to Heuston Station I consider it the best option.

John

petethedrummer · 19-09-2009 10:07PM

I think I just photographed the holy grail of cycle lane design, just north of Ballymun. Makes me so proud.

Blowfish · 20-09-2009 12:35PM

Oddly, it could actually be worse.

Jip · 22-09-2009 11:08AM

Anyone use the cycle lane off the road along City Quay ? It's usually littered with pedestrians so I use the road but this morning was quiet so I stayed on it past the Samuel Beckett Bridge to where I had to move out to go around pedestrians waiting to cross at the crossing.

Big mistake ! The cycle lane is that red tarmac stuff and is surrounded by nice paving. However where the lane joins with the rest of the path it's bloody lethal. Both wheels slipped into the little crack between the paving and cycle path almost causing me keel over into an oncoming cyclist and gaggle of peds. I manage to stay on but I got a fright.

I can live with falling off a bike, but not infront of a mass of people !

petethedrummer · 22-09-2009 11:16AM

Blowfish wrote: »

Oddly, it could actually be worse.

Could be better too.

tomasrojo · 22-09-2009 12:15PM

Jip wrote: »

Anyone use the cycle lane off the road along City Quay ? It's usually littered with pedestrians so I use the road but this morning was quiet so I stayed on it past the Samuel Beckett Bridge to where I had to move out to go around pedestrians waiting to cross at the crossing.

Isn't that lane a contraflow? The symbols painted on it suggest that cyclists should only use it going west and not going east.

I don't use it, because, as I'm sure you'll agree, you're pretty much always better using the road.

Jip · 22-09-2009 01:29PM

I'm not sure if it is or not, I never noticed any directional signs but I can't be certain as this morning was the only time I used it due to it been clear of pedestrians.

tomasrojo · 22-09-2009 01:41PM

It's a bit ambiguous, but the bike symbols painted on it suggest that it's a contraflow.

You can just make them out on Google Maps; when going east the bicycle symbols appear upside down.

Then again, these facilities are so preposterous in general, who knows what they're supposed to mean.

The Cycle Review for Dublin City Council carried out by Transport Initiatives LLP mentions the facility just over the river:

6.18 Where contra-flow cycle tracks have been provided in gyratory systems
it is apparent that their purpose is not evident to everyone. When the
review team were cycling correctly along the one in the vicinity of the
Custom House (Beresford Place/Memorial Road) they were greeted
with a cheery “Wrong way lads” from a cyclist using the cycle track in
the with-flow direction.

Jip · 22-09-2009 01:50PM

Ah, misread your initial post. Yeah, I think they are contraflow albeit very narrow and as I mentioned, it's just a mess when you get to the pedestrian crossing at the bridge so unless you're moseying along you're better off on the road.

tomasrojo · 22-09-2009 01:59PM

I'd go further though; I think that strictly speaking, you _have_ to use the road when going east. It's a one-way cycle track, going west. It's isn't two lanes, it isn't wide enough to accommodate two bikes comfortably, and what directional information is provided suggests that it's for going west.

Then again, I think there's a End of Cycle Track sign a little further east of Matt Talbot Bridge that faces west, and so can only be there to inform eastbound cyclists that they are leaving the cycle track that they probably shouldn't have been on in the first place.

Contradictory, counterproductive, as always.

monument · 22-09-2009 02:03PM

tomasrojo wrote: »

The Cycle Review for Dublin City Council carried out by Transport Initiatives LLP mentions the facility just over the river:

Do you have a link or access to that document?

tomasrojo · 22-09-2009 02:05PM

monument wrote: »

Do you have a link or access to that document?

I googled it recently and couldn't find it, but I can email you a copy. PM me. I made sure to keep a copy of the PDF when I initially found it. I even emailed the author, who was kind enough to share some further thoughts with me.

monument · 22-09-2009 02:07PM

Also, on a general note, there has been a bunch of new photos added at different stages in the last month of so to the flickr group -- http://www.flickr.com/groups/dublincyclelanes/

Jip · 22-09-2009 02:08PM

tomasrojo wrote: »

Then again, I think there's a End of Cycle Track sign a little further east of Matt Talbot Bridge that faces west, and so can only be there to inform eastbound cyclists that they are leaving the cycle track that they probably shouldn't have been on in the first place.

Yip, that's only the sign I really noticed as I was checking to see where I could join the road. It is contradictory alright. I'll be sticking to the road either way after this mornings escapade.

Documenting Ireland's cycle lanes

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