BBC News Clip on Cardiff Cycle Lane

OldSkoolKona

I saw the following on the BBC news site which has a news clip on cars parking in cycle lanes in Cardiff:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8079354.stm

Plenty of experience ofpoor cycle lanes with cars parked in them :shock: , but the one in the news clips has a double yellow line marked out.

I do think though that people overplay the importance of cycle lanes in making cycling safer. IMHO they give a perception of safer cycling for inexperienced cyclists but they are sometimes sadly as lethal.

always_tyred

The fact that PC Selby breathes really is a waste of oxygen.

The Chingford Skinhead

I'm struggling with the concept of giving drivers a warning before a ticket. Isn't the double yellow line the warning? :roll: If the local authority for Canton is worried about losing trade then it should do what the LB or Waltham Forest do and put down ycle lanes with no yellow lines so that cars an legally park in them :evil:

always_tyred

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

I'm struggling with the concept of giving drivers a warning before a ticket. Isn't the double yellow line the warning? :roll: If the local authority for Canton is worried about losing trade then it should do what the LB or Waltham Forest do and put down ycle lanes with no yellow lines so that cars an legally park in them :evil:

The PC is demonstrating an effective technique for ensuring that an average of 4 drivers are on the lane at any given time without the need for any of them to get a ticket or stay longer than 5 minutes, whilst also ensuring that the bike lane is never used by bicycles.

Thick as a bag of peas.

jinnan_tonnix

Always Tyred wrote:

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

I'm struggling with the concept of giving drivers a warning before a ticket. Isn't the double yellow line the warning? :roll: If the local authority for Canton is worried about losing trade then it should do what the LB or Waltham Forest do and put down ycle lanes with no yellow lines so that cars an legally park in them :evil:

The PC is demonstrating an effective technique for ensuring that an average of 4 drivers are on the lane at any given time without the need for any of them to get a ticket or stay longer than 5 minutes, whilst also ensuring that the bike lane is never used by bicycles.

Thick as a bag of peas.

Quite right. A parking ticket leaves a sour taste which may make drivers think twice.
A 'would you mind moving on, please' is no deterrent.

cjcp

Always Tyred wrote:

The Chingford Skinhead wrote:

I'm struggling with the concept of giving drivers a warning before a ticket. Isn't the double yellow line the warning? :roll: If the local authority for Canton is worried about losing trade then it should do what the LB or Waltham Forest do and put down ycle lanes with no yellow lines so that cars an legally park in them :evil:

The PC is demonstrating an effective technique for ensuring that an average of 4 drivers are on the lane at any given time without the need for any of them to get a ticket or stay longer than 5 minutes, whilst also ensuring that the bike lane is never used by bicycles.

Thick as a bag of peas.

+1.

I stay away from areas like that when I'm back in Cardiff. If I go through Canton, it's briefly and early on a weekend morning.

OldSkoolKona

I think what is galling, though not surprising, is that there is more concern in offending motorist and putting them out, as opposed to prioritising the safety of cyclists. The old downtrodden motorist, getting caught out by those nasty speed cameras and getting parking tickets.

Also, with regards to local shops, I have read elsewhere (will have to look up the link) that shops that have cycle parking outside them increase their patronage. Encouraging cyclists would therefore be a way to improve the lot of local shops.

OldSkoolKona

And I should add that I say this as a motorist myself, who currently drives to work at least once a week.

The Chingford Skinhead

OldSkoolKona wrote:

I think what is galling, though not surprising, is that there is more concern in offending motorist and putting them out, as opposed to prioritising the safety of cyclists. The old downtrodden motorist, getting caught out by those nasty speed cameras and getting parking tickets.

Also, with regards to local shops, I have read elsewhere (will have to look up the link) that shops that have cycle parking outside them increase their patronage. Encouraging cyclists would therefore be a way to improve the lot of local shops.

+1. It never ceases to amaze me how motorists have somehow positioned themselves to be innocent victims of an oppressive state when they are punished for speeding or illegal parking. It's like a shop lifter complaining that there was no warning in the shop where the CCTV cameras were.

The obsession with motorised transport at the cost of everything else is truly worrying. Two of the biggest supermarkets near me are difficult and dangerous to get to UNLESS you go by car. Walking is not an option unless you want to play chicken with the cars or walk an extra half mile! I remember going to a meeting in the small shopping area that I live in - an area that the middle-classes laughingly refer to as "a village" about 14 years ago. The big issue - they couldn't shop locally as there was not sufficient parking. Now I thought the point of "a village" was that you could walk to the shops and interact with your fellow "villagers". Apparently not. The council obligingly dropped plans for more parking enforcement and (and here is the genius bit) they repaved the three main shopping streets but didn't bother replacing ANY of the cycle stands that were pulled up. It is only in the last 2 years that any have been reintroduced.

benno68

I think cycle lanes are a waste of time in Cardiff. Few motorists take any notice of them and this article proves that the police don't take this seriously. I posted on the "Rants" thread earlier about the amount of learner drivers I've seen under professional instruction encroaching cycle lanes, if driving instructors aren't teaching them, who will?

Also, many motorists seem to think that we have to stay in the cycle lane if it's there and get annoyed if we cycle outside of it. Of course they don't realise that the bike lane is often the worst part of the road, with hydrant covers, glass, grit and potholes galore!

Still, I don't think that Cardiff is a bad place for cyclists, cycling in London would scare the cr@p out of me.