Cycle Super Highway CS3 - Health and Safety Issue.

Harveytile

As I was cruising in to work yesterday through the light drizzle enjoying the lack of fair-weather cyclists, I turned away from Tower Bridge and onto CS3. All looking pretty with fresh road markings, blue paint, and obligatory skid marks.

I noticed the surfacing is hardly billiard table smooth, the utility pit covers are beautifully slippery and smooth, and the water is ponding (standing) in large areas near drains without draining away. Although this is great fun for kids to ride through making waves from their wheels, winter in on its way (sorry but it is) and problems are on the horizon.

The winter rains will result in areas of standing water that will freeze over creating large sections of sheet ice to catch out cyclists and any pedestrians who roam into the Cycle Super Slideway.

Cue lawsuits and claims! :shock:

I can't believe we as taxpayers are footing the bill for such shoddy workmanship. Rippled surfacing and ponding water should never be accepted. Pathetic. :roll:

lastant

Been wondering myself how the surface will hold up in drizzle - it doesn't appear to me to be particularly 'sticky' for want of a better word and looks as though it'll get pretty greasy quickly. Am I right?

gaz545

Plenty of grip, i dare you to try.
I've done a few tests on them, including yanking the brakes from the droops in the wet and had no issues stopping.

rml380z

gaz545 wrote:

Plenty of grip, i dare you to try.
I've done a few tests on them, including yanking the brakes from the droops in the wet and had no issues stopping.

Yep, very grippy. Checked (several times) last night!
It's a trust thing, 'though, as it looks like you'll just slide on the shiny surface.

Clever Pun

rml380z wrote:

gaz545 wrote:

Plenty of grip, i dare you to try.
I've done a few tests on them, including yanking the brakes from the droops in the wet and had no issues stopping.

Yep, very grippy. Checked (several times) last night!
It's a trust thing, 'though, as it looks like you'll just slide on the shiny surface.

exactly... I thought oh dear it's wet..but i stopped the bike put it at an angle and pushed... very grippy

the ice thing as mentioned by the OP might be more interesting...

Specialized Needs

rml380z wrote:

gaz545 wrote:

Plenty of grip, i dare you to try.
I've done a few tests on them, including yanking the brakes from the droops in the wet and had no issues stopping.

Yep, very grippy. Checked (several times) last night!
It's a trust thing, 'though, as it looks like you'll just slide on the shiny surface.

On the short bit of CS7 I overlap, the painted surface almost feels rubberised (from the feedback through the handlebars).

Harveytile

The surface is definitely very grippy...at the moment. I have no issues with a bit of bounce due to the ripples but my main beef is the crashes that will happen when winter comes and we get to skate over sheet ice. :shock:

A simple level survey or dumping water from a tanker would have brought this issue to light before the expense of painting and road marking. Just another inefficiently managed project, :roll:

nommiiss

I fell this morning because of the wetness on the paint of the CS3.

Before I took to the cycle I was a bike rider and I had slipped out on paint in the roads. When they placed that paint down I immediately thought it was going to be slippery.

I know have a bruise on my hip the size of the bottom of a 2L coke bottle and having trouble walking.

Soothing needs to be done to remove that paint or there are going to be more cycles hurt and maybe put off cycling all together.

I will be contacting a claims lawyer as I feel it is the one way to make the council notice the mistake they have made. I will also be starting a web blog in regards to this and maybe a twitter feed.

Simon

Greg T

I don't think it's the blue paint that's slippy - I think that's got excellent traction - I think it's the white overbanding that marks it out that's the problem - it's lethal.

flamite

I think that whole road is a death trap...

the fact that stop lines for cars turning onto cable street are before the blue highway is very misleading for car drivers, and they rarely stop where the should and pull forward to where they're used to, thus in danger of hitting cyclists. I feel when cycling down even though i have right of way i slow to a stop at almost every junction turning onto the toad incase a car doesnt realise this...

There was cyclist down there this morning on a stretcher going into ambulance for what looked like a hit from a car not stopping where they should befor the blue highway.... surprised there arent more accidents like this.

lardboy

It seems like there;'s 2 types of paint, on CS7 around Kennington/Oval/Stockwell/Clapham at least. One is a very grippy rough surface, that looks a little dark, and the other is a plain paint that looks the same type as the white lines and other road markings. On the former, I am perfectly happy to ride as normal, but the latter seems like an accident waiting to happen, and I use the back brake more, and try to corner wider and smoother than usual, as I just don't trust it. The number of skid marks on it near traffic lights is a concern as well.

Kiwi Kranker

nommiiss wrote:

I fell this morning because of the wetness on the paint of the CS3.

Before I took to the cycle I was a bike rider and I had slipped out on paint in the roads. When they placed that paint down I immediately thought it was going to be slippery.

I know have a bruise on my hip the size of the bottom of a 2L coke bottle and having trouble walking.

Soothing needs to be done to remove that paint or there are going to be more cycles hurt and maybe put off cycling all together.

I will be contacting a claims lawyer as I feel it is the one way to make the council notice the mistake they have made. I will also be starting a web blog in regards to this and maybe a twitter feed.

Simon

Simon, its people like you that are a fundamental problem with this world. Contacting a claims lawyer?? FFS take some responsibility and MTFU. The Council will eat the claims lawyer alive unless a fundamental flaw can be shown. If it is down to an underlying road defect you may have a chance but to say that you are looking at a claims lawyer to make the 'Council' take notice is IMO complete bollocks.

There were white lines before these cycle lanes and if they go there will be painted lines afterwards. I happen to know for a fact that the blue paint system used is appropriate for cyclists.People will ALWAYS make mistakes and there will be unpleasant consequences.

On another note the simple fact is that many people on this site dont understand the road rules around these lanes both motorists and cyclists alike. There is an education campaign about these lanes but it seems no one likes to read the 'fine print'.

I live in London and deal with the bad roads, bad drivers, suicidal pedestrains and bad cyclists daily. I have simply learnt to take some personal responsibility for my actions however this is an attitude that is sadly lacking in the world today. If you spot a problem report it for sure but dont try and profit out of it. No one and no Council is perfect, life doesnt work that way.

Ok I am finished now as I need to go and blame my mother for my ranting ways.

lastant

Had fun climbing up the 'hill' around Limehouse on CS3 today. Probably was in slightly too high a gear, but had my back wheel spin out two or three times as I made my way up - no idea if it was due to the surface being a little damp or not.

Someone's mentioned the standing water before, and there were a good few puddles sat around today. Have a feeling this route's going to be interesting once the temperature starts dropping below freezing overnight...

Finally, there was a rider down the Canary Wharf side of Shadwell. Sat in the middle of the lane heading into the City on his phone holding his leg with a pedestrian 'guarding' him - few people to one side, looked as though a pedestrian had gone across without looking and he'd come off worse.

prj45

I'd just avoid riding on white paint in the wet full stop (where possible).

And if it's cold enough to be icy then practically any patch on the road can be lethal.

gaz545

nommiiss wrote:

I fell this morning because of the wetness on the paint of the CS3.

Before I took to the cycle I was a bike rider and I had slipped out on paint in the roads. When they placed that paint down I immediately thought it was going to be slippery.

I know have a bruise on my hip the size of the bottom of a 2L coke bottle and having trouble walking.

Soothing needs to be done to remove that paint or there are going to be more cycles hurt and maybe put off cycling all together.

I will be contacting a claims lawyer as I feel it is the one way to make the council notice the mistake they have made. I will also be starting a web blog in regards to this and maybe a twitter feed.

Simon

You need to let TFL know what has happened. Without the information of actual incidences, they won't change at thing.

Greg T

Kiwi Kranker wrote:

Simon, its people like you that are a fundamental problem with this world.

Arf arf arf

I thought it was the Middle Aged White Guys.

ketsbaia

I thought it was Bob Crow.

Kiwi Kranker

ketsbaia wrote:

I thought it was Bob Crow.

Actually Ill amend my statement

Bob Crow, MAWG, immigrants, media, Wayne Rooney, Health and Safety Exec, Marbo, TfL and Bankers...oh and immigrants....did I mention immigrants?




(......as I have not posted in the commuting section often I had better state the above is heavy with sarcasm....I dont want to offend anyone...that would be bad)