Cycle lanes on footpaths

kingofthetailwind

Do you use them?

Had some road rage from a driver today, he took exception to me not using one. This was on a quiet dual carriageway. Plenty of room for him to pass on the outside. Instead he pulled alongside and blasted his horn, scaring the s**t out of me. Ashamed to say I lost it, gave him the fingers and shouted that he should go f**k himself.

For me cycle lanes are optional. And I never use ones which are on footpaths. Glass, stones, kids, dogs, lampposts - no thanks.

I've also had some rage from drivers for not using lanes at the side of the road, when they're covered in glass/stones.

roger_merriman

Not normally no, though I do use one coming into kingston since it's rare to meet walkers and traffic often is queuing.

cyclingsheep

You do not legally have to use cycle lanes, they are purely optional and if I remember correctly they have a suggested speed limit of between 15-18mph for safety reasons anyway so if you're regularly going faster than that it's best not to use them. As often happens, with comments about road tax etc, some people get these things in their heads as law when in fact they aren't.

cattytown

For me too many cycle lanes end rather abruptly and often inconveniently, making it difficult to rejoin the carriageway if there's any traffic.

Paul.

peat

I sometimes/often find my self riding alongside them, having not noticed where they started.

My main gripe with them is that they often intersect side roads/peoples drives and you are expected to give way at each 'junction' which requires braking, shoulder checks etc. Much faster and easier just not to bother.

I wouldn't stand there and point out that "I am not legally required to use them", It won't win you any friends. Don't engage with the confrontation, there point of view is often based on ignorant assumptions that no amount of 'discussion' will rectify.

peat

cattytown wrote:

For me too many cycle lanes end rather abruptly and often inconveniently, making it difficult to rejoin the carriageway if there's any traffic.

Paul.

Yeah, plenty of them.

One i have 'felt heat' over on my commute would require me to cross the road, ride along the very raised single lane shared footpath which has 2 telegraph poles in the middle. Where it terminates is then on the apex of a blind corner of a 50mph road (average traffic speed about 60). I used it once, never again.

thistle_

There's one near me (only built in the last 6 months) that has a no cycling sign on it. Further on, you have to cross a national speed limit dual carriageway a couple of metres from a roundabout.

Worst of all, the council raves about how good its cycle lanes are and how much they do to encourage cycling.

danlikesbikes

Some round our way are good but is a balance between not getting it in the ear from car/van drivers on the road and dog walkers/walkers on the footpaths. Seems like a small percentage of both don't feel that cycles should be on 'their road/path'

Often sad to say I do shake my head a little and leave it at that, though I guess I should just ignore it and smile as it seems to confuse people when you take this approach.

Sorry to hear you were shouted at though as its not nice & can see why you responded the way you did out of anger.

farrina

KingOfTheTailwind wrote:

Do you use them?
For me cycle lanes are optional. And I never use ones which are on footpaths. Glass, stones, kids, dogs, lampposts - no thanks.

The majority of cycling facilities are designed by people who never ride bicycles. I would concede that they are provided with the best of intent, but owing to poor maintenance and use by persons for whom they were not designed (ie pedestrians etc) they are in the main a complete waste of space and money.

I would rather take my chance on the roads with the cars - they at least sweep the debris to the side of the road.

Bigots who think they own the road should be treated with indifference. Personally I always smile and wave which can have the unfortunate effect of winding them up even more.

Be safe.

Regards

Alan

lawrences

My experience of Kingston upon Thames cycle lanes is that the council uses them as a place to put manholes and drain covers.

The problem with cycle lanes on footpaths is that you have to stop and shoulder check every time there is a junction. Whereas if the cycle lane was in the road you could hold your speed.

notnot

The paths round here are mostly dual use - pedestrians and cyclists. Handy when going for a spin on my old MTB, but the odd time I've been down them on a road bike I've either had to go frustratingly slowly or felt like an a-hole when I've gone faster and startled a pedestrian! On a road bike, prefer the roads!

kingofthetailwind

I really struggle to control my temper when a driver does something stupid. Must try harder!

It was here: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=knock+ ... .45,,0,9.3

The cycle lane on this road changes from the footpath to the hard shoulder a few times. You have to give way to traffic coming out of a service station, and the lane ends just up ahead.

dnwhite88

Sorry to hear you got grief off a driver-most cycle lanes around here are full of stones so I ride outside it but still trying to keep over. I also find some roads where if you go any further over than where the cars do the surface is way too rough to ride properly anyway

notnot

Another reason why some may avoid bike lanes in winter - sometimes not gritted https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ing-350632

diy

it depends on the condition and the alternative. few cycle lanes are maintained to a level that you could ride a road/race bike on them. That said if its safer I will use them.

Gizmodo

There are some great cycle lanes into Stafford, the locals love them as it gives them somewhere to park their cars :roll:

I will use the good cycle lanes, the one at the side of large roads that are not one the foot path and don't have give way lines at every drive way or cul-de-sac. But 90% of them are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.

I remember a thread on here where someone was almost hit by a car coming out of their drive way across a cycle path as the driver only normally expects to have to look for foot traffic.

MichaelW

Peat wrote:

... they often intersect side roads/peoples drives and you are expected to give way at each 'junction' which requires braking, shoulder checks etc.

There is no right of way for cyclists riding on shared use/pavement style cycle-ways. If a driver crosses the cycle-way into a driveway, they do not have to yield to you. If you do collide with a vehicle, you bear some contributory negligence.

diy

In Richards V Quinten (2000) the Court found that a cyclist riding in a cycle lane had the greater opportunity to take evasive action to avoid a collision with a car emerging from a driveway and although the car driver should have been proceeding with extreme caution, the cyclist was held to be 75 per cent contributory negligent.

It is odd because if you ride on the road you are in a much better position. However, when you read the details its not so obvious. under normal cycling, observation, correct use of the lane etc you would find liability more frequently at the driver.

bushu

oddly only cycle lanes on one side of a bit of the commute yet i'm supposedly surrounded by this cycle network i've heard about :? there is one handy bit of shared use over the M1 flyover in case i dont have the legs to keep up with traffic :oops: sometimes to avoid pre-emted WVM incidents..

also rush hour its somehow seems acceptable to use the cycle lane at junctions as a way of filing into traffic :twisted:

cattytown

I tried one of the pavement cyclepaths yesterday near Chorley. The signing to say it was there was no help, once you realised it was there there was a dirty great kerb so you couldn't join it later and when I did manage to get on it was bloody awful to ride on - really uneven. Couldn't get back on the road quick enough.

AllanES

Plenty of cycle paths round here but mostly used by pedestrians! Much to my annoyance!!!
The footpaths are always just a few feet to the side and no more difficult to use but people seem to prefer the wider cycle paths.
I'm continually having to shout "coming through" when they don't even hear me coming. I'm thinking of getting myself a bell (well, maybe not :-))

mattitheowl

Personally I think most cycle lanes are designed for people who are out with the kids and want to keep off the busy roads. I don't use them around here for all the above reasons. If you are out for a pootle with the family though I can see why they would be good.

There are loads of cycle lanes just painted at the sides of roads around here but you can't do more than 100m in one before there are parked cars so they are ultimately pointless. And then at junctions people seem to forget they are there and just drift into them. I'd much rather just ride on the road in my own little space.