#fail cycle superhighway in London

rick_chasey

Ah London.

imatfaal

I got taken down by a pedestrian blindly stepping out on the way home this evening. Luckily I was knackered and there was a headwind - I was going fairly slowly. Nearly managed to avoid her but handlebars caught her bag and arm - she was fine and quite apologetic.

Everybody around was really nice and offering help etc. But after straightening up the bike I was able to ride off bloodied and bruised.

Kerguelen

It's funny how you lot think you're the same as people.

rick_chasey

Kerguelen wrote:

It's funny how you lot think you're the same as people.

People are indeed people.

Unless I'm missing something.

Kerguelen

Rick Chasey wrote:

People are indeed people.

Unless I'm missing something.

Something tells me that you are.

rick_chasey

Do indulge me.

Kerguelen

Rick Chasey wrote:

Do indulge me.

Not interested.

rick_chasey

iPete

Coming East through Parliament last night I watched all the riders doing the 'PS trick' coming West and cutting through all the pedestrians... in hindsight, I think I'll skip that idea.

Then it occurred to me this morning I could just ride down Whitehall onto Horse guard and join Embankment there and cut out the PS highway altogether.

rower63

iPete wrote:

Coming East through Parliament last night I watched all the riders doing the 'PS trick' coming West and cutting through all the pedestrians... in hindsight, I think I'll skip that idea..

Yes it's a shame. If everyone treated it as a de facto (or actual?) ped zebra crossing where the peds have right of way, it would work OK. But you get a fair number of riders tearing through without due care, and with shouts and swearing :roll:

imatfaal

iPete wrote:

Coming East through Parliament last night I watched all the riders doing the 'PS trick' coming West and cutting through all the pedestrians... in hindsight, I think I'll skip that idea.

Then it occurred to me this morning I could just ride down Whitehall onto Horse guard and join Embankment there and cut out the PS highway altogether.

That's what I do - beware of those crossing Horse Guards Ave when you turn off Whitehall

imatfaal

rower63 wrote:

iPete wrote:

Coming East through Parliament last night I watched all the riders doing the 'PS trick' coming West and cutting through all the pedestrians... in hindsight, I think I'll skip that idea..

Yes it's a shame. If everyone treated it as a de facto (or actual?) ped zebra crossing where the peds have right of way, it would work OK. But you get a fair number of riders tearing through without due care, and with shouts and swearing :roll:

Whilst I now avoid the area in both directions I went through PS to see if was any difference this am (the lights' sequences had changed in the city and I wondered if the timings were any better in PS) and I made sure to check - whilst the traffic is flowing out of PS across the bridge or turning right down embankment then the Little Green Man is at some points showing for peds to cross the bike path. Turning right onto the bike path you could, for some of the time, be crossing what is an actual ped crossing showing green for the peds; they will absolutely throw the book at anybody who has a collision with a ped

whatleytom

Have heard about a handful of collisions with peds already. Some more serious than others.

dyrlac

imatfaal wrote:

Whilst I now avoid the area in both directions I went through PS to see if was any difference this am (the lights' sequences had changed in the city and I wondered if the timings were any better in PS)

Sequencing has not changed for the better. Took the official route through PS this morning. Sat at red bicycle lights (whilst the adjacent main traffic lane was green) at each of the northwest and northeast corners of PS proper, then again at the left turn on Westminster bridge: sprinting from one red to another. Covered the .4 km of https://www.strava.com/segments/12068509 in 5:48 -- good for my all time worst and 174/178 today. :evil:

imatfaal

Dyrlac wrote:

imatfaal wrote:

Whilst I now avoid the area in both directions I went through PS to see if was any difference this am (the lights' sequences had changed in the city and I wondered if the timings were any better in PS)

Sequencing has not changed for the better. Took the official route through PS this morning. Sat at red bicycle lights (whilst the adjacent main traffic lane was green) at each of the northwest and northeast corners of PS proper, then again at the left turn on Westminster bridge: sprinting from one red to another. Covered the .4 km of https://www.strava.com/segments/12068509 in 5:48 -- good for my all time worst and 174/178 today. :evil:

Yeah that was my impression. I will be avoiding from now on

I am able to head up to Trafalgar Square and do the Mall and Horseguards road, Birdcage Walk on the way in to work - wow Horseguards is fun! Long sweeping corner, wide road, good view, and no traffic - 28th out of 6000 on my second attempt. Need another 9kph to get to the top - I feel a new challenge coming on.

BobMcbob

imatfaal wrote:

Dyrlac wrote:

imatfaal wrote:

Whilst I now avoid the area in both directions I went through PS to see if was any difference this am (the lights' sequences had changed in the city and I wondered if the timings were any better in PS)

Sequencing has not changed for the better. Took the official route through PS this morning. Sat at red bicycle lights (whilst the adjacent main traffic lane was green) at each of the northwest and northeast corners of PS proper, then again at the left turn on Westminster bridge: sprinting from one red to another. Covered the .4 km of https://www.strava.com/segments/12068509 in 5:48 -- good for my all time worst and 174/178 today. :evil:

Going east the lights before the badly designed Blackfriars chicane and then at Puddle dock can add 5 mins to your journey if you hit reds... the phasing for bikes is stupidly short. Will stick to the road in future until they fix things.

rower63

This is a great idea. if nothing else, and if the Establishment deign to publish the data, the "perceived risk maps" should be fascinating...

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/london-cyclists-urged-download-app-warn-mayor-danger-spots-232358

talius

I quite like the new stretch, if just for the absence of red lights. It's slower, but once through PS I think you just sit up and go into cruise mode. Keep a decent gap to who ever is in front of you etc. I've been doing the PS trick since the change and it's fine, although a motorcyclist called me a w&nker yesterday as I mistimed it and ended up going across the end of the east bound embankment road when his light just turned to green. oh well.

iPete

Just use Horse Guards, quicker than the PS highway, slower than the trick but no reason for anyone to call you a w&nker.

rower63

iPete wrote:

... but no reason for anyone to call you a w&nker.

apart from the fact you're on a bike

rower63

Wow near Blackfriars the entire cycle lane was inches deep, essentially a canal. I avoided and stuck to the road.

rhodrich

That canal was indeed ridiculous. Did they not consider adequate drainage when they designed the thing? That big speed bump is acting like a dam.

Saw the aftermath of an accident 2 minutes after I'd negotiated the canal yesterday. Not sure what had happened, but with one bike on its side pointing one way, another bike pointing the other way, and two cyclists on the ground, I can have a good guess.....

Then saw a pedestrian step out into the path of a cyclist at the coach stop by Westminster pier. Cyclist nearly did an endo, but fortunately stopped in time, as the ped froze like a startled rabbit. The pedestrian (who looked like a tourist) had looked my way, but didn't realise that the path is two way. I've heard of two other incidents like this outside my office on lower Thames St. People just don't expect a cycle lane of that width, on one side of the road to be two way.

imatfaal

iPete wrote:

Just use Horse Guards, quicker than the PS highway, slower than the trick but no reason for anyone to call you a w&nker.

I have equalled top time of one of the Horseguard strava segments and top ten in two others versions - no proper KOM yet but gonna get there. Such a fun road to ride - especially for me at the end of my morning ride into work.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Prolly all been said already, but having used the new stuff starting at PS and going east for a bit now, my 2p:

- if you you want to control where cyclists ride, you have to think of them as water. Leaking water. They will go wherever it is easiest to go. So the fancy segregated lane aroud PS is a bit ineffectual, because:
- going round PS effectively is a case of "choose which lane has the green light".
- going east, from the PS corner that is closest to Buck House, one is much better off rejoining the traffic. The phasing of the bike lane lights at the various junctions is hopeless.
- at the junction of Viccy embankment and Westminster Br, going east, the best option seems to be to stick to the second car lane heading to Westminster Br, then peel off at the last moment before the bridge to take the segregated bike lane. Sometimes this requires a ride across the pedestrian area between the lights.
- the bike lane from Westminster Br going east is not as fast as the road used to be, but is faster than the road is now. A single car lane going east is really shit for cyclists unless it is empty. Back in the day with two car lanes that was a much quicker segment than it is now.
- the "junctions" in that bit of bike lane are not good, either for bikes joining it, or for bikes leaving it, or for bikes on it that have to deal with bikes leaving/joining it.
- the best option I have found to exit te bike lane at Temple is to cross one of the parking areas, cross the oncoming two lanes of traffic, cross the double white line and blend into the eastbound traffic. Waiting the for the dedicated bike lights to let me cross is a literal waste of my time.

Heading west:
- the green phase of lights at the very end of Viccy Embankment at Big Ben is far too short. If you have 20 or so cyclists queuing, they won't all get through on a single green. This leads to (inevitably) ducking over to the car lane green light, which holds green for longer, then re-entering the bike lane on the short run down to PS.
- whoever thought the new set of lights at the left turn into PS proper was a good idea deserves to be taken out back and beaten to death.
- whoever thought that phasing of that new set of lights so that you turn the corner straight into another red light with an 8 second countdown deserves to be cut to pieces so that the pieces can be used to beat to death the person who thought the lights were a good idea in the first place.

Both ways:
- the incidence of people stepping out into the bike lane without looking is alarmingly high.
- the capacity for a head on collision with another cyclist is alarmingly high
- it makes for a nice running track at lunchtimes, esp for 1k intervals.
- the speed humps are too high
- the usual absence of red lights is nice

secretsam

This:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

- the incidence of people stepping out into the bike lane without looking is alarmingly high.

...and this:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

- the usual absence of red lights is nice

...may be related

fat_tail

the size of puddles (lakes) on the csh is ridiculous. did they not think about this ? The one near the turn off for Blackfriars was a good 6" if not more deep this morning

adambruntlett

Yeah, they really need to sort the drainage out - it's a canal at the Blackfriars section.

imatfaal

adambruntlett wrote:

Yeah, they really need to sort the drainage out - it's a canal at the Blackfriars section.

And it is refilling at the moment for this evening's commute

greg66_tri_v2.0

Had my first argument this morning with a tax driver who took exception to me not using the Embankment superhighway.

He turned onto it from Westminster Br, just after me, went past me, then tooted a girl riding ahead of me. At the first lights as we are slowing, I came by him on the left to hear a load of shouting from him, at me, about how I should be using the bike lane. I pulled around his front, drew up alongside his window and delivered five well chosen words ("Fuck off, you scabby cunt"). Then pulled back around his rear and sat on his left waiting for the lights.

He didn't care much for my choice of words. From there until Waterloo Br, he kept pulling up alongside me, swearing his cheeky little head off at me, dropping back, pulling up, rinse and repeat. His parting shot was "I've got that all on camera".

I was perplexed at that confession, I admit...

Anonymous

Why are you antagonising a total stranger only to further infuriate him? You haven't really solved anything other than further pissing him off and fuelling the fire among all his other anti cycling friends.

Even if you had to say something, why not 'come on mate, the traffic here is pants anyway, give it a rest'