Traffic Lights & Cycle Paths - is this RLJing?

wolfsbane2k

Hi.

My local council have just tarmaced a T-junction near me and on the joining road, moved the white line back from the junction by approx. 1 1/2 metres, probably due to increase the space for vehicles turning into the road. I've confirmed with the council it's not for the purpose of putting a ASL line there ( no real point). It could just be a mistake, but I don't know - they are currently "investigating".



The road being joined has a shared cyclepath and walkway on it, and the entrance to this used to be before the white line, so you didn't have to wait for the red lights to take the turning - you could hop straight onto the cycle path. Given the lights take approx. 6 minutes at rush hour, this change is quite a hinderance.

Now, you have to "RLJ" the white line to get onto the cycle path, despite the timings etc not having changed.

Why do I care? Because I got hollered at by a PCSO today for doing precisely that. Stopped and talked to them about it, and they said "oh yeah, that's stupid, why have they done that?. Still, you shouldn't be breaking the white line...."

So - what would you do?

dhope

Yes it's technically RLJing. Yes I'd do it.
I suppose you could hop off the bike, walk it a yard to the path then get back on.
But I'd just RLJ and blame the layout.

dyrlac

Goes to show that designing segregated infrastructure is harder than it looks. The layout above is much friendlier to the E-W cyclists (who are using the path) and peds, as they now have priority at the junction (and presumably a toucan signal?). Logically speaking, the dropped kerb should be prior to the new white line, but that costs £ (or at least a different budget authority to the line-painting crew). While I'd almost certainly treat the space between the new white line and the near edge of the E-W cycle path as an ASL (and ease on into the bike path if the coast was clear), such a maneuver would definitely be an RLJ, although a venal one.

The Rookie

There is nothing to stop the council adding a cycle lane on the road directing bikes up the dropped kerb (solid white line edge) to allow cycles to pass the stop line and access the cycle path. Getting them to do anything is a different matter.