How to handle disappearing cycle lanes
WillMedic
Posts: 26
As a Plymouth commuting newbie have been working out a route and am scratching my head a little. In a multi lane A road where cars travel at around 40 mph there is a cycle lane travelling downhill that abruptly ends (no dropped kerb to escape onto the pavement) before a turn off whereby there is is a turn off to Manadon roundabout and a flyover to continue straight on. Path restarts after flyover with some cycle underpasses beneath roundabout but no connection on the pavement between the end of the cycle path and the beginning of the underpass about 100 yards away. So the choice is either to slow down, steer towards the gutter and mount the kerb and slowly ride on the pavement incurring wrath of pedestrians until the underpass or try and merge with fast moving traffic to go on the flyover and hope you don't get swiped by left turning traffic going to the roundabout! Any opinions? If they could just designate part of the pavement as a cycle lane it would be so much safer, but likely the pavement is too narrow for that.
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Comments
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If councils actually employed people in 'planning' or whatever, then this situation hopefully would not occur... but thats a laugh.
Such unthinking design work really does show up ignorance in full flow and highlights how 'cycling' still is and will always remain a 'side issue' to pay lipservice to.
Drop kerbs abound everywhere because of legislation regarding disabled access?
However, the simple creative process to re integrate cycling traffic into the main flow is hardly given any thought apart from stop
dismount
obey priority to the car
remount
and crack on again until 300 yards further on...
My own local provincial solution is just to ride fully on the road but it does mean choosing the routing carefully which I know is going to be difficult in major connurbations.0 -
I'd say, rather unfortunately, to entirely avoid the cycle path entirely because of that, but I'm becoming more of a vehicular cylist as I've got more confident, but that's not for everyone.
Id also ping the council, and the Plymouth cycling campaign group and highlight that
A) demand exists.
corporate responsibility lies with them... Intent on Cycling Commuting on a budget, but keep on breaking/crashing/finding nice stuff to buy.
Bike 1 (Broken) - Bike 2(Borked) - Bike 3(broken spokes) - Bike 4( Needs Work) - Bike 5 (in bits) - Bike 6* ...0 -
Dont use the cycle lane. I never do. Diding on a dual carriageway is actually quite safe. Normally the lanes are wide and suprising motorist give you lots of room. I find on main trunk roads i get goven more room than on slower b roads or country roads. Just think of your self as car ride assertively and all will be well. That how i ride i inisit on being seem as a car and i let others know it.http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.0
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Thanks for the suggestions, will do my best to assertively exit the lane well in advance of it ending and see how things work out.0
