please empty your brain below
Three posts on a couple of miles of cycle lane? The only reason I am still coming is to see when it will stop.

David | 22.07.11 - 7:26 a.m. | #

Can I be the first to do the "it's his blog, so he can write what he wants" post?

Baldassaro | 22.07.11 - 9:43 a.m. | #

I think these three posts have been spot on - and cycling is becoming as much part of London as tubes and buses are, so why shouldn't DG go into the minutiae of bike lanes? Of course, until the superhighways become something that will tempt non-cyclists rather than something for the hardened cyclists, then it will continue to be a minority way of getting around.

disgruntled | Homepage | 22.07.11 - 9:50 a.m. | #

Spot on, indeed, exposing the idiocies and shallow propaganda of the current incompetent mayor. All style, no substance.

Dominic H | 22.07.11 - 10:10 a.m. | #

The Newham Omission is really puzzing heading East it's a really fast jaunt and drivers do seem more aware on the Mile End Road, then, you're spat out unceremonioulsy into a proper fast bit of dual carriageway on the way into Stratford, which is grim. Still Newham Council have got better things to worry about like giving ridiculosly beneficial commercial loans to football clubs...

Raouligan | 22.07.11 - 11:55 a.m. | #

[Quote] "But as a pedestrian, attempting to cross the road here, the last thing you need is a speeding cyclist. The pedestrian crossing by Gladstone's statue used to traverse only two lanes of traffic, but now crosses two lanes of traffic and a Cycle Superhighway. We all know that cyclists have a bad reputation for stopping at red lights, but they're proving particularly reticent to stop at this one. Maybe that's because they're on the pavement not the road, so they think normal rules don't apply. Or maybe they're not spotting the insubstantial white stop line where the blue line breaks. Whatever, I've already had a near miss here, when I crossed in front of a bus waiting properly at the lights but which shielded me from view from the cycle lane behind. I'm expecting several more such incidents in the coming months, but hopefully no collisions."

It's comments like these that show you haven't just looked at the 'theory' of these lane designs, but have taken a good look at the working dynamics and how they're actually working out in practice.
It's a sad indictment on the original planners, but you seem to have a better grasp of the realities, than them.

RogerW | 22.07.11 - 12:07 p.m. | #

BTW, I couldn't help but notice that through all of these posts, there's been very little mention of motorcyclists, either in the posts themselves or in the comments that followed.
That's good in the sense that topics about bicycles usually bring forth a stream of anti-motorbike diatribes from cyclists, but this time there has been none of that.
But maybe what isn't so good is that it suggests that - as seems fairly typical - motorcyclists barely figure in anything to do with road planning.

RogerW | 22.07.11 - 12:22 p.m. | #

"Can I be the first to do the "it's his blog, so he can write what he wants" post?
Baldassaro | 22.07.11 - 8:43 am | #"

You can and I agree; of course he can. As DG is kind enough to provide a comments column I, similarly, can write to say that I find this subject matter parochial and uninteresting You, I see, express no opinion either way.

David | 22.07.11 - 2:44 p.m. | #

Has anybody thought what all these coloured road markings will look like after a few years of traffic wear and utility work? I'm guessing that it won't be too pretty or comprehensible to the user.

Surreyguy | 22.07.11 - 8:24 p.m. | #

I was thinking the same thing Surreyguy. One of the delights I have of looking at old photos is the complete lack of road markings etc. Yes we need some, and I remember when the white zig-zags came in near lights/crossings, but looking at some of these pictures, well it was making me dizzy! Hideous!
We manage perfectly well in my part of the USA with just yellow lines down the middle, and red kerbs for no parking, no cats eyes or even street lights, and I'm in a city the size of Birmingham.

CornishCockney | 22.07.11 - 9:09 p.m. | #

I live in Bromley-by-Bow, so my access point to the CS2 is the stretch that runs along the pavement (as was) outside St Mary's Court.

One (major) gripe here though is the failure to do anything about the anomaly that is the junction to Bromley-by-Bow High Street. Firstly, cycling eastbound and hoping to turn right in to it? Forget it, the only gap in the divider between carriageways is for westbound traffic to do a U-turn after the church.

Secondly, and my major gripe, the first 20ft or so of the High Street is one way traffic, heading away from Bow Road. Cyclists coming along the High Street or Stroudly Walk towards CS2 are then confronted with a choice - cycle 20ft the wrong way up a sketchy one-way street with speeding cars and buses, or share a very narrow pavement with a large number of pedestrians. Such a short distance, could have been so easily remedied with a kerbside cycle route heading against traffic as seen elsewhere in the city, and integrated straight on to the pavement occupying part of the CS2.

Disappointed | 22.08.11 - 3:45 p.m. | #

I wouldn't be caught dead on any part of the 'cycle superhighway', mainly because I'd rather not be caught dead. Cyclist segregation works about as well as racial segregation - i.e. it doesn't work - as the two deaths at Bow roundabout have proven in recent weeks. We are far safer taking a prominent position in the general traffic lane than taking a position beside traffic and therefore vulnerable to turning motorists at every intersection.

Also, I have to comment on that image of the CS in the Bow roundabout. I'm wondering what speed a cyclist is supposed to take that corner (in the foreground) at - 2mph perhaps? Personally, I can't see how cyclists do it without putting their feet down and walking the bike through that sharp turn. Do transportation engineers even realize what a bike can (and, more importantly, cannot) do? A bicycle is not built to operate at 4mph or under, yet this facility forces them to operate at such speeds. Ridiculous! I think perhaps some of TfL's transportation engineers would be well served by cycling on their facilities. In fact, maybe they should be forced to commute on them - maybe that would teach them.

Ian Brett Cooper | 30.01.12 - 2:22 p.m. | #











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