please empty your brain below
There was also a traffic accident at the Warton Road junction somewhere between about 5 and 6. After your pictures though judging by the daylight. Which made it all a little more manic when I walked past.

| 01.11.13 - 3:21 a.m. | #

I was there between 5 and 6, which would explain the traffic chaos I saw, and that's what's shown in my main photo. The 'daylight' pictures on Flickr were taken early on Sunday morning, hence the lack of traffic.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 01.11.13 - 6:50 a.m. | #

I rode it in both directions yesterday (although I was a little too early for the westbound to be fully open), going under the flyover both times choosing that option for the first time in ages. I will be going over the top in future, but the roundabout option is probably good for those less confident, not sure how the cycle provision will work in heavy traffic. Overall, the facility is good and will overcome one of the biggest barriers to people cycling in this area - the bottleneck of Stratford High Street.

Given the length of time it has been on the go, and the frankly amusing way that cyclists have been blocked from riding even the completed sections, it's no surprise the uptake will take a while, but I reckon that it will see pretty hight levels of use very quickly.

There are still some odd spots in common with most cycle facilities in the UK, and the most dangerous section is probably by the traffic lights at Wharton Road, but overall I'd say 4/5.

Ham | 01.11.13 - 7:05 a.m. | #

Noticed (on the LCC video about 2:05) how our brave pioneer nearly gets sideswiped by a Peugeot taking a left turn as our hero goes straight on. Every side turn is a conflict point

timbo | 01.11.13 - 7:54 a.m. | #

"but barely any cyclists passed"

and that sums up the whole ridiculous project.

Waste of money, over engineered, too much space reserved for not many cyclists.

Would this really have prevented the death at Bow roundabout - doubtful to say the least!

Traffic chaos down Stratford High St will be back just like the 70s.

Probably get dug up again after a couple of years when someone realises it's not being used.

Agent Z | 01.11.13 - 9:13 a.m. | #

"I stood around for a few minutes during which time three cyclists turned up, and every single one of them jumped the final red light. "

If you consistently jumped red lights in a car, you would be caught and banned from driving relatively quickly, no matted how 'safe' it was.

Why is nothing done about cyclists doing the same?

Messiah | 01.11.13 - 10:19 a.m. | #

The "launch and media event" link doesn't exist. Is this meta-commentary?

dg writes: It didn't. It does now, thanks.

swirlythingy | Homepage | 01.11.13 - 10:29 a.m. | #

I think DG summed up exactly why he saw so few cyclists. While the CS2 extension is fantastic to see in the streets of London, it is an isolated piece of infrastructure. People are put off cycling with just one dangerous junction. This will only get more usage if more cycle facilities of this quality are built to form a proper network. How about we start with the rest of CS2, which is appalling. Then this section might get used more.

James | 01.11.13 - 11:15 a.m. | #

The area of the pavement where you quote, "which to be fair is vast here," has actually been a designated shared cycle / footway for some time, so perhaps those two cyclists you saw there were unaware their new facility was now open?

I've not actually used it yet (apart from when I sneaked along a small stretch on Wednesday before it was officially open) so look forward to doing so next week.

The LCC link implies that it is / will be contraflow so it will be interesting to see if and how that functions; I for one would hope so for my journey west from near the Greenway to the canal, rather than having to cross the road twice.

Tim | 01.11.13 - 12:11 p.m. | #

I see cars jumping red lights all the time (typically shortly after they have changed, but well after the point when the driver could have stopped: far too often, the reaction to a green light turning amber is to accelerate).

Why is there this constant warfare between cyclists and motorists and pedestrians? From time to time, I fall in all three camps. We are all just trying to get to our destination, safely, and in good time. Please, everyone, just calm down.

Andrew | 01.11.13 - 12:44 p.m. | #

A car going through a red light could cause serious harm to other road users. A cyclist going through a red light is primarily a danger to himself. (Even in a collision with a pedestrian, cyclists often come off (pun not intentional) worse)

This is not to condone red light running - but the police have better things to do than deal with such a victimless crime.

Now, taxis and white vans squatting in cycle boxes are wilfully depriving cyclists of their safety zone. The majority of drivers seem to have no idea what they are for.

timbo | 01.11.13 - 2:02 p.m. | #

Ban bicycles and their mad masochistic riders and turn the lanes into tram lines. Car drivers will pay more attention to a 50T tram than a 0.1T bicycle. And the trams won't blindly cycle through red lights or pull up beside lorries turning left.

/jk maybe

Sykobee | 01.11.13 - 2:09 p.m. | #

Saw plenty of cyclists using CS2 westbound today. Will be doing Eastbound soon and hope to see many more.

@timbo I'm a cyclist and don't jump red lights.

Ay | 01.11.13 - 5:48 p.m. | #

@timbo The victim of the "victimless" crime is the public perception of all cyclists, and probably part of the reason why taxis and white vans try to spite cyclists back. And if if a cyclist succeeds in being a danger to themselves it's going to be the motorist that gets the blame.

martxw | 01.11.13 - 6:31 p.m. | #

&Ay Good for you. Despite appearances I'm sure you and safe, considerate cyclists like you are in the majority. It's a shame that others damage the image of all cyclists through their arrogance and stupidity.

@timbo Cyclists running red lights is NOT a victimless crime. If you are crossing the road legally and carefully and a cyclist ignores the red light and swerves around you - or simply heads straight at you and expects you to jump out of the way - the alarm and shock certainly makes you feel like a victim even if the idiot doesn't run into you. And yes, a cyclist has run into me as a direct result of him ignoring a red light at a pedestrian crossing, and while I would love to think he came off worse I'm damn sure he didn't.

Stilted Banter | 01.11.13 - 7:20 p.m. | #

Thanks DG for an interesting and thorough article. I was cycling to Tower Hamlets / Poplar for nearly a year so know the route well, although in daylight I mainly cycled along the Lea Navigation past Three Mills Studios. (Did you see the filming of London Fields there?)

I usually cycled over the flyover but found it rather more intimidating merging at the Stratford High St end after the flyover with the risk of being side-swiped by an unseeing driver. I only remember two near-misses however.

Half a physicist | 02.11.13 - 2:51 p.m. | #

@Ay
"I'm a cyclist and don't jump red lights"

So am I, and I don't either - nor do I condone those who do. My comment was on whether this particular offence should be a priority for the police - and I fully accept that cycling straight at a pedestrian legally crossing the road is dangerous and alarming.
The perception that we all do it is an illusion - on my regular bike commute I regularly wait at some sets of lights with up to a dozen others: but it's the maverick who weaves a crafty filter left who everyone notices.

timbo | 02.11.13 - 8:07 p.m. | #

"A cyclist going through a red light is primarily a danger to himself. (Even in a collision with a pedestrian, cyclists often come off (pun not intentional) worse)"

Well the t**t on bike who ran a red light and hit my wife caused her a serious injury.

Luckily I was there to drag (literately not figuratively) the snivelling scum to some nearby police, and the moron ended up in court with a significant fine, followed by a hefty compensation claim.

John Smith | 02.11.13 - 8:25 p.m. | #

I tried the CS2 for the first time today, having been on holiday for a week. Well it is wider than nearly all cycle lanes in London so far, but still not very wide for commuter cyclists jostling to get past each other. Not as wide as h
the former bus lane, which I found ressuringly safe. I don't feel safe in the cycle lane for some reason.

The cycle lanes round the backs of bus stops? No thanks, sheer crazy golfery, with the lanes narrowing considerably in their meander. I stuck to the main road, being beeped and almost deliberately run into by a D8 bus driver who had tried to drive into me for the effrontery of going up the flyover rather than the roundabout.

That to me is a big problem. I, along with about at least 80 per cent of commuting cyclists, use the flyover. Now I have been bibbed twice in one ride there and back for taking the route I have always taken for years.

There is no clear spot in either direction that says "right cyclists it's safe to manouevre onto the flyover". Now there is a bloody Great Wall westbound, preventing you from doing so until the last minute and cycling against aggressive left-turning traffic.

spoquey | 03.11.13 - 9:42 a.m. | #

Nice to see the staggered crossing complete, after doing the initial design work a couple of years ago.

xmb53 | 06.11.13 - 8:49 a.m. | #











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