Pop UP Cycle Lanes

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Anyone know where this stupid idea came from ?
Went into Horsham, first time for ages and half of a main dual carriageway has become a cycle lane
and not a cyclist in sight

www.wscountytimes.co.uk

Dismay grows over ‘daft and dangerous’ cycle lanes in Horsham

Dismay is growing over new cycle lanes in Horsham town centre which are now being labelled ‘daft and dangerous.’
www.wscountytimes.co.uk www.wscountytimes.co.uk
 
This country seems full of daft ideas when it comes to cycle lanes. There's a narrow, one way road near me that leads to the station. Someone thought it would be a good idea to put a cycle lane on the right hand side, coming the other way! Great fun when yo get to the 90 degree right hand turn at the top to be faced by a cyclist coming at you!
 
Accidents waiting to happen I reckon :rolleyes:
 
Marc said:
Don't know if any did take place but they've been painted over now although, apparently, cyclists are still using them! :oops: :$
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That one has been in place a couple of weeks now and seems is causing major problems for the emergency services,
no where for cars to move out of the way, and loads of sets of traffic lights to cause queues
 
We have a cycle lane like this in Dunfermline, half way along the road are car parking spaces, after which the cycle lane reappears, do the cyclists get off and push their bikes down the pavement, levitate, or cycle against the oncoming traffic? You guess!
 
Pop up cycle lane has reduced the A24 into Worthing to lane causing massive queues into town ... haven't seen a single cyclist using it yet ... :rolleyes:
 
Last time I went near the hospital in Bristol a month or so ago they were everywhere. Taking up parking spaces and also making several roads, including the main road from Clifton down post the hospital. from two lanes down to one. Bearing in mind, most of these roads already have a permanent, red painted cycle lane.....
 
LeeRatters said:
a permanent, red painted cycle lane.....
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Because we all know that paint prevents collisions, which are inevitably much more life-changing for the cyclist.

I speak as someone hit by a car in a so-called protected cycle track as he left the carriageway, crossed a 2m grassed verge and into the cycle track. Thankfully I saw him coming and managed to turn it into a glancing blow.

The median driver in Britain would probably struggle to pass a driving test now. The average (mean) driver is worse.
 
hunnymonster said:
Because we all know that paint prevents collisions, which are inevitably much more life-changing for the cyclist.

I speak as someone hit by a car in a so-called protected cycle track as he left the carriageway, crossed a 2m grassed verge and into the cycle track. Thankfully I saw him coming and managed to turn it into a glancing blow.

The median driver in Britain would probably struggle to pass a driving test now. The average (mean) driver is worse.
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I didn't mention anything about collisions. I'm merely saying that there are now permanent red painted cycle lanes plus a full width traffic lane just for the cyclists. Next thing, they'll be complaining about the length of the traffic jams.... Oh, wait....... ;)
 
But the whole point of the pop up cycle lanes is to encourage cycling for those that don't have a car and are avoiding public transport... The reason most people who don't cycle cite is the fear of collision by vehicle.

If your journey is less than 1km (and many are, as cited by TfL, TfGM & others) - walk - you'll be doing yourself a favour health-wise and not adding to the congestion. If it's less than 5km - cycle.

I'm someone who enjoys driving but I can see it's not sustainable in its current form where the motor vehicle takes over town & city centres. It doesn't have to be like that.
 
hunnymonster said:
But the whole point of the pop up cycle lanes is to encourage cycling for those that don't have a car and are avoiding public transport... The reason most people who don't cycle cite is the fear of collision by vehicle.

If your journey is less than 1km (and many are, as cited by TfL, TfGM & others) - walk - you'll be doing yourself a favour health-wise and not adding to the congestion. If it's less than 5km - cycle.

I'm someone who enjoys driving but I can see it's not sustainable in its current form where the motor vehicle takes over town & city centres. It doesn't have to be like that.
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2.6 miles to work. 45 minutes walk, less than 10 minutes drive ;)
 
A couple of weeks ago we saw these new lanes on the approach and exit to a couple of roundabouts for the first time and wondered what they were for. They were about 25m on the approach and exit and,of course, as mentioned above, caused the traffic to go from the dual-carriageway into one lane . How utterly stupid. I don't know how long they'd been there before we saw them but on Friday last they were coned off as they were being removed after many complaints. How much has that excercisde cost the LA ?
 
Best of luck trying to persuade a cyclist to use a cycle lane... as not many of them seem to use them round here! They seem to much prefer cycling in the main carriageway of the road instead (which is now narrower due to the creation of a clearly marked permanent cycle lane!), sometimes two or more abreast. And don't even mention stopping at red traffic lights (particularly those at roadworks), which I believe are supposed to apply to all road users.

Then there's lights... since when did it become legal (let alone safe!) to ride a bike after dusk without a showing a working front and rear light? Many seem to struggle to manage one light, and quite a few don't seem to bother at all. Oh, and the latest trend I've noticed seems to be for some cyclists who actually do use a cycle lane to ride the wrong way down it towards oncoming traffic! Great, until you meet a responsible cyclist who's actually following the highway code coming towards you!

If anyone wants to call for evidence, I'm sure I can provide some fresh dashcam footage/screen shots to back my claims of such behaviour up; after all, it's one of the main reasons I got a dashcam in the first place, as evidence in my defence in case, god forbid, one of the above ends up dead, or with life-changing injuries, beneath the wheels of my car!
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
I saw a similarly stupid one in Birmingham too. It is all the result of the green breed of communism which should be frankly eliminated from the very roots.
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Then I suppose there's the 'I don't give a stuff about the planet, or anything else on it, as long as I'm doing alright' selfish breed of fascist morons? I hope that somewhere between the two there's a sustainable future as, make no mistake, whether you're capitalist, communist, socialist or anything else, continue to cock this planet up and it will have your face off, no matter how much you scream, throw money around, sob and wail!
 
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It’s funny, I went through a three year phase of driving my wife to her job, driving home and then cycling to my own job (allowing me to cycle home and avoid getting caught in rush hour traffic in the evening) while she got the bus. The driving was a 15 mile round trip. The cycling was 10 miles, but less than a mile each way on roads with the rest being on cycle tracks.

I would guess I saw ten poor pieces of driving for every 1 daft cyclist during that period....
 
Mr Badger said:
Oh, and the latest trend I've noticed seems to be for some cyclists who actually do use a cycle lane to ride the wrong way down it towards oncoming traffic! Great, until you meet a responsible cyclist who's actually following the highway code coming towards you!
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Now that's a point with the pop up cycle lane in Horsham, it's only one side of the dual carriageway, so when cyclists
are heading back the are in with the traffic :thinking:
 
Chichester’s pop-up cycle lanes have reduced the roads, which are close to the hospital, to one lane in each direction and on two large and always busy roundabouts.
The consequence is greatly increased traffic congestion and delaying ambulance services.
I have yet to see a cyclist using them and heaven knows how much they must have cost to implement.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
fascist = communist. Same thing. Bet you didn't know that as well as how to tell an obvious scam. Too bad.
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You're comment doesn't surprise me, after all, some people still want to believe the earth is flat, and no amount of compelling evidence can convince them otherwise either. Too bad.
 
But that's one of the proofs that the Earth cannot be flat - cats would have pushed EVERYTHING over the edge...
 
According to the local news West Sussex are removing the cycle lanes due to traffic jams and
problems with emergency services getting through
 
Mozthecat said:
It’s funny, I went through a three year phase of driving my wife to her job, driving home and then cycling to my own job (allowing me to cycle home and avoid getting caught in rush hour traffic in the evening) while she got the bus. The driving was a 15 mile round trip. The cycling was 10 miles, but less than a mile each way on roads with the rest being on cycle tracks.

I would guess I saw ten poor pieces of driving for every 1 daft cyclist during that period....
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Given that there are some 37.5m motor vehicles registered in the UK and about 3m cycle on a regular basis seems about right
 
Had a problem locally with pop up Brothels.
Wonder if that's where pop up tarts started?
 
There was one on the seafront road in Tynemouth but it has been removed because drivers were causing more problems by using parallel streets as a rat run.
 
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