Search found 273 matches

by orbiter
29 Mar 2014, 10:40pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Declassification of A roads
Replies: 27
Views: 6961

Re: Declassification of A roads

The 'A' numbers actually designate routes, not roads. So it is quite natural for them to move with changes to road use or the building of bypasses, leaving their old route as a lesser A or B number - or even pedestrianised, like the High in Oxford. Some 'A roads' now evn run along motorways on stretches. So downrating an A road is no big deal - with the political motivation.
by orbiter
23 May 2013, 3:42pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 30kmh – making streets liveable
Replies: 159
Views: 10389

Re: 30kmh – making streets liveable

Mark1978 wrote:Traffic calming measures are very very bad for cyclists, I can't really think of anything that makes my life easier.


See the Dutch speed table I quoted earlier. With a good slope up, they don't impede a bike but do slow the cars.

One of the best ways to slow traffic down is increase the subjective risk, that can often be done by narrowing the carriageway, often this is done by putting in a centre hatching, which doesn't help as it seperates the flows, better to narrow the carriageway from either side and put in good wide cycle lanes.

Agreed. Standard Dutch practice.
by orbiter
23 May 2013, 2:26pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 30kmh – making streets liveable
Replies: 159
Views: 10389

Re: 30kmh – making streets liveable

Brucey wrote:BTW I have nearly been knocked off my bike several times whilst negotiating various 'traffic calming' measures.

Hard to comment but I haven't. Perhaps they were the wrong type in the wrong place.

.... measures of this sort always have unintended consequences.


Sweeping generalisation and just not so! Come to Holland/Belgium/... anywhere but Britain and see them working fine. Tables like this slow the traffic and don't impede bikes. It's not the people who are difererent but the whole infrastructure which encourages drivers (mostly) to drive carefully in residential streets
by orbiter
23 May 2013, 2:12pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Dutch style roundabouts for Britain
Replies: 84
Views: 5680

Re: Dutch style roundabouts for Britain

Si wrote:
orbiter wrote:Here's a typical Dutch urban roundabout that I use a lot. http://goo.gl/maps/Se0eh One lane for cars, one for bikes. Raised separation near the exits to stop cars cutting into the cycle lane. It just works. But of course Dutch drivers aren't allowed to hit cyclists: they know it might be their granny or kid.


Yes, I might wonder if it works not because of the design but because of the drivers? And if you get the drivers to behave carefully then you don't really need many infrastructure changes.


Both. Of course Dutch drivers are careful of bikes but the design of the roundabout helps - tight turns that force drivers to enter/exit slowly; single lane for cars, so they only have bikes to look out for; lumps on the road giving separation at critical points; massive, clear give-way markings. It all adds up.
by orbiter
23 May 2013, 1:26pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 30kmh – making streets liveable
Replies: 159
Views: 10389

Re: 30kmh – making streets liveable

Brucey wrote:a) pollution will be worse, not better, with a mandated 20mph speed limit.
b) people won't stick to it anyway.
c) the percieved 'safety' of 20mph motoring may well encourage drivers to indulge in even more dangerous behaviour behind the wheel, typically wotsiting about with their wotsiting phones...


In practice, where there are 'self-enforcing' devices like chicanes, speed-tables or just large plant-pots in the road, most people do drive slower - or better still avoid the road altogether. Even cheaper & simpler if a through-road road is closed to cars with a couple of posts, the speed limit is almost irrelevant. This is being done in many central London 'rat-race' streets to improve cycling and life for the residents.
by orbiter
22 May 2013, 10:04pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: 30kmh – making streets liveable
Replies: 159
Views: 10389

Re: 30kmh – making streets liveable

patricktaylor wrote:
Vorpal wrote:... It clearly works in Norway ... It is not just wishful thinking ... the approximately 4 times as many journeys by bicycle made in Norway versus the UK (despite hills and winter weather) are not anecdotal.

I'm not doubting what happens in Norway. I'm asking for evidence it works, or would work, in the UK, and what kind of journeys by bicycle we are talking about (from cul-de-sac conversions) that would otherwise be in cars.

In Holland and Belgium as well as Norway, making residential streets cul-de-sacs works. Through traffic stops, naturally, so kids play on the street on their bikes and the adults party on it when the weather's good. Happens in the UK in existing cul-de-sacs.
by orbiter
22 May 2013, 9:49pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Dutch style roundabouts for Britain
Replies: 84
Views: 5680

Re: Dutch style roundabouts for Britain

Here's a typical Dutch urban roundabout that I use a lot. http://goo.gl/maps/Se0eh One lane for cars, one for bikes. Raised separation near the exits to stop cars cutting into the cycle lane. It just works. But of course Dutch drivers aren't allowed to hit cyclists: they know it might be their granny or kid.
by orbiter
15 Aug 2012, 9:39am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

Pete Owens wrote:
orbiter wrote:
Pete Owens wrote:But cyclists actually need 2m of lateral space - see LTN 2-08 chaper 2 for an explanation:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/l ... n-2-08.pdf


In the UK. In Netherlands cycle lanes are often 1.5m with two abreast! Two-way cycle roads are typically 3m.

....
Cyclist need 2m of lateral space to move safely (that is 1m physically occupied by a moving cyclist + 0.5m margin for safety on either side).
....
If you paint a 1.5m cycle lane it results in motor vehicles passing closer, faster and with less care than if you don't paint the lane. See:......


I know the (UK) theory but I also know the (NL/BE/GE) practice which is different. Generally the UK accepts lanes on faster roads than would be allowed here. The LTN you referred to (table 1.3) suggests lanes as suitable for UK roads with traffic >30mph, which would almost always have a separated cycle track here - and should have well more than 2m of lane! As I commented, it is frequent to see people riding two-abreast in narrower lanes in a town here . The difference is to do with drivers' attitude to cyclists, which is influenced by the overall design of the road, which tends to slow the motorised traffic to near cycle-speed, which in turn allows cyclists to 'claim' their space. Sure it would be good if all UK cycle lanes were 2m but the point is that it's not just about the width of cycle lanes.

Top priority should be to reduce and slow the motor traffic - as table 1.2 (Hierarchy of Provision) in the LTN says, when a currently sub-standard lane could become adequate or even better, redundant. Block rat-runs through residential areas as snibgo mentions. Put flowerbeds or trees or other obstacles in minor roads so the traffic can't go fast, etc, etc. Speed cameras & policing aren't much needed in a town if the road is well designed.
by orbiter
14 Aug 2012, 7:34am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

anothereye wrote:
orbiter wrote: ... Dutch speed platforms, mostly in larger residential streets have a rise of about 10cm in 1m which is almost unnoticeable on a bike but uncomfortable in a car.
This one, a few mins from my house in North London, is even less than that (about 7 in 100). It's very noticeable to ride over because of the way it's constructed.


I exaggerated slightly about the unnoticeable - of course you notice them - but they are more comfortable to ride over than most other humps (apart from the ones that stay flat on the cycle section) and work very well to reduce car speed. Construction detail makes a difference of course. The best have slight curves instead of hard angles.
by orbiter
13 Aug 2012, 9:30am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

anothereye wrote:
orbiter wrote:... Dutch speed platforms, mostly in larger residential streets have a rise of about 10cm in 1m which is almost unnoticeable on a bike but uncomfortable in a car.
any pictures or links?


Dutch speed table & lanes in a minor town road
Dutch speed table & lanes in a minor town road
by orbiter
13 Aug 2012, 9:22am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

anothereye wrote:
orbiter wrote:In Netherlands cycle lanes are often 1.5m with two abreast! ....
Are these lanes or cycle paths?
If they are lanes it may be that Dutch motorists know how to pass cyclists properly even when there is paint on the road?

- Lanes. And yes, the drivers do, so the paint on the road is a bit of a formality. My point was that that 2m is not necessary everywhere and the whole situation needs to be considered. The UK problem is not the width of cycle lanes but proper overall design of roads for all users. For example, here (NL) the norm is (roughly) for
Fast roads (>30mph) - totally segregated cycle road (it's hard to call 3m of smooth asphalt a 'path'!)
Busy town roads - separate cycle path or solid painted lanes
Less busy town and country roads - dashed lines indicating bike space each side with less than 2 cars-width between them
Town centres - nothing moves faster than the bike in front.
And of course all the roads/lanes/paths take priority over side turnings so there's little reason not to use them.
by orbiter
12 Aug 2012, 10:47pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

Pete Owens wrote:But cyclists actually need 2m of lateral space - see LTN 2-08 chaper 2 for an explanation:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/l ... n-2-08.pdf


In the UK. In Netherlands cycle lanes are often 1.5m with two abreast! Two-way cycle roads are typically 3m.
by orbiter
12 Aug 2012, 10:45pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Traffic calming, paint & ...
Replies: 50
Views: 19070

Re: Traffic calming, paint & ...

thirdcrank wrote:...
Any sort of vertical deviation (humps, bumps etc) which is sufficiently robust to affect traffic is likely to be a danger to cyclists.

Except anywhere outside the UK! Dutch speed platforms, mostly in larger residential streets have a rise of about 10cm in 1m which is almost unnoticeable on a bike but uncomfortable in a car.
by orbiter
29 May 2011, 10:49pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Wheeling channels
Replies: 20
Views: 3748

Re: Wheeling channels

OldGreyBeard wrote:I am seeking readers experiences with wheeling channels as found on footbridges.

This wheeling channel has a gradient of 58% or 1 in 1.7. BTW the footbridge is reputed to be an original feature of the railway line and dates back to the 1830s, supposedly.

Now I don't know about you but I think a gradient of 50% is far too steep, particularly if the bike was laden with a shopping or a child. The site is opposite Tesco so it is likely that the route would be used by shoppers.

On the other side of the road there is a ramp down to the canal which is at least 100 years old and has a gradient of 12% or 1 in 8
That seem more like it to me.

What I would be interested in are views on the useability of wheeling channels and arguments for gradients less than 50%.

The ever marvellous Dutch use a gradient of 20% as shown here:


There are plenty of Dutch steps as steep as the ones you show. Better to have the channel than not.

Pete
by orbiter
11 Apr 2011, 8:24am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Trailer
Replies: 41
Views: 3162

Re: Trailer

Father Jack wrote:"
Croozer is frame with canvas bag, plastic bottom. Anyone know if the bottom is supported by metal frame?


I bought a Croozer last summer and find it excellent value. It's main virtue is that it folds to take up little space - as I live in a boat that's important. The plastic bottom is thick and supported by a metal crossbar at the centre and by metal flanges at each end. It carries a couple of crates of beer quite happily

It assembles/disassembles in under2 minutes and connects to the bike in seconds. The bike connection is on the axle so it is simple to mount and I don't have a problem with QR fittings.

My only reservation is the cover, which is only held on by velcro. But it's still good value.