wjmh wrote:Hi.
Just joined the forum, so apologies for my naivety. My grip is so many of the so called "cycle lanes". I cycle 20 miles to work. I would estimate there are cycle lanes for about a third of my journey, but I use very few of them. I guess my gripes are familiar to many:
- Some of the cycle lanes are shared with pedestrians (schoolchildren).
- Cars are parked on the cycle lane.
- The cycle lanes are interrupted by side roads (where it is expected that the cycle will give way).
- Rejoining the road when the cycle lane runs out is always difficult and dangerous because no car will give way.
Can somebody tell me if the goverment/cycle uk/ anybody has an agreed standard which removes or at least reduces these problems.
Southampton Council - and I'm sure many more - is very keen to proclaim the amount of dedicated cycle lanes they have. But how many are fit for purpose? Only cycle lanes which meet an agreed standard should be included in any statistics.
Technically, 'cycle lanes' are those on the main carriageway, separated from other lanes only by paint. I think that you mean 'cycle paths' and 'shared use facilities', but your criticism of them is entirely correct. There are standards within the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) in guidance issued by DfT. However, they have only recently improved to an acceptable leve, traditionally been poorly applied, and furthermore, there is no accountability, so when they relax the guidelines, the only things in the way, typically are volunteer campaigners, and, if we are lucky (doesn't always happen), safety auditors.