Petersfield Post anti-cycling rant

[flat tyre]

There is an "editorial" comment in this week's local rag concerning cyclists not using cycle paths and stating that these cyclists should be fined heavily. I was going to pen a response about some of the poor quality local cycling paths, but the editorial comment specifically refers for cyclists on the A27 Portsmouth area about which I have no experience. Does anyone have any first hand experience of the A27 and the adequacy or otherwise of the cycle paths?

[BakfietsUK]

I have!

In the Paulsgrove area between The Marriot Hotel and Port Solent. I used it once but gave up after having to wait an estimated 10 minutes at traffic lights over a distance of 1km. The same stretch on the road takes 1 minute. The cycle path is convoluted, disjointed and dangerous.

Can understand perfectly why only the most inexperienced cyclists would use it.

As for the other "farceilities" in the area, - I think most of you would recognise the irony of calling these efforts cycle lanes.

Does that enlighten you flat tyre?

[tatanab]

I remember the part BakfietsUK describing being put in. It was on my normal commute and I used to go out of my way to avoid it which meant using Allaway Avenue through Paulsgrove estate. I believe that now has a "cycle path" as well. I am happy I do not live any where near there these days.

What is forgotten by people who write to the papers is that most of these so called cycle paths are shared facilities - just like the road itself - shared. Also, city cycle routes are only any good for locals who know where they go. They are no use at all to an iterant cyclist who is better sticking to the mapped and signposted roads.

[flat tyre]

I have!

In the Paulsgrove area between The Marriot Hotel and Port Solent. I used it once but gave up after having to wait an estimated 10 minutes at traffic lights over a distance of 1km. The same stretch on the road takes 1 minute. The cycle path is convoluted, disjointed and dangerous.

Can understand perfectly why only the most inexperienced cyclists would use it.

As for the other "farceilities" in the area, - I think most of you would recognise the irony of calling these efforts cycle lanes.

Does that enlighten you flat tyre?

Yes some useful ammunition here and thank you , thank you BakfietsUK.

[[XAP]Bob]

Are they signposted, and not just over the next 2 miles?
Are they swept?
Are they shared use - DfT recommends that cyclists don't do more than 18mph on those...
Are they continuous?

I can guess at the answers to all of the above. Maybe the motors should stick to the motorways?

[manybikes]

This editor has previous for outrageous personal comments about which he feels a superiority view.(including cycling generally).
I suspect it is just to get respondents to write to the paper which is usually a dismal affair. It is delivered free where I live which indicates how much value can be put upon it.

[Cunobelin]

IT is used by the local Hendy and other garages along this stretch as a car delivery point...

They regularly place car transporters on out and then unload the cars onto the track, then drive them along it to deliver to the garage

There are also two garages that use it as a storage area for their cars, and park indiscriminately

Further along Mother Kelly's customers regularly use it as a car park, and the car wash uses the path as a sales area for cars.... than you slalom along the equally obstructed area where the Southampton Road residents use it as a car park


Perhaps we should be fining them heavily...... except of course we could but no-one can be bothered to enforce the law about illegal parking

[BakfietsUK]

To [XAP]bob,

Signposted over two miles? Not sure, but minimal signage is in place

They always seem to be covered with some sort of debris so I guess sweeping is minimal

They have shared use sections and some cycle only sections. The problems are mainly negotiating the junctions in that cycles are led to take unnecessary diversions to get through junctions with traffic lights.

They are in no way anything that could be described in the broadest terms as continuous. Railings, 90 degree bends, level changes, crossing carriageways and inordinate dwell times are the norm here. I think I spent about five minutes at one particular junction the last time I had time to kill.

It is a classic example of an un co-ordinated series of badly thought out and costly projects. If you take the stretch from Cams Hall Fareham to Portsbridge RAB, there are in my estimation upwards of 20 separate barriers to continuous cycling. I always use the road, which can be very busy.

Unfortunately, populism stretches to columnists and newspaper editors. In some ways they just reflect the general attitude and they certainly reinforce it. There is a truly massive PR task to do, so come on CUK, we need you!!

Note for any pedants: I implied in an earlier post that I could cycle at 60 kmh along this stretch. I cant, so sorry for giving misleading information. A more realistic sense of the redundancy of this section of cycle lane would be that it increases passage time by a factor of about 10 if one uses the "facilities". Surprised no-one noticed my error.

[flat tyre]

Thanks for the replies.

Manybikes, you may be right, but I still think it worth a politely worded response. If anyone else wants to then please feel free!