Bike lanes

[brychan]

Hi

I’m not a motorist so could someone tell me are the areas alongside the solid white lines suitable for cycles. The road is the A4810 Newport to Magor alongside llanwern steelworks.

Thanks

[Username]

yes, perfectly suitable.

[[XAP]Bob]

Without a streetview flyby I can't see that they are anything other than an attempt to narrow the lane to encourage motorists to drive slightly less far beyond the speed limit.

If you cycle out there then expect vehicles to come by at the natural (probably excessive) speed of traffic on that road without any deviation or accommodation for your existence.
If the 'shoulder' is wide enough for that to be Ok, then yes, else I'd want to hold it as an escape path and maybe weave across the line to give people space to pass slowly...

[thirdcrank]

The white lines don't indicate cycle lanes here; if they did, there would be signs indicating it. They are edge of carriageway markings and they area between them and the edge of the road may or may not be suitable for cycling. It may not be particularly well maintained.

Here's a streetview of where the dual carriageway part of this road becomes single, and these white lines start.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.57013 ... 2!1b1!2i45

[flat tyre]

I don't see any cycle lane signs so technically it isn't one. Also as above comment has already mentioned I'd be wary about cycling inside the white due to the possibility of cars using the white line as a guide marker and not moving out to give you more space.

[Airsporter1st]

I think you only need to look at the positioning of that truck to have an idea of the conditions you'd face cycling inside the white line.

[Mick F]

When I'm cycling up this hill, I ride inside the line, and going down the other side, outside it.
I use them speed-dependent.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.45193 ... 312!8i6656

[thirdcrank]

I think there's a fairly widespread view among drivers that this style of white line indicates a cycle lane and when they do, a cyclist can't win. A rider treating it as a cycle lane will have motor traffic passing close to the white line ie using the full width of "their" lane. A rider remaining on the main carriageway risks punishment passes for "ignoring the cycle lane provided at taxpayers' expense" even though there is no cycle lane.

Ironically, if this were to be a cycle lane it would be mandatory - solid white line - but that wouldn't stop drivers using it at will, even with cycle lane signs in place.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
As said its the limit of carriageway, you may see this on dual carriageways, normally full of old tyres, exhaust pipes, bottles and anything else that falls off vehicles, sometimes the line its self maybe smoother than the road but I don't normally go much inside it, bad enough that cars will pass at 80 +..........................

[drossall]

Because, as NA says, it's the limit of the carriageway, I have seen it argued that it's actually an offence to ride outside the white lines. However, since the not-particularly-fine point that anything not marked as a cycle lane probably isn't a cycle lane seems to be lost on many people, that may still not stop you getting punishment passes.

One thing to be aware of is that, if the highway authority weren't expecting cyclists to ride down those strips, they may not have taken the usual trouble to ensure that the strips are continuous and free of pot-holes. And, since of course the usual trouble doesn't always ensure that the strips are continuous and free of pot-holes, that's double jeopardy. There's even a concept of a "sacrificial verge", where the edge of such a strip is deliberately not maintained, because in that location it's easier to do it that way than to maintain a rigid border to the carriageway.

[horizon]

Hi

I’m not a motorist so could someone tell me are the areas alongside the solid white lines suitable for cycles. The road is the A4810 Newport to Magor alongside llanwern steelworks.

Thanks

It depends what you want to use it for. Here in Cornwall the council has installed an "Assisted Dying" lane on the A39 between Truro and Falmouth similar to the one you show. It is simply a narrow lane (about 1 metre wide) that inexplicably disappears by curving inwards to join the kerb, suddenly forcing any cyclist following it into the path of traffic. It is quite controversial as technically it isn't Assisted Dying (which is illegal) but suicide. Nevertheless it's helpful to local residents.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Tru ... d-5.051041

(Note: I've given the satellite view (2017) because AFAICS the StreetView (2014) doesn't yet show it.)

[The utility cyclist]

You can but personally, never, why invite more problems than simply riding in the road a good 3-4 feet out from the white line if not even more central given that you don't want last minute overtakes on approach to the bend that leads to a roundabout.

[manybikes]

It denotes not a lane but a "marginal strip". The aim is to protect a motorist from dropping off the edge of the carriageway into (usually) soft surfaces and/or to make a speed limit self enforcing by visually making the carriageways narrower so that a motorist unconsciously slows down
As a result the detritus is not swept away by motor vehicles so is commonly found in this strip to the detriment of cyclists.

[horizon]

It denotes not a lane but a "marginal strip". The aim is to protect a motorist from dropping off the edge of the carriageway into (usually) soft surfaces and/or to make a speed limit self enforcing by visually making the carriageways narrower so that a motorist unconsciously slows down
As a result the detritus is not swept away by motor vehicles so is commonly found in this strip to the detriment of cyclists.

+1 The problem is that it is wrongly recognised by both cyclists and motorists as a cycle lane.

[gaz]

One in the OP is too wide for a cycle lane .