Leaves in Cycle Lanes

[liamSVR]

Hi Everyone!

I’m doing a project on 'Increasing Safety for Cyclists in London' and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the topic of leaves. With the attached image as a prompt, please leave comments with anything that immediately comes to mind (concerns, past experiences, dangers etc)

I appreciate your help and thank you all in advance!

[Si]

Road chutney - horrible stuff, horribly slippery in the wet and it doesn't help that most cycle paths aren't lit so it can sometimes get you by surprise.

I was amazed the other day. Rode into work via the Witton Lakes cycle path in Birmingham - like many cycle paths they have built it along side a row of trees and so it was covered in damp slippery fooliage. But on the way home it had been completely cleared and it was all just bare tarmac...wonderful and probably the first time I'd ever seen this happen!

[honesty]

I found a man with a leaf blower clearing one in Taunton the other day. It was a shared use path through the middle of a park though. Leaves can be slippery as anything and hide other dangers as well like broken glass etc.

[kwackers]

I found my winter tyres to be excellent on leaves last year (which is just as well since there seemed to be no ice.)

[mjr]

The tramline tiles (as visible just at the bottom of the prompt picture) are far worse than leaves and they're there all year round!

Leaves are pretty bad to ride on, but they soon either dry up and blow away or rot down and wash away, as long as the drainage is OK.

[PRL]

My most scary experience a month ago was a cycle lane covered with hazelnuts or similar on a steep hill. Like cycling on ball bearings. Leaves are really hazardous where they conceal a kerb - I once came a cropper in a lane off Victoria Park which didn't seem to have a footway but did.

[Mick F]

Cycle lanes????

Try the ROADS round here!

[blackbike]

I never use the cycle lanes in my area as they are usually blocked by parked cars and skips, are often poorly surfaced with slopped on bumpy green paint and are strewn with leaves, litter, grit and other grime.

Also, they are usually so narrow that I wouldn't want to ride so close to the kerb anyway.

[[XAP]Bob]

And of course - just where does that lane go - it's impossible to see any guidance markings when they're covered in leaves.

[gentlegreen]

Much as I feel sorry for the ash trees, they are the worst offenders on my commute - especially this year.

[Mick F]

Sycamore is the worst here.
Tons of the stuff, and it turns into mud.

[Vantage]

I can't tell one tree from another tbh but I do hate cycling on wet leaves that cover literally every cycle path round here, but what can anyone reasonably do? We can't expect the local councils to send workers out every single day to clear leaves that fall every night as it would cost too much and Manchester council are already cutting drastically the number of lollypop ladies and men from school crossings to save money.
Chunky knobbly tyres help...a little.

[Mick F]

In the old days, trees were trimmed and any leaves swept up.
In the old days, we didn't have so many trees!

Why people plant them on the roadside without any consideration for the future, I don't know.
I've nothing against trees, but they need maintenance so they don't over-grow and become pests.

Some years ago, Gunnislake village had a face-lift. They planted a birch sapling on the corner. I complained almost immediately that in only a few years, the leaves and detritus from it would be a problem. There's a nice bench to sit on under it next to the statue (on the right), but now ten years down the line it's permanently damp and mucky. The paved area is often a mess, and the birch tree is huge and getting bigger, and now taller than the pub next door.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gunnis ... 7,,0,-9.28

If it were up to me, I'd chop it right down and plant a small cherry instead ...... and then look after it.

[honesty]

I can't tell one tree from another tbh but I do hate cycling on wet leaves that cover literally every cycle path round here, but what can anyone reasonably do? We can't expect the local councils to send workers out every single day to clear leaves that fall every night as it would cost too much and Manchester council are already cutting drastically the number of lollypop ladies and men from school crossings to save money.
Chunky knobbly tyres help...a little.

I hate to bring this back to an infrastructure debate, but road sweepers are used here to clean the roads of leaves, a properly designed cycle path should be wide enough to allow a road sweeper to clear and there should a requirement to clear on the local council as well.

[mrjemm]

Dog poo camouflage.

But oh me oh my, what strange responses here. Not that that is unusual in any way, ahem.