Oldham introduce 10m cycle lane
Discussion
[url]Oldham Advertiser|http://www.oldhamadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/203/203185_safe_cycling__for_10_metres.html[/url]
[quote=Oldham Advertiser]Safe cycling - for 10 metres!
ROAD safety is not an issue to be taken lightly – and that includes all three-and-a-half seconds of it on a new borough cycle lane.
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who frequent Hollins Road, Hollinwood, have all been left scratching their heads in wonder at the 10-metre-long track.
The dedicated cycle lane has been painted on to the street by Oldham Council, and there is even a sign pointing it out to motorists. However, it is barely long enough to turn a wheel.
Advertiser business correspondent Ed Stacey said he had never seen anything like it, despite having just ridden from Lands End to John O’ Groats. That journey took 15 days – pedalling the Hollins Road cycle lane took him less than four seconds!
One passer-by told the Advertiser: “As soon as it begins it ends. I can’t see the point. What a waste of time.”
Nevertheless, Oldham Council cycling officer Paul Bruffell has defended the miniature ‘road to nowhere’.
He said Hollins Road is too narrow for a full cycle lane, but riders worry about being pushed off at ‘pinch points’ created by pedestrian islands.
“Concerns mainly relate to intimidation cyclists experience in terms of motorists squeezing past them at pinch points or motorists failing to notice the approaching pinch point and therefore having to break sharply having realised they cannot pass a cyclist.”
He said a short section of cycle lane encourages drivers to be more considerate and leave them room, reducing the risk of accidents.
Ed Stacey said: “Pinch points are an issue, but in this case they seem self-inflicted. I can’t see the need for any pedestrian crossing islands in Hollins Road. It is a narrow street and there aren’t very many pedestrians anyway.”
James Ferguson
First published by the Oldham Advertiser [/quote]
[quote=Oldham Advertiser]Safe cycling - for 10 metres!
ROAD safety is not an issue to be taken lightly – and that includes all three-and-a-half seconds of it on a new borough cycle lane.
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who frequent Hollins Road, Hollinwood, have all been left scratching their heads in wonder at the 10-metre-long track.
The dedicated cycle lane has been painted on to the street by Oldham Council, and there is even a sign pointing it out to motorists. However, it is barely long enough to turn a wheel.
Advertiser business correspondent Ed Stacey said he had never seen anything like it, despite having just ridden from Lands End to John O’ Groats. That journey took 15 days – pedalling the Hollins Road cycle lane took him less than four seconds!
One passer-by told the Advertiser: “As soon as it begins it ends. I can’t see the point. What a waste of time.”
Nevertheless, Oldham Council cycling officer Paul Bruffell has defended the miniature ‘road to nowhere’.
He said Hollins Road is too narrow for a full cycle lane, but riders worry about being pushed off at ‘pinch points’ created by pedestrian islands.
“Concerns mainly relate to intimidation cyclists experience in terms of motorists squeezing past them at pinch points or motorists failing to notice the approaching pinch point and therefore having to break sharply having realised they cannot pass a cyclist.”
He said a short section of cycle lane encourages drivers to be more considerate and leave them room, reducing the risk of accidents.
Ed Stacey said: “Pinch points are an issue, but in this case they seem self-inflicted. I can’t see the need for any pedestrian crossing islands in Hollins Road. It is a narrow street and there aren’t very many pedestrians anyway.”
James Ferguson
First published by the Oldham Advertiser [/quote]
Another well thought out idea by the people who we pay to force rules upon us without our consent.
Is it just me or is the bus just about to drive onto the cycle lane?
Oldham Council said:
but riders worry about being pushed off at ‘pinch points’ created by pedestrian islands..............encourages drivers to be more considerate and leave them room
Is it just me or is the bus just about to drive onto the cycle lane?
Looks like the road is just plain not wide enough at that point, hence the bus has to drive in the cycle lane.
Best not recomend the safe idea of not creating these so called 'pinch points', that just might save lives, and mean that the road wouldnt justify a money van, I mean safety van in the near future.
Best not recomend the safe idea of not creating these so called 'pinch points', that just might save lives, and mean that the road wouldnt justify a money van, I mean safety van in the near future.
Wacky Racer said:
It could only happen in Oldham.......
I wouldn't bet on that. It seems to be endemic in most councils. It's what the accept as 'creativity'. Keeps people occupied with trivia and stops them being asked the more serious questions - like "where has the rest of the money gone?" and "Do you really feel justified in claiming all those expenses?"
>> Edited by LongQ on Tuesday 30th August 00:56
There's one in Bedford which is more like five metres long than ten. It leads from the road onto the pavement, goes through a lamp post, goes through a sign post, then disappears in the middle of the pavement.
It is a characteristic of all councils to display a lower level of collective intelligence than the bacterial slime that grows when you get water in a diesel tank.
It is a characteristic of all councils to display a lower level of collective intelligence than the bacterial slime that grows when you get water in a diesel tank.
LongQ said:Once more, this is all to do with meeting government targets. I've seen green cycle lanes shorter than 10m. I've also seen them in places where they are not warranted, and places where they contribute to reducing cyclist safety.
It could only happen in Oldham.......
The DfT has issued the Walking and cycling: an action plan. This contains statements such as:
The 2004/2005 Local Transport Capital Settlement allocated £659 million to local authorities to provide for small-scale integrated transport improvements – an 8% increase on the corresponding allocation for the previous year. This capital funding has been used by local authorities to put into place a wide range of schemes such as road safety improvements, cycle lanes and advanced stop signs.
Remember, that, usually in Councils, money not spent in one financial year cannot be carried forward to another. So, if they've got the cash to put in a cycle lane ... they will, no matter how short or where.
The document goes on to say:
The best indicators for walking and cycling would be ones of outcome: the levels of walking and cycling which the kind of actions set out in this document ultimately bring about. Ideally, we would want to be able to measure both the absolute levels of walking and cycling and the trends at national and local level.
[ ... ]
If we cannot measure the outcome then we could aim to measure:
• the outputs, such as new cycle routes or pedestrianised areas, or the quality of cycle routes or pavements ...
Note carefully the last sentence before the bracketed ellipsis ... how long before pedestrians and cyclists are tagged, so the government can measure how far we walk and cycle. Of course, many feel that licensing bicycles would be a goot idea ... and it would bring in more cash for the Treasury.
The document continues:
Action
Reviewing the cycling targets DfT will review both the quadrupling, by 2012, and trebling, by 2010, targets from the NCS and the Ten Year Plan.
Expect that 10m cycle lane to grow to 30m and then 40m; or for another three of four 10m long lanes to appear.
The government's National Cycling Strategy (the 'NCS' referred to above), states:
A2.6.4:- Cycle priority measures could include:
* Traffic management to reduce traffic volumes, supported wherever possible by exemption for cyclists from traffic restrictions applying to general traffic, where it is safe to do so
* Speed limit reduction, traffic calming and junction treatment to reduce traffic speeds
* Advisory and mandatory cycle lanes, bus/cycle lanes and widened nearside lanes
* Advanced stop lines
* Changes in junction priority
* Toucan crossings and cycle-priority phases at traffic signals
* Fully segregated cycle tracks
* Direction signing of existing routes
* Shared use on converted footways - only in exceptional circumstances where no alternatives are available
[My emphasis - S]
Streaky
puggit said:
Oldham Advertiser
Oldham Advertiser said:
Safe cycling - for 10 metres!
ROAD safety is not an issue to be taken lightly – and that includes all three-and-a-half seconds of it on a new borough cycle lane.
Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians who frequent Hollins Road, Hollinwood, have all been left scratching their heads in wonder at the 10-metre-long track.
The dedicated cycle lane has been painted on to the street by Oldham Council, and there is even a sign pointing it out to motorists. However, it is barely long enough to turn a wheel.
Advertiser business correspondent Ed Stacey said he had never seen anything like it, despite having just ridden from Lands End to John O’ Groats. That journey took 15 days – pedalling the Hollins Road cycle lane took him less than four seconds!
One passer-by told the Advertiser: “As soon as it begins it ends. I can’t see the point. What a waste of time.”
Nevertheless, Oldham Council cycling officer Paul Bruffell has defended the miniature ‘road to nowhere’.
He said Hollins Road is too narrow for a full cycle lane, but riders worry about being pushed off at ‘pinch points’ created by pedestrian islands.
“Concerns mainly relate to intimidation cyclists experience in terms of motorists squeezing past them at pinch points or motorists failing to notice the approaching pinch point and therefore having to break sharply having realised they cannot pass a cyclist.”
He said a short section of cycle lane encourages drivers to be more considerate and leave them room, reducing the risk of accidents.
Ed Stacey said: “Pinch points are an issue, but in this case they seem self-inflicted. I can’t see the need for any pedestrian crossing islands in Hollins Road. It is a narrow street and there aren’t very many pedestrians anyway.”
James Ferguson
First published by the Oldham Advertiser
we actually have a dedicated cycle lane which is about 2metres in length in hertford in fore street...prob the most pointless thing in the town...
This one always makes me laugh from www.weirdcyclelanes.co.uk...
Surely the most pointless one ever??
>> Edited by foreright on Tuesday 30th August 12:08
Surely the most pointless one ever??
>> Edited by foreright on Tuesday 30th August 12:08
foreright said:
This one always makes me laugh from <a href="www.weirdcyclelanes.co.uk">www.weirdcyclelanes.co.uk</a>...
Surely the most pointless one ever??
>> Edited by foreright on Tuesday 30th August 12:08
Haha, I walk past that one everyday... didn't know it was famous
As I cyclist I would normally be more than willing to join in any criticism of silly cycle lanes - however I can actually see the point of this. The white line is broken so motorists are entitled to drive in the lane if necessary. The point of the coloured paint is to say to motorists "if there is someone cycling here, don't try to squeeze past". It shouldn't be necessary, but it happens all the time, as accident stats will testify. It looks fairly cheap anyway.
I agree a 10m cycle lane looks weird, but round here we have the opposite. Cycle lanes are painted along wide roads where there's space, and then disappear at the "pinch points" because the road's not wide enough. That's a worse situation for cyclists because just when they need the (notional) protection it's taken away.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff