Work begins on London's first two Cycle SuperhighwaysI noticed this article on road.cc, and it's an interesting read, although I still wonder what the eventual final work will look like.
Transport for London (TfL) has begun resurfacing work close to Westferry Docklands Light Railway station on the Barking to Tower Gateway route, while continuous cycle lanes will be trialled through three junctions between Merton and the City.
I'm not quite sure what a "continuous cycle lane" is, but it sounds like it could be an attempt to improve some of the more iffy junctions.
...and installing advanced stop lines at key junctions.
Which will only be useful if some attempt is actually made to enforce advanced stop lines, which are used heavily by motorised two wheelers, and where they aren't using it, are generally ignored by large motorised vehicles. On most of my commute where they exist, they are in effect are a waste of time.
Specific issues regarding various points on the two routes will also be addressed, such as studying the effect of changing the current two northbound lanes of the A3 approaching Elephant & Castle to one to allow a new, segregated cycle lane to be installed there, and a similar lane is also planned for the junction parallel to Stockwell Terrace. The Elephant & Castle gyratory system will also see improved signage.
A segregatred cycle lane on the approach to E&C could be useful, although it all depends on exactly how it's installed, and as long as it doesn't force cyclists into a bad part of the gyratory. I'm not quite sure what they are talking about at Stockwell Terrace, but I've never passed along that bit of the junction, so I don't know how well it currently works (or not).
How well this works remains to be seen. I guess part of the idea of doing these two routes initially is an experiment to see if it's a useful exercise and to address the good and bad points of these initial efforts, at least I hope that's how they intend to use it.
