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London - Hyde Park Cycling
Philip Benstead:
London - Hyde Park Cycling
I am going to a meeting next week about London - Hyde Park.
I need your help to formulate a response, can you answer these questions.
1. Are there any places in Hyde Park where you feel that cyclists' speed is excessive?
a. If so, where?
2. Do you ever see cyclists using unauthorised paths in Hyde Park?
a. If so, which ones?
b. Is it likely to cause a problem?
3. What paths should cyclists be encouraged to use?
4. Which paths should they not use?
a. How could those paths be altered to discourage cycling?
5. Should there be high speed by cyclists on shared paths within Hyde Park?
a. If yes, why?
b. What should the maximum speed be on shared paths?
6. If not, why?
a. What could be used to limit speed on cycle tracks / shared paths within Hyde Park?
7. Should there be a cycling code of conduct with enforcement within Hyde Park?
a. If yes, what should be in it?
b. If not, why?
8. What physical changes should take place in relation to cycling in Hyde Park?
Andrij:
Sounds like a positive meeting. ::-)
Ham:
--- Quote from: Philip Benstead on 19 November, 2014, 08:44:10 pm ---London - Hyde Park Cycling
I am going to a meeting next week about London - Hyde Park.
I need your help to formulate a response, can you answer these questions.
1. Are there any places in Hyde Park where you feel that cyclists' speed is excessive? Yes, worst are the paths up at the north east corner, that whole eastern north south path can be very unpleasant on bike or foot
a. If so, where?
2. Do you ever see cyclists using unauthorised paths in Hyde Park? Yes
a. If so, which ones? Urm...ones where cycling is banned?
b. Is it likely to cause a problem? Nope, with the exception of around some gates
3. What paths should cyclists be encouraged to use?Any, but to share sensibly with pedestrians
4. Which paths should they not use?Areas around gates possibly, if a bike gate were put in alongside that might resolve the issue
a. How could those paths be altered to discourage cycling?Sod that. Hyde Park is effing vast and well able to take volumes of cyclists and pedestrians
5. Should there be high speed by cyclists on shared paths within Hyde Park?Speed limit? Yes, but it would be set stupidly low if experience is anything to go by
a. If yes, why? because many many cyclists are selfish fucks
b. What should the maximum speed be on shared paths? 10 mph
6. If not, why?
a. What could be used to limit speed on cycle tracks / shared paths within Hyde Park? custard filled speed bumps
7. Should there be a cycling code of conduct with enforcement within Hyde Park?Yes, but I doubt if there was one it would be rational
a. If yes, what should be in it? Enforced sensible use of shared areas. Slow down where kids are running around etc etc. That's it.
b. If not, why?
8. What physical changes should take place in relation to cycling in Hyde Park? If there were better paths created for cycle transit, possibly at the edge of the park or a segregated part of the pavement, that might reduce the cyclist/ped issues
--- End quote ---
Tigerrr:
Hyde park suffers from being used by two very different groups of cyclists.
The first are commuter utility cyclists for whom the park is a valuable route out of hostile traffic, and more direct than road alternatives. Most of these are travelling at commuter speed which is often high relative to pedestrians, who may well be meandering park visitors, and may well not appreciate the cyclists.
The downhill sections of both the rotten row and park lane tracks are examples. Speed humps would be dangerous, causing accident or pushing cyclists out onto dangerous road alternatives.
In these cases, the cycle track should be separate from the walkway, on the basis that it is and will be used for fast moving cycling at commute times. This is legitimate and appropriate use of the park by an important stakeholder group. It is unusual to see commuters on the non cycle paths, as generally these paths are not arterial links.
The park also attracts leisure cyclists with a completely different agenda. They don't go fast but do meander, stop, wander, ride abreast etc and leave the path. For commuters these are a pain in the arse, but I suspect what the path designers had in mind for cycling in the park. These cyclists are only an issue for pedis generally because they are often in the wrong place or wandering, and still faster than walkers.
The park is also used by drivers. Interesting to see the drivers, number less than the cyclists I suspect, yet have superbly appointed roads built for them of course, down which they speed etc and nobody questions it.
It would be perfectly feasible in the park to separate cycle highways where appropriate from walks and shared use leisure paths.
teethgrinder:
--- Quote from: Tigerrr on 20 November, 2014, 08:19:28 am ---Interesting to see the drivers, number less than the cyclists I suspect, yet have superbly appointed roads built for them of course, down which they speed etc and nobody questions it.
--- End quote ---
This touches on my opinion, which may not be of any value as I'm not a local and have probably cycled in Hyde Park twice in my lifetime.
They can build something for cars to travel at 30mph along but when people build something for cyclists, anything over 10mph is seen as a problem. So build something that cyclists can use at the speed a reasonably fit cyclist can travel downhill at. Just needs a bit of proper road/cycleway building instead of trying to squeeze several hundred bikes and pedestrians into a space a quarter the width of a typical road, doing a bad job that people don't want to use in the name of saving money and ending up with it being a half arsed waste of money.
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