Cycle lanes of Leatherhead

[David Martin]

FOI request to get the design documentation that was laid before the council? Their web site is somewhat obscure and difficult to search.

It should be in transportation subcommittee papers.

That should give the name of th erelevant official who signed it off. Then armed with a copy of the design docs (and maybe some help from CTC?) a formal complaint of negligence could potentially be made if there is sufficient information to warrant that.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Design document? hah. If they are anything like York council, the 'design' will be done by a committee of unqualified idiots.

York council spent a fortune changing a road lane into a bike-only lane. The council cycling officer opposed it, so they blocked him from the design meetings.

[clarion]

Our local piece of brilliance has been the installation of a raised zebra crossing on Nightingale Road.  As it's a busy road, they sensibly built half of the crossing, using a light-control on the other half of the road.  Then they switched sides and built the other half.  During this time, at least one car managed to scrape the edge of the platform.

But there was a problem.  They didn't join up the two halves in the middle because...they were different heights

So they've had to dismantle the first half & rebuild. 

[SlowCoach]

Just had a bit of a random thought.  I wonder if, for shits and giggles, it would be worth reporting the whole thing as a hazard on fillthathole..org.uk?

Didn't work for me - i reported a line of stone setts standing up 1" high installed when they widened the A690 in Durham - you cross them at a 30 degree angle on a fast down hill run when turning off the main road onto the recommended cycle route (according to the county cycle map). I'm aware that several people have been thrown off there bikes here.

I was told it was a "design feature" to control storm water run off. I've left the report up on the web site in case anyone is injured and at least we have evidence that the Council have been aware of this issue for a couple of years but have decided not to do anything.

[Zipperhead]

We need a photo op with a bike that emphasises the narrowness of the lanes.

A bike with a very tall profile, such that it appears thinner than a "normal" bike, ridiculing these lanes.

A bike that will stick in the mind of Joe or Jo Public.

<lightbulb> I know, a Penny Farthing.

Now if only we knew somebody with one.

Perhaps also a bike that's a bit wider than normal such as an upright trike.

[Regulator]

We need a photo op with a bike that emphasises the narrowness of the lanes.

A bike with a very tall profile, such that it appears thinner than a "normal" bike, ridiculing these lanes.

A bike that will stick in the mind of Joe or Jo Public.

<lightbulb> I know, a Penny Farthing.

Now if only we knew somebody with one.

Perhaps also a bike that's a bit wider than normal such as an upright trike.

Or a cyclist who's wider than usual, like Clarion...   





(I owed him that for the Caption It thread)

[clarion]

Pot.  Kettle.  etc...

[pdm]

Objection! yer honor....

'es not wide, 'es broad!  (yorkshire, that is)

[Tourist Tony]

We need a photo op with a bike that emphasises the narrowness of the lanes.

A bike with a very tall profile, such that it appears thinner than a "normal" bike, ridiculing these lanes.

A bike that will stick in the mind of Joe or Jo Public.

<lightbulb> I know, a Penny Farthing.

Now if only we knew somebody with one.

Perhaps also a bike that's a bit wider than normal such as an upright trike.

Or a cyclist who's wider than usual, like Clarion...   





(I owed him that for the Caption It thread)

I was about to suggest myself, but I was reprieved

[Cunobelin]

A27 (1)

A27(2)

Width is not just the issue, this is an area in Portsmouth where the cycle path is perfectly wide enough- if only t was useable.

The Police have state that the company is doing its best not to inconvenience others and will not take action - so for once a reasonable cycle path, but as it is unenforced it is still unusable.

[Tourist Tony]

I think you will find that "others" means motorists.

[PhilO]

I think you will find that "others" means motorists.

+1

Although, to be fair to the driver, from the pictures it appears that there's plenty of room to go round his wagon, and it's on the side away from the traffic, so while the Police's reasoning is flawed I can't get worked up about their conclusion...

[GrahamG]

Part of my job is to plan cycle routes which, when it comes to design, includes bridging the gap between car-centric traffic engineers and people who actually sit astride a bike every now and again. I hear some dumbass ideas at times but it is still absolutely staggering that in this day and age, such an immense clusterfuck actually made in onto the ground.

[Wascally Weasel]

Part of my job is to plan cycle routes which, when it comes to design, includes bridging the gap between car-centric traffic engineers and people who actually sit astride a bike every now and again. I hear some dumbass ideas at times but it is still absolutely staggering that in this day and age, such an immense clusterfuck actually made in onto the ground.

This has been my experience too.  Part of the problem is some of the ‘safety’ professionals who still want to segregate all modes.

[Pancho]

A27 (1)

A27(2)

Width is not just the issue, this is an area in Portsmouth where the cycle path is perfectly wide enough- if only t was useable.

The Police have state that the company is doing its best not to inconvenience others and will not take action - so for once a reasonable cycle path, but as it is unenforced it is still unusable.

That's my commute!

I can't believe that the google wagon managed to snip the car transporter on both sides of the road.

Personally, I don't use any of these A27 pavement lanes.

[urban_biker]

A27 (1)

A27(2)

Width is not just the issue, this is an area in Portsmouth where the cycle path is perfectly wide enough- if only t was useable.

The Police have state that the company is doing its best not to inconvenience others and will not take action - so for once a reasonable cycle path, but as it is unenforced it is still unusable.

That's my commute!

I can't believe that the google wagon managed to snip the car transporter on both sides of the road.

Personally, I don't use any of these A27 pavement lanes.

I think Keeks also goes this route. Do you ride this way regularly Cunobelin? It seems there are a few yacfers commuting on the same road.

[Cunobelin]

A27 (1)

A27(2)

Width is not just the issue, this is an area in Portsmouth where the cycle path is perfectly wide enough- if only t was useable.

The Police have state that the company is doing its best not to inconvenience others and will not take action - so for once a reasonable cycle path, but as it is unenforced it is still unusable.

That's my commute!

I can't believe that the google wagon managed to snip the car transporter on both sides of the road.

Personally, I don't use any of these A27 pavement lanes.

I think Keeks also goes this route. Do you ride this way regularly Cunobelin? It seems there are a few yacfers commuting on the same road.

Daily to QAH, normally a black Thorn or faired Catrike.

[Cunobelin]

I think you will find that "others" means motorists.

+1

Although, to be fair to the driver, from the pictures it appears that there's plenty of room to go round his wagon, and it's on the side away from the traffic, so while the Police's reasoning is flawed I can't get worked up about their conclusion...

What the photo doesn't show is that there is a constant flow of vehicles being driven along the path to the local garage, so its not avoidng the wagon, its also the moving vehicles.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Our local piece of brilliance has been the installation of a raised zebra crossing on Nightingale Road.  As it's a busy road, they sensibly built half of the crossing, using a light-control on the other half of the road.  Then they switched sides and built the other half.  During this time, at least one car managed to scrape the edge of the platform.

But there was a problem.  They didn't join up the two halves in the middle because...they were different heights

So they've had to dismantle the first half & rebuild. 

I normally think raised zebra crossings are a good idea, but that one deserves a biscuit. Or a bang on the head for the builders, as presumably it was their fault rather than the design.

[clarion]

It's now been built to the right height, and has the arrows on the ramps, but no zebra yet.

[nuttycyclist]

Update from Kathy, the lanes have been widened.

(click to show/hide)

They've painted over the old lines and replaced them with new ones. I
took some photos on Saturday - I'll have to send them separately due
to the speed of the connection where I currently am.

Nutty - feel free to repost them.










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[clarion]

Still using the street furniture challenge, I see.

Wonderfully crap/lethal use of tactile paving in the last shot.

[nuttycyclist]

... and picture 5, which arrived after I postred the last lot.

(click to show/hide)

[Cudzoziemiec]

The whole thing looks unbelievably crap. And that doesn't even look like a particularly busy or fast road. But then again, presumably some more nervous or less experienced cyclists would be glad of any out-of-the-traffic lane.

[Kathy]

All of that is the front of a school, so at about eight in the morning the entire road is impassible due to the number of Porshe Cayennes causing gridlock. That and the parked car slalom means that I understand the less confident cyclists who use the pavement in rush hour.