Yes. Agreed. Literally no one but box-ticking politicians thinks painted gutter cycle lanes are in any way good.
Now let's talk about cycle infrastructure.
Indeed. Cycle infrastructure is called roads, we can use them, and we need to educate drivers to provide space and share them with cyclists/pedestrians/equestrians/old Uncle Tom cobbly and all.
In all my years of cycling, the majority of accidents I've had, or been engaged with, have been on dedicated paths. From cyclists slipping on dirt and gravel on a bend, to collisions due to the narrow width, or drivers having to cross the dedicated lane (and that one was in Copenhagen where I went for research and the law is on the side of cyclists, and I could see the panic on the drivers face before she tried the manoeuvre).
If cyclists and drivers can recognise we are all humans and can exist together then the road conditions will become less shit.
If people are told that cyclists require dedicated routes to keep them out of traffic then it will continue to be shit forever.
Exactly. Safety through integration not segregation. A line I've been spouting for several decades.
Thanks for the agreement, it seems that I am not alone. minority=minority+1
I was just riding down that previous image on streetview (I know the road but can't get there now for an up to date image) and this one made me chuckle
A van driving in the cycle lane, a cyclist overhanging the carriageway, a car driving in the cycle lane and also a legally parked car in the cycle lane. Legally parked car plus cycle lane means that the cyclist has to give way to the motorists.
Without infrastructure, cyclist has priority - and can also take ANY road or route that they prefer.