Cycle lanes

[nejohn]

What is it with councils building cycle lanes everywhere with not a great lot of thought as to how it might not only affect the flow of traffic but also the general area.
Yesterday I went into Cardiff and wanted to visit a specialist HiFi shop which due to exhorbitant rates in the city centre is now in a busy suburb not far from the centre (but to far to walk) along with many other non mainstream shops and small businesses. When I got there I was met with massive congestion due to the fact that the council have taken half of the road up to make what is in effect a segregated cycle dual carriageway, reducing the road to a series of choke points where vehicles have to give way alternatively to on coming vehicles, they have also taken the bus stops away so busses stop in the carriageway now and while they were at it they removed the few roadside parking areas also. So we have cars trying to negotiate what has been turned into a one way street but cars can travel both ways, busses stopping in the carriageway thus stopping traffic and delivery vans stopping traffic whilst the drop off/collect goods from the shops. I was sat in traffic for over 30 minutes try to travel no more than 400 yards, there was nowhere for me to stop so I could visit the shop so had to jump out (Kathy was driving). In this 30 minutes the total number of cyclists I saw using this new state of the art cycle lane was a big fat zero ...! Meanwhile cars buses lorries etc are sat burning fossil fuels for no reason other than some government officials can put a tick in a green box. Also when talking to the guys in the shop they were saying there business has dropped significantly since this system was put in place as there is now nowhere to park. So we have a nice cycle lane that no one appears to use (to add insult to injury the only cyclist I did see was on the footpath on the opposite side to the cycle lane) at the cost of massive traffic congestion and the probable closure of small businesses due to the access difficulty. Personally if I was buying a big item of HiFi now I would go to Bristol rather than my usual Cardiff shop so that I could park close by and not have to lug big heavy boxes a long way to the nearest car park. The guy in the shop did add he is waiting to see someone carrying a pair of large floor standing speakers away on a bike

 

[TiggerXFM]

I think government want people to order their goods via the internet and have it delivered.
Same with food, people are being encouraged to order their weekly shop online and have it delivered.
The government and counciles want to discourage people from using motor vehicles, and are trying to pedestrianise the inner cities. Manchester is trying to put a huge area in a green zone!

Regarding cycle lanes, pity there arn't more of them as I have been hit by four cars in the last few years by idiot drivers. I'm a mass of injuries and scars now through those idiots, so i'm all for cycling lanes.

 

[davylad]

The reason is simple, it's the money the councils get from the Government, whether their towns and cities will be any better off with them is irrelivent. They are usually far worse off, as reducing two lanes to one in my book, doesn't make sense. Oh and also to see about 3 cyclists a day in the lanes is comical, mind you people have reacted by voting the idiots out, in the recent elections. They'll be probably regretting trying to pull the wool over our eyes now.

 

[davylad]

Tigger, I got hit by a car a few years ago, sending me through the windscreen and ending up 15 yds across the road. That was a driver who wasn't paying attention what was coming, a cycle lane wouldn't have done anything to aid me. Their are a lot of idiots on bikes too, especially the ones who hog the road.

 

[TiggerXFM]

Tigger, I got hit by a car a few years ago, sending me through the windscreen and ending up 15 yds across the road. That was a driver who wasn't paying attention what was coming, a cycle lane wouldn't have done anything to aid me. Their are a lot of idiots on bikes too, especially the ones who hog the road.

Deffo are idiots on bikes, lots of them also, but still way less than there are car drivers.
A cycle lane wouldd help keep motor vehicles further away from bikes when they are passing. Large wagons pass by inches and the draught can pull a person under the back wheels or make them fall off, possibly to be run over by another vehicle behinde them. Last time I was out on the bike one forced me to ride onto the pavement, if I hadn't done so the wagon would have gone over me completely.

 

[warrington63]

What is it with councils building cycle lanes everywhere with not a great lot of thought as to how it might not only affect the flow of traffic but also the general area.
Yesterday I went into Cardiff and wanted to visit a specialist HiFi shop which due to exhorbitant rates in the city centre is now in a busy suburb not far from the centre (but to far to walk) along with many other non mainstream shops and small businesses. When I got there I was met with massive congestion due to the fact that the council have taken half of the road up to make what is in effect a segregated cycle dual carriageway, reducing the road to a series of choke points where vehicles have to give way alternatively to on coming vehicles, they have also taken the bus stops away so busses stop in the carriageway now and while they were at it they removed the few roadside parking areas also. So we have cars trying to negotiate what has been turned into a one way street but cars can travel both ways, busses stopping in the carriageway thus stopping traffic and delivery vans stopping traffic whilst the drop off/collect goods from the shops. I was sat in traffic for over 30 minutes try to travel no more than 400 yards, there was nowhere for me to stop so I could visit the shop so had to jump out (Kathy was driving). In this 30 minutes the total number of cyclists I saw using this new state of the art cycle lane was a big fat zero ...! Meanwhile cars buses lorries etc are sat burning fossil fuels for no reason other than some government officials can put a tick in a green box. Also when talking to the guys in the shop they were saying there business has dropped significantly since this system was put in place as there is now nowhere to park. So we have a nice cycle lane that no one appears to use (to add insult to injury the only cyclist I did see was on the footpath on the opposite side to the cycle lane) at the cost of massive traffic congestion and the probable closure of small businesses due to the access difficulty. Personally if I was buying a big item of HiFi now I would go to Bristol rather than my usual Cardiff shop so that I could park close by and not have to lug big heavy boxes a long way to the nearest car park. The guy in the shop did add he is waiting to see someone carrying a pair of large floor standing speakers away on a bike

I thought you were on about Oxford at first , it's similar here ,plus more proposed LTN on the way along with a zero emission zone around parts of the centre,
Plus on some roads cyclists can travel the wrong way on a one way system .
The dopy sods never use lights at night and always seem to wear black clothing . I think a few cars will have cyclists as bonnet adornments when the dark nights really kick in .

 

[John Step]

I am a reluctant cyclists on our roads as I don't feel safe. I prefer to go to car free tracks through the local woods.
I am also a car driver and can feel the frustration that these new city lanes cause. Plenty of moans here abouts at the Hull ones that seems to have lost Labour to Liberal. I doubt Liberal will change them though.

Where I do enjoy cycling is in the Netherlands. They have the advantage of starting from scratch after WW2 and in country areas the cycle routes go cross country away from danger and away from upsetting drivers .

I doubt we will ever get to that state. I dont know the answer. I doubt anyone does.

 

[warrington63]

If a cycle lane has broken white lines alongside it , cars are allowed to travel in it . But be aware of any cyclists .
If it has a continuous solid white line ,cars are not allowed in it .
Like John said he saw one cyclist on the pavement .
A lot use the pavement around here.

 

[nejohn]

Deffo are idiots on bikes, lots of them also, but still way less than there are car drivers.
A cycle lane wouldd help keep motor vehicles further away from bikes when they are passing. Large wagons pass by inches and the draught can pull a person under the back wheels or make them fall off, possibly to be run over by another vehicle behinde them. Last time I was out on the bike one forced me to ride onto the pavement, if I hadn't done so the wagon would have gone over me completely.

The reason why you see more idiots in cars as there are approximately 37 million privately registered cars on UK roads at the minute as opposed to an estimated 5-6 million cyclists so statistics would expect there to be numerically more bad drivers than cyclists however as a percentage I wouldn't like to call it. I totally agree about the need for well thought out segregated cycle lanes however the current ones being created are far from being well thought out, just taking space away from motor vehicles to give to cyclists not the way to do it as no matter what the tin foil hatted idealologists say until we have a workable affordable solution to the internal combustion engine we need to accept that cars as we know them are here for a good few years yet. If we do as some of the idiots would like us to do and abandoned fossil fuels immediately it will do nothing more than propel us back towards the stone age, we will all be living in small communities burning wood for cooking and heating and not travelling any further than a days ride from your village. We have a long way to go before we can ditch fossil fuels and until then we have to accept that ICE powered vehicles will be part of everyday life. You can't switch off one source of power until you have another to fully replace it.
But getting back to cycle lanes it would help the cyclists causes if the actually used the bloody things as I said I sat for over 30 minutes in congestion caused by the creation of a multi million pound cycle lane and in all of that time I never saw one cyclist using the part of the road that was created solely for their use....meanwhile the rest of the population are sat burning fossil fuels and going nowhere

 

[stikflote]

im all for cycle lanes but why dont they get used ,i followed a car today who went onto wrong side of road to pass a cyclist
he got piped by car on other side ,these new rules are crazy

 

[TiggerXFM]

The reason why you see more idiots in cars as there are approximately 37 million privately registered cars on UK roads at the minute as opposed to an estimated 5-6 million cyclists so statistics would expect there to be numerically more bad drivers than cyclists however as a percentage I wouldn't like to call it. I totally agree about the need for well thought out segregated cycle lanes however the current ones being created are far from being well thought out, just taking space away from motor vehicles to give to cyclists not the way to do it as no matter what the tin foil hatted idealologists say until we have a workable affordable solution to the internal combustion engine we need to accept that cars as we know them are here for a good few years yet. If we do as some of the idiots would like us to do and abandoned fossil fuels immediately it will do nothing more than propel us back towards the stone age, we will all be living in small communities burning wood for cooking and heating and not travelling any further than a days ride from your village. We have a long way to go before we can ditch fossil fuels and until then we have to accept that ICE powered vehicles will be part of everyday life. You can't switch off one source of power until you have another to fully replace it.
But getting back to cycle lanes it would help the cyclists causes if the actually used the bloody things as I said I sat for over 30 minutes in congestion caused by the creation of a multi million pound cycle lane and in all of that time I never saw one cyclist using the part of the road that was created solely for their use....meanwhile the rest of the population are sat burning fossil fuels and going nowhere

I think the idea of the cycle lanes are preperations for the future plans. As I said, they will prolly be putting charges on motor vehicles for entering city zones in the not to distant future and expecting more people to be using bicycles to go to work etc, as they do in London.

Regarding sitting in your car burning fuel John, does your motor not have a stop start? If not then just turn the ignition off if stuck for periods of time maybe?

 

[nejohn]

I think the idea of the cycle lanes are preperations for the future plans. As I said, they will prolly be putting charges on motor vehicles for entering city zones in the not to distant future and expecting more people to be using bicycles to go to work etc, as they do in London.

Regarding sitting in your car burning fuel John, does your motor not have a stop start? If not then just turn the ignition off if stuck for periods of time maybe?

Unfortunately the problem with the grand master plan that you allude to is we don't all live in cities with good public transport links. Nor do we live within a bike riding distance from our place of work and that is if you can ride a bike as there are an awful lot people that physically can not ride a bike. Would your average 80 year old granny be able to hop on a bike and cycle several miles into town every other day to collect as much shopping as she could realistically carry on a bike. Personally I can no longer ride a bike as due to an old injury I have not got enough movement in one knee to allow me to pedal a bike. I live 8 miles from my place of work with absolutely no form of public transport to get me there. Could you possibly suggest how I get there? open to any cost effective reliable suggestions. We are making too many decisions that do not take into account the whole population of the country and are listening too much to a very vocal few

 

[davylad]

Some people would have cars banned, and back to the days of horse and carts ffs. You say there are idiots on bikes tigger, I agree with you as there are fckn thousands of them, usually riding on the pavements with a cycle lane, inches from them that cost the tax payer thousands.

 

[TiggerXFM]

Unfortunately the problem with the grand master plan that you allude to is we don't all live in cities with good public transport links. Nor do we live within a bike riding distance from our place of work and that is if you can ride a bike as there are an awful lot people that physically can not ride a bike. Would your average 80 year old granny be able to hop on a bike and cycle several miles into town every other day to collect as much shopping as she could realistically carry on a bike. Personally I can no longer ride a bike as due to an old injury I have not got enough movement in one knee to allow me to pedal a bike. I live 8 miles from my place of work with absolutely no form of public transport to get me there. Could you possibly suggest how I get there? open to any cost effective reliable suggestions. We are making too many decisions that do not take into account the whole population of the country and are listening too much to a very vocal few

First of all John, all this green thing is not my idea.
As I said, it seems that the future plan is to stop people travelling in motor vehicles and order your wants online, as many did over the lockdowns. They are most likely thinking one delivery van on the road cuts out hundreds of car journeys to the shops, same with other items, clothing etc.
They would say older people are able to do this...they just assume everyone has a I phone and a computer which we know is not the case.

 

[Lee Richards]

Why would it benefit the government having all retail items delivered when it would leave large gaps in the councils retail rate revenues that would need to be filled?
This would also include revenue generated from parking charges.

 

[TiggerXFM]

Some people would have cars banned, and back to the days of horse and carts ffs. You say there are idiots on bikes tigger, I agree with you as there are fckn thousands of them, usually riding on the pavements with a cycle lane, inches from them that cost the tax payer thousands.

There are very few cycle lanes round these parts, I know there are some new ones towards the local town centre. They already cocked up all the traffic by making everything a one way system with multiple filter lanes where no one will allow others to filter in etc etc...made it into a danger zone for all !
Most of the cyclists ride on the roads or over the fields round here and the roads have no cycle lanes. Even if you do want to ride off road you still have to use roads to get there.
Round here there are countless bell ends driving cars, wagons etc who think it's ok to scrape your arm as they pass. I'm far from being a wimp and I have confronted lots of them with the same results....

 

[TiggerXFM]

Why would it benefit the government having all retail items delivered when it would leave large gaps in the councils retail rate revenues that would need to be filled?
This would also include revenue generated from parking charges.

 

[nejohn]

First of all John, all this green thing is not my idea.
As I said, it seems that the future plan is to stop people travelling in motor vehicles and order your wants online, as many did over the lockdowns. They are most likely thinking one delivery van on the road cuts out hundreds of car journeys to the shops, same with other items, clothing etc.
They would say older people are able to do this...they just assume everyone has a I phone and a computer which we know is not the case.

It is a good plan in theory but in reality it wouldn't really work as even in lockdown many people still went to the shop to get their weekly shop as booking a delivery slot was not easy if you lived a little off the beaten track. Yes people ordered more of the non essential item online but not things that you need day in day out. If you had to rely on deliveries to get everything what happens when something breaks down or you run out of something now you jump in your car and drive to the shop to get it. In the green vision of the future you run out of something or a fuse goes on your circuit board then tough you have to order online and wait a couple of days for it to be delivered. We are never going to move away from having a reliable form of personal transport that allows families and goods to move around. Cycling might be a nice hobby and a good way of keeping fit but it is not and never will be a reliable usable form of personal transport

 

[TiggerXFM]

It is a good plan in theory but in reality it wouldn't really work as even in lockdown many people still went to the shop to get their weekly shop as booking a delivery slot was not easy if you lived a little off the beaten track. Yes people ordered more of the non essential item online but not things that you need day in day out. If you had to rely on deliveries to get everything what happens when something breaks down or you run out of something now you jump in your car and drive to the shop to get it. In the green vision of the future you run out of something or a fuse goes on your circuit board then tough you have to order online and wait a couple of days for it to be delivered. We are never going to move away from having a reliable form of personal transport that allows families and goods to move around. Cycling might be a nice hobby and a good way of keeping fit but it is not and never will be a reliable usable form of personal transport

I agree with all of that, except...."they" are still pushing it.
They want to create a cashless society also! Who knows what else they will come up with in the future, that's if there is a future the way things are going!

 

[Lee Richards]

See the thing is Tigger you post laughs but you don't think things through.
I have told you why, John has told you why but your thought will still rattle around in your head.
I will just put it down to another of your conspiracy theories.