Cycling Issues in London

This is a list of the issues confronting the cyclist in London. In theory we are supposed to be enjoying a new government push to encourage cycling. New cycle lanes and bike superhighways are being built, some of which are excellent. However many of them simply end at the roundabout or busy junction, they are hard to find and badly signposted. In addition scant respect is paid to cycle lanes by drivers, often ignoring or parking in them, while the bike box at traffic lights is regularly full of cars.

Potholes!

Well, obviously first on the list are potholes. Here are three in a row. On their own they are dangerous enough, causing hospital visits by simply throwing people off their bikes. Combined with the dangers of traffic, you are often forced to take evasive action confusing other road users who will not be looking at the parlous state of the road.

In this example you are forced to cycle in the middle of the road, competing with traffic accelerating away from the traffic lights. PS: Hole is even bigger now!

Same A Road a year later – complete leg breaker!

 The Road Narrows

This is a particular bugbear of mine. Sometimes the road narrows because of roadworks, which can often drag on for months. Recently they are often building bike lanes, but during construction the cyclist often has nowhere to go, endangering themselves and other road users. Yet often the road appears to narrow by design, either as a traffic calming measure or to aid pedestrians. On a busy road these are a disaster waiting to happen, we are suddenly much too close to buses and heavy lorries, often feeling forced to pull out in front of them, hoping we get noticed. Below is a classic example in my local high street, they are supposed to be making wider pavements for social distancing.

This A Road will soon be a liability for cyclists.

Is there room to get through? Who takes priority? Dangerous decisions forced upon cyclists by narrowing the road.

The Cliff Edge

I understand the reasoning behind sleeping policemen, they are to slow the traffic. However when the speed limit in Camden and Islington is usually 20mph, how much slower can you go? In addition they appear to be some kind of work creation scheme, 1 or 2 is never enough, they sprout everywhere. Why on earth are there so many on bus routes?

For the cyclist they may be annoying, but some are so badly conceived and made that I find them plain dangerous.

In this example the camber to the gutter is simply too much, you are forced to ride at least a foot away from the pavement on a busy and narrow road.

Perhaps keeping the yellow line was more important than safety.

Skid Pans

Yes I have done it, that is skidded on the metal street furniture that infests our roads. I now avoid them assiduously, however on busy roads that is not always possible. In wet or icy conditions these metal plates are particularly dangerous, please no braking or turning while bumping over them.

I hope to post a better example of one placed bang in the middle of a right hand turn.

Signposts for Cyclists

If they exist, signposts for cyclists are confusing and way too small. Why are they blue like motorway signs? Signs are important for all road users, we should not have to stop in order to read them. Many “signs” for cyclists are placed on the road and soon deteriorate. There needs to be a national signage for cyclists campaign.

In this example the sign is just plain wrong. The road is NOT No Entry for cyclists, it has a bicycle lane.

The intimidating camera sign should of course say “Except for Cyclists”.

Crying Wolf

This temporary sign is an insult. It is supposed to tell cyclists to slow down, because they are outside a school. However since the school is closed, like on this Sunday, it should not be there. This sign is fake news, there is no reason whatsoever to slow down. The more fake signs there are just encourages cyclists to ignore all signs. Stop crying Wolf !

Bollard in the Road

What is this black bollard doing here? It appears to be of no practical use, but is particularly dangerous to cyclists, especially at night. Surrounding the bollard are 8 confusing signs, distracting the cyclist. The bollard is completely black, nothing reflective, it simply disappears at night. Remove this dangerous piece of useless road furniture now!

These are just a few examples from my local area, which I hope to add to in the near future. Happy Cycling!

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