Cycle Lanes in London -what is this Bullshit ?

Dominic

Had to drive around London a lot this week .WTF are these stupid Cycle Lanes .....with all the Bollards , markers etc.
Got to be the most wilfully stupid thing I've ever seen.......really busy dual lane roads that were always terribly busy and slow-moving now just a permanent gridlock .It's just crazy........almost as if you couldn't think of a better way to increase congestion and pollution.
 In any event,why can't cyclists just use the road ..don't want to get in the way of them riding straight through red lights or up and down pavements ( as moped deliveroos etc are now doing ) .....
Must be something to do with that vile little Imp of a Mayor ( Mr " my dad was a bus driver ".........so what ? We've all got our problems ! )
 This even beats the ingenious death trap known as the Smart Motorway ......there's an Oxymoron ,nothing Smart about killing people and endangering life non-stop 24 hours a day .Problem is the arseholes want to cover it up because they have committed too much money and contractual obligation to do a U turn .
As my East European colleagues  say " Vot is this Bullshit ?"

earwighoney

Agree.

My hometown took a step further and had pedestrian lanes/no traffic for the roads off the main road which was even more unpopular. It was abandoned a few weeks into the experiment. 

The twin lanes are also a nightmare for pedestrians as there are effectively 4 lanes of traffic to cross instead of two. 

drofluf

Oh the poor important car drivers being delayed on their important journeys.

There’s already too many cars coming into central London (and other cities) on trips that could be done using public or sustainable transportation. But I agree with you using a car on an unnecessary journey is the best way to increase pollution and congestion. 

earwighoney

drofluf said:

Oh the poor important car drivers being delayed on their important journeys.

There’s already too many cars coming into central London (and other cities) on trips that could be done using public or sustainable transportation. But I agree with you using a car on an unnecessary journey is the best way to increase pollution and congestion. 

I don't own a car or drive but I hate them. They have added a lot of pollution in my hometown (smog on the high street some days) and according to a few shop keepers I am friends with there have been more accidents.

It's terrible for public transport if you are going by bus. Also in my area there is a major hospital, with one of the only A&E departments in South West London and the ambulances struggle to get through the traffic now there is only one lane.

So a great win for the very important cyclists, but for everyone else it's a big fuck you.

ronnyb

The council here have installed a ‘COVID cycle lane’ down the main 2 lane one way road. It’s separated from traffic with bollards and as a consequence the 2 lanes for vehicles are much more narrow. I’ve yet to see a bicycle using it.

MattBanshee

Dominic said:

Had to drive around London a lot this week .WTF are these stupid Cycle Lanes .....with all the Bollards , markers etc.
Got to be the most wilfully stupid thing I've ever seen.......really busy dual lane roads that were always terribly busy and slow-moving now just a permanent gridlock .It's just crazy........almost as if you couldn't think of a better way to increase congestion and pollution.
 In any event,why can't cyclists just use the road ..don't want to get in the way of them riding straight through red lights or up and down pavements ( as moped deliveroos etc are now doing ) .....
Must be something to do with that vile little Imp of a Mayor ( Mr " my dad was a bus driver ".........so what ? We've all got our problems ! )
 This even beats the ingenious death trap known as the Smart Motorway ......there's an Oxymoron ,nothing Smart about killing people and endangering life non-stop 24 hours a day .Problem is the arseholes want to cover it up because they have committed too much money and contractual obligation to do a U turn .
As my East European colleagues  say " Vot is this Bullshit ?"

Unsure if this is supposed to be satire or not

darthed1981

Cars will be banned from central London full stop in 20 years, you don't actually NEED one to get around, pretty much everything you have heard of is within a 30 minute walk of everything else.

It would be so much nicer with no cars, as long as the cyclists behave, but in most European cities which have made this move, they do.

Brio

Oooh an entitled motorist. This will end well.
Shall we move on to helmet wearing next?

MattBanshee

Brio said:

Oooh an entitled motorist. This will end well.
Shall we move on to helmet wearing next?

OP's already wearing one; made of tin-foil

AlexC

darthed1981 said:

Cars will be banned from central London full stop in 20 years, you don't actually NEED one to get around, pretty much everything you have heard of is within a 30 minute walk of everything else.

It would be so much nicer with no cars, as long as the cyclists behave, but in most European cities which have made this move, they do.

Exactly this. And once London does something then perhaps other Towns and cities will follow. A good thing.
Bicycles don’t have emissions. That’s a fact not an opinion.

scrumhalf

There are some new cycle lanes, the ones with bollards separating them from the rest of the road, which have been planned after what must have been the most liquid of lunches. There is at least one near me that looks like a deathtrap.

I have seen the gradual increase in ways to make driving more difficult and unpleasant. Roads narrowed so that only one lane of traffic either way is possible, parking restrictions imposed to raise revenue, bus stops built out into the road rather than recessed to allow traffic to pass a bus that is at a stop.

I'm not a driver, I depend on public transport. In pre-covid times that transport was generally at or close to capacity. There is no room for all of the drivers to be turned out of their cars and into trains and buses. My part of London is hilly, steeply so in some cases rendering it all but unusable for cyclists.

We have the mayoral elections in a couple of weeks. The choice of candidates is alarmingly poor, but then this is a non-job which is a colossal waste of money (unless you work in PR, in which case it's a bonanza). 

jonnyburgo

Cyclist and driver here, mostly cyclist, yeah to be honest in Manchester the bike lanes are an after thought really, cycle lanes that just end for no reason which gives cars permission to pass mm away from your elbow, cycle lanes that are churned by tree roots, cycle lanes that are car debris dumping grounds or a personal favourite, the long thin car park cycle lane. Shit really. Car drivers hate it when you filter as well, especially when they are going nowhere fast in traffic. 

TeleMaster

Cycle super highway is great. Aside from a few hiccups and stuff it's really a great thing. 

Sassafras

Use the Tube.
Apart from cabbies no-one really needs to drive round London.

Funkfingers

Not bullshit. Horseshit.

darthed1981 said:

Cars will be banned from central London full stop in 20 years, you don't actually NEED one to get around, pretty much everything you have heard of is within a 30 minute walk of everything else.

It would be so much nicer with no cars.

Actual horse power is the answer. City centre average road speeds would be about the same as with the internal combustion engine. There is a pollution issue but it can be scooped up and used to fertilise gardens.

rze99

I live in London. Driving is sheer hell. I can barely go 5 miles without getting a fine for one damn thing or another. The idea is to do away with motorists I think. Pretty much the only time I drive is get the hell out. 

Grumpyrocker

Dominic said:

Had to drive around London a lot this week .WTF are these stupid Cycle Lanes .....with all the Bollards , markers etc.
Got to be the most wilfully stupid thing I've ever seen.......really busy dual lane roads that were always terribly busy and slow-moving now just a permanent gridlock .It's just crazy........almost as if you couldn't think of a better way to increase congestion and pollution.
 In any event,why can't cyclists just use the road ..don't want to get in the way of them riding straight through red lights or up and down pavements ( as moped deliveroos etc are now doing ) .....
Must be something to do with that vile little Imp of a Mayor ( Mr " my dad was a bus driver ".........so what ? We've all got our problems ! )
 This even beats the ingenious death trap known as the Smart Motorway ......there's an Oxymoron ,nothing Smart about killing people and endangering life non-stop 24 hours a day .Problem is the arseholes want to cover it up because they have committed too much money and contractual obligation to do a U turn .
As my East European colleagues  say " Vot is this Bullshit ?"

Mainly so cyclists aren't killed by angry ranting loons like this. 

Dominic

Sassafras said:

Use the Tube.
Apart from cabbies no-one really needs to drive round London.

I ain 't getting on Public transport or a cab during Corona thanks v much ......a good friend died from that !

Dominic

Grumpyrocker said:

Dominic said:

Had to drive around London a lot this week .WTF are these stupid Cycle Lanes .....with all the Bollards , markers etc.
Got to be the most wilfully stupid thing I've ever seen.......really busy dual lane roads that were always terribly busy and slow-moving now just a permanent gridlock .It's just crazy........almost as if you couldn't think of a better way to increase congestion and pollution.
 In any event,why can't cyclists just use the road ..don't want to get in the way of them riding straight through red lights or up and down pavements ( as moped deliveroos etc are now doing ) .....
Must be something to do with that vile little Imp of a Mayor ( Mr " my dad was a bus driver ".........so what ? We've all got our problems ! )
 This even beats the ingenious death trap known as the Smart Motorway ......there's an Oxymoron ,nothing Smart about killing people and endangering life non-stop 24 hours a day .Problem is the arseholes want to cover it up because they have committed too much money and contractual obligation to do a U turn .
As my East European colleagues  say " Vot is this Bullshit ?"

Mainly so cyclists aren't killed by angry ranting loons like this. 

Let me guess ........You can't afford a car ? and you think smart motorways are smart ?

Hurling_Fruitmig

When I’m sitting in a queue of traffic I have to remind myself that I’m not stuck in congestion, I am the congestion.

AlexO

As a keen road cyclist from a leisure POV but someone who drives as a main form of transport, Cycle lanes are more hassle than they are worth .

They always feel like they've been designed by someone who's never ridden a bike since they was a kid. Not to mention they are normally covered in glass and anything else designed to slash your tyres.

I travel to Copenhagen quite often and it blows my mind how we can't look at how they Danes have made it part of the infastructure of their major cities and use that as a guide for our own.