The Velotard Thread.

[machin05]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1485979645413666825

 

[Doctor Doog]

Exactly. Just what I said and my biggest concern.



But then guardian readers do as they like most of the times " freedom of choice" and all that . Bikes already do as they like in Cambridge. Now they will have protection . I advise everyone to get a dash cam. Its likely to be a difficult transition. I just don't want to see people get hurt.

The missed opportunity to mandate cycle paths is a mistake in my view.

Yes, let's force cyclists to use cycle lanes that aren't fit for purpose - full of potholes, poorly paved and shared with buses. That's right, in Cambridge where everyone cycles. Not everyone is an idiot riding through red lights or trying to set Strava records in the rush hour.

 

[Throbber3]

Yes, let's force cyclists to use cycle lanes that aren't fit for purpose - full of potholes, poorly paved and shared with buses. That's right, in Cambridge where everyone cycles. Not everyone is an idiot riding through red lights or trying to set Strava records in the rush hour.

My dash cam footage does not agree
And I cycle there most days too

 

[Johnny75]

My dash cam footage does not agree
And I cycle there most days too

How big is your bike that it has a dashboard???

 

[The Bear]

Maybe he just has an extremely large forehead for his GoPro.

 

[Throbber3]

I

How big is your bike that it has a dashboard???

Drive to work then cycle during the day then drive home. Not that youre really interested.

And the pot hole cycle path thing is a red herring. The paths on the outskirts of Cambridge were bad but money has been and continues to be spent on them . New ones on the trumptington side and the new one following the guided busway both do not contain any large potholes Dr Doog, Hills Road was redone ( BADLY) in 2019 with a cycle land the size of a bus in 2019. The worst I see at ythe moment in the cycle is the worn lines in places like King street.

 

[machin05]

https://www.pacts.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/PACTS-What-kills-most-on-the-roads-Report-15.0.pdf

 

[machin05]

Another issue with cycle paths at this time of the year is they are rarely (if ever) gritted so are a death trap in these conditions.

 

[Throbber3]

Another issue with cycle paths at this time of the year is they are rarely (if ever) gritted so are a death trap in these conditions.

That I agree with

 

[lemonjelly]

the ones I would use to commute to/from work always seem to have broken glass strewn in them too. I've been trying to work out if it is deliberate/targeted.

I'm not talking minor amounts, there seems to be constant volumes of broken glass in them.

 

[machin05]

I don't use any of the cycling infrastructure on my commute (full length of the Bham New Road). I get a bit of stick now and again from drivers, but I honestly think it's safer and quicker.

Canal paths are a flat no from me, especially at this time of the year. The cycle paths alongside the dual carriageway are horribly finished, really bumpy and have overhanging trees with branches at head height all along the route. You have to give way at every side street and driveway. There are very often runners and pedestrians using them and theyre they're not wide enough to have cyclists pass eachother in both directions. They don't have safe or clear entry and exit points and they merge in and out of the pavements which is dangerous for pedestrians. One street H literally finishes at a bus stop! Oh and there are ALWAYS cars parked in them because, you know, entitlement.

At least on the dual carriageway there is enough space for cars and lorries to overtake safely and plenty of room for me to filter past the endless queues. Other roads I could take have just as much congestion but far less space.

 

[machin05]

Cycle lane into bus stop. Where am I meant to go here??

 

[Tredman]

State of that, those bricks will be slippy as anything too when cold.

 

[Throbber3]

Hills Road Cambridge- Cycle lane through the middle- all new.

 

[Throbber3]

Cambridge guided busway cycle way

 

[Throbber3]

Corn exchange street against the traffic- typical in the centre. Again new

I guess with so many students and a requiremen t to cycle , Cambridge has invested VERY heavily in cycle ways to reduce car traffic and make the streets safer. The problem is Cyclist dont use what is provided most of the time. Unlike Machins reasons above , which are very valid , the cycle ways in Cambridge are often very very good, very well maintained and very underused.

 

[Throbber3]

Finally the access roads into Cambridge showing the newly built or in progress greenway cycle ways. Greater Cambridge Greenways - Greater Cambridge Partnership

 

[machin05]

Those painted bits of road are categorically more dangerous than just having cyclists in the main carriageway. Drivers tend to drive to the line regardless of how much space they are giving the cyclist. Plus there are often drain covers (and the cracked tarmac that surrounds them) taking up at least half of the width of the said painted lane that pose real danger to cyclists, forcing them to use the outer portion of the space, bringing them way too close to any motorist driving to the line.

 

[Johnny75]

Those painted bits of road are categorically more dangerous than just having cyclists in the main carriageway. Drivers tend to drive to the line regardless of how much space they are giving the cyclist. Plus there are often drain covers (and the cracked tarmac that surrounds them) taking up at least half of the width of the said painted lane that pose real danger to cyclists, forcing them to use the outer portion of the space, bringing them way too close to any motorist driving to the line.

Cycle lanes are what car drivers think cycle lanes should look like.

 

[Mel Evo]

Corn exchange street against the traffic- typical in the centre. Again new

I guess with so many students and a requiremen t to cycle , Cambridge has invested VERY heavily in cycle ways to reduce car traffic and make the streets safer. The problem is Cyclist dont use what is provided most of the time. Unlike Machins reasons above , which are very valid , the cycle ways in Cambridge are often very very good, very well maintained and very underused.

View attachment 4970

That bike lane has always been there though right? It's so that cyclists can get out of the Grand Arcade cycle park (pretty much where the photo is taken from) and out on to Downing Street. Good route, used to take it quite a bit. Almost all onciming traffic is turning right into the (massive) multi-storey car park - from which, as an side, you can exit on your motor by turning right from the exit furthest left and left from the exit furthest right (or people do at any rate). Everything goes nice and slow on that street so it all seems to work OK? As you've all identified, and it's a good debate, Cambridge is such an outlier though. Modal share for cycling looks nothing like anywhere else in the UK, at all.