Sandygate Road New Central Road Marking

[Eater Sundae]

And if the people coming up the hill drive next to the white line which is completely their prerogative to do so then they will likely incur a head on collision with someone coming down the hill unsighted. I can half see the councils reasoning on the cycles going up the hill, but why didn't they put in a cycle lane then? Half-arsed cost saving measure I presume, we can afford white paint but not red tarmac...

 

Surely nobody has any prerogative because of a white line. it's everyone's job to drive safely.

 

The issue with this road is that with cars parked on both sides, there is limited space for two way traffic, and the bend makes it hard to see far ahead. As a result it's hazardous.

 

Maybe there's a case for no white line at all and big signs saying "No road markings, drive with care" - put some onus on drivers to think.

 

Maybe even a 20 limit (if it hasn't already been given one, I've not been up there for a while).

 

---------- Post added 19-01-2016 at 15:13 ----------

 

I agree that the off-centre white line was unwise, but, as the OP says, and from the images in the link in post #6, drivers park along both sides of Sandygate Road. Putting a cycle lane on the uphill side would decrease the available parking space and/or result in cars parked in the cycle lane anyway. No doubt the planners would get it in the neck for that too, particularly from local residents. They can't win really.

 

Deleted. I was getting mixed up with somewhere entirely different.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.3757281,-1.4944275,3a,75y,67.33h,64.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svqB_jAuHqWVwCbkQguuRsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

This shows a cycle lane outside of the parking bays. Although the road is wider than sandygate road, I don't think it is wide enough for a car to safely overtake a cyclist in the face of oncoming traffic, despite the markings enticing people to. (But thst's another issue - I think there are too many cycle lanes that are squeezed in such that a car driver sticking to his lane will be unreasonably close to the cyclist he is overtaking).

Edited January 19, 2016 by Eater Sundae

[sgtkate]

I think if there's room then stick one in, if there isn't then leave it out.

 

Try and do some half measure leaves alot of ambiguity, drivers get confused and confused drivers aren't paying full attention to what they're doing.

 

Exactly. Decide what the best action is and take it. Don't decide what the best action is, think about some voters might own cars and want to park their and then do some half-way house. If it's been proven that cyclists need more safety measures at that point and it removes some car parking spaces then that's the right decision. Equally, increasing on street parking in some other areas at the expense of the cycle lane is also the right decision.

 

---------- Post added 19-01-2016 at 17:10 ----------

 

Surely nobody has any prerogative because of a white line. it's everyone's job to drive safely.

 

The issue with this road is that with cars parked on both sides, there is limited space for two way traffic, and the bend makes it hard to see far ahead. As a result it's hazardous.

 

Maybe there's a case for no white line at all and big signs saying "No road markings, drive with care" - put some onus on drivers to think.

 

Maybe even a 20 limit (if it hasn't already been given one, I've not been up there for a while).

 

---------- Post added 19-01-2016 at 15:13 ----------

 

 

Deleted. I was getting mixed up with somewhere entirely different.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.3757281,-1.4944275,3a,75y,67.33h,64.31t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1svqB_jAuHqWVwCbkQguuRsA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

This shows a cycle lane outside of the parking bays. Although the road is wider than sandygate road, I don't think it is wide enough for a car to safely overtake a cyclist in the face of oncoming traffic, despite the markings enticing people to. (But thst's another issue - I think there are too many cycle lanes that are squeezed in such that a car driver sticking to his lane will be unreasonably close to the cyclist he is overtaking).

 

If I decide to stick to white line and stop another car coming through, I may be an idiot but I am perfectly correct within the law. If the other car comes through and hits me and they are over the white line, then they are the ones WHOLLY at fault in the eyes of the law. Of course, it's everyones' responsibility to avoid an accident, first rule of the highway code isn't it? But if it ended up being investigated by the police, the car over the white line would always be classed at fault.

 

At least that's my basic understanding of the law.

[Yerman]

As others have pointed out the issue on Sandygate Road is indiscriminate parking mainly by residents who believe that they simply must park outside their own homes. There is parking on the brow of the hill, two vehicles parked opposite each other thereby severely narrowing the road, parking on the pavement, parking on the bend all of which is to the inconvenience of other road users and pedestrians. The fact that many chose to park partly on the pavement is a reflection of how dangerous they recognise their parking is. This shows a clear lack of consideration for others. The solution is not to remove the current white line but to make the city-bound side of the road a no parking area by putting down double yellow lines. That would immediately improve the safety of all road users and pedestrians and allow traffic to flow freely.

 

As for cyclists if they find Sandygate Road dangerous, there is an immediate alternative by using Ringstead Crescent. It is flatter, it is straighter and it is much less hazardous.

[hyper]

As for cyclists if they find Sandygate Road dangerous, there is an immediate alternative by using Ringstead Crescent. It is flatter, it is straighter and it is much less hazardous.

yeah, you're right. That's how I tend to ride it if I go that way, mainly cos its flatter

 

I don't think the cycle lane is about cyclists finding it dangerous, it's more about keeping cars flowing and not having to queue behind a cyclist maybe doing 5-10 mph