New Bus Gate Planned For Furnival Gate (Between Matilda Way And The Moor)

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1 minute ago, RollingJ said:

There is a  dedicated, specially  built cycleway running parallel with the A27 in Sussex - a road I travel on quite a bit when I'm down that way, and you are lucky if you see two cyclists a day on it - they still prefer the road, even though it is a narrow one - go figure.

without looking (i promise!) - i'm going to make a few predictions...

 

it doesn't connect to anything.

 

anyone using it has to give way to side roads.

 

it's shared space.

 

it's bi-directional.

 

it's too narrow for the 2 points above to work.

[RollingJ]

2 minutes ago, ads36 said:

without looking (i promise!) - i'm going to make a few predictions...

 

it doesn't connect to anything.

 

anyone using it has to give way to side roads.

 

it's shared space.

 

it's bi-directional.

 

it's too narrow for the 2 points above to work.

It connects to other dedicated cycleways in the area, as well as places off the route, again via cycleways, and as stated runs along the A27, which, I think, connects places.

 

There are few side roads in the area

 

It isn't 'shared space - most of it is to the left of the footpaths - -, where there are any.

 

It is bi-directional, but of a suitable width.

[AndrewC]

3 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

It connects to other dedicated cycleways in the area, as well as places off the route, again via cycleways, and as stated runs along the A27, which, I think, connects places.

 

There are few side roads in the area

 

It isn't 'shared space - most of it is to the left of the footpaths - -, where there are any.

 

It is bi-directional, but of a suitable width.

 

Sounds like, yes, you would have to stop at each side road, and yes, the cycle path is bi-directional. I imagine that would be enough for most of the sports cyclists not to bother with the lane (and use the road) and for most non-sports cyclists to not bother with it at all and just use a car.

 

It's not a perfect science, and I can't speak for all cyclists or potential cyclists, but ultimately the golden rule is that the safer a lane is, the more it integrates with other lanes, and the fewer obstacles it puts in your way, the more people will use them. There will always be some people who won't use them, and shouldn't really have to.

[RollingJ]

1 minute ago, AndrewC said:

 

Sounds like, yes, you would have to stop at each side road, and yes, the cycle path is bi-directional. I imagine that would be enough for most of the sports cyclists not to bother with the lane (and use the road) and for most non-sports cyclists to not bother with it at all and just use a car.

 

It's not a perfect science, and I can't speak for all cyclists or potential cyclists, but ultimately the golden rule is that the safer a lane is, the more it integrates with other lanes, and the fewer obstacles it puts in your way, the more people will use them. There will always be some people who won't use them, and shouldn't really have to.

As stated - there are few side roads, and someone has to give way - like the motorist exiting said side roads, for instance. The cycle lane is 'protected' for the vast majority of its length it is built on farmland - no, not a mud-track, the road is much more dangerous - de-restricted, speedwise.

 

Unless you have seen it - believe someone who has.

[Irene Swaine]

1 hour ago, AndrewC said:

have vehicles parked all over them in any case.

The cyclists have my sympathy in this case, it's a major problem outside Botanical Gardens. 

[Irene Swaine]

45 minutes ago, AndrewC said:

 

Sounds like, yes, you would have to stop at each side road, and yes, the cycle path is bi-directional. I imagine that would be enough for most of the sports cyclists not to bother with the lane (and use the road) and for most non-sports cyclists to not bother with it at all and just use a car.

 

It's not a perfect science, and I can't speak for all cyclists or potential cyclists, but ultimately the golden rule is that the safer a lane is, the more it integrates with other lanes, and the fewer obstacles it puts in your way, the more people will use them. There will always be some people who won't use them, and shouldn't really have to.

This is the problem with some cyclists, they can't give way to others. If the cycle lanes were bi directional, and such narrower, having them on the pavement wouldn't be as much of a problem. However, cyclists seem incapable of giving way to one another and everyone around them. I like to walk along canals and the amount of times I have one creeping up behind me and ringing their bell to get ahead of me is making it a deeply unpleasant experience. Cyclists must give way to pedestrians on shared spaces. No ifs and no buts. 

[AndrewC]

39 minutes ago, RollingJ said:

As stated - there are few side roads, and someone has to give way - like the motorist exiting said side roads, for instance.

 

Unless you have seen it - believe someone who has.

I haven't said I don't believe you, have I? I'm saying there is usually something the motorists aren't spotting that is putting the cyclists off using it. Feel free to offer up the location of the lane, I'd be happy to look and let you know if I'd use it (I'm personally an infrequent cyclist due to lack of safe routes).

 

The side road point; the point here is that it's often the case that cycle lanes stop and start at each side road to make way for the traffic coming off the side road, a situation which makes use of the cycle lane much slower progress than using the road where the cyclist has right of way over turning traffic. If there are very few side roads then it's unlikely that's a huge issue, I agree.

[RollingJ]

1 minute ago, AndrewC said:

I haven't said I don't believe you, have I? I'm saying there is usually something the motorists aren't spotting that is putting the cyclists off using it. Feel free to offer up the location of the lane, I'd be happy to look and let you know if I'd use it (I'm personally an infrequent cyclist due to lack of safe routes).

 

The side road point; the point here is that it's often the case that cycle lanes stop and start at each side road to make way for the traffic coming off the side road, a situation which makes use of the cycle lane much slower progress than using the road where the cyclist has right of way over turning traffic. If there are very few side roads then it's unlikely that's a huge issue, I agree.

Fair enough - as I said, it runs parallel with the A27 for quite a distance between Brighton and Lewes - I assume an up-to-date cycle route map will show it, but it depends how up-to-date the map is as it was only completed in the middle of last year, having taken, IIRC, 3 years.

 

As i said, there are few side roads for much of its length, and they are usually very lightly used - the area is extremely rural. Are cyclists a protected species, who don't have wait occasionally, like everyone else?

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Imagine driving along an A road that gives way (stops) at every side road...

 

You say "between Brighton and Lewes", which sounds great, but this cycle route doesn't reach either Brighton or Lewes.

Instead, it runs between Firle, and the outskirts of Polegate - with little more than a few small villages in-between.

It's not a significant route, we can't expect significant numbers to use it.

.

And as predicted, it's shared use, and bi-directional, and too narrow.

.

It doesn't go anywhere, and it's not built to the recognised standards.

 

[Irene Swaine]

All the bus gate will do is make Sheaf Street, Suffolk Road, Saint Mary's Road, Broad Lane and Snig Hill busier.