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news
bike lane.PNGCyclist being abused for refusing to use dangerous new cycle lane
A Bradford on Avon cyclist says the creation of a new cycle lane has resulted in her becoming the subject of regular abuse from drivers. Caroline Tassell says the two-way pop-up lane on Winsley Road is not wide enough and full of leaves, but by refusing to use it she is drawing the ire of frustrated motorists who struggle to pass her on the now-narrower main carriageway.
The lane in question is bollarded off and was installed by Wiltshire Council using emergency active travel funding.
However, Tassell told the Gazette and Herald that it wasn’t safe and that many motorists were now beeping their horns and shouting abuse at her for not using it.
“The irony is that the cycle lane has made me feel more in danger,” she said.
“There is no easy way to access it in Bradford on Avon or exit it in Winsley without crossing the road.
“It is too narrow, so if you meet a cyclist coming the other way there is no easy way of passing each other.
“It is also currently full of leaves which are slippery and make it impossible to see the potholes. No amount of abuse is going to change that.”
Tassell said she recently reported a First Bus driver after he swore at her when she refused to move over.
The scheme was proposed by councillor Johnny Kidney.
Speaking in September, he said: “I suggested a scheme on this stretch to improve the environment for walking and cycling on the B3108 between Winsley and Downs View which was previously very intimidating with fast-moving traffic alongside a narrow footpath.”
Kidney said that many children used the route to get to secondary school at St Laurence and he hoped that a safer environment would reduce car use for school runs.
The scheme also came with a speed reduction from 50mph to 40mph.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- timmyotool 0 sec ago
£52 of sale price is so impressive, when you see some companies giving small %age of profits from sales to similar initiatives. Well done Galibier!
- wtjs 8 min 8 sec ago
If drivers routinely get away with this then how the hell do MPs like this expect it to work for bikes?...
- pockstone 1 hour 4 min ago
I'm all for my overall experience being enhanced.
- don simon fbpe 1 hour 10 min ago
That there was intent?
- Rendel Harris 2 hours 9 min ago
When was the submission? I have been informed by the Met that although they have to send an NIP within fourteen days they then have up to six...
- Simon E 2 hours 11 min ago
Try getting hit by 2 tonnes of metal moving at speed and tell me that half an inch of polystyrene (with holes cut in it) will make any real...
- Another_MAMIL 2 hours 43 min ago
While I agree, not all bike fitters are equal. I found their know-how varies enormously—some are considerably more expert than others.
- katar_6 2 hours 44 min ago
Now on my PC it says again that I don't have a subscription. I ask you to indicate what should be done to avoid this situation.
- Creakingcrank 3 hours 50 min ago
Like Hawkinspeter, I am a bit of a tool squirrel. I bought one of these. It is really neat and well made, but I've found it rather confusing to use...
- Pot00000000 4 hours 46 min ago
Or the people you follow don't know how to setup their derailleur....
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41 comments
I see this as two separate issues.
Poory designed lanes that might not be safe to use.
Poor driver behaviour - shouting abuse at other traffic (especially more vulnerable traffic) is not acceptable behaviour and the police (if they had the resources) should be enforcing this.
I emailed Bristol and complained about some of their pop-up lanes.
I said I appreciated that they were trying, but the wands that they'd put along the pained lines of pre-existing cycle lanes actually corralled cyclists into a narrow space and forced them to go over all sorts of awful road defects that they would have easily avoided when the wands weren't there.
I also said I felt that motorists were a lot less tolerant of anyone choosing not to use these new lanes, and asked whether anything could be done about the road surface.
Well as you don't pay road tax.... Oh hang on a minute...
I may be wrong but I get the impression these pop-up lanes and a lot of the established cycle lanes are put in place by people who have no comprehension whatsoever what its like to ride a bike on todays roads. The money would be better spent (trying) to educate motorists on how we are all entitiled to use the roads inc cyclists who use it by right, motorists can only use it by licence. Tired of reading stories like this tbh.
Yepp, just look at the average bike lane which councils create in normal times (see any number of comedy posts). Most of them are absolutely bloody ludicrous/inappropriate/dangerous (and sometimes all three) and yet no one seems to step back and say "hang on, I think we may have got this one wrong". Surely the first test after creating a bike lane is...can a bike ride down it, but perhaps that is too much common sense for the average town planner/councillor?
In an ideal world, yes this would be the first test. In the real world the first, last and only test is.... "Does that tick the box so we can say we've provided facilities for cycling".
Doesn't matter a damn to the council if said facilities are suitable, safe, or useable... as long as the box can be ticked, and they can claim x miles of "sustainable travel provision" when the next round of funding is applied for.
Education is the word - but it still won't make most of them take any notice. However, I think the time is right for information films during TV advert breaks at peak times, as I reckon many people are ignorant of what is allowed. Most of these people won't have picked The Highway Code up since learning.
The money should be spent on well-designed bike lanes.
62% of people regard the roads as too dangerous to cycle on (source: LTN1/20 Cycle Infra Design). No amount of education of motorists is going to change that or lead to mass cycling.
I disagree because the problem is this:
"which was previously very intimidating with fast-moving traffic alongside a narrow footpath"
It is all about driver education, changing road law and enforcement. Some roads will never be suitable for a bike lane so surely we need to change the behaviours of those killing people!
How realistic is it to hope driver behaviour will change radically?
I recommend reading LTN1/20. It is very good, and based on thorough research of best practice.
It's quite clear from that and other sources that 60-70% of people are too scared to share busy roads with traffic. There is no caveat along the lines of 'except if drivers have been educated'.
Physical protection from traffic is the only solution. It won't always be easy, but you can look at it case-by-case. One possibility is to make some roads one-way in order to create space.
That road can't be one way though - it's almost the only way from the small town of Bradford on Avon to the large village of Winsley. Any diversion would be along narrow country lanes.
Sadly it's also a short cut to the south side of Bath, and you really don't want to go through the east of Bath at rush hour if you can avoid it, so it's busier than it ought to be. I don't think there's an easy solution.
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