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news
Orca lane divider (image via North East Motorcycle Action Group)Pensioner left with broken wrist and black eye after tripping over cycle lane separator
A 78-year-old woman was left with a broken wrist, a black eye and concussion after tripping over a new bike lane marker in Middlesbrough.
The separators, known as ‘Orcas’, form part of the newly installed cycle lane on the Linthorpe Road, which is due to finally be completed this month after a series of delays caused by adverse ground issues and supply chain issues.
Middlesbrough Council says the protected bike lane, which was estimated to cost up to £2.4 million, will provide cyclists with a “quick and safe” route into the town centre while also creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment with improved road crossings.
However, the new low ‘Orca’ barriers – which, though designed to protect cyclists from motorists, have come in for criticism from those who say they aren’t large enough to deter drivers while still being of sufficient size to be a hazard for people on bikes – have unfortunately left a pensioner in pain weeks after she tripped and fell over one.
> Pedestrians injured after 'dozens' trip over new cycle lane
78-year-old Dorothy, from Stokesley, sustained a nasty gash to her forehead, a broken wrist, and multiple bruises in the incident, which occurred in late August.
Her husband Chris told Teeside Live that, while the couple understands the need for the separators to protect cyclists using the bike lane, the council should do more to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
"It was a shock,” the retired civil and highway engineer said. “I dropped her off and she went to cross the road rather than using the crossing that was some way down. She was crossing the road section with two traffic lanes and cycleways outside, with raised black and white markers between.
“She tripped and banged her head on the road kerb and was badly injured, with a nasty gash to her forehead, [and was] bleeding profusely. [She] also had a mild concussion, many bruises, and a broken wrist.”
Referring to the separators, Chris said: “They are very low down and when you are looking for traffic you can’t see them. They shouldn’t allow pedestrians to cross where there are these hazards.
“I understand they are there to protect cyclists but there should then be a fixed barrier on both sides between the crossing points, and possibly even more crossings along the road.
“I don’t disagree with the bollards and there is no good campaigning to get rid of them, but there has to be fixed barriers.”
Responding to Dorothy’s unfortunate incident, a spokesperson for Middlesbrough Council said: “The Linthorpe Road cycle lane has been designed and implemented in line with national safety guidelines and schemes in other towns and cities.
“Nevertheless, the scheme will continue to be monitored and we would recommend people use designated road crossing points which are located at frequent intervals.”
> Newcastle motorcyclists claim 'Orca' cycle lane separators could prove lethal
Orcas (and similar products known as Armadillos), such as those used on the new Linthorpe Road bike lane, have long been a target of criticism from those who believe they are dangerous for all road users.
Last year, Cardiff Council committed to using spray paint to increase the visibility of barriers protecting a two-way cycle lane in Roath, following reports of “dozens” of pedestrians injuring themselves after tripping over the markers.
In 2015, the North East Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) criticised the installation of Orcas on the Great North Road in Gosworth, claiming that the “obstacles” could result in someone’s death.
Katalina Ferguson, a spokeswoman for the group, said at the time: “It’s mad. In order to try and protect cyclists from cars they have sacrificed the safety of motorcyclists and scooterists by reducing their available road space and then throwing obstacles in their way. In Manchester, where these were trialled, even the cyclists are against them.”
Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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44 comments
That car was stuck at the end of the line of tombstones, so was more likely aiming left on the approach to the roundabout there and misjudged/didn't see the grey tombstone.
I rarely use that lane, but it doesn't seem to suffer from piled up leaves when I've seen it.
If it's a useful cycling width it should be less prone to trap junk and a mini tractor should get down it. I've not seen the ones here (narrower than your Bristol example) swept but did see a mini digger clear snow from them a couple of winters back!
What, you mean that the driver of an Audi ignored the clearly marked cycle lane!
Odd that, and no doubt blames the tombstones for the consequences.
Well, the tombstones weren't great. There was a page by Bristol Motorcycle Action Group complaining about them (they're the right/wrong height for catching on footpegs and/or pedals) but the domain appears to have disappeared now.
The tombstones look wrong. Too many gaps, the wrong height. The plastic block barriers I think are better (again "as a stop-gap UK-cheap fix not requiring years of planning etc and better than paint"). Tall enough for everyone to see. Clear to drivers not to drive into them (yes, some still will...) and cyclists won't get wheels or pedals caught. They're in use in a couple of places round Edinburgh. The main issueI can see is they're not quite heavy enough and people move them.
The last link - that looks perfectly acceptable for the UK. Apart from the UK-standard "let's build a few hundred metres in isolation and not connect it to anything or deal with junctions" obviously!
Yep - lots of these founder on "some idiot drove into it / parked their car on top of it - ergo it's a hazard and needs removed!"
I'm waiting for the campaign to remove rail bridges, bollards, houses built on corners...
Drivers hitting them then learning not to hit them is perhaps exactly what we need in one sense.
Currently looking at the design of this scheme. First thought is that it should be a 2 way cycleway on one side of the road, with vehicle parking on the other, the sycle separated by 1m from the road way.
The existing scheme has parking pushed right up against the narrow cycleway, which guarantees door accidents.
Sorta, but we at least all recognise the difference between a journey and a pro bike race.
Bit like here where "safe *and* pretty convenient or the non-motorised" not equal to "ideal for peleton":
https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2022/08/10/la-vuelta-a-espana-in-%ca%...
I agree with Mungecrundle. These orcas are far more a hazard to all than a protection.
"It was a shock,” the retired civil and highway engineer said. “I dropped her off and she went to cross the road rather than using the crossing that was some way down. She was crossing the road section with two traffic lanes and cycleways outside, with raised black and white markers between.
...
Referring to the separators, Chris said: “They are very low down and when you are looking for traffic you can’t see them. They shouldn’t allow pedestrians to cross where there are these hazards.
There's a certain irony here in him having been a highway engineer. And, I'm afraid, he seems to display a highway engineer attitude of the old school even with his wife being the victim, in that he calls for engineering solutions excluding pedestrians, rather than removal of the hazard.
Not sure that low level obstructions are anything other than a hazard for all concerned. Would they really deflect a wayward car or make it more likely that the driver loses control?
One problem I have is with oncoming cars where there are obstructions on their side. They perceive the cycle lane as enterable (regardless of the white line) as the orcas aren't obvious and assume that you will move aside into it and so don't give way but pull out road the obstruction - and then are faced with a mirror-clipping close encounter as the driver with priority has been assuming the oncoming car will concede and the closing speeds require emergency action.
I have seen cars get trapped in panic in the cycle lane - they swerve to avoid the oncoming car then possibly having hit an orca, panic and don't seem able to judge the gaps to get back out.
It's spelled as "Middlesbrough".
Not here, it isn't.
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