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The Velotard Thread.

CambridgeWolf said:
I try not to get into motorist/cyclist point scoring as there are morons on all sides, and can understand the reasoning behind the changes as it’s pretty obvious motorists do more damage to cyclists than the other way round.

It’s the impunity cyclists have while committing all kinds of offences that does it for me, particularly when an £80 fine (as happened to me today) can land on your doormat from a camera catching you straying into a bus lane/jumping a red light/entering a box junction/stopping momentarily to drop someone off on a double yellow etc etc etc. If cyclists were able to be fined in a similar manner it would level the playing field and build healthier relationships between cyclists and motorists. The relationship between the two has always been bad but these changes are going to make things worse.

One last thing our Cambridge contingent will be able to relate to:

Twice every day I drive along Mill Road (from Brooks Road/Perne Road end, up and over the bridge and turn sharp left at the bottom into Devonshire Road towards the station. That turn has always been dangerous with bikes flying down the bridge overtaking on the inside and pedestrians crossing Devonshire Road without looking, but the last couple of days that left turn has been almost impossible with pedestrians now having right of way and stepping out into the road, bikes coming through on the inside and traffic backing up onto the bridge with motorists frustrated and angry.

Must be a better way of making things safer for cyclists than making motorists hate them even more. That sort of thing never ends well at all.
Click to expand...
I avoid cycling over that bridge at all costs, it's the most dangerous place in the city for it. The pedestrians don't have any more right of way than they did before though, they have just been led led to believe they have by the poor reporting of this. Making motorists hate cyclists sells papers. Luckily I don't have to use Cambridge station since Cambridge North was built.
 
Doctor Doog said:
I avoid cycling over that bridge at all costs, it's the most dangerous place in the city for it. The pedestrians don't have any more right of way than they did before though, they have just been led led to believe they have by the poor reporting of this. Making motorists hate cyclists sells papers. Luckily I don't have to use Cambridge station since Cambridge North was built.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I’d fallen victim to the confusion and assumed pedestrians could effectively just step out into the road on that corner myself. Judging by the hesitation of other motorists and the relative confidence with which pedestrians are doing so it would appear there are problems ahead.

On previous posts people have spoken about the prohibitive cost of good cycling infrastructure and Cambridge being a bit of an outlier. It’s worth noting the dangerous Mill Road bridge situation was ‘supposedly’ addressed at immense cost in 1989. The Tony Carter Cycling Bridge was built, at the time the worlds longest cycling bridge:

5D962958-39A1-4C0D-A257-2BCB71FBB5B5.jpegAC9BE047-F0A5-4719-B140-4E0AA8383B5C.jpeg

There was a fierce debate about it at the time. It was supposed to take cycling traffic away from Mill Road but anyone with a modicum of common sense knew it involved too much of a detour and was primarily yet another Cambridge cycling vanity project. It makes you wonder what people in other areas struggling through crappy glass-strewn cycle lanes must think when they see money being thrown around like that.

It might’ve helped if cyclists were diverted away from Mill Road and onto the Carter bridge (that was built for them) leaving the MR one for vehicles (and subsequently safer for everyone), which was a suggestion as valid at the time as it is now.

33 years on we’ve got the dedicated Carter cycle bridge, a multi-purpose dangerous road bridge, and the onus firmly now on the motorist to avoid cyclists and pedestrians being prioritised.

Personally, think it’s a small wonder motorists are increasingly angry and creating a further divide isn’t going to help. Not too sure how we level things out a bit, but some sort of accountability for cyclists actions would be a start.
 
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New cycle route to boost residents’ health and the environment

Work is set to begin on a new off-road cycle route along the A4123 Birmingham New Road in Sandwell which will boost residents’ wellbeing through physical activity and encourage them to travel safely and sustainably.
www.blackcountryradio.co.uk www.blackcountryradio.co.uk

sandwellwalking-and-cycling.commonplace.is

A4123 New Segregated Cycle Lane

Click here to learn about changes to the A4123 from Tipton Road to Burnt Tree.
sandwellwalking-and-cycling.commonplace.is sandwellwalking-and-cycling.commonplace.is

Had no idea about this. I'll wait and see how good it is before making any real judgement, but those plans already look like the cycle line doesn't have priority over the side roads and industrial estate entrance/exits in the same way that the main carriageway does. If that's the case, I probably won't be using it unfortunately.

If it's the same as the other cycleway on that road then it'll be a waste of time and resources and widen the divisions between motorists and cyclists - "Bloody cyclists should be forced to use cycle paths" etc.
 
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Oh, and combining cycle paths with pedestrian walkways is never a good idea. Runners tend to use them, as do people who want more space such as people with pushchairs, scooters etc. It's always best to create properly segregated cycling infrastructure on the main carriageway with the same rights as the motor traffic and away from pedestrians.

As this new proposal is only on one side of the road, the presumption is that cyclists riding in both directions will need to use it. It will be interesting to see if there are any safe crossing/merge points at the start and end of the route (Burnt Tree has light controlled crossing, which is good), or whether it will just clumsily merge into the pavement at the end. Also, I'd be amazed if it was actually wide enough to accommodate 2 cyclists safely riding past eachother in the opposing directions.
 
The city of San Antonio has spent several years and millions of dollars planning to improve cycle and pedestrian usage along one of its main roads - primarily by reducing traffic from three lanes in each direction to two lanes. The plans were drawn up in consultation with the state of Texas. Last week Texas decided 'we own the road, you cannot do this'.
It's part of a culture war between right-wing Texas where the car is king, and liberal large cities.
 
Was good to get back out on the good bike in the sunshine over the weekend.

Screenshot_20220321_194404.jpg

Bonus points if anyone can tell me where that is....
 
Remember being confused as fuck the first time I ever encountered that place trying to duck out of congestion on the A38. Crested the hill coming South and had a proper 'what the fuck' moment as the expanse of water opened out in front of me. Thankfully then ad you sweep round to the right someone has kindly built a rather pleasant bridge across it.
 
There was a photographer at the Abbots Bromley end of the bridge taking photos of all the motorcyclists with an advert for his Instagram page. Completely ignored me, like.
 
machin05 said:
There was a photographer at the Abbots Bromley end of the bridge taking photos of all the motorcyclists with an advert for his Instagram page. Completely ignored me, like.
Click to expand...
Seen a lot of photographers at sites all round Britain, The Alps and Pyrenhees taking pics to sell, both motorcyclists and cyclists.....maybe you just weren't photographic enough? 😃
 
It was the red water bottle letting down the whole matt grey / black look that put him off perhaps 😉
 
sycophantia said:
Seen a lot of photographers at sites all round Britain, The Alps and Pyrenhees taking pics to sell, both motorcyclists and cyclists.....maybe you just weren't photographic enough? 😃
Click to expand...

No, that can't be it...

Screenshot_20220322_104314.jpg
 
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