cycle facility of the month

[martc]

Following the heated discussion re cycle vs audi and road planners, the website below is worth a look...

 

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pete.meg/wcc/facility-of-the-month/March2015.htm

 

Work your way backwards or use the grid towards the bottom of the page.

 

Town Planners/Road Designers - look away now...

 

 

PS I think this site may have been mentioned in this parish years ago.

[HillmanImp]

I was looking for this the other week, thanks! 

 

Although I cant remember why now, so thanks for nothing.

[tooSavvy]

Local Auth get 'null poit', Govt grants£, if they don't squeeze Koko the Clown lines into their road planning.

 

Hence, nice breezy quick 'relief roads' come with a grass tussocked ribbon of green tarmac alongside/or 'cycle share path' plates on the lamppost.

 

Total ratespazz.

 

TS

[catsinthewelder]

I love the idea of cycle lanes but I wish that they would show the plans to cyclists before building them.  I'm buggered if I'm going to give way to traffic on side roads by using the cycle lanes in town when I can ride on the road unimpeded

[willswitchengage]

There are dozens of flickr groups for this kind of stuff. Birmingham City Council were notorious for it when I graduated a few years ago.

 

Any cyclist - or Top Gear viewer - will spot the error with Edinburgh's new tram system. At least cyclists will never have to worry about trams ever actually being run on the tracks.

 

[HillmanImp]

Any cyclist - or Top Gear viewer - will spot the error with Edinburgh's new tram system. At least cyclists will never have to worry about trams ever actually being run on the tracks.

 

 

Nope, cant spot it. You will have to enlighten me.

[Inspector Morose]

Ooh, a guided cycleway!

[UltraWomble]

Im sure I have mild dyslexia - I read this as cycle FATALITY of the month and was somewhat disapponted to find pictures of roads with no blood and guts splattered all over them

[richardmorris]

Nope, cant spot it. You will have to enlighten me.

Bike tyres and tram lines do not mix. The guidelines state best practice is for cycle routes to cross at 90degrees and no less than 45degrees. Running parallel is a definite no no as the current class action against Edinburgh council explains.

[willswitchengage]

Nope, cant spot it. You will have to enlighten me.

 

richardmorris +1

 

Bicycle tyres get struck in the tram tracks and you fall off almost instantly.

[New POD]

richardmorris +1

 

Bicycle tyres get struck in the tram tracks and you fall off almost instantly.

My dad was brought up in Blackpool in the 1940's.  He says he only did that once. It hurt. So he made sure he never did it again.

[HillmanImp]

Bike tyres and tram lines do not mix. The guidelines state best practice is for cycle routes to cross at 90degrees and no less than 45degrees. Running parallel is a definite no no as the current class action against Edinburgh council explains.

 

Can't people just ride in between them? I manage to ride along paths without falling off the kerb? I also manage to ride in between the white lines on cyclepaths without spilling out onto the road/into a hedge. In the event of an obstruction resulting in someone having to cross the tram lines, if they can't actually ride over the tram lines without falling off, they really should think about finding another mode of transport.

 

Unless the stereotypes are true and everybody riding a bike in Scotland is drunk (he says sipping some Red Stripe) I really cannot see the problem? Its got to be better than being on the road?

[Pillock]

Yeah, but then you have to get off your bike and turn it 90 degrees to exit the cyclepath, if you try and ride off the edge to get to where you're going when the cyclepath doesn't go to where you're going, you're going to come off as you hit the rails at a shallow angle and your bike wheel gets stuck. Or you end up sat behind a tram at a stop because you can't overtake.

[HillmanImp]

I'm not being awkward or owt but there is absolutely nothing wrong with having those tram lines there, its seems like Daily Mail-esqe outrage over a problem that is not there.   

 

You turn your wheel to get off the cycle track against the direction of the rail and even if the rail direction does go your way you just need a little bit of common sense to avoid getting caught in it. Its like walking along a road, if you see a lamp-post you move out of the way to avoid walking into it. If you are cycling along a path with tram grooves at the side you don't put your wheel in it.

 

If you are a bit simple and do put your wheel in it, you won't do it again. No kittens will die and falling on the floor because you got your wheel caught in a groove is better than falling on the floor because you got hit by a car.

 

Okay it would be better without the tram lines but its better having the cycle path than nowt.

[brickwall]

What are you meant to do here?

 

[Inspector Morose]

According to the letter of the law, get off and push your bike over the pavement sections then get on again and ride the yard then stop and get off again and push your bike over the pedestrian crossing bobbly bit then get back on again.......and repeat ad infinitum......

 

I've done the riding between tram tracks thing. If you think you can turn the front wheel at a great enough angle as to not slip on the running rail and slide into the check groove, then good luck with that. Meanwhile your back wheel will have only turned a bit, slide into the groove and either buckle the wheel or throw you off.

 

And another thing. What's wrong with riding on the road?

[Squire_Dawson]

Audi can piss off. I'd rather cycle, unless it was a proper Auto Union or NSU you offered me. Even then, I still may prefer to cycle.

[catsinthewelder]

That last one ∆ is right outside my old school in Durham. I was the only person who cycled to school.

[HillmanImp]

What are you meant to do here?

 

[richardmorris]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-30951833

[richardmorris]

This has been a problem for decades......

 

1935 - Death of M G Selbach
On Thursday 26th September 1935 Maurice G Selbach left Leander Road, Thornton Heath on one of his own cycles for the relatively short journey to his business premises in Kennington Road. He was not due to go to work on this day but, being the conscientiousn sort, wanted to make sure all was okay. At around 10.30, just under 4 mile into his journey, he made a manoeuvre past a truck and whilst returning to the near side of the road encountered some particularly badly laid tram rails that caused him to fall from the cycle under the wheel of the truck. He died en route to hospital. His funeral was attended by over 150 well-known cyclists and representatives of cycle manufacturing firms together with family and friends. The service was held at Streatham Park Cemetery. At the inquest the coroner recored accidental death by the cycling press felt the poor state of the installation and repair fo the tram lines had played a big part in the accident. Mrs Selbach had a special headstone made which showed a photograph of Maurice edged in gold. Below the picture was a sculpted bicycle leaning against a milestone. Above this were the words "He died as he lived. A cyclist". In order to preserve it, the headstone was moved in 2004 to the National Cycle Museum in Powys where it is now on display.