Hello all,
My council is proposing to remove this cycle lane and make it all shared use. We think there have to be better options - the school beside it is expanding, and will obviously be busier in the future.
We're going to get parents to sign a petition on Friday, so any and all ideas welcome!
Thanks,
Tim.
Given how absurdly narrow that cycle lane is almost any alternative arrangement would be preferable so long as contraflow cycling is still permitted - though riding on the pavement outside a school does seem to be almost as bad. Those pavements are too narrow so should be widened to give pedestrians more space in any case.
I think for a street such as that the most appropriate arrangement would be a "false one-way street". The whole street would permit two-way traffic, apart from a short one-way gateway at the exit to the main road. This could either have a cycle bypass or "Except Cyclists" plates could be placed under the no-entry signs (actually they should be there already for cyclists to legally use the exising cycle lane!). This effectively creates a contraflow cycle lane half the width of the carriageway.
Of course, the whole area should be subject to a 20mph speed limit. Speed probably isn't an issue on that particular traffic calmed street, but cyclists have to get there in the first place.
Do you have an issue with illegal parking there? If so, one way to tackle this would be to narrow the carriageway to just under 5 m. This would mean that parked cars would obstruct other motors, but there would be sufficient space for cyclists and motors to pass comfortably.
