Dear Colleagues

Psycho Cycle-Lane

Has anyone else seen the accompanying item that appeared in London Lite last Thursday?  It made me pretty cross, and I felt moved to leap-frog other matters and bang off a response.  Whether or not it’ll be published remains to be seen.

Here is the Text, in case you have difficulty reading it:

THIS is the "ludicrously wide" cycle-lane a council has installed on one of its roads.

Residents of Weston Drive in Harrow say the lane is so big it has made the road too narrow for cars — forcing them to cross the white centre lines.  One resident said the cycle lane could endanger road users.

"It was put there to keep cyclists safe, but it is creating more of a danger," she said. "I've seen drivers crossing the centre lines and ending up perilously close to cars coming the other way.

"It's a busy street — and it's used by lots of cyclists — but I'm sure most would agree they don't need that much space."

A spokeswoman for Harrow council said the lane was "advisory" and that drivers were not legally obliged to steer clear of it in a dangerous situation.

"It is 1.5 metres wide, which is the standard size for a road of this width," she said, adding that the council would check the lane to ensure it did not pose a danger.

A spokesman for the London Cycling Campaign said the lane was there to tell drivers they "should expect cyclists".

The controversy comes after Boris Johnson pledged to create £163m worth of new and upgraded cycle routes by 2010. Plans include a 900km network of radial and orbital routes across the capital, called London Cycle Network Plus.

A spokesman for the Mayor said he was committed to making London a safer place for cyclists, "investing a record £55m in cycling this year, up from £36m last year".

Picture Captions:

Tight passage: a van is forced into the cycle lane. Right: the narrow carriageway

And here’s the hurried Response I sent to London Lite:

Dear Sir/Madam

Your item (somewhat crassly) titled ‘Psycho Cycle Lane’ [5 March p.20] serves very well to illustrate the widespread misunderstanding of the purpose of marked Advisory Cycle Lanes on the Carriageway.

The red Van depicted is not breaking any Law: it is permitted for a Motor Vehicle to encroach into Advisory Lanes when they are not in use.  When a Cycle-user is present, the purpose of the Lane marking is to ADVISE the minimum clearance that should be allowed when passing.  If the manoeuvre cannot be completed without crossing other road markings (such as the centre hatching shown in your view,) then the Driver should hold back until the way is clear.  If that means his or her journey takes a few seconds longer, then so be it.

The 1.5m dimension shown is not the ‘standard’ width, as your correspondent from Harrow Council claims, but the minimum width – to be used in minimal circumstances: the desired width is two metres.  This allows riding about one metre from the kerb, with a similar gap to the passing Vehicle.  It’s easy to overlook that it’s not just the narrow Bicycle Wheels that are travelling along — there’s a Person sitting aboard.

The Lane-markings are merely to formalise what should be happening if the markings weren’t present: a considerate Driver would not try to squeeze past, forcing the Cycle-user into the kerb, so the result would be the same.  The Advisory Lanes – demarcated by broken white lines – are to ensure that the impatient few are kept in check, so as to encourage new or returned Riders who would otherwise be too nervous to continue.

Clearly, if the Lane width is insufficient, a Vehicle shall tend to pass too closely — thereby defeating the object.  Sadly, that is very largely what has occurred to date, because the local Authority Staff responsible have not received proper training and/or do not appreciate the requirements of Cycle-infrastructure.

What is needed is a campaign to advise Motor Drivers of the true intention and operation of Advisory Cycle-Lane Markings.  I hope that publishing this letter may precipitate it.

Yours faithfully,

David S Garfield

(Local Representative, CTC ‘Right to Ride’ Network)

37 Lamb’s Lane South

Rainham      RM13 9XH     

Tel: 01708 553163

Please send any comments (+/—) via the e-mail group.

Regards

David