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In my day job I have simulated the effects of segregated cycle infrastructure on demand http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316307256 http

In my day job I have simulated the effects of segregated cycle infrastructure on demand http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316307256 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316... (above is out of date, more recent work under review: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/sdna/european-transport-conference-2016/ http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/sdna/european-transport-conference-... ) So far I have shied away from simulating on-road cycle lanes, e.g. where motor vehicles and bikes are separated by a line of paint. Firstly because the quality is so variable - hilarious examples about on the internet, and many cyclists would argue that a bad cycle lane is worse than none at all as it creates an expectation they should be riding in it rather than sharing the road. Secondly because data on what's there - width, quality, obstructions - is so thin on the ground. (any time anyone wants to use deep learning to harvest this from streetview please go right ahead!) Where am I going with all this? It's heartening to see a case where lines painted on the road actually made a tangible difference. I wonder how much came down to the temporary nature though - like some kind of campaign - as cultural effects are known to have a huge impact on cycling as well.

proactivesvcs 9y ago
I noticed that the lane itself is a safe distance from the door zone and has a sensible, safe boundary marker between the cycle lane and standard highway. A cycle lane done properly - ironically, with some spray paint!
wiredfool 9y ago
There have been a lot of lanes going in around Dublin, and frankly, most of them are useless. Some of them are grade separated from the main road by a inch high curb. Just high enough to catch a wheel and cause a wreck. Most of them just collect road debris like the shoulders. Some of them are de-facto parking lanes. Some of them are confusing enough that it's seriously unclear what the lane actually means. (I say this as someone who had to go through the whole driver licensing scheme here after 20 yrs driving in the US, so I've seen all the rules from the POV of an experienced driver.) For example: https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6089878,-6.1934201,90m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6089878,-6.1934201,90m/data=... What the hell are those cycle turn boxes in the middle of the car lanes? They have a solid border, so they're 'mandatory'. They're unavoidable by cars. And if you're in one, you better have right of way already, because squishy. (and fwiw, the one other cyclist I saw at that junction was using the crosswalk). And then there's the cycle lanes near Greystone where they exist for one block, then there's something that looks like a crosswalk for bikes, and they dissappear for a block, then they reappear again. At some point, you just have to assume that some one with a can of paint is taking the piss and you just ride in a straight line like any other vehicle.

proactivesvcs 9y ago

I noticed that the lane itself is a safe distance from the door zone and has a sensible, safe boundary marker between the cycle lane and standard highway. A cycle lane done properly - ironically, with some spray paint!

wiredfool 9y ago

There have been a lot of lanes going in around Dublin, and frankly, most of them are useless. Some of them are grade separated from the main road by a inch high curb. Just high enough to catch a wheel and cause a wreck. Most of them just collect road debris like the shoulders. Some of them are de-facto parking lanes. Some of them are confusing enough that it's seriously unclear what the lane actually means. (I say this as someone who had to go through the whole driver licensing scheme here after 20 yrs driving in the US, so I've seen all the rules from the POV of an experienced driver.) For example: https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6089878,-6.1934201,90m/data=!3m1!1e3 https://www.google.com/maps/@53.6089878,-6.1934201,90m/data=... What the hell are those cycle turn boxes in the middle of the car lanes? They have a solid border, so they're 'mandatory'. They're unavoidable by cars. And if you're in one, you better have right of way already, because squishy. (and fwiw, the one other cyclist I saw at that junction was using the crosswalk). And then there's the cycle lanes near Greystone where they exist for one block, then there's something that looks like a crosswalk for bikes, and they dissappear for a block, then they reappear again. At some point, you just have to assume that some one with a can of paint is taking the piss and you just ride in a straight line like any other vehicle.