That's a fair point Peter.In fact in low traffic areas there's been a push to remove all segregation - mixing pedestrians, cyclists and cars to create uncertainty over who has priority and prompt everyone to be careful - although not great for blind people as some have pointed out.Segregating pedestrians via "special facilities" like pavements does encourage motorists to assume that pedestrians won't be in the road and drive faster as a result.I think the key here is the amount of traffic and the type of traffic. I cycled over to Clayponds this morning after the school drop off - along with half of Chiswick getting their boosters by the look of it! - and cycling along the A4 home I was pretty glad of the segregation. There's no way I would have wanted to be on that road. There's too much traffic, too many lanes and too many trucks. I wouldn't have cycled if there hadn't been a cycle lane - I'd probably have driven. I am your fairly archetypal new cyclist - never worn lycra, only started riding really for the school run and to avoid the semi-permanent pre-covid gridlock on CHR and while I've gained confidence over the last 18 months, there's no way I'd cycle with the same confidence as the pros - the ones who don't bother with the cycle lane....or pay that much heed to traffic lights (sorry - controversial for my cycling comrades, but it is a problem). I also wouldn't want my wife (let alone my kids) cycling anywhere but a cycle lane or really quiet road - and they wouldn't anyway.The point of cycle lanes is it encourages people to cycle more. A lot of the opposition to cycle lanes is to discourage more people from cycling in order to reserve road space for one group or another.When I first started posting I remember someone who called cyclists who wanted a cycle lane "cowards". It suits that the sort of person who'd cycle aggressively on dangerous roads is a fairly unlikeable chap (usually a chap) who wears loud, tight fitting clothes. The anti group particularly loved it when those pro cyclists announced they wouldn't use the cycle lane - "see, not even cyclists want a cycle lane!". It really doesn't suit certain people that cycle lanes encourage a wide variety of men, women and children wearing jeans, dresses or uniforms (and I make no judgement on who wears what!) to swap the car for a bike. It makes it much harder to demonise them and much, much harder to argue that they shouldn't be safe. I'll come back to the point - I have benefitted enormously from those cyclists who, for the last 50-100 years, have argued that cyclists are legitimate road users and should be on the roads with cars. Thanks for that, but I don't care. Other cyclists can cycle on the A4 if they want. I don't want to be on the roads with tipper trucks. I don't want my family on unsafe roads. I want to be safely "out of sight behind a dotted line or row of bollards", thanks, or better yet, in a well designed cycle lane.
Ed Saper ● 1745d