Hello, long-time lurker, first time poster!I'm a commuter from Chiswick into Central London (used to be 3-4 times a week, in these Covid times only once a week), and I cycle to work. In addition to that I like riding in my own spare time. From the perspective of someone doing 3/4,000km on my bike I'd say that the CS9 is better than nothing but not exactly the best solution for a cyclist. I should also point out I've got a driver's licence, but I rarely drive in London (don't own a car).From my experience, having lived and cycled in Belgium and Denmark, the cycleway has some significant flaws, first and foremost the fact that it's bi-directional (?) whilst being on one side of the road only. That's almost unheard of in the two countries I was referring to; in Copenhagen, where I normally go, I think I've seen such an arrangement in streets that are on-way only for vehicular traffic. I don't know why TfL insists on doing this - they must have their reasons! - but it makes it a massive pain to join the CS9 if coming from the north (the turn from Turnham Green Terrace for instance) and I guess it's disorienting for drivers.Then there's the stoplights. I don't quite understand why, say at the junction where Outsider Tart is, you need a specific stoplight turn for bikes. Everywhere else in the world cars turning give way to bikes, then make a turn. I've seen it done in Los Angeles and if they can get their head around it there... The other stoplight that doesn't make quite a lot of sense is the one by Artisan.The new extension on King's Road Hammersmith is puzzling as well. At some point there's a 90 degrees turn from the left hand side to the right hand side of the road (when coming towards Chiswick) which obliges you to stop, turn your head 90 degrees back, check that there's no traffic and then go. I know people should look, but it's all too easy not to and... bam. The "floating bus island" that draws so many complaints here is something I get. When I travel through Chiswick I see way too many fellow cyclists not stopping at the zebra crossings, but at the same time I just see too many bus passengers throwing themselves across the road. I know for a fact that if a bus is approaching a stop, at least one passenger won't look both ways (or at all) before crossing.The other option besides the floating bus island might be safer for pedestrians but, for cyclists, it would mean crossing the path of a bus pulling out into the bus stop. The A4 towards Heathrow has that design and it's dangerous. It's hard to check behind your back on certain types of bikes and, believe me, the new hybrid/electric buses are quiet. All in all I'm glad the cycleway is there - not having it would mean a situation like Kensington, or Chelsea, where I'm constantly cut in by cars, there's lots of vans and vehicles parked on the kerb and where I've had accidents in the past - but I think that it could've been better. As for cyclists not stopping at the zebra crossing, perhaps the police ought to stop a few and have a conversation. A few months ago I jumped a red light in Kensington; it was 10PM, late from work, tired and I will admit I didn't see the light. The road was also very empty. I was then stopped by two young Met officers who told me that the week before they had to notify the family of a man killed doing what I did. As the father of two girls it made me think. No cyclist wants to die and I think that no cyclist wants to crash into people like Kenneth as they cross the road...
Francis Sheehan ● 1711d