Cyclists have made my home city too stressful to live in any more

The Kingston scheme seems to have taken the decision to give all the main bus routes a cycle lane, which means all the main roads leading to other areas. I guess they thought this made sense as it means that people cycling those routes have a safer option now, as these are the most traffic dense areas.

But are these where people want to cycle?

For a start, all the cycle lanes lead to and from Kingston, but lots of journeys there are for shopping or socialising. It's not a major hub for say office workers.

They didn't look at where people would want to go on their bikes.

Anyway, for whatever reason, the demand to cycle along very busy roads doesn't seem to be there and hasn't increased.

I'm still cross they took out the bus lanes.

Only read the OP and am sure this has been said, but in my city it's drivers who cause the biggest nuisance - speeding, racing, not having any patience with other road users. And it's drivers who can kill you, so - whilst I hate them being on pavements - I don't have much headspace to care about cyclists.

Cambridge has always had a large cycling culture so YABU if you’ve been in Cambridge forever and are only just frustrated with it now. Although I’ve never seen balaclavas here, personally.

anywhere else I guess YANBU if this is a huge change because I get it.

Even in Cambridge where it’s expected it can be wearisome - I use the road as a cyclist and in a car and find it infuriating how many cyclists jump red lights

The comment was in relation to car drivers who mount the pavement to park but continue to drive until the find the perfect spot.

Yes, I don't care about rain, I just wear waterproofs. I don't care about snow or ice, I'd use studded tyres if it happened more often - according to a Finnish friend-of-a-friend it's annoying when the temperature hits minus 30 because the grease in his bearings solidifies and he has to get the bus to work. Wind is hard work unless you're electrically assisted.

You know what I do hate? The moron in the Isuzu pickup truck who close passed me on a slushy road and gave me wet socks. The other lane was clear, he could have gone in the wheel ruts of that and passed me safely. But no. That was when I asked for a helmet cam for Christmas.

If anyone is interested in how the Finns cope with cycling just below the Arctic Circle in winter, this is Oulu:

Exactly. This is what I mean when I say "we aren't willing to give up any car privileges".

If you try to remove a few parking spaces (that can never make a dent on transport needs) to make a bike path that could serve hundreds or thousands of people per day, people kick up the most almighty fuss!

Make a bike path that forces cars to pause for a second / give way when turning on or off a main road, it's a "traffic disaster".

Cycling in bad weather can be really nice if you have the right gear, somewhere sheltered to put the bike, and good paths away from cars splashing you.

Parking is not a human right. I used to find it difficult to find a spot in my village, particularly on a Saturday evening (bloody second homes). I sometimes ended up parked at the bottom of the hill.

So I solved the problem by buying a bike and selling the car.

People in Switzerland cycle. People in Finland cycle. While geography does make a small difference, the quality of the infrastructure matters far more.

@jetlag92 Oh, that a good idea for e-scooter riders who cut across pedestrians on pavements, poke them with a massive umbrella as they whizz by. 😂

Just buy a stiff golf umbrella - you extend it as you cross. You poke as they try to kill you.

I suspect primarily it's another development that does not give cyclists any right of way. The cars travelling down the road have right of way, but the cyclists practically end up stopping at every cross street. When you have to do that, there's little point in being on a bike - you might as well walk.

Generally because I am legally riding on a shared pathway, and the road in question is a hellscape. You try playing chicken with the metal death boxes!

But spending on bike infrastructure isn't huge. It's tiny. It's a tiny fraction of transport infrastructure costs. Which is ridiculous, because money spent on bike infrastructure results in net government savings due to decreased health costs etc.

We know that if you put GOOD cycling infrastructure in (which might include bike lockers) people will use it.

It's very clear, from international examples, what works. We don't need to install bad infrastructure (and then shrug our shoulders and say "well, I guess people don't like bikes).

Yes happens where I am too, with the same uncomprehending look if you suggest they should perhaps stay on the roads. I have no idea what is wrong with people.

You don't think that the answer might be for drivers to start driving their metal boxes more considerately?

I think they ran out of money then had to find other ways to fund the rest of the project. Also, this area is entirely Lib Dem controlled - there are only about 3 Tory councillors, so they have no influence. But that's irrelevant tovthe points I'm making, which are around huge spend on cycling infrastructure and little uptake in usage.

Maybe it hasn't been implemented properly but often new town planning isnt a success - and lessons are learned. The Kingston Bypass was the first dual carriageway in the UK, now part of the A3. The exit and entry roads along that section are utterly bizarre - the planners didn't know the most effective system back them. Lessons were learned.

But anyway, cycling is just not that popular for lots of reasons. I use the bus mostly. I won't take my bike into town because of the significant risk that it will be stolen. They can put as many cycle lanes in as they like but while bike theft is as it is, I won't do it.

So why aren’t your local Conservatives using LTN1/20 (an easy to read document created by their own party) to audit the Kingston scheme and to work out what has gone wrong? The Walthamstowe Mini-Holland scheme is very well-known as a success so why hasn’t Kingston been able to achieve the same results and why has it taken them a decade just to remodel a few streets?

I don’t know the area so I can’t tell you what has gone wrong, but if your opposition transport lead is claiming stuff that buying people bikes and encouraging them to cycle is the way forward, he doesn’t understand even the basics of road safety. We really ought to be able to expect that if councillors take on a brief, they will educate themselves about that area of local government so they can make informed decisions if they control the council or effectively challenge poor decisions when in opposition.

Probably because geography is over used as an objection to putting cycling routes in. I can think of one place near me drivers confidently pronounce as being unsuitable for cycling as it’s steep - it is but not impossibly so (I can manage it fairly easily as a leisure cyclist on a basic mountain bike). The real problem cycling that way is the traffic. If somewhere is genuinely too steep it’s also not that hard to get off and push (unless you are using the bike as a mobility aid). There are places that are too steep for cycling - but these are fewer than people think.

Again with weather, it is a real issue but anyone interested in road safety will have seen endless pics of people doing #VikingBiking in the snow or transporting their Christmas trees by bike. Places like Helsinki enable it by gritting and clearing routes. Where I live, people still cycle in poor weather but my council has repeatedly refused requests to grit the main routes. They could do better for both cycle routes and pavements and it would stop people being hurt.

It’s also striking that we talk about “the people who can cycle” but rarely about the “people who can drive” - in my region that’s over a third of households who have to rely on public transport. Even where public transport is very good, there are still places it won’t go (for example between suburbs as most routes head to the city centre). Making it easier to cycle can massively help those people with work and education opportunities. Making it safe for older DC to cycle to school and other activities is also a real benefit for families with cars - ironically I often see the same people who complain about building cycle routes also want people to stop driving DC to school. Financially the benefits of cycling are such that bikes tend to pay for themselves if you use the lm regularly - even with what you describe in your city people would still have these benefits in the summer. Cycling rates amongst women also tend to go up once there are safe routes.

No cycling / road safety groups ever say that people should cycle - just that people should have safe routes so they are able to cycle if they want / have to. That’s really not unreasonable- and would also go a long way to solving the problems in the OP’s original post.

Error post

Wow, 2026!

Been on the horizon for a good few years now but finally happening.

Hope they can be cheap. I would happily go car free if I could get one on demand at a reasonable price.

This happens all the time round here (particularly bad near local shops and around the school) and if you challenge the drivers they just look at you as if you've come down from outer space. They mount the kerb and keep the on moving, even if there are pedestrians walking right in front of them.

I agree OP. Nearly got hit by a bicycle coming from behind me today.

They come behind you on the pavement silently and at speed, just assuming you are aware of them and will know not to (heaven forbid!) take a slight step to the right or left as they come so close to the line you are already walking.

Pedestrians shouldn’t have to assume there’s a risk that a bicycle will be trying to come by close behind them when minding their own business walking along.

Although don’t get me started on other pedestrians who have decided it’s reasonable to “tailgate” others (I am by no means a slow walker - I’m faster than average) rather than walking around those who as a bit slower than them on a wide pavement - so that you have to step to one side rather than them walking around you to prevent them stepping on your heel!

You would have to demolish everything and start again. In a very crowded town like Kingston, with its existing road infrastructure, that's not really possible.

Yes - the removal of the bus lane is particularly irksome - the UK will never compromise on space for cars (including parking) so the bus lane went instead.