To think cyclists should use cycle lanes

[Krispybake]

Today, a massive line of traffic was held up by a cyclist who was using a long main road when a cycle path (tarmacked the same as the road) ran parallel for the entire length of the road. Due to the volume of traffic coming in the opposite direction, it was impossible to overtake the cyclist and leave the safe distance so creating a huge tail back involving service buses, funeral cortege and multiple cars.
Genuine question, why do cyclists do this? If the cycle track has the same surface as the road, why will they not use it? Very annoying!

I live where the local council has spent a fortune on new cycle lanes, rarely see a cyclist in them though.

I was crossing a road the other day at a pedestrian crossing, cars had all stopped and I could see a cyclist hightailing it towards the crossing, no concept of stopping, shat himself when I crossed anyway. He was actually going round a car that had stopped.

Chilli, are you monitoring the 'empty' bike lane 24 hrs?

@CarlaH

I'm with you on this one. I do wonder where some of the PPs live where their cycle lanes are permanently strewn with car crash wrecks, massive lumps of debris and bottles hurled from passing cars. It is certainly not the case where I live.

It's cumulative. If the lanes aren't swept regularly, it all builds up.

And it's a major pain to have a puncture when you're on your way to work.

unfor All the rubbish and chopping son a roads surface moves to the edge as the road is driven over, that’s just what happens - it’s no anyones fault. Therefore glass, chipping from tarmac all graduate to the gutter, the cycle lanes on the side of the road end up with all the crap.

the worst one I’ve ever ridden is into Oxford, about 8 miles of pain trying to cycle over the road rubbish & stay on the bike, it’s dangerous

cycle paths with a grass verge help & road sweepers hoovering it up, when was the last time you saw a road sweeper ?

I personally wouldn't cycle on the one you found on the internet as it doesn't look safe but the fact is that they are not all like that. There seems to be an over generalisation (by some, not all) that all cycle lanes are far too hazardous to use. It may well be the experience of some but I haven't found this to be the case for every possible cycle lane throughout the duration of my bike rides. I prefer to use lanes whenever I can but that is my personal choice. Google search gives as many positive examples as it does negative ones.

I do use cycle lanes because I feel safer staying away from aggressive drivers. However, they can be an absolute nightmare. Inconsiderate pedestrians who want to walk together in a line so I cannot pass, dogs off the lead running around are a massive hazard for me, having to negotiate around dog poo, broken glass, etc. I can absolutely see why loads of people cycle along the road instead.

I had quite a serious accident on my bike one day when a dog darted out from a hedge and knocked me off my bike, the owner was apologetic and stayed to look after me, but it shouldn't have happened.

Nobody is saying that the cycle lanes and covered in glass or debris from start to finish. Why do people take things so literally. And then wonder why they don’t understand the problem.

Then no one anywhere would be safe up against that. Some crazy drivers!)

And that’s part of the reason why 100 cyclists die on UK roads every year.

Personally I can ride a bike but don’t. I do however appreciate that the majority of cyclists (I say majority as like drivers I believe that you get idiotic cyclists too) are just looking to get from A to B without getting killed. And if that means delaying another road user I don’t think it’s unreasonable. Generally no motorist is delayed by a cyclist for any significant amount of time. In our driving lifetime we’re delayed more by other cars being in front of us than cyclists and yet the cyclists are the problem. The arguments that they don’t pay road tax, go through red lights etc are irrelevant. VED (road tax) doesn’t go towards the upkeep of the roads, general taxation does. What if I buy a zero tax rated car? Am I then not entitled to use the roads either. And I think it’s fairly safe to say that we’ve all seen motorists go through a red light, it’s not something exclusive to riders of bikes.

The road I work on had extensive work done to create a separate curbed cycle lane, which meant the bus stops were removed and put a 5-6 minute walk away.

I have never seen one bugger use it - they just bomb around on the roads, running the lights and jumping pavements to avoid traffic. They want to have the same rights as cars but imagine if I decided to just mount the kerb to avoid a red light and shoot across the junction?

Just to add this is central London - I find the cyclists that use suburban roads much better,

The arguments we see regarding cyclists are pretty much similar to the arguments about dogs. Nobody sees the other persons point of view !

I do not mind cyclists much... They are in the main environmentally friendly for one thing.
They provide jobs for people making tiny lycra shorts
They are keeping fit and healthy

That's the positive side of it

On the other hand they cycle in groups on roads where cars cannot pass causing a massive traffic jam behind They appear to have no brains or simply do not care. I suspect the latter !

When I am walking with my dogs I wish they would not suddenly appear from nowhere and ring the bell making me fucking jump out of my skin.. I mean WHY ??

I'm not sure how genuine you're being with your comment, but I'll take it in good faith. I'd think if you looked at everyone cycling on a daily basis the amount of people cycling in a group is a fairly small proportion. And I'm yet to see a cyclist that has the ability to suddenly appear from nowhere, and personally I'd much rather they rung their bell than just pass without warning - I don't think that's unreasonable?

One finds oneself wondering how much extra pollution was spewed into the air by so many cars having to crawl in their least efficient gear ?

Not quite as much as if they were going uphill though.

The fact there aren't any studies on this is telling.

what do the people stuck in traffic think that they are, when they complain about being stuck in traffic?

From my experience of commuting via bike over 20 years, many a cycle lane has broken glass in. I often cycle along wonderful where on earth it comes from and wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it. I think some must be people deliberately dropping bottles there as it really is such an issue it can't just be luck. The issue on cycle lanes on roads is that broken glass from accidents or windows being broken into gets pushed side ways onto the cycle lane. Nails falling off vans are also an issue.

I don't think you are being unreasonable and this really annoys me because in most cases the width of the road was reduced to make the cycle lane and if cyclists don't use it what was the point? Previous to the cycle lane the road would have been wider and chances are you could have passed easily.

If cycle lanes are as bad as you make out lobby your council to sort the problem but by not using cycle lanes you are making the road more dangerous for cyclists and motorists because the road is no longer wide enough

A common theme of cycle lanes is that nobody who is actually a cyclist is involved in actually designing them. Most of them are designed by people who wouldn't know what a bike is if it hit them in the face.

Cyclists are not making roads dangerous simply by using them, just to clear that bullshit statement up as well.

If cycle lanes are as bad as you make out lobby your council to sort the problem but by not using cycle lanes you are making the road more dangerous for cyclists and motorists because the road is no longer wide enough

i belong to a local group who put forward ways of making cycle lanes better, of suggesting where (using strava) cyclists use the most routes and it would be good to have infrastructure. We get together with other groups that walk to lobby our council. They don’t listen

maybe if motorists want to join in with the lobbying, if it’s an issue to them, they might listen.

More often than not cycling lanes are littered, full of debris or in a poor condition. So a road cyclist might simply get into a habit never using them rather than checking whether it is usable.
Also, it slows down a speedy road cyclist who has to slow down before every side ride that is crossing the cycle lane.
If I was commuting and the cycling lane was in a good condition, I'd use it.
If I was going out for a road cycle I'd use roads only as that would keep my speeds steady.

Believe it or not this is part of the cycle network where I live, the staircase to the left goes over a 6m wall that separates the cycle lanes from the roads. The ramp is the background is how you get your bike over the wall. It is almost a complete cycle network running through the center of the city and as a circle around it.

Frabbits
I am a cyclist we are a one car family. I cycle to work most days I live in Dublin and cycle from the suburbs to the city centre, some of the older cycle lanes are not great but the newer ones are like mittes photo above. They have also started putting poles up along the older cycle lanes so cars can't veer into them to undertake. I personally feel way safer in a cycle lane and plan my route to avoid the roads that don't have cycle lanes of which there are few. In recent years they have started making roads one way so the other side of the road is given over to two cycle lanes cycle lanes, motorists hate it but it has helped. Big issue now though is electric scooters using the cycle lane which is a whole other thread

I am being perfectly serious @Feefee1
They come up from behind as I am walking along on a path in the woods. Suddenly there is a man on a bike and they either say nothing and swerve past or ring the bell or shout and every time it makes me jump. I swear they know what they are doing !

Where I live there are loads of groups of cyclists at the weekend who clog the roads up. Apart from that I have nothing against men in silly clothes riding a bike when they should be at home with their families.... nothing at all🙁

As I said upthread, loose dogs are a major hazard and have caused serious injuries to two friends fairly recently.

And you can't win, if you ring your bell, people complain. Yesterday, I shouted 'bike behind you' (perfectly politely, not in any way aggressively) to a dog walker, who snarled 'ring your bell'.

Surely, a polite warning is enough, whatever form it takes?

Anyway, that's a major reason why the road can be preferable to a shared-use lane.

And it really hacks me off when there's a clearly marked segrated path for walkers and cyclists and pedestrians are on the bike side.

I think perhaps you have interpreted the responses too literally yourself rather than see them for the tongue in cheek comments they are.
People can and do understand but may not necessarily agree with you. There appears to be a few cyclists on this forum who steadfastly refuse to even acknowledge the possibility that good cycle lanes can and do exist and can be safely used. That opinion must surely come from their personal experiences but it is rather unfair to insist that they are right and that no other possibility exists. I have an entirely different experience of cycle lanes as do some others on here, again due to personal preferences and experiences.