Cycle Superhighway (route 12)

andy

Looks like the nearest "cycle superhighway" will be Route 12. <http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/15832.aspx>; Looking at the map, it's either going to run Archway Road > Holloway Road > New North Road or Crouch End > Hornsey Road > Upper Street. Can't quite tell. Whichever route, it doesn't look like it's going to link up with FP's big cycle park.

graeme

V difficult to tell from that. Maybe TFL are aware that putting the Parkland Walk --> FP on any map to do with bikes will lead to residents revolting, so are leaving it up to individuals to discover the quick route from Highgate to the FP cycle park. Hopefully it'll remain a secret.

kerry

I just don't get the cycle superhighways. Is there more to them than blue paint?

becky

I agree. We drove down one in south London the other day and it just looked like they had changed the red paint to blue paint. It still had parts missing where there wasn't space for the path next to the traffic.

adamski122

i agree it looks like a gimmick! what could have made London into Amsterdam has turned into a joke. It just seems like they are repainting some cycle routes blue. It would be good if they seperated out the cycle path from the pavement on stroud green road so pedestrian/commuters didn't decide to try and get run over by cyclists...

poxy

Is it right that they've been painted blue because they're sponsored by Barclays?

dorothy

I use a lot of cycle paths, cycling to south london every day, and some are really great: Shepherdess Walk I really like. The shared crossing over Old St to go down Pitfield St I also like because of the sheer number of cyclists there, and the one where you can avoid the Elephant and Castle Roundabout is good. I use part of Cycle Superhighway Route 7. I think they're wider than the old paths. I thought that when they were finished you wouldn't be able to park in them. I think the cycle stop lines are meant to be a greater distance in front of cars' as well. I find that one down SGR completely rubbish though and even dangerous. It's not properly separated from pedestrians. Going up it from the station at 6pm, it's really busy and people often just walk in it, or step into it suddenly. Then if you're cycling you have a choice, either bump into them or go into the road, maybe in front of a lorry on a narrow road. The other day I was behind someone who was using their bell to try and warn people. She was shouted at and told to "just shut the fuck up". In the morning going down it's just as bad, pedestrians with headphones on, texting, meandering all over the place, then car doors opening without warning to drop people off, right onto the cycle path. I think it would make more sense to reverse the direction, so you're cycling the other way. I don't blame cyclists for not using it, and just holding up traffic.

miss annie

@poxy
Yes, they are Barclays blue - as are the hire bikes.

Ali

The reverse direction idea is a really good one

Emma

Yeah, the cycle lanes on the pavement are a complete menace up SGR - especially where there is part of the cycle lane which cuts into the place people stand to use the crossing! Bikes just zoom through and don't check who's coming to cross. Should definitely be separated from the pavement and moved into the road. Also, I think bikes should have more beefy-sounding bells. Maybe klaxons. The pathetic little dings they currently have just inspire contempt. It's like a mouse trying to get your attention.

becky

I think they should replace the single yellow under the bridges with double yellow lines to stop parking. It would then make more room on the road for both cars and bikes to safely pass.

graeme

@Emma?

<img src="http://i27.tinypic.com/28wf51k.jpg"></img>

[Klaxon on a bike]

Emma

If bikes could fly, I'd definitely get one. Come on Barclays, pull your finger out.

miss annie

It would be good if bikes could have a some sort of implanted microchip like dogs and cats have or a licence and licence plate at least, so that when they are doing their illegal manoeuvres they can be zapped by traffic wardens or police and reprimanded. They should have insurance too.
Cycling is good in very many ways however if cyclists want more consideration from drivers and pedestrians they should cycle in a more considerate way.Don't run red lights, don't cycle the wrong way down one way streets, pay heed to pedestrian crossings and don't cycle whilst using a mobile phone.

Ali

"Don't run red lights, don't cycle the wrong way down one way streets, pay heed to pedestrian crossings and don't cycle whilst using a mobile phone." Cars running red lights have nearly copped me twice the last week, they head into the space your about to go accelerating to try and get through before the light changes. Been clipped by wing mirrors twice on Camden Road exactly for this reason. I nearly got squashed last year on Seven Sisters near the Clarks shop by a driver rummaging in her handbag for a mobile phone that had gone off, no hands on the wheel and proceeding forwards in the middle lane! When we got the lights I pointed out the errors of her way and how dangerous it was. I can’t write down the response I got, I didn’t think ladies could utter such words ! Pedestrian Crossings, well there is enough about the Tollington one on here. I can only assume you must have had a bad experience or two with a cyclist – I can tell you that I have had plenty of near misses with people just walking straight out in front of you on to the Road with out looking at all. I guess this is because they don’t look behind them and rely on their peripheral vision which is okay with a car but not a bike.

miss annie

I don't cycle or drive, I'm speaking purely from a pedestrian's perspective. I've had a lot of experiences with cyclists ignoring zebra crossings and red lights, they just don't seem to recognise them as somewhere they should at least consider stopping, or perhaps slowing down for pedestrians.
Rest assured though, even when I'm next almost mowed down by an irresponsible, speeding two wheeler my language will be nothing but ladylike.

[Deleted User]

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Emma

I don't cycle but my lovely boyfriend does and tells me that the number of people who just walk into the road on Seven Sisters Rd is shocking. Although if you're on Seven Sisters Rd suicide probably seems like a grand idea.

miss annie

I know that lots of people stroll into the road without looking out for cars let alone bicycles. However, I have yet to see a cyclist stop at a zebra crossing even whe someone is using it - they seem to prefer to continue and cycle round pedestrians.
It doesn't matter if they percieve that there is no danger, rules are rules.

dorothy

You should look out for me, I'm always stopping on Highbury Hill on the zebra's and they're on a hill, so it's a pain to get going again. Often people can see the problem and just say something like 'on you go love'. I know there's lots of naughty cyclists, but pedestrians do give me the pip sometimes. They do just step out onto the road, think they can just nip across the lights in time, walk in the middle of the road, especially around little roads in the city, the clothing/footware they can't walk in, the spazzy walks, how they always think they're in the right, even when it's my right of way. I could really go on.

miss annie

@dorothy
I will indeed look out for you and I will congratulate you for making me actually snort tea out of my nose when I read 'spazzy walks'. I believe that the expression the youth use is LOL - or is that lots of love?

Lollo Rosso

@Misscara - I hope the passing bloke gave the cyclist a good 'dressing down'. What a twerp, he shouldn't be let near anything with wheels.
I think I also cycle responsibly, generally following the rules and be courteous to other road users. But there are really some bad apples amongst the cyclists, who really set out to ruin the reputation of the rest and are a danger to everyone - I sometimes feel more safe squeezed in between lorries and buses than on a road with heavy cycling traffic.

crouchend tiger

As another regular cyclist, I agree that there are some real idiots out there on bikes. But the ones that drive me most mad are the cyclists that jump red lights and then cycle along really slowly. So they actually overtake you when you're stopped on your bike at a junction and then as soon as the lights change, you find yourself trundling along behind them as they dodder down the road at a snail's pace.

This really gets my goat. Why don't they just embrace being slow?

P.S. I always stop at zebra crossings, Miss Annie. In fact, it's often while I'm waiting at a zebra crossing that one of the trundling idiots overtakes me. Grrr.

graeme

Spazzy walks, funniest thing I've read all day. And I read lots of pish on Fridays. Good work Dorothy.

dorothy

Thank you Graeme. We'll probably go straight to hell now. I've got a spazzy walk, that's why I cycle really.

annalou

I'm a cyclist who stops at zebra crossings too...the exaggerated looks of shock/sarky comments from pedestrians really make my day. Not all cyclists are the same.

Also, it may come as a shock to some of the pedestrians amongst you, but most of us have no desire to crash into you either. I know that some cyclists look a bit intimidating but we do have brakes and eyes innit.

In summary, a twat is a twat whatever their mode of transport. Fanning the flames in the style of the Daily Mail and pitting ClarksonFanboys against EvilLycraNaziCyclists against SaintlyPedestrians just makes the roads more dangerous for us all.

sincers

I also stop at zebras. I'll even position my bike in front of other traffic to encourage them to stop.. sometimes you can sense a vehicles intention to jump a crossing when its behind you and it gets my goat - but I'm a big brave boy and I'll stop anything. Cyclist who swan by when I'm waiting at a crossing really annoy me, so I'll catch them up, race past them and pass wind when they're in my slipstream - ahhh, chemical warfare at its gentlest. Pedestrians can be a nightmare though and if the law decides to come down hard on cyclists who "interpret" the highway code, they should equally start penalizing what the yanks call "jay-walkers", who in my mind are the biggest hazard. How about, following from Emma's post, painting Seven Sisters stretch of road around FP orange and call it a "suicide zone" where frankly, if you cycle through at speed and collide with one of the transients, you've only got yourself to blame. Yesterday when I was first to stop at the zebra to let a pedestrian by and then the oncoming car also stopped, the pedestrian thanked the car driver and ignored me. That annoyed me, but made me think, they can't have it both ways! Mardy pedestrains should also note that you don't just wander into a zebra crossing, like it'll make the drivers automatically stop; they're supposed to wait and give motorists time to come to a stop.