Finsbury Park Interchange Cycle Route

Domino

I was recently talking to someone from Islington Cyclists who said they’d been consulted with, by Islington Council on a Connect2 cycling project to improve Finsbury Park Interchange for cyclists. He said it was hard to do anything with £600,000 earmarked and it may be better to send the money back than just do pointless tweeking. I’m sure something can be done to improve that junction for cyclists. At present you have to get your way to the front of the traffic at Rock Street, or breath in the buses exhaust fumes nearer the back. Then on the bike path opposite manoeuvre your way on the narrow path, past the people leaning on the railings outside the silver bullet and the taxi place and then wait at the lights to cross again. Most cyclists just seem to miss all that out and just go straight through along with the buses. I often wonder if the transport police hanging around there, may take the opportunity to give me a fixed penalty notice, when I do it. Does anyone use that route and have ideas about it? There’s this link about it, which is a year old, but I don’t think anything’s moved on. <http://www.sustransconnect2.org.uk/resources/Islington Connect2 Route Update 1_June 09.pdf&gt;

Arkady

Following the strike this weekend, the thing would ask for is for the cycle storage place to acquire a TFL bike hire station.

miss annie

Yes, the bike hire is all in zone 1 at the moment but with FP being such a busy interchange TFL really should think about branching out a bit.

Papa

If I ever cycle round there, and I tend to avoid it if I can, to come to Stroud Green Road, I push to the front past the traffic, then as soon as the lights change it's straight over and through the bus bit outside the station and off to the left up the raised cycle path on Stroud Green Road. Coming the other way, I either go straight through all lights to head for Blackstock or Seven Sisters going East, which is relatively straightforward. If going towards Holloway Road, I'd go the wrong way through the bus station, then get off and wheel myself across the pedestrian lights and hop back on at Seven Sisters Road to go under the bridge. Some of this may involve illegal traffic manouevre's but I think I could put up a fairly robust avoiding death trap argument and I also suspect I'm not the person breaking the most laws around that area at any one time. In my view the best bet would be a two way cycle path painted through the bus station next to the Silver Bullet, going to a cycle crossing at the lights over Seven Sisters Road. We should definitely have Boris Bikes at Finsbury Park, but they'd argue that they will all be gone at the start of the day and full at the end.

miss annie

TFL monitor the bicycle hire points and have vans to move bikes between them depending on usage patterns.

ADGS

Not so much vans as teensy little street cars pulling great big trailers, judging from the time I saw some in transit.

[Deleted User]

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Ali

There was a girl killed on the junction a few years back I think a Romanian truck driver got jaioled for it because he was driving with a coffee table in his passenger seat and couldn’t see out properly

nick_m

There are plenty of ways to avoid the FP junction. The free TFL bike maps are excellent (I reckon the best maps you can find of London, free or otherwise) and show alternative routes. It's amazing how far you can actually cycle in London without going on any major traffic-filled roads. I manage SG to Westminster in 30 mins every day on back roads, except for small parts of Camden which can be a little busy.

David

Hmm, if you're coming from City you'd generally always filter into Highbury Grove/Park into Blackstock. This will always lead you into that junction if you want to get up SGR. I don't mind the one way Rock St section - could perhaps mark out a cycle lane - but the main issue is getting up the front at the lights then trying to get to the cycle lane on the far right when buses are cutting across you if you're not quick or up the front. Also don't like the way the current cycle lane just sort of stops where pedestrians are. There's no way to legitimately get back onto the road. It's nonsense. Hence cyclists just go with cabbies and buses - to be honest I'm not sure why they can't just declare that cyclists are allowed through with them - its no more dangerous/tight than the rest of the entire journey from the city to the junction anyway.

Domino

Thanks, I'll feed back to Islington Cyclists group. I come from the city direction too. I can avoid the junction by going up the same route as Misscara. But I'm not keen on that way when it's late and the park is shut anyway so it's just a long way round then. I agree it's not really dangerous, the traffic's going so slowly, but it's just annoying, particularly as it's the last little bit before home. The bike paths there now just seem to make it worse not better.

David

My feeling is they should actually do away with the cycle lane in the bus station, let traffic there flow like it does anywhere else (minus cars). And at least mark a bit of lane for cyclist along rock street. Also firm up how you get onto the cycle lane going up SGR from the end of the bus station when turning left, currently you cycle onto the pedestrian area which is a bit like the nonsense at the other lane where you have to cycle over a pedestrian area to get onto the road. Alternatively again, just do away with the cycle lane, which is mostly useless as everyone walks on it anyway. If its not there cars will be expecting cyclists to go on the road, currently if they're behind you and you're not using the cycle lane they hassle you yet the lane is full of pedestrians. It's not revolutionary but it'd be more natural. And completed with a handful of road signs, some paint and surfacing.

ShaunG

Many cycle lanes in London are worse than useless, and cycling would be better if they weren't there (I'm thinking of the ones just painted on the edge of roads). The SGR ones are not as bad as those but I am very ambivalent about them, we might well be better off without them. On the bus station, I agree that coming from Blackstock Rd (or the very popular Emirates/ St Thomas's route), cycles should simply be allowed to cycle through along with the buses. Coming the other way I don't think anyone should really need to go through the bus station - you either carry on down SGR to Blackstock (and loop round to the right to go down St Thomas's); or if you're going to Holloway, go down Lennox Rd and Fonthill.

Ali

Going the “other way” I noticed that the traffic lights have green man and cycle sequence which on the crossing where the busses come out into SGR turning right. It leads you to the cycle lane in front of the Bullet which of course is arrowed against you so effectively it takes you to a complete dead end ie the pavement if you don’t go against the arrows in the cycle lane. Who designed and tested that ? I do go against the arrows in the morning as I think it is marginally quicker but also safer than going around the one way. The road surface at the bus stop on Rock Street is also very bad on the verge of being dangerous.

David

So basically do away with all the cycling lanes around the station, introduce one on Rock Street and let cyclists through the station along with bus and taxi's heading from Rock St onto Stroud Green Road. Add a little blue sign to allow cyclists to turn left out the station. I'll keep the change out the £600k, cheers.

Papa

Are cyclists really not allowed through the bus station with buses and taxis? Is there a sign that says that? I've never seen it. Perhaps they could use the £600k saved on training courses for bus drivers that explain to them when they've just cut you up, nearly killed you by squeezing you onto the kerb, driven straight at you etc. it's politer to just apologise when a cyclist dares to complain rather than deliver a mouthful of abuse. It amazes me how many bus drivers thing it is acceptable to swear their heads off at you in full hearing of all their passengers when they are in the wrong in the first place.

Ali

I have been looking out for a sign and there is one for no cars and motor bikes but nothing about bikes. It deos say busses and access only below the sign Confusing !

sincers

Isn't there a tannoy announcement that bikes, skateboards and roller skates are not permitted in the bus station?

Papa

I always took that as station not bus station and meaning don't go through the pedestrian tunnel or on the platforms, but I guess it may say the bus station. I have never paid much heed to repeated tannoy announcements

Domino

@Papa L, I take it this abuse isn't levelled at you, when you're going the wrong way through the bus station? I kind of took it that the sign saying buses/taxis/access only, implied no bikes or cars.

Papa

No, have never had abuse going through the bus station - rarely ride through it though. Saying I did that probably gives the wrong impression of me as a cyclist. I actually generally try to obey the rules of the road, not ride on pavements, stop at red lights and never cross a crossing when a pedestrian is on it. After all, it's just common courtesy to behave like a civilised human being when on a bike, just as it is when driving or walking. Abuse tends to come more in situations where you get cut up, crushed to the kerb, or driven straight at by a bus driver accelerating through an amber/red light. You then complain, without shouting or swearing and simply point out they might want to look where they are going. And are met with a volley of abuse at best and on some occasions attempts to scare you by trying to drive at you. Unless a sign says no bikes, I take it to mean bikes are allowed - in the same way I would with being a pedestrian .

ADGS

I do recall once seeing a member of staff at the bus station trying, without much success, to direct cyclists over to the right-hand side, by the Silver Bullet, as that was the cycle lane.

crouchend tiger

I'd always assumed that the cyclists allowed in the bus lane rule meant I could go anywhere a bus was going.

I guess that might be an assumption too far?

David

The police have stopped me on several occasions and said bikes must use the lane provided. Not sure quite how it works but think the provision of the cycle lane with its blue sign suggests that bikes must use it somehow. I think the tannoy message is with regard to the tunnels. I still think its a nonsense. Do away with it. Simplify things.

dorothy

There's some drawings here on plans for the site. I've not had a good look at them, but they seem a bit like overkill to me. Putting them here for information. <http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/icag-eng/attachments/folder/42084037/item/list>; I think an amount of lottery money was originally earmarked for this project, but I'm wondering whether if anything of this sort would get signed off in the current climate.

ShaunG

For anyone interested, you only need to look at the last of the four attachments. I agree with Dorothy - assuming this will cost a fair bit of money, it really doesn't seem worth the bother. I do this route every day and I don't find going via Blackstock Rd any great problem - this would possibly save 1 minute or less of journey time.

Ali

How much time it saves depends on the lights etc I think I can only remember one recent cyclist death going via Blackstock Road which happened a few years ago. I actually do what is proposed anyway by cycling against the flow on the cycle track in the bus station. Doing it would make the flow more logical and would provide cyclist protection at the junction of Rock Street and SS Road. It is about time that some of the potholes in Rock Street are fixed as well