Newslink October 2021
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
Membership magazine of the Motor Schools Association; road safety, driver training and testing news.
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For all the latest news, see www.msagb.com<br />
New cycle lane network hits snags already<br />
Terry Pearce<br />
MSA GB West Midlands<br />
They are building a cycle lane near me in<br />
Coventry, as part of a package of<br />
measures to improve the air quality in<br />
the city by helping to remove traffic from<br />
sections where Nitrogen Dioxide (NO 2<br />
)<br />
levels are at their greatest.<br />
This is being funded from a government<br />
grant specifically to deal with NO 2<br />
. It will<br />
be the first route in Coventry that will<br />
eventually lead to a strategic cycle<br />
network across the city.<br />
I may sound sceptical, but the council<br />
have had these so-called brilliant ideas<br />
before, the last one being ‘bus lanes’<br />
which were plastered all over the city.<br />
Odd bus lanes still remain but the<br />
location of the ones that failed can be<br />
seen by the green coloured tarmac that<br />
was left behind to slowly fade in time,<br />
after the white lines had been burnt off!<br />
The cycle lane is being built alongside<br />
an existing wide road and problems have<br />
occurred during construction. New kerb<br />
stones which were designed to highlight<br />
parking bays suddenly appeared in the<br />
roadway without markings or warning<br />
signs; these were being hit by<br />
unsuspecting motorists, and one major<br />
crash has already happened. The council<br />
were forced to place road cones out to<br />
highlight the kerb edge until they<br />
eventually erected warning posts. The<br />
The new cycle lanes,<br />
with hastily erected<br />
warning posts!<br />
Artist’s<br />
impression<br />
of the new<br />
cycle lane<br />
pictures show how different the layout<br />
certainly looks when compared with the<br />
initial consultation information leaflets<br />
that the neighbourhood were given (the<br />
large photo above is the actual, the<br />
smaller one insert is what residents<br />
were told they could expect).<br />
The cycle lane will have priority over<br />
side roads that it crosses and its own<br />
traffic signals at junctions and crossings.<br />
I must state that I am all in favour of<br />
them, as long as the users obey the rules<br />
of the road. Considering the anti-cycle<br />
lane comments made on social media<br />
during its building, to justify their<br />
thoughts that it is a waste of money,<br />
every other pedestrian, public transport<br />
user and motorist will be watching<br />
cyclists’ behaviour very closely.<br />
DATE FOR YOUR DIARY. Our AGM will<br />
be held by Zoom on Wednesday, 10th<br />
November. More details on page 29.<br />
CONTACT<br />
To comment on this article, or provide<br />
updates from your area, contact<br />
Terry at terry@terrypearce.co.uk<br />
The world’s shortest stretch of road before a Give Way?<br />
Photo courtesy of Eleanor Beswick<br />
Talking of cycle lanes...<br />
is this the shortest stretch of road<br />
you have ever seen between an<br />
entry point to a road and a Give<br />
Way sign?<br />
It is a car length – though larger<br />
vehicles turning into the side road<br />
from the main will have their<br />
backside sticking out into the traffic<br />
if they stop at the Give Way lines.<br />
It’s a result of a new cycle path<br />
built in Bramhall, Stockport which<br />
has already caused the ire of many<br />
local motorists, with one former ADI<br />
saying it was likely to create<br />
dangers for both traffic turning off<br />
the main road and suddenly being<br />
forced to stop, and cyclists using<br />
the path. What’s your view?<br />
NEWSLINK n OCTOBER <strong>2021</strong><br />
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