£30 million Leeds-Bradford cycle path recommends 10 mph top speed!

In response to CXR94Di2, the original plans had several junctions of a similar pattern, where cars crossing the cycle path at junctions were supposed to give way to cycles. It seems that in several ,if not all instances they have been abandoned in favour of the opposite priority.

Possibly because the designers just didn't trust drivers  to abide by the road markings, and feared carnage.

I've just returned from a short tour of Holland and it really is a different culture.

I've given up using it for my daily trip to and from the Leeds General Infirmary as its mostly downhill going into Leeds and I regularly hit 30mph in places so I used the road but in the end the amount of abuse I was recieving from pedestrians,people at bus stops and car drivers about not using the cycle route became to much so I now use the more scenic route through Armley and Tong .

At least two of the people who wrote the bid are keen club cyclists. I've worked with one and the other is in my old club. From the start, people have been telling them it looks like it won't be used (there's a modeling tool on the way to ensure projects can estimate utilisation). What I heard back was that the route was about where £19m of concrete could be poured in the required timeframe. The inequity stuff was bolted on after the fact.

So - go at 2/3 the current average speed for my commuteinto Leeds is their advice. Basically "go slower". But if I use the road alongside because of obstacles / dangerous design I'm getting verbal abuse from motorists. Are you sure that CityConnect aren't getting secret back-handers from a motorists lobby?

I use a shared cyclepath on some of my bike rides - as its shared use I don't mind slowing down a bit and taking it easy - especially where there are walkers or families out on bikes. 

We have a duty towards more vulnerable road users - as motorists should have for cyclists.

Is this shared use or a dedicated bike path ? 

8-10 mph really sounds uncomfortably low. I'd probably wobble off at 8mph.

Surely some of these people actually ride bikes ? 

I have theory that most cycle lanes are designed to incovenience or slow cyclists and on most occasions you need to stop to get back onto the road you've  just left. This has the effect of discouraging cycling with a consequent reduction in cycle casualties, job done! Either that or they are so poor, painted lines indicating a lane some 650 mm wide but containing the drains, that it has a similar effect.

I was riding in a small German town recently. The cycle path was part of the footpath. At every side street there was two dotted lines giving a route for cyclists. Then on each side of this cycle lane were stop lines where cars had to givewayy or stop.

Locals cyclists would happily travel without slowing down for vehicles and vehicles would wait for cyclists to pass when turning into it leaving side streets. I witnessed this again when in Berlin city centre.

All it needs is small changes to legislation to allow cycles on paths, repaint junctions to allow cycles through and give way for vehicles. Change liability to the onus of blame to motorists and they will learn to respect vulnerable users.

See image, you can see vehicle give way markings(white triangles) either side of cycle lane.

And this is exactly why I rarely end up cycling in dedicated cycle lanes.  I cycle for training, averaging 20+ mph.  I have not yet found any cycle lanes that are appropriate for this kind of cycling.

And yes, 8-10 mph is running speed!  I'm working towards getting my 10k running pace above this.

Of course, once the £30M pootling lane has been created, any cyclist using the road instead will get continual abuse.

That said, I am absolutely fine with the creation of 8-10mph cycle lanes if that encourages people onto their bikes that would find it hard to cycle on the road (although how they get to and from the cycle lane is an interesting question...).  BUT, the rest of the road users must accept that there are a large number of cyclists that really should stay on the road and not use the cycle lane.

To enforcing that all I can say is

lol