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news
A338 Spur Road (via StreetView)Dorset Council won't install cycle lanes after cyclist's death because it doesn't want to encourage people to ride on dual carriageway
Dorset Council says it will not install either cycle lanes or signs warning drivers of cyclists on the A338 Spur Road near Bournemouth. A coroner said such measures could prevent further deaths, but the council says it does not want to encourage people to cycle on a dual carriageway.
Christopher Gibbs, 30, was riding home from work on an "arrow-straight" stretch of dual carriageway near Bournemouth at around 10.15pm on October 3, 2017, when he was hit from behind by a Mercedes Citan van driven by Kevin Johnson.
Johnson was sentenced to a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving. He said he had failed to see Mr Gibbs and believed he had hit a deer.
Speaking at an inquest into Gibbs’ death, his mother, Deborah Turner, told Assistant Dorset Coroner Richard Middleton: "I would like all vulnerable road users to be kept safe, and if that means a cycle lane on the Wessex Way, then there should be a cycle lane. There is no safe alternative route for cyclists from Verwood to Poole."
She told the court that she had pleaded with her son not to ride his bike on the road because she did not want him exposed to 60 or 70mph traffic.
“I didn't want him, as a vulnerable road user, there. But he felt he would be alright, and he should have been."
Asked whether there should be a cycle lane on the road, Inspector Joe Pardey agreed. "It is a major route into one of our biggest towns and cyclists should be afforded protection. A cycle lane would be great because it gives protection to cyclists."
The BBC reports that in his Prevention of Future Deaths report, Middleton said other witnesses had expressed surprise at the lack of protection for vulnerable road users.
Middleton concluded there was a risk that future deaths could occur unless action was taken.
Dorset Council road safety manager Mike Potter said: "While there are no regulations that prevent a cyclist from using dual carriageways such as the A338, it is not something that Dorset Council actively encourage.
“The road has not been identified as a key cycle route, and facilities for cyclists on or alongside the road are not being considered at this time.
“Dorset Council will not be supporting the installation of cycle warning signs as, not only would it go against the prescribed use of such signs, they could generate a false sense of security and encourage more people to choose to cycle on the A338.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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35 comments
you know its bad when a pro driver in a 40 tonne lorry, tells you you need to use the pavement because its a cycle path, when it actually ISNT a cycle lane or shared path, but only a pavement. He just completely missed the END OF ROUTE SIGN, so close passed me in the wet....Versus me in the other photo, overtake two cyclists in my car properly. So who knows best? Cyclists or ''pro'' drivers?
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The spur road? I just rode up it on my motorbike. NO WAY would I cycle on it, even on a fast road bike. Theres an incline for half a mile meaning at best i'd be doing 15 mph, mixing with two lanes of traffic going 70 plus. I'm a nutcase but i'm not that stupid.
Gibbs worked in a care home I believe and wanted to be a triathlete, riding from poole to verwood to keep himself fit. As long as he was visible I'd have no issue with him being on the dual carriageway. Its the other drivers and horrible people out there who make it unsafe. You could cycle down the spur road at 4am, lit up well and be fine- but do that at 4pm- jesus, no way.
The spur road is the main route in and out of the area- its super busy. How much would it cost i wonder, to put in a proper cycle route all the way along it? There is matchams lane, a dangerous alternative.
But a real dutch style lane... i guess a few million?
The council spent 800 k here on a mile long shared path, ham lane to canford bottom roundabout. Looks good so far and well needed.
It just seems to be money. The council dont want to spend money on sorting us out proper bicycle lanes, they just do what everyone else does, paint lines on the pavement. I reckon i've had arguments with ten drivers plus now, two of those being ''pro''. Re cycle lane usage and the law.
Thing is, as stated i am a biker, I drive the bin lorries and i have a car too. I never have an issue with cyclists, because as one, i know what to do and how is best to overtake[ if it to at all]. Many drivers just dont and are ignorant of how to pass, when to pass and of what GIVE ROOM means.
If the government gave councils more money for proper bike lanes, enough for the average person to feel safe, i bet a lot more people would cycle.
As it is, even I feel in danger on the roads here. I actually feel safer on a motorbike than i do a push bike, since i can keep up with the general traffic flow much better. Having a 100 mph motorbike that can overtake traffic is far safer, than riding a bicycle at 30 mph flat out, with drivers struggling to understand your road positioning, why you wont ride at 30 in a shared path and why you dont get a car or pay road tax. Fuck them, to be honest.
Until they build proper bike lanes, I'll use the road. If they build bike lanes, everyone on both sides will be happier. And meanwhile, everyone who beeps or argues with me about cycle lanes, will get a nice loud rev from me when i see them on my motorbikes. Doesnt need to be this way, but the roads just dont mix well in the current state.
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At least we know where cyclists sit in the pecking order...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48660420
Won't that just encourage deer and hedgehogs etc to use roads?
somebody should offer a 'Baby On Board' cycling jersey.
IMG_1711.JPG
The council says that the road has "not been identified as a key cycle route" but Mrs Turner (mother of the deceased) told the coroner that there wasn't a safe alternative route between Verwood and Poole.
So, can we have feedback from locals? Just curious: what are the alternative routes like? (ie. how much farther to you have to ride, for the council to be willing to make you safe?).
Direct route that the victim was taking was about 16 miles, north-south.
"Safest" route is around 23 miles, with the last 10 spent cycling into the prevailing wind (south and then east-west)
You could possibly go via Ferndown and Broadstone but that's longer, hillier, and with a fair few fast A-roads to negotiate.
Thanks, kil0ran. So, the council refuses to do anything to make safer the long straight road which is 50% shorter than the nearest 'safe' route? Well, thats a bit sh!tty, I think...
Average speed cameras have just gone in on one section which should help with the speeding. The whole section from the A31 south to Bournemouth has just been resurfaced with huge shoulders. Appalling that they didn't stick cycle lanes in. The alternative is hilly with blind crests and bends, narrow, and full of drivers enjoying the dynamic nature of the road. The New Forest Sportive has run over it for a few years now but I don't like riding that route - high banks at the side of the road mean there's nowhere to go.
If you had a gravel bike there is a lovely scenic and quiet route, starting from West Moors just down the road from Verwood. The Castleman trailway runs all the way into Poole. A road route to avoid the A338 would be via Crow to North Ripley, then over the Avon Causeway (which needs segregation) then via Iford, Boscombe and Bournemouth. A long route, which can be busy but the speed differential is much lower than A338. All of these roads need cycling improvements far more than a new one on A338. I have never seen a cyclist on that road in more than 40yrs...
What the f#ck is a 12 month community order. The driver killed a man while driving carelessly.
By definition if they killed a person it cannot be 'careless', that the CPS et al introduced dath by careless has been one of the biggest mistakes on road safety since forever. Also contrast the 'sentence' with the 16 month prison time for a cyclist seriously injuring. whose actions are statitistcally massively 'safer' with respect to outcomes than what the driver did.
Agree a Critical Mass ride sounds like a great idea. Dorset Council need to realise that cyclists can and will use this road, and should be able to do so safely.
Tempted to load my bike rack up and pootle down the middle of the carriageway at 20mph on hot weekends. Maybe a Critical Mass type ride for the Airshow weekend
On sunny weekends you won't be able to drive that fast along that road, it will be full of barely moving traffic, which leads to the question... Why aren't they discouraging drivers from using this road instead?
Tempted to load my bike rack up and pootle down the middle of the carriageway at 20mph on hot weekends. Maybe a Critical Mass type ride for the Airshow weekend
To all those short of brain-cells or how to use them...
Roads are static, there are no "70mph" roads. However, there are speed limits for motorists.
Roads are generally not dangerous, it is drivers that can be dangerous. To blame the road and then say riding on that road should not be encouraged is a special level of lunacy that is entirely blind to the actual problem and is actively discouraging cycling.
If you are referring to my post, then you are a pedant. Roads are static? Really? Riding on that road is lunacy and has nothing to do with discouraging cycling. Just as swimming in a piranha infested lake would be lunacy to prove you are as entitled to swim in the lake. Until the gov releases more money for cycling infrastructure we should campaign for the current measly pot to be spent wisely and where its most needed. I for one would not be impressed if Dorset spent money on a cycle lane on this road at the expense of improving cycle segregation on slower roads (referring to the average speed of its users). As mentioned by another respondent, there are very few lunatics that attempt to cycle this road.
Yeah, man! Like: maybe I am stationery and the roads are all moving... Whoa
You don't know much about swimming with Piranhas either then, Jeremy Wade did a good little experiment on his TV programme River Monsters, spoiler alert, he didn't get eaten... and what if that's the only viable way to cross the river you need to cross every day?
Referring to commuting cyclists as lunatics is really not helping your cause.
It would obviously be better to campaign for a bigger pot:
https://news.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/big-road-schemes/
Note the subtitle:
"£40 million secured by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership is funding a series of transport & infrastructure investments to support the growth of employment and development around Bournemouth Airport. These schemes are being delivered by the local highways authorities Dorset County Council and Bournemouth Borough Council."
The A338 needed precisely nothing spending on it and has really gained nothing tangible from the works.
Curiously though, there is a tiny bit of bizarre cycling infrastructure on it:
https://www.google.com/maps/@50.7330752,-1.8524363,3a,75y,226.67h,90.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPRYa_X5S6DfvldG8LFMYGg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Same as on the A34 DC, which is effectively a very busy two lane motorway with no hard shoulder - sign posts to guide cyclists across the slip roads at right angles. There aren't too many roads I'd rather cycle on less...
Having found myself in Newbury on a project, I looked on Google maps with the cycling option turned on to work out some routes, and was suprised to see the A34 had a solid green line indicating a dedicated lane.
Having driven the A34 several times I couldn't figure out where this was - sure there is a stretch of cycle lane /shared path seperated from the carriageway by a grass verge as the A34 passes through Oxford but I couldn't recall seeing anything like that in the Newbury area.
So I looked harder, and this is what I found...
https://goo.gl/maps/qMqWk5yLCeGrjYTD6
https://goo.gl/maps/9hb3swBwuBEeXisRA
Basically a 2 foot wide strip seperated from lorries doing 70mph and cars normally going faster by the magic white paint of protection.
Suffice to say the A34 never featured on any of the routes I came up with.
Yes, and that is what we'd end up with if they did decide to put a cycle lane on the A338.
BTW, the vast majority of lorries are speed restricted to 90 kph / 56 mph and so would need a pretty steep hill and/or a strong tail wind to reach 70 mph.
Definitely wrong to blame the road for the actions of those who use them. However, some roads can exacerbate poor driving - but a dual carriageway with multiple lanes and good visibility - you'd have to be more than careless to hit a cyclist on such a road.
This road is absolutely lethal for cyclists. You couldn't pay me enough to attempt to cycle on it, especially at night. I've driven the road hundred of times over the last 20-odd years but I only remember seeing one or two cyclists on it. That of course makes it even more dangerous because motorists are simply not expecting cyclists as they converge at a differential speed of 50mph+ in their impatient commute.
The road runs through empty scrubland for almost its entire length and there is at least 20-30 yards of space on either side of the road on which a cycle lane could be contructed at minimal cost. It would be a very useful commuting route for cyclists between Bournemouth and Ringwood and would potentially reduce traffic on an already busy road. The road also passes directly behind Bournemouth airport which is surrounded by an extensive industrial estate on which hundreds if not thousands of people are employed.
IMO it is a scanderlously poor decision by the authorities to not build a cycle lane on this road.
pretty sure if you surveyed drivers may find that many believe that if it isn't already illegal it should be illegal for cyclists to ride on dual carriageways.....the sort of irony is that these should actually be safer roads for cyclists...drivers can simply switch lanes to pass...none of that passing wide is difficult because I might drive into oncoming traffic crap...
so what is the problem? I'd say speed (at or just above relatively high speed limits) AND driving too close on the assumption that everything will just keep moving....if the traffic volume is such that this is a sort of genuine issue (questionable) then there should be segregrated cycling provision or a well signposted and not ardous or dangerous alternative "quiet route"....the council is avoiding its responsibilty by failing to assess the route for cyclists and make provision...as too the usual excuse that come before no funds...no room well that simply isn't the case the wide central reservation would suggest provision was made in the design for an extra lane at some future point...
drives me crazy that if want to go from A to B by bicycle you have the responsibility to work out a safe route...if one test of a safe roads is "would you let a child ride on there" the test for the road network is "can I get on my bike and ride to my destination without planning in advance to avoid mortal danger"
RIP and I hope the coroner challenges the council response as inadequate
I was once stopped by police when I was riding on a dual carriageway. Their reason? They told me "it's illegal for people to cycle on a dual carriageway where there's a 70mph limit" (i.e. the National Speed Limit)
If members of the police force are so ignorant of the law then it's hardly surprising that your average motorist is just as ignorant.
What's needed is on-going education and drivers to have periodic re-tests.
Here is a picture of the completed road I mentioned in my post.
Eastern Way.jpg
I had the same response a few years ago from Greenwich Council.
They had a grant of £600K from TfL to resurface Eastern Way Thamesmead.
This is a 4 lane (2x2) Dual Carriageway with, effectively, the width of a third lane along the centre which was chevroned.
I knew of one cyclist seriously injured in a collision who was airlifted to Whitechapel.
I wrote to them pointing out the hazards and informed them there was plenty of room for a cycle lane to segregate cyclists from motorists on this 50mph road.
This would be at NO COST to the Council as they were repainting the road markings as part of the resurfacing works.
The reply I received: We will not be installing any cycling infrastructure as we [Greenwich Council] discourage cycling on this road.
I responded by informing them: I have no choice but to cycle on this road because there is absolutely no alternative!
It's a cost issue, surely? They could put in a perfectly safe cycle lane (e.g. the other side of that fence to the left of the road) but it would cost a lot to do so. There's "no money left" for anything that doesn't benefit the wealthy and politically well-connected.
The van driver should have received a prison sentence, this is a mostly very straight road with a good line of sight even at night. I agree with the council on their argument however, as a cyclist using the areas roads every day there is so much inconsiderate driving on the slower roads that I think you would have to be crazy to chance it on a 70mph road (its 50/60 legally but no-one sticks to that on this road, I have often been overtaken in my car at way more). The alternative roads have zero cycling infrastructure, that's where the money if it existed should be spent. If the gov genuinely want to increase cycling then they must force councils to spend more on providing safer segregation on the 30mph roads.
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