"Omnishambles" cycle lane fenced off just one week after opening

This shared use path is still completely closed off.  Not even pedestrians can use it - its got builders' fencing all along it, and vans parked on the various loading bays.

Which would be (just about) acceptable if they hadn't also burned off all the markings for the contraflow cycle lane which was on the road...

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/new-cycle-lane-is-an-u...

Quote:

Bristol Cycling Campaign’s infrastructure lead, Toby Wells, told Bristol24/7 that the new lane highlights the issue with councils relying on property developers to design and build cycle lanes.

Wells said that each developer has their own style, “resulting in a lack of consistency across the city and of course lanes which start and end abruptly at the boundaries of the development”.

This is what appears to have happened at either end of the cycle lane on Nelson Street and Quay Street.

“The Nelson Street lane is marginally safer than what was there before – the on-road painted line contraflow against buses – but has several obvious design flaws which will lead to conflict, mostly with people walking,” said Wells.

“The start and end points were meant to join up with lanes built by the council, but they haven’t built them yet so what you see is an unsafe bodge. We have no idea when/if they plan to finish the job.

“The gap half way along is a loading bay for the hotel, in theory only for use at off peak times but will likely be abused. So cyclists will come face to face with a parked van/truck and no clear way around it.

“The tactile paving at the start/end of the route is the wrong type, which may seem like a minor detail, but that paving is there to help blind or visually impaired people know where they are. With the wrong type, they can’t properly ‘read’ the footpath and find their way.

“Lastly, the build quality is very poor, and in some places it is already failing, with raised edges of blocks likely to catch bike wheels and trip up people walking. When it inevitably gets driven on by delivery vans it will get rapidly worse if it hasn’t been built properly.”

I would say that this was cheap and cheerful, but it looks expensive and dismal.

Every time I'm in Bristol, I'm always amazed by (a) it's a "cycle city" with invisible or horrendous infrastructure
(B) how much the locals love just sitting in traffic jams.

I'm just amazed those building works have finished. Oh, they haven't.

I have asked the following of Bristol City Council:

We are very concerned about the delivery of Quay Street and Nelson Street pedestrian and cycle infrastructure.

In the short term can we have an update from BCC about the current issues with the infrastructure that was opened at the beginning of last week and closed 5 days later. Can you detail all the problems with the scheme and a timeline of how they will be addressed, please?

Also, can we have a complete breakdown of the decision-making process for allowing this scheme to open in the first place?

Who has funded the scheme and how much did it cost?
What were the aims of the scheme?
Was the schemed redesigned in the light of LTN1/20?
Who signed off on the delivery and thought it was acceptable to open the scheme to the general public?

Cheers David

David Wilcox
Councillor for Lockleaze 
Co Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport.
Cllr.David.Wilcox [at] bristol.gov.uk

Quote:

If we could start with unlimited space then of course all modes would be segregated. That rarely happens in Bristol.

Or indeed anywhere.  So it's just how you prioritise, isn't it?  It rather looks like the prioity is to create infra - "segregated" for one mode by fiat - everywhere.  Then "do what we can" with all the other modes, round the edges.  The "but this street is too small..." is nonsense given that there is very little segregated cycle infra about in most places.  Still can't do it?  You need to look at the network then - maybe the next street should be cycling and pedestrians only.

Motoring doesn't work without a network.  Why would cycling?

The video has one of those self driving bikes advertised the other day. Deliveroon must have taken an order for them.

RE: Bristol cycle lane.  Looks unfinished and even if it isn't, it is.

However it would appear to be fully-featured per UK standards:

Sending you at oncoming traffic - check.
Swerving about - check.
Dodging street furniture - check.
Poor / no demarcation from pedestrians - check.
Regular width and surface colour / texture / height changes - check.
Quantum nature e.g. winks in and out of existence and changes its state (on / off road, cycle track, mandatory / advisory lane) - check.

It does seem to incorporate some drainage though - is that an oversight or a recognition that installing it might cause flooding?

I hadn't realised that they'd reopened this route.

The contraflow on Nelson Street is a really important route to get back to the Centre from Broadmead - the only alternatives are walking or going out onto Rupert Street (a busy dual carriageway).  The pavement on that side has been closed off for building works for the last couple of years while they converted old offices into a luxury hotel.

Pre the works, there was a painted contraflow lane on the road which became kind of interesting as you played chicken with oncoming double decker buses (it's a busy bus route) trying to get around parked delivery vans and not caring about encroaching on the mandatory cycle lane to do it...

I like the 30cm ramp that you have to aim for at 0:48.

I wouldn't want to be too critical, as it does look unfinished. But a review is needed at this point to ensure things like the 90 degree turn-and-duck around a signpost are ironed out of the end result.