cycle lanes and the sh*t on them

Skellington

glass, rocks(more like boulders actually) road cones, wood, tyres and any other crap scum bags and road builders can leave lyin on the ground.it all seems to get thrown onto cycle lanes. is there no group to maintain them?just wonderin if anyone ever complained bout this kinda stuff, an if so, then to who? such as coprpo, police or whoever.
would anyone even give a sh*t? :mad:
so many punctures recently that i'd consider cleanin the roads meself(not likey though )
almost got me dead a few times, even a few ignorant b*st*rd cyclists have nearly got me killed, but that usually stems from the problem above.

bit of a rant but it really p*sses me off...

rubberduckey

With you on that one, I cycle to Tallaght via cycle lane and the lanes are covered in broken glass, under the flyovers you can get trolleys,huge rocks the works!!! I presume its the Corporations responsibility??

daymobrew

Call the appropriate county council. Really - it works!
I email a few people in Fingal County Council's Environment and Roads departments. I think they know me well by now.

Last week I got Fingal to clean up debris left behind after a minor car accident. Fingal doesn't own the stretch of road yet but they found the developer and emailed them. Fair play to the developer who cleared it up within 24 hours!

Bord Gais are fixing a bump on Clonliffe Road for me (Dublin City Council examined the bump and said it wasn't theirs).
After Freeflow DCC will fix another problem area for me on Old Cabra Road.

So, write letters, make phone calls and FOLLOW UP (most important).
That reminds me, I've got to hassle Fingal about potholes in Dublin 15...

I've cleaned up some glass myself... it might be the quickest way. Maybe brush it to the side of the cycle path.

Also, for your own sanity, look into getting tyres with puncture protection.
I put a pair of Continental Sport Contact tyres on my mountain bike. They are relatively narrow and almost slick. The paper catalogue says they have "extreme puncture resistance". None for me in the last 2 or 3 months.
http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/
These particular ones were a little expensive - 30 euro each in Cyclogical on Bachelors Walk, D1. They did come with a free tube because you need a smaller tube - bigger tubes just won't fit inside the tyre.

Johnny Jukebox

A few of the riders in my MTB club have had interesting discussions over this with various guards, as they refuse to ride bike lanes that are covered in crap. I think you are legally obliged to use a bike lane if one is provided, regardless of the state. The flow of traffic will always ensure that debris ends up at the edge of the road, ie. in the cycle line.

I use tubeless 2.1 Continential Verti tyres on my MTB, and while not the most aerodynamic, have handled pretty much everything on the urban singletrack.

memorex

Johnny Jukebox wrote:

I think you are legally obliged to use a bike lane if one is provided, regardless of the state.

Does anyone have anymore info on the legalilty of not cycling in a cycle lane if one is present? On the N11 cycle lanes, which vary from ok condition to absolutely terrible, you sometimes have to cycle in the bus lane due to the cycle lane being blocked by car, road works etc. The problem is that this can often mean staying in the bus lane for some time even after the roadworks/blockage has past. Generally I won't bunny hop back up onto the bike lane - as it's not easy to do on my bike and can be risky anyway. Coming to a complete stop is always a pain in the ass when your booting it home too.

One way or the other it'd be good to know what the legalitly of the situation was. I have often had very close encounters with irate bus drivers in the bus lane where they generally behave like I am breaking the law...

-mem

uberwolf

memorex wrote:

The problem is that this can often mean staying in the bus lane for some time even after the roadworks/blockage has past. Generally I won't bunny hop back up onto the bike lane - as it's not easy to do on my bike and can be risky anyway. Coming to a complete stop is always a pain in the ass when your booting it home too.

this is so true. I recall Victor saying that the lanes were designed for use at 12mph. Not the 18 you average, and getting back onto them at that speed once you've been forced off them is never easy.

Another one I never use is in templeougue. Where 10 yards after the lane appears it merges with the footpath around a tight blind corner. Real fricking useful

tunney

memorex wrote:

Does anyone have anymore info on the legalilty of not cycling in a cycle lane if one is present?

Unfortunately you are required to use them, even if the cyclepath is on the left hand side of the road and you are turning right you are required to stay in the cyclepath until a driver lets you pull out and turn right - like thats ever going to happen.

Funniest that ever happened to me was coming back in on the N11 after a long spin. Doing 35mph + down on the tri bars. Seemingly I should have been using the cyclelane that was choc-a-bloc with Sunday walkers.

daymobrew

memorex wrote:

Does anyone have anymore info on the legalilty of not cycling in a cycle lane if one is present?

According to this site (which is highly critical of Dublin cycle lanes)
http://www.geocities.com/cyclopath2001/

In Ireland, cyclists are obliged by law to use whatever the local authorities decide, at their discretion, to classify as a 'cycle facility'. Non usage is subject to a summary fine.
The authorities are not bound by any laws defining how cycle facilities should be constructed, operated or maintained.

A quick phone call to your local Garda station will get a definitive answer, or try the county council's Roads or Traffic departments.

Dublin Cycling Campaign's site is at: http://home.connect.ie/dcc/
The have a tiny bit of info about "cycletracks" but it is quite incomplete.

beans

- Cyclists are bound by law to use cycle lanes where provided

- Motorists are allowed by law to park in cycle lanes where necessary...

I will use whichever I find the less dangerous to myself and others. Sometimes it makes more sense to be on the road, sometimes not - unfortunately it's a judgement call, but it would take major pursuasion to change my mind on this.

I have been buzzed by drivers for not using cycle lanes in the past - driving up beside me and squeezing me off the road, blasting the horn from a few feet behind me, this sort of thing. Surely this is an arrestable offense?

Regardless of where the law stands on the matter of cycle lanes, I will not endanger myself of others simply because a facility is there. And as users of public services accountable to the laws of the land, it's up to us to question these laws when they are nonsensable.

Piano_Dario

the thing that gets me is the fact that road planning in this country is a joke, if you go to the Netherlands for example, not only do they have excellent cycle lanes which are cleaned weekly, but the lanes are part of a whole sytem that is consistant and WORKS!! no wonder drivers/cyclists/pedestrians here ignore the rules of the road when you consider the following..

example 1 yes the cycle lanes coming into Templeogue are a joke, but the lanes going over to kimmage don't leave enough space for the cars on the road, so they ignore the cycle lanes!!

example 2 the speed limits are a joke in this country half are in Kilometres, half in miles and all are in different places coming into respective towns and built up areas...farce

example 3 lights at roundabouts...nuff said

all in all its not surprising that most cyclists, myself included ignore the provided cycle lanes (built most probably by a person, who hasn't swung a leg over a bike in the last 20 years...), I think we can conclude in this case that the law is an ass... :mad:

Dario

Greenman

Piano_Dario wrote:

the thing that gets me is the fact that road planning in this country is a joke, if you go to the Netherlands for example, not only do they have excellent cycle lanes which are cleaned weekly, but the lanes are part of a whole sytem that is consistant and WORKS!! no wonder drivers/cyclists/pedestrians here ignore the rules of the road when you consider the following..

Dario

I'm next door in the Flemish part of Belgium where its a cyclists heaven. Good cyclepaths in my area, lots of single track railway lines tarmaced and converted into cycle tracks. Loads of signposted cycle paths. Hundreds of kms of strictly carfree roads along the canals. I hardly ever see glass on the cyclepaths. Never meet yobs on the road.
I even get 66 euro a month taxfree to cycle to work!!!
Its great here!!!

stanbowles

Interesting to hear that cyclelanes are legally obligatory when available for cyclists. I will continue to use these nuisance facilities v.sparingly nonetheless and await my legal desserts. Thoughtless design, driveway rodeo, utilty covers, glass, building debris make all but a small % of available Dublin cycletrack anything like a useful cycling surface.

On a ninemile commute from Terenure via Churchtown to N11 and Loughlinstown, I reckon that I have c.70-80% cyclelane availability. For c 60-70% of that available cyclelane, I prefer and generally opt to cycle on the road or sometimes buslanes. I've seen on these pages before that some cyclists deliberately avoid cyclelane routes ... can see why after three months back on the bike.

SB

Greenman

stanbowles wrote:

I've seen on these pages before that some cyclists deliberately avoid cyclelane routes ... can see why after three months back on the bike.
SB

Thats what I do when I cycle in Dublin!!!

Type 17

beans wrote:

I have been buzzed by drivers for not using cycle lanes in the past - driving up beside me and squeezing me off the road, blasting the horn from a few feet behind me, this sort of thing. Surely this is an arrestable offense?

If someone is going that far, I think a swift kick in the door is in order - I wouldn't normally advocate such behaviour, but when one's life is being put in danger...

I imagine that "dangerous driving, causing direct danger to other road-users" (or similar) would fit the bill.

PS: I've cycled in Dublin City centre since I was about 12, and driven since I was 25 (now 35), so this view is based on experience...

Stark

Interesting to hear that cyclelanes are legally obligatory when available for cyclists. I will continue to use these nuisance facilities v.sparingly nonetheless and await my legal desserts.

It's not obligatory for all cycle lanes. AFAIK for all the dangerous cycle lanes, it's non-obligatory to cycle on them. There was a website posted on boards before giving detailed information but I can't remember where it is, think it was on dublin city council website.

roadmanmad

If is correct to say Cycling lanes are to be used.

If you are challenged, your only defence is to state that there is clearly an increased risk to you and other road users because of the amount of rubbish on them.

A guard will only make a case against you, if they can clearly demonstate you are not using a reasonably good stretch. I am not aware of a history of prosectutions against cyclist for dangerous use of the road.

The bulk of cycling lanes are put in place by people who do not cycle from one year to the next

daymobrew

PunK04 wrote:

just wonderin if anyone ever complained bout this kinda stuff, an if so, then to who? such as coprpo, police or whoever.
would anyone even give a sh*t? :mad:

Yes, I've complained and gotten action.
See my post on a recent success Concrete spillages on roads - getting them cleared up
I think the important thing is getting to talk to someone close to the people who will be doing the cleaning. For Dublin City Council contact the appropriate person in the Road Maintenance depot (http://www.dublincity.ie/services/rdmaintea.htm).
The other local councils presumably have similar web pages.

I also got a local building company to clean up debris left over from a car crash. I contacted the Environment section of Fingal County Council who contacted the builders (because the builders have yet to hand over that road to FCC). The debris was cleaned up the next day!!

Persistence is needed. You need to hassle the council and follow up. It is also no harm in thanking them afterwards, so you don't burn bridges for the next request.

cyclopath2001

It's certainly required by law to use 'cycle tracks' where provided, some car-loving civil servant slipped that one in along with lots of exceptions that allow motorists to park on them (the cycle tracks.....that is) when the regulations were being drawn up & quietly passed into law without any consultation.

There may be one loop-hole.

The footpaths marked with the blue sign showing pedestrians walking on top of a bicycle do not indicate a cycle track, they indicate a footpath that cyclists can share with pedestrians. A cycle-track, is different, it is defined in the road traffic acts as being for the exclusive use of cyclists and invalid carriages.

So, it's technically possible that a prosecution for not using a footpath marked in this way would fail.

Additionally, the Dublin Transport Office in its journey planner says "NOTE: It is illegal and dangerous to cycle on all footpaths except those marked with a dedicated cycletrack."

I do not think a shared footpath is a 'dedicated cycletrack'.

That said, if you got prosecuted or, worst still, creamed by a bus, don't call me.

C:\

roadmanmad

Are there any cycling organisations out there who is interested in the average cyclist (commuters etc).

Cyclist have a Bad rep. As an occaissional car user, I see a drivers point.

A voice is needed to up our profile, and if there is one there alrady, I would like to use it.

Victor

Dublin Cycling Campaign and peer campaigns in Galway and Cork.

http://www.dublincycling.org/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php

themadman88m

i know how you all feel, well sort of. In N.Ireland there aint many cycle lanes and the ones that are are full of crap, car hud caps, glass, tyres, broken down cars, peoples crap in black bin bags and the odd barbie doll as well. Some of them are also filled with pot holes or are really bumpy. I gave up using them a while back because of this.
Also, there is a local bmx track near by where kids race round it. Glass, sharp things and crap dumbed their by lazy fat people that wouldnt be bothered driving to the dump round the corner. they resurfaced it will really big stones so its unridable and then said it was clean while a black bag lies in the middle of the place. GREAT WORK!!!

cyclopath2001

One major difference between the Republic and other countries is that, here, cyclists are legally obliged to use cycle lanes and tracks.

Raam

there's a lovely feature in the cycle lane heading into town along Amiens Street: a piece of the path juts right into it. It looks well dodgy. I haven't checked to see if it is signed as the end of the cycle path, but I know it's there because a guy I know cycled into it and fell off. Must have a closer look some day

KR