Why don't some cyclists use cycle lanes?

Back to the main topic , as someone who commuted by bike for along time I didn't use them alot of the time as

1. They started and ended haphazardly and in some instances forced you to hit a button and wait and a pedestrian crossing while traffic alongside you in the same direction flowed freely.

2. Poorly maintained and half the lane taken up by a drain .

3. Full of debris and never cleaned .

4. Cars obstructing them regularly forcing you out into traffic anyway.

An update. I got a slow puncture after doing this. I suppose I could have gotten it anywhere, but I’ve done the same route minus that cycle lane every day for the last 3 years, and that’s my first puncture.

Ever try do 30kph on a cycle Lane full of people and random objects? Not to mention when they stop randomly all of a sudden.

bottom line is it’s safer on the road

Should probably throw a few cycle lanes on the M50 while you're at it.

In a nutshell: overall poor design and envisaged for use by all cyclists; racers/commuters/day trippers/children which clearly cannot all co-exist on the one lane without trouble.

Somewhere there is a council worker who sees that as the pinnacle of his work.

"You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to slot in the cycle lane between all those roads and actually make it work"

Ah, for the old days, when you could multiquote...

What you're suggesting happens all over the place - e.g., Amiens Street inbound. Two unequivocal lanes before the railway bridge at Connolly, mumble-something lanes under the bridge itself, two lanes again immediately after the bridge. Magic!

@irishgrover Again, why isn't there a cyclist's lobby group loudly going "Oi! Council! This is stupid!" And saying the same to the RSA and/or NTA, and getting a national minimum standard introduced?

@[Deleted User] I most certainly did not tell anyone to cycle on a footpath, ever. Don't put words in my mouth.

@AndrewJRenko Top speed for most of the M50 is 100km/h, so yep, no real problem with your suggestion - there are plenty of national roads with a 100km/h speed limit with nothing but a dashed line of paint separating one direction of travel from the other.

@Seth Brundle Yes, there are crashes on the M50. At 145,000 vehicles/day (2019 figure) and, say, 5 crashes (cos we're all hugely pessimistic) with 3 cars in each crash, that's one hundredth of one percent of all vehicles. They're pretty good odds!

Just to keep all figures straight, there was an average of just over 11 crashes a day 2019-2020 on the M50.

Doesn't hugely change the percentages you're talking about, but we might as well deal with the real numbers

It's not a footpath, it's a cycle path. So no, I'm not.

There seems to be an attitude that cyclists somehow belong with pedestrians.

Until someone realises that they are actually part of traffic and deserving of the same overtaking rules i will continue to stay on the road and assert my right to do so. I will only be safer on the road when drivers are educated as much.

Do you actually cycle?

Non cyclists seem to think that it's fine to yield at every junction like pedestrians do, you don't lose any momentum or energy when walking. It's crazy to associate the two, which seems to be the general attitude.

Personally, no, not in years, but looking to start again soon. Having to yield at every junction is crazy, but then I never advocated that, anywhere. Yielding at red lights, now - well, that's mandatory, even if there is a loss of momentum. Whether your momentum is pedal power, electric motor, ICE, or your feet.

@magicbastarder now don't you go putting words in my mouth, too! What I said is right there in black and white:

which is entirely different to what you're claiming I said. Case in point, the part of the M50 where they've removed the lanes to do realignment, or whatever it is they're doing the last few weeks.