Bike lanes alongside train lines.

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Are there any examples of cities in the UK that have put in cycle lanes that work really well?

 

[beeboo]

Like canals. Sometimes you have to dismount and go accross the road. Stations can be junctions or something.

I can't really see how it would work in practice if cyclists were routed away from the railway at every station. Stations are generally in busy central areas so you might be forced back onto the road at the very worst places.

Canals have the benefit of not really being used much any more so the towpaths make practical cycling routes.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I think it would be fine. I'm sure you could do something. It's not nearly as big a problem as not really having enough space to run a cycle lane in paralel with the railway track (under bridges and all that).

 

[Urbanblues]

The danger, being close to a train, when it is doing 100mph plus is not a plan, a cyclist stands a risk of being sucked under the train.

I've been sucked under restaurant tables, and I don't even cycle!

 

[chymaera]

I've been sucked under restaurant tables, and I don't even cycle!

The price they charge in some restaurants that ought to be part of the service.

 

[Urbanblues]

The price they charge in some restaurants that ought to be part of the service.

It was!!

 

[pinkmonkey]

I can't really see how it would work in practice if cyclists were routed away from the railway at every station. Stations are generally in busy central areas so you might be forced back onto the road at the very worst places.

Canals have the benefit of not really being used much any more so the towpaths make practical cycling routes.

They pretty much follow the course of the railway lines that took over from them so you could argue that the towpaths can perform that function, yes.

 

[stavros]

Slightly off-topic, but still related I guess; Has anyone ever ridden The Tissington Trail? It's in the Midlands and is some lovely ex-train routes converted into recreational cycle tracks. I remember cycling it with my family when i was a kid on holiday and it was great fun. I think there are others like it nearby.

 

[baffled]

Ah, but cess paths and tracks for works vans are never located flush to the tracks. There's always a considerable gap between them and the ballast.

Didn't stop one getting hit, twice no less, Tuesday night on the WCML but while it was in a suburban area the incident actually took place on the main line side of the railway.

A lot of the Surban routes I use more or less dissect back gardens and also use viaducts and bridges, that alone would make cycle paths a non starter.

 

[soulman]

One of the conditions for the reinstatement of a closed rail line here was that a footpath/cycle track be laid alongside the new rails & that it be linked into an established cycle route. This was not a fast mainline tho.

However, that is going to be little use for anything other than leisure cycling for a very long time yet. It will be several (maybe many) more years before this cycle route is connected to one that has any commuting value.

Another scheme here may see a cycle route run across the city centre using current & former rail lines but again, this is a double edged "benifit" as once completed, First/Stagecoach want all cycle traffic to be confined to it, whilst they get the monopoly on the streets above.

We've got something similar in Liverpool. The old Liverpool Loop Line is now a walking/cycle route that links up the South of Liverpool, by me, to Walton and Aintree in the North. It's got a lot of access points as well that lead to other cycling routes, including in to the city centre.

 

[nino_savatte]

Didn't stop one getting hit, twice no less, Tuesday night on the WCML but while it was in a suburban area the incident actually took place on the main line side of the railway.

A lot of the Surban routes I use more or less dissect back gardens and also use viaducts and bridges, that alone would make cycle paths a non starter.

What was hit? A van or a pedestrian/cyclist?

 

[roryer]

Why is this not possible? A bit like the paths that follow canals (which a lot of train lines used to be).

They could be a bit like express bike routes. There must be a good reason why this has not been done.

What about having some segreatated bike paths that run alongside all roads

Why is this not possible? A bit like a comprehensive safe cycle network.

They could be a bit like the ones in Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. There must be a good reason why this has not been done in Britain.

 

[baffled]

What was hit? A van or a pedestrian/cyclist?

Sorry I should have been clearer, a work van parked on an official access point track was hit twice (clipped is probably a better description, though the damage caused was quite substantial), first driver wasn't sure if he had clipped it or not and didn't report it straight away and by the time he had another train had clipped it again, this time with a bit more force though

No injuries luckily but a very shook up driver.