Issues

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This section lists issues - problems on the street network and related matters.

Issues always relate to some geographical location, whether very local or perhaps city-wide.

You can create a new issue using the button on the right.

Listed issues, most recent first, limited to the area of Cyclenation:

  • One-way streets in Crossgate area

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    In the area round Crossgate, the older section of Durham City to the west of Framwellgate Bridge, there are a number of one-way streets which make cycling inconvenient. In most cases the streets have been made one-way primarily to make it easier to provide car parking on narrow residential streets or to reduce through car traffic.

    These streets should be reassessed, and where possible opened up to bicycles in both directions.

    Some restrictions are particularly pointless, such as the one in the photograph. In theory, if a cyclist descends South Street, the only lawful option is to turn left and pedal up Crossgate. Just beyond the no-entry sign pictured is a two-way stretch of North Road that leads from Framwellgate Bridge to Milburngate, from which cyclists could access the National Cycle Network routes to Pennyferry Bridge and local routes beyond to Newton Hall.

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  • Narrow cycle route section with kerb

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    This section of NCN 70 from Claypath down to the side of Leazes Bowl roundabout has cyclists and pedestrians on separate halves of the path, rather than shared-use. This has the advantage that cyclists are more likely to be able to freewheel quickly down the hill without upsetting pedestrians. However, the cycle portion of the path is higher than the pedestrian side, with a kerb. As the path is not particularly wide, if you meet a cyclist coming the other way it is quite tricky to pass safely.

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  • Narrow muddy patch by River Wear

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    This stretch of footpath / cyclepath by the foot of Maiden Castle hill-fort is narrow and tends to be very muddy. It's an extremely difficult site as the river banks had to be reinforced here recently. Whether any improvement is possible is hard to assess. In the meantime, it offers the full off-road biking experience on your way to work, should you so wish! There is a case for creating a through route on the other side of the river to avoid this stretch. See http://durhamuniversity.cyclescape.org/issues/897-improvong-route-from-university-to-belmont

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  • Whinney Hill roundabout: cycle lane potential?

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    Like the roundabout at the bottom of Potters Bank, the roundabout at Whinney Hill, the approach to Durham City from the south-east, is designed for high speeds and has no provision for cyclists. The new cycle lane up Shincliffe Peth ceases when it reaches the roundabout.

    From the photograph, taken in the autumn, you can see from the leaves on the road how little of the width of the roundabout is actually required by cars and lorries. This would seem a great opportunity to try a Dutch-style urban roundabout, with a wide cycle lane all round the outside and cutting the entering traffic down to a single lane. The curves could be tightened to reduce speeds and to give pedestrians more direct crossings of the roads.

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  • Cycle lanes on Front Street, Framwellgate Moor

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    Yes, most of the vehicles in the photograph are parked! Despite appearances they are not blocking a dedicated red-tarmac cycle path: there is in fact no particular cycling provision on Front Street. The width of the road, however, would lend itself to a wide bi-directional route being provided, segregated from the road and pavement and with priority over side-roads, with car parking spaces being retained in most cases. This would give an excellent direct route for cycle commuters from Pity Me and Framwellgate Moor, to the proposed Aykley Heads business park, the railway station, and the city centre. There may be parts of the route, such as by the Front Street shops, where this might not be possible, but on-road lanes could be provided. Currently much of the middle of the road is given over to white hatching and right-turn lanes. Some cycle parking by the Front Street shops would be good: there's plenty of car parking on-road but nowhere to lock up a bike.

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  • Worn out road markings, Dragon Lane

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    Where the on-pavement cycle lane comes to an end, the road markings which continue the NCN 14 and 70 on-road are worn out and patchy. The design of the lane to take you southbound onto the pavement is poor, because the adjacent parking means that the traffic is usually driving straight over the top of the dedicated cycle lane in the middle of the road.

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  • Priority to cyclists at car park exit

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    The exit from this retail park car park has two lanes. There are no road markings warning drivers to expect cyclists on the shared-use pavement which is part of NCN 14 & 70. This section of pavement was recently rebuilt. Why could we not have a raised table at the exit, giving priority to cyclists and pedestrians here? Why does the through-route for cyclists have to give way to the car park exit? While the shared use pavement is welcome, the lack of priority is what tends to lead to experienced cyclists taking to the road instead, as it can actually be safer as well as quicker. If cycling infrastructure is more dangerous or slower than the road alternative, it is not worth installing.

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  • Cyclists dismount for Tesco car park traffic

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    By the Tesco superstore off Dragon Lane, the road junction was recently rebuilt. On the west side of Dragon Lane is a shared-use pavement which forms part of NCN 14/70. While cars travelling north on Dragon Lane can go straight across on a single phase, cyclists are expected to dismount, and cross with pedestrians at a two-stage crossing. The object is to maximise the flow in and out of the Tesco superstore car park, which is the only purpose of this junction. Designing the junction to give greater priority and convenience to cyclists and pedestrians would help shift the balance back to sustainable living.

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  • Duke of Wellington junction

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    The junction by the Duke of Wellington has a number of issues. The only official cycling provision is the shared-use pavement on the east side of the A167, with a toucan crossing over Potters Bank. No provision has been made for cyclists to safely leave or join this path at the junction: it is as though no-one is expected to cycle on Potters Bank or Lowes Barn Bank, but in fact these roads are also well-used by cyclists.

    The photograph shows the sign at the south-east corner of the crossroads, with the cycle-route pointing you to Consett and Bishop Auckland. The sign points you to the toucan crossing in order to continue north up the A167, past Neville's Cross junction to join NCN 70 at Tollhouse Road. Of course, a cyclist with local knowledge going to Bishop Auckland would never choose to go this way: instead you would go west, down Lowes Barn Bank, to join NCN 70 at the Broompark picnic area off Broom Lane. This cuts about a mile from the journey, as well as several awkward road crossings. The sign just doesn't take account of the road and cycle-path network!

    Another issue is the timing of the traffic light phases when coming out of Lowes Barn Bank. This has been reported to the Council via FixMyStreet: http://www.fixmystreet.com/report/393775

    If you observe the lights from the pavement, it is quite clear that cyclists are given insufficient time from the Lowes Barn Bank lights changing to red before the lights on the A167 go green.

    One possible solution here would be a Dutch-style "green phase" where pedestrian crossings all go green and additional cycle-only lights on all approach roads go green as well. This would allow cyclists to turn safely, join and leave the shared-use paths, etc., without suffering conflicting movements from cars. Pedestrians would be able to cross diagonally in one go if needed. Reducing the speed limit on the A167 would also help: the pavements alongside the A167 are used by children going to local schools and the park.

    The junction itself could do with the corners tightening to reduce the design speed of the junction and make it safer for vulnerable road users. Other options include making Lowes Barn Bank a non-through-road for motor vehicles or banning lorries from using it. This would allow the stop line to be brought much closer to the junction. The satellite view of the junction is quite illuminating: see how much road space is devoted to making this junction fast: http://goo.gl/maps/puQ56

    The A167 is one lane in each direction in the sections to the north and south of the junction, but widens to three lanes south approaching the lights, and three lanes north. The need to have high-speed throughput of vehicles at the junction must be balanced against the safety and convenience of pedestrians and cyclists who are most vulnerable at major junctions like this.

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  • Waste of road space, Potters Bank roundabout

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    This photograph shows the roundabout at Potters Bank in the snow. The absurdly-small pedestrian refuge at the foot of Potters Bank is in the foreground. You can see from the snow cover that there are vast areas of the road which are not actually required by vehicles and which only serve to increase speeds through the junction. Junctions are exactly where speeds should be reduced, not increased, as it smooths traffic flow, increases junction capacity and reduces danger.

    The approaches need to be narrowed, to ensure that only one car at a time can enter the roundabout from each direction, making it safer for vulnerable road users. The pedestrian refuges need increasing in size. More radically, the whole roundabout could be removed: this is only a T-junction after all, with the space saved being dedicated to segregated cycle lanes stretching from Prebends Bridge up Potters Bank and along Quarryheads Lane to the university.

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  • Hazardous junction: Potters Bank and Elvet Hill Road

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 1 thread

    There is very poor visibility travelling west to east on Potters Bank and cars often exceed the 30mph speed limit because there is relatively little housing development on this road. If you want to turn right into Elvet Hill Road it is hard to see vehicles travelling up Potters Bank from the roundabout until you are very close to the junction. This places cyclists in a vulnerable situation as you could easily be hit in the rear while waiting to turn right.

    If you try to turn right out of Elvet Hill Road to descend Potters Bank, it is also hard to see if anything is coming from the left. This route forms part of the proposed re-routing of NCN 70 through the centre of Durham.

    See http://goo.gl/maps/VKpSj for a Google Streetview image showing what it's like to turn right from Potters Bank into Elvet Hill Road.

    Given the broad mouth of Elvet Hill Road, there is actually quite a bit of road space available. I think it would make a lot of sense if the up-bound lane of Potters Bank were diverted to swing in to the mouth of Elvet Hill Road, to give a wider turning lane in the middle which could be used for right turns in either direction. Mind you, that still doesn’t help much with turning right out of Elvet Hill Road. Some speed cushions on the approach as you come down Potters Bank might help. Or even fixed speed cameras (which are apparently not used in County Durham at present).

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  • Carparking on Dragon Lane pavement

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 0 threads

    The south end of Dragon Lane has a shared-use pavement which is actually a decent width for a change! Unfortunately this means cars and vans end up parking on it. As there is so little obvious signage or paint markings, they probably do not realise they are blocking a National Cycle Network route and long-distance cycle leisure path (Walney to Wear). What's the answer? Bollards? Better enforcement? Paint?

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  • Parking on uphill side of Potters Bank

    Created by Matthew Phillips // 1 thread

    The bottom stretch of Potters Bank is quite steep, and therefore cyclists tend to be going quite slowly up this section of road. In this situation it is nice to have plenty of space so that you can pedal at your own pace without feeling hassled by traffic trying to overtake. Unfortunately on this section of road, there are several car parking spaces on the up-hill side of the road. When they are occupied, passing them on a bike is a slow and uncomfortable business. It would be far better for cyclists if these spaces could be removed and an up-hill cycle lane provided.

    The parking spaces are not adjacent to any properties so there is no particular need for people to park there rather than in neighbouring streets: they are probably mainly used when the spaces in Quarryheads Lane are full.

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  • Paper Mill Lane to Bury Road link - planning application

    Created by Shaun McDonald // 0 threads

    Further to http://www.cyclescape.org/issues/928-paper-mill-lane-alterations-planning-application I think it would be useful to campaign for a cycle and walking link from the site through to the retail park with major supermarket and other amenities, and also other links to that western part of Ipswich.

    In my quick skim through the planning application I've not seen any consideration to this route.

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  • Dutch style roundabout for A14/B1113 south of Claydon

    Created by Shaun McDonald // 1 thread

    The roundabout at the south end of Claydon under the A14 is pretty horrible for pedestrians and cyclists. It would be extremely useful if this could be upgraded to a Dutch style roundabout with:

    * tighter entrances and exits will slow down vehicles to a safer speed while cyclists and pedestrians are around. The current dimensions are only ok when there are no cyclists or pedestrians around and it's safe for motors to go fast.
    * single lane entrances and exit will make is easier to cross each arm. There would be no zig zag in the island.
    * cycle track with separate pavement for pedestrians outside the roundabout, thus preventing conflict between the 3 modes of transport.
    * cycle track crossing at 90 degrees to the road to aid visibility between different modes of transport.

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  • Wests Garage, Newmarket Road, planning application

    Created by David Earl // 4 threads

    The erection of new student housing (257 study bedrooms) and associated communal facilities, cycle parking, and external landscaping following demolition of the existing buildings. Wests Garage Ltd 217 Newmarket Road Cambridge CB5 8HD

    http://idox.cambridge.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=MXJWTQDX3E000

    (see in particular Ground Floor Plan under Documents)

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  • Sawston crossing

    Created by Tim Burford // 0 threads

    I couldn’t tell from the Cyclescape map interface whether there is already a thread on the crossing at the northern junction to Sawston - but I see that it is now being rebuilt, and there seems to be a quite a sizeable central island. Did the inadequate plans get changed? (and why has there been no mention of this if so?)

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  • Cycle lane not followed through

    Created by TMiles // 0 threads

    A short section of cycle path allows cyclists to skirt around the traffic lights when turning left from Westgate into Oxford Place.

    However the section ends abruptly in front of on-street car parking and the cyclist is forced to give way to other traffic in order to join Oxford Place.

    It should instead lead smoothly into a cycle lane that runs the whole length of this street.

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  • Grove Lane traffic lights (Northbound)

    Created by Jon_B // 1 thread

    This junction has recently been "upgraded", but it still has a single lane at the lights, with a left filter arrow which turns green before the main light to proceed straight ahead.

    If you are waiting to proceed straight ahead this effectively means you are marooned in the middle of the junction with traffic behind you waiting to turn left.

    Not much fun in a car either, but it is considerably more unpleasant and dangerous on a bike.

    I'm not sure if there is an answer other than removing the left filter cycle.

    There is a general difficulty with decent routes from this area north up to Woodbridge Road in the rush hour, and this would seem like the best route if it were not for this issue.

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  • Bridge between Abergavenny and Llanfoist: the 'missing link'

    Created by Jack Thurston // 1 thread

    Cycle Route 46 from crosses the old stone bridge across the River Usk between Abergavenny and Llanfoist. There are good, safe and direct cycle paths on either side of the bridge, but the bridge itself is very hostile for cycling, and walking. It is on the A4143 and there is heavy often fast traffic most times of the day. The footway is very narrow and only on one side of the bridge. Although short, this is a difficult section to negotiate, especially for inexperienced or young cyclists.

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  • Lower Castle Street cycle contraflow required

    Created by Jack Thurston // 0 threads

    Cycle route 42 along Castle Street requires cyclists to make an absurd off-road detour around the castle grounds and through an industrial estate to rejoin the routes east of the town centre at Holywell Road.

    This could be avoided if cycling were allowed in a south-west to north-east direction on Lower Castle Street. Ideally this narrow street should be a walking/cycling only street, or a cycling contraflow could be introduced, though the narrowness of the street makes this a second-best solution.

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