Cape Town Cycle Lane

[stratus5]

Listern to Hairy!

Hi, my name is Stratus and I dont use the cycle lane .... all the time

I commute and on the inbound leg from Tableview to Paddocks(where I turn in to head for Century city) I use the R27. This means I cross no intersections, and have a very wide lane/shoulder to ride down.

 

I am at a very similar speed to the cars (rush hour) along this leg and dont feel unsafe.

Trying to cross the Bayside intersection to get to the cycle lane from Blouberg Road and the Dolpin beach and Engen intersections are way more risky than my 4 km jaunt along the shoulder. Having to cross again at the Paddocks compounds this risk.

 

On the way home, I do however use the cycle lane from the Paddocks onwards. Dolphin beach is nasty in the afternoons, with left turning cars often not indicating. If we had access into the road, where we could become part of the normal traffic flow at this point, it would be much safer.

[Omar]

I have been riding this route for over 9 years and since the cycle lanes being built and used I no longer hear about cyclists being killed on this stretch of road anymore. This used to be a very unfortunate and regular occurance.

 

Use the lanes.

 

there was a chap that lost control of his bike in the gutter in line with Zonnekus Primary and fell in front of a truck, this happened on a saturday afternoon. then there was the cyclist who was killed on the bridge just past the lagoon very early on a sunday morning. what others have died in the past 9 years? please be specific.

a prominent ppa member fell and broke bones dodging a truck in P eiland, this happened on the weekend and a Cycles Direct member was hit by a vehicle also on their weekend rush to Chappies.

[Hairy]

there was a chap that lost control of his bike in the gutter in line with Zonnekus Primary and fell in front of a truck, this happened on a saturday afternoon. then there was the cyclist who was killed on the bridge just past the lagoon very early on a sunday morning. what others have died in the past 9 years? please be specific.

a prominent ppa member fell and broke bones dodging a truck in P eiland, this happened on the weekend and a Cycles Direct member was hit by a vehicle also on their weekend rush to Chappies.

 

Now there was a really bad year with 3 riders killed on the Table View to CT route just before the cycle lanes. Without trawling the web and compiling a detailed breakdown, I can tell you that it was a rather dangerous route to ride.

 

It got the point where a fellow commuter and I eventually made these boards that were strapped to our backs.

 

Pic taken 2009 according to the info on the image properties

[Hairy]

Hi, my name is Stratus and I dont use the cycle lane .... all the time

I commute and on the inbound leg from Tableview to Paddocks(where I turn in to head for Century city) I use the R27. This means I cross no intersections, and have a very wide lane/shoulder to ride down.

 

I am at a very similar speed to the cars (rush hour) along this leg and dont feel unsafe.

Trying to cross the Bayside intersection to get to the cycle lane from Blouberg Road and the Dolpin beach and Engen intersections are way more risky than my 4 km jaunt along the shoulder. Having to cross again at the Paddocks compounds this risk.

 

On the way home, I do however use the cycle lane from the Paddocks onwards. Dolphin beach is nasty in the afternoons, with left turning cars often not indicating. If we had access into the road, where we could become part of the normal traffic flow at this point, it would be much safer.

 

Have you not had a taxi come up behind you or a motorbike buzz you on the shoulder there yet ... I did have this a couple of time when using the road before the lanes were available.

 

I do agree that the drivers do not respect the "give the cyclist right of way" signs along the lanes and they also need to learn how to stop behind the pedestrian crossings.

 

All in all though I might take a few minutes (And not many more) longer to get home than if I had used the road.

[cyclingfiend]

Some time soon a cyclist is going to get killed or seriously injured whilst riding on the road when there is a cycling lane available and all hell is going to be let loose from the press and anti cycling factions. By not using the cycle lanes, you are doing a great dis-service to the cycling fraternity as a whole. Shake off that arrogance that you are too great to ride along with joggers and slow riders!

[Eddy Gordo]

indeed, that is the whole point of the cycling lanes. It is to make dangerous sections of road safe for the cyclist. Just have a look at where all the cycle lanes are located and see how narrow or unaccommodating the road is in these areas

[pbp2007]

I hope that in our enthusiasm for cycle lanes we don't miss the 500 lb gorilla in the corner of the room, namely to make the roads safer for all users instead of reserving roads for only one class of user, namely motorised transport.

[DJR]

I hope that in our enthusiasm for cycle lanes we don't miss the 500 lb gorilla in the corner of the room, namely to make the roads safer for all users instead of reserving roads for only one class of user, namely motorised transport.

I get what you are saying, but I'm just too happy to avoid the gorillas on the road if there is a cycling lane for me and my family. The more exclusive cycle lanes they build the better. I hope Cape Town keeps it up and show the rest of good old SA how it can be done. Currently we have quite a few cycle lanes that are disconnected. Hopefully the next stage will be to link it all up into a coherent network.

[Hairy]

I get what you are saying, but I'm just too happy to avoid the gorillas on the road if there is a cycling lane for me and my family. The more exclusive cycle lanes they build the better. I hope Cape Town keeps it up and show the rest of good old SA how it can be done. Currently we have quite a few cycle lanes that are disconnected. Hopefully the next stage will be to link it all up into a coherent network.

 

I worked for Urban Designers/Architects not long ago and through the general feedback from the City of Cape Town there is a large emphasis being placed, by the City, on developing non-motorized/pedestrian traffic in the city and surrounds. They are taking this seriously and if you see the medium to long term plans for the MyCiti bus phases you will see that they are putting things into practice already.

 

I wish the City well with the initiative.

[stratus5]

Have you not had a taxi come up behind you or a motorbike buzz you on the shoulder there yet ... I did have this a couple of time when using the road before the lanes were available.

 

I do agree that the drivers do not respect the "give the cyclist right of way" signs along the lanes and they also need to learn how to stop behind the pedestrian crossings.

 

All in all though I might take a few minutes (And not many more) longer to get home than if I had used the road.

 

No problems with taxis, but have been buzzed by motorbikes. Its a safety tradeoff ... since I only use the stretch from Tableview to the Paddocks, I feel there is less risk going towards town using the road, rather than trying to cross the multiple very busy intersections.

 

From this month, I will start commuting to town again, in which case i will use the entire cycle lane again, and not the road.

 

I do think the intersections need to be made more cycle friendly though. The Dolphin Beach one is particularly difficult to cross coming home.

[Hairy]

No problems with taxis, but have been buzzed by motorbikes. Its a safety tradeoff ... since I only use the stretch from Tableview to the Paddocks, I feel there is less risk going towards town using the road, rather than trying to cross the multiple very busy intersections.

 

From this month, I will start commuting to town again, in which case i will use the entire cycle lane again, and not the road.

 

I do think the intersections need to be made more cycle friendly though. The Dolphin Beach one is particularly difficult to cross coming home.

 

I fully agree with this statement ... and somehow the City/Traffic dept need to "educate" motorist that if a sign says that motorists are to give right of way to pedestrians at the crossings, then they bloody well better do so and give way.

 

Look forwarding to meeting you on the route at some stage.

Edited May 28, 2012 by Hairy

[ccc2]

before the City of CT designs/builds more cycling lanes i certainly hope they sit down and think about the end result. lanes don't need poles in the middle of them with a sign of a cyclist on top of it. if they are going to spend funds on the lanes then go big ie make them wider and in 1 direction. with just a little thought, the cycling lane from TV to CT could have stayed on 1 side of the road without out it crossing into P Eiland.

[Slowbee]

as an aside. If there is a cycle lane, do you have to use it ? And who has "rights" on the cycle lane?

 

in Somerset West, we have a cycle lane, but it is mostly used as a pavement walkway. Do i "have" to use a cycle lane if there is one, legaly speaking ?

[Hairy]

before the City of CT designs/builds more cycling lanes i certainly hope they sit down and think about the end result. lanes don't need poles in the middle of them with a sign of a cyclist on top of it. if they are going to spend funds on the lanes then go big ie make them wider and in 1 direction. with just a little thought, the cycling lane from TV to CT could have stayed on 1 side of the road without out it crossing into P Eiland.

 

If you ride this route on a daily basis you will note that the route is constantly being fine tuned. It is phase 1 and they are learning valuable lessons here.

 

I disagree with the route following the West Coast road and not going into P/Eiland.

• The infrastructure to do that would have been more costly and disruptive during the construction period
  
• You would need additional policing to help with safety of the users. I have witnessed Metro Police cycling and walking this lane as part of a patrolling initiative. The current route also has camera surveillance at critical points.
  
• Building the cycle lane along the route also allows for pedestrians to safely move to and from the various stations. Sharing with them is not tedious and with more feet/wheels on the route the safer it becomes.
  

Poles in the middle of the lane I agree is an oversight and can be improved upon as where they have used the signage that is installed on the side of the lane and then has an arm extending overhead with signage.

[ccc2]

If you ride this route on a daily basis you will note that the route is constantly being fine tuned. It is phase 1 and they are learning valuable lessons here.

 

I disagree with the route following the West Coast road and not going into P/Eiland.

• The infrastructure to do that would have been more costly and disruptive during the construction period
  
• You would need additional policing to help with safety of the users. I have witnessed Metro Police cycling and walking this lane as part of a patrolling initiative. The current route also has camera surveillance at critical points.
  
• Building the cycle lane along the route also allows for pedestrians to safely move to and from the various stations. Sharing with them is not tedious and with more feet/wheels on the route the safer it becomes.
  

Poles in the middle of the lane I agree is an oversight and can be improved upon as where they have used the signage that is installed on the side of the lane and then has an arm extending overhead with signage.

there are many examples where 'roads' have taken away the hard shoulder to increase the number of lanes , one example that comes to mind is between theo marais and the old killarney hotel traffic lights. the hard and wide shoulder on the sea side after the flea market site could have been taken away to build a cycling lane, this leads all the way into the harbour. no need for security cameras, no pedestrians, no quiet areas, no bridge overhangs (where the muggers hide). no need to cross so many roads.

Edited May 28, 2012 by ccc2

[TrekSLR]

Question: Is it illegal to use the shoulder of the road when there is a cycling lane?