Took the oportunity of cycling along the new southbound hArdcavan cycle lane earlier today.
Here are a few of my thoughts..

The first thing that must be said when putting in a line of paint alongside a main carriageway is that they are of limited value especially when they are not linked to somewhere else or end abruptly.
There is also some research out there telling us that drivers tend to pass more closely when this type of infrastructure is in place. (The ‘I’m in my lane, you’re in yours’ is the general reason given – this is not always safe and often goes against the safe passing space message given by the RSA)

The first thing that must be said when putting in a line of paint alongside a main carriageway is that they are of limited value especially when they are not linked to somewhere else or end abruptly.
There is also some research out there telling us that drivers tend to pass more closely when this type of infrastructure is in place. (The ‘I’m in my lane, you’re in yours’ is the general reason given – this is not always safe and often goes against the safe passing space message given by the RSA)

Back to the lane itself, it took me all of 2 and a half minutes to cover it so it’s relatively short.
(This whole road from Castlebridge into Wexford town is crying out for a segregated cycle path and footpath – you will see a van illegally drift in to the lane in the clip which wouldn’t happen with segregation)

The cycle lane itself has got a decent surface in the main and is of uniform width.
There are several manhole covers that cover the full width of the lane which is not ideal as they can become very slippery when wet. There are some covers on the main carriageway and the footpath where they cause less of a hazard.
Maybe the cycle lane ones, have to be placed where they are for whatever reason but ideally, these should not be in the cycle lane especially when there might be viable alternatives.

Some key points. 👇

• The entry point to the lane needs a broken white line (as is marked at the end of the lane)
• ideally this lane should be coloured for clarity but in the absence of that, potential conflict points at various exit junctions need to be coloured.
• The lane ends abruptly and shells a potential nervous rider out on the main carriageway. For me this ends too soon and with some good planning on the recent footpath placement, this lane could have been taken as far as the Opel garage where the road naturally pinches in.
• I would like to see a large bicycle road marking on that section of road to remind other road users of the presence of bicycle rider at the abrupt ending of the cycle lane. That should not be viewed though as a solution in itself but rather as a beach-head strategy.

The big question as with all new cycling infrastructure is will this attract new bicycle users or coax some drivers out of their cars?
I’m not convinced!

Phil.