But at least they have bicycle lanes! (said in my best Yorkshire accent). We should be so lucky ...
Auckland has the daft green patches, and then, of course, we have that brilliant bureaucratic idea of creating a cycle network where you don't really have one (and not spending any money) by just re-classifying all the bus lanes as 'bus/bicycle lanes' - how loony is that?!
So where exactly am I supposed to bicycle? I love the Rentokil truck in this picture - it's so ironic!
The problem is that buses are the same width as the bus lanes with not a lot of room to spare - makes perfect sense, as they were built for buses.
So to get past these 4 buses, am I supposed to bicycle in the gutter? or perhaps somewhere between the four lanes of traffic? It obviously looks perfectly reasonable on paper, and I'm sure urban warriors just love this sort of thing, but ....
It's BLOODY SCARY (excuse my French) when they're moving! And sorry, but facilities like this won't get me off the pavement!!
And I am not alone.
Look at this lovely spacious, safe, area just to the left of the traffic. Tell me again why I would play with the buses instead?
Oh look, and there is another person without a death wish (she dismounted when she saw me taking pictures - I obviously look very official!) Why doesn't the Auckland City Council just paint shared pedestrian/bicycle icons on this lovely wide pavement area on Symonds Street?
NOTE TO AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL:
The green patches and the bus/bicycle lanes won't encourage new cyclists to get on their bikes - it just looks too dangerous. At the very least we need bicycle lanes, and preferably, separated bicycle lanes - like the unofficial one above that you already have on Symonds Street!
Yeah, you tell it like it is, Unity! The scariest roads for me so far are Queen Street uphill (especially when I want to turn right into Karangahape Road) and Ponsonby Road.
ReplyDeleteGreat North Road has a shared bus/cycle lane which isn't ideal but it's definitely heaps wider than the ones in your Symonds Street photos.
The only reason I still don't cycle on footpaths is because cars aren't paying attention to bikes on roads—much less footpaths! Plus you have to stop at every intersection to check for traffic as opposed to just cycling straight on with the right of way.