@Ed1 @jonty this seems like a poorly thought out crossing. I routinely cycle over this zebra crossing as it joins two shared use paths. That cyclists are technically expected to dismount to cross seems ridiculous, but I have to admit that for some time I wasn't aware of the implications and experienced a near miss with a driver who was either aware and happy to run into me, given that they knew that they were legally in the clear, or more likely didn't take the time to look for me. Since then I am rather more cautious, but still assume that traffic will stop to let me cross...
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish cycling
(4520 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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@Ed1 @jonty That Sustrans document is out of date regarding 'tiger' crossings (side by side pedestrian zebra crossing and cycle crossing demarcated by elephant footprints (why are so many animals used to describe crossings?)). They are now allowed and that's the way to go where a cycle route crosses a road at a pedestrian zebra. Cyclists should always dismount at a zebra, so strictly speaking, if someone were cycling on a zebra it is the same as if they were on any other bit of the road.
Incidentally, I was instructed when learning to drive some time ago, NOT to stop for a pedestrian unless they had set foot on the zebra, at which point you HAD to stop. The logic of this was that the driver had to be prepared to stop at a zebra, but not stop unless a pedestrian was actually on the crossing. I'd be interested to know if this is still accurate.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@jdanielp: I think a better explanation for your incident was probably unawareness or murderousness rather than an excessively rigid understanding of road law.
I think the 'you only have to stop when the pedestrian is on the crossing' thing is correct by the letter of the law, but the best way of obeying that would seem to be stopping just before pedestrians cross as well.
Posted 6 years ago # -
zebra crossing on royal mile that takes you from Moray House tunnel over to Shacks Tunnel with added Owls and on to the Shacks themselves was not working on monday.
You see just after the crossing heading west there was a traffic light and if drivers stopped at the zebra for us as they are supposed to do they would not get through the traffic lights on green. Fair enough, zebra crossings, they are not binding.Oh wait, they normally stop.
Sometimes to make a point of being proper myself, I dismount and push the bike whilst staring at the driver. THis strat waas NOT working Monday.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@ejstubbs: "The path around the barracks is really only MTB-able, at least in the Redford Road direction"
and
@ejstubbs: "If you turn left at the end of the Dreghorn Link footbridge the track is slightly more feasible for a CX bike."
I've only been there once (but not too long ago) and my recollection was that it was a very good surface north from the bridge (i.e. turning right). Basically tarmac all the way, although narrow and reasonably steep at one point.
Left from the bridge (i.e. south) was non tarmac with some tree roots and a steepish and narrowish exit onto the road running along the south side of the barracks.
@ejstubbs: "(I think they may have moved the boundary fence outwards a bit as well, on the side to the west of their rapid access road, and possibly put a gate in, though it wouldn't have been locked last time I went that way.)"
They have moved the fence. No gate but a short section of large gravel/small stones. Something was being done/constructed at the bypass underpass, hopefully not a gate.
There are Mapillary traces for most of this. Bike mounted so a bit shoogly.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Posted 6 years ago #
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@cb: my recollection was that it was a very good surface north from the bridge (i.e. turning right). Basically tarmac all the way, although narrow and reasonably steep at one point.
Ah, you got me: I've only ever done it the other way, coming from Dreghorn Woods. There's a track leading in to the trees just beyond the barracks access road that you can follow as far as the bridge, but it's pretty rough and rooty in places. Yesterday I went the other way ie turning right off the end of the bridge and you're right, it's smooth tarmac all the way. That brings you out on the barracks access road right next to the guarded gate, but you can just turn right and head out through the outer gateway
while dodging the incoming fire from your six.The track heading left from the bridge does have a couple of roots that need to be negotiated confidently, as does the kick up on to the tarmac track behind the barracks. The unpacked hardcore next to the newly extended fence is a bit rough but there is a smoothish line towards the left hand edge as you head towards the underpass under the bypass.
There is now a yellow barrier across the road just before you go under the bypass, but it can be bypassed (!) on the right.
As for accessing the bridge from the east, I think that the easiest way to do that is from the tarmac path that runs behind Morrisons' car park and Auchingane. At the point where it narrows and starts to become overgrown you turn off right along a dirt track which is not too bad, bearing to the left where appropriate to get to the bridge. I satisfied myself that there is no obvious step-free access from the army housing estate, though again I'm willing to be proved wrong. (There is a path which heads away from the end of the short cul-de-sac shown here: it starts off paved but turns rough as you head south-west away from the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and shortly after that has a fairly brutal muddy step.)
Posted 6 years ago # -
"and shortly after that has a fairly brutal muddy step"
Looks like this:
Posted 6 years ago # -
@cb: Aye, that's the one.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Turnips eastbound on the Innocent yesterhometime, mudguarding and failing to anticipate bends, pedestrians and cyclists. Also, whoever parked their bike on the crossing-activation-button-pole at the end of Rankeillor Street (leaving it transverse across both sides of the segregated path drop kerb) hopefully noticed how it had been rotated 90°.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Turnip in a racing costume with a child in a front-mounted seat and possibly another at the back going round the right-hand (to him) turn from the Rodney Street tunnel right on the right-hand (to him) side of the path, at some speed, when he obviously couldn't see round the corner and thus almost crashed into me coming the other way (on my left, at very slow speed).
Posted 6 years ago # -
Me x2
1. I forgot to clip my helmet on and it eventually fell off
2. Coming through Jewel Park in the dark I clipped the edge of the pavement/grass due to the boundary being obscured by leaves. This sent me flying so got a couple of nasty grazes. With hindsight I was probably going too fast for the conditions.Posted 6 years ago # -
Two people going too fast on bicycles on the narrow paths of Pilrig Park yesterday evening. Both had lights, but evidently expected people to flee from before them as a result.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Hoodied youth on MTB-style mount riding down Dalry Road towards Haymarket yester eve, on the wrong side of the road and without lights.
Posted 6 years ago # -
A pavement cycling turnip on Bruntsfield Place sprayed me with some substance as I cycled past at speed, in traffic. Turned out to be some kind of sauce. Some kind of Halloween high jinks? Could have been very dangerous - apologies for industrial strength language if anyone was nearby.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The owner of a nice Cube hybrid with Kevlar drive belt chained their bike to mine on George IV Bridge. Had to walk home.
If it's still chained up tomorrow I'll be seriously tempted to cut their top tube and deal with the lock at my leisure.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The two separate idiots who decided to cycle around Arthur's Seat anti-clockwise this evening. Seriously, just because the north entrance is gated doesn't entitle you to ride in the wrong direction.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I'm late, but the use of 'turnip' has drawn me in.
two wkends ago in Leith, three turnips kitted out for racing decided they couldn't go on the road, so decided to go on the sidewalk instead. why?? it wasn't even busy!Posted 6 years ago # -
My head considers the Arthurs Seat High Road gates in terms of East/West. North/South is possibly more sensible.
Again, my head considers the one way system to still operate when the High Road is closed, but does it?
Posted 6 years ago # -
me. forgetting I was in Edinburgh last rather than london. Train was late and needed to collect mini srd so she could get in some trick-or-treating after a (non-cycling) training session. scooted/pavemented through the lights between waverley and st thomas of aquinas (except one at top of mound, where I panted).
Posted 6 years ago # -
Nothing says High Road is still open to cycles when it's gated, although in practice it is. The excuse I've come up with in my head is that I could have walked in by a different route and not realised it's closed. (I suppose that would work for the one way system too at any time actually!) But are you breaking the law as much going either way?
I try to be 'ready for anything' when I cycle past the gates. At this time of year it's obviously just closed to schedule, but in theory there could be roadworks, ice, half the road missing or legitimate cyclists/runners/vehicles coming the other way. By comparison to that someone cycling the 'wrong' way (as long as they're on the 'right' side of the road) seems rather mild. Wouldn't like to try it though.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Was us...
Dawdling along QR9 this morning at our usual 9mph we were overtaken by another cyclist going a bit quicker.
Suddenly my boosters behind me kick into life and the chase is on...
We hold position behind them as I soft pedal and the boosters going for it and eventually overtake as we get a better run across a junction.
And then the boosters cut out leaving me to ponder what to do next. I choose to try and keep up the speed by myself but I can feel that we're now in their way.
So sorry to the affected rider and if anyone wants to pace us along QR9 tomorrow that would do wonders for our commuting time.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I was stopped at the end of the segregated section of cycle path on Leith Walk outside the off licence. I didn't move out onto the road because there was a bus passing at speed. The idiot who shot out between me and the bus had no such misgivings.
Insert standard level of disgust at this piece of infrastructural nonsense.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I didn't overtake an older lady on an upright bike earlier as I'd have had to left hook her to take my turning, but my brakes squealed which caused her to wave for me to overtake. I attempted to explain as we BOTH took the left turn but she looked completely confused by what was happening and sounded a bit angry.
I'm just going to stop speaking to people in any way on my commute as whenever I do I get bad reactions.
Posted 6 years ago # -
(Wait this should be in Confessions. Ignore!)
Posted 6 years ago # -
Normal amounts of overtake-into-someone's-face on the NEPN this morning. There was also one dingbat who was so close behind me heading down the Roseburn zigzag that I initially thought he must have sneaked off to ride straight down the grassy slope through the fence, but he reappeared at the bottom.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Be-hoodied youth on BMX bike slaloming alarmingly through the Haymarket tram stop yesterday evening. Might have been trying to avoid me as I crossed at the western pedestrian light-controlled crossing. Of course there was no red light for him/her because only trams are supposed to go that way. There is a signal for the trams but of course (a) most normal road users don't know what they mean, and (b) I suspect that, legally, they only apply to trams anyway.
Then this morning there was a female on a bike riding in a decidedly leisurely fashion eastbound between the rails of the westbound platform. If a westbound tram had turned up she'd have been facing a rather risky avoiding maneuver, especially if an eastbound tram had sneaked up on her from behind.
It occurs to me that, if no vehicular traffic apart from trams is meant to go through there, why was it laid with a brick/monobloc surface all the way through? If they'd just laid embedded track at the pedestrian crossings and left the rest as sleepered track (like the majority of the other tram-only sections) then it would be blindingly obvious that you weren't meant to ride/drive there. Such an arrangement seems to be acceptable at all the out-of-city-centre stops such as Balgreen so why not here?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Posted 6 years ago #
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bad cycling?
I would argue not. That route feels far safer to me than going round by Torphicen Place. It's also a core path, so I think it's legal to cycle that way, despite what the signs say.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Surely access legislation doesn't override road traffic law? And if it does, how hasn't anyone noticed until now? Ignoring this situation I can think of a lot of reasons why that might be a bad idea...
Posted 6 years ago #
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