CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
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not resolvedIt stuck me that with the tram lines in the road closely following bus routes, anyone falling off might do well to not the number of any nearby bus, and see if they can secure pictures of themselves (you can request pictures of yourself) captured on the bus external cameras.
There are also external cameras on buildings and one rider in London did actually secure the sequence of his crash from e nearby hotel.
There must be lots of cities in continental Europe that have extensive tram networks and high levels of cycle use. How much of a problem are falls on tram lines in these places? Anybody know?
My boyfriend grew up near Innsbruck and cycled to school in the city, where there are plenty of trams. He says cyclists there don't fall off on the tram tracks there because they know how to cycle around them, and the British cyclists are being great big wusses for making a fuss.
How about Amsterdam? Surely they have a huge experience of this!
Presumably they make some sort of rudimentary considerations for cyclists there though!
When crossing over a tram-track, you must do with a suitable angle, as if you were mounting a curb. If the angle is too shallow, you may slip on the metal or your wheels may fall into the gap.
fimm - what worries me is less falling off, and more getting hit by cars behind/beside....
Now that I have tyres that are the right size for getting stuck in tramtracks, I am more sympathetic to these concerns.
It's ok, SRD, your folder's tyres are too narrow to fall into the tram groove and get wedged. Some creative bunnyhopping is in order!
On my way to Waverley last week to count the cycle racks I had planned to use Princes St from west to east. But when I joined from Lothian Road my bike skidded on the 5mm high left-hand edge of the green magic tarmac, and I nearly fell off.
"my bike skidded on the 5mm high left-hand edge of the green magic tarmac, and I nearly fell off"
Yeah I noticed that today - first time I'd gone Lothian Road to Princes Street for ages. It wasn't even wet...
"my bike skidded on the 5mm high left-hand edge of the green magic tarmac, and I nearly fell off"
5mm is the maximum height for the ridges on tramline tactile paving - are you sure it wasn't more than 5mm (2 x £2 coins stacked = 5mm precisely - so the third £2 coin on top should overlap but barely touch the upper level) This height and profile of the edges was arrived at after extensive tests by TRL about 20 years ago. Higher and not the same profile will deliver an edge that deflects cycle tyres and brings you down.
From TSRGD Chapter 5 "Markings may project up to 6 mm above the adjacent road surface (regulation 32)" Diagrams in ORR guidance on Tramway Street Track indicate a preferred height LIMIT of 3mm for both road markings and tram rails.
Very little detail appears to exist on limiting detail for ridges, and surface irregularities. Anyone who has clipped the edge of a steel manhole frame, or ridden over a planed road surface will know what I'm describing but I'm struggling to find some decent quantitative measure on this, let alone any roads authority treating it seriously.
The advice about striking the edge as the right angle is a bit hollow when the road layout, such as that at the Mound/Princes Street crossing, actually sets your angle of attack as an unsafe one.
Other detail includes limits on tar banding, the smooth black strips where repairs are sealed in to the surface width being limited to 50mm or 2", and friction ratings for thermoplastic road markings (permitted at over twice the width of tar banding but potentially as slippery when wet)
I cycled along princes st west to east first time in years yesterday.
It is 'interesting' but not really dangerous - tracks are, as fimm says, in many cities, and all road users just get on with it.
Positively, lots of opportunities to demonstrate why bikes are quicker than anything else.
Rather sadly, many fools on bikes acting like NY couriers between buses.
Every single overhead mast on Princes St has one of these.. who's terrified of a lawsuit?
Why do 'they' put up signs warning you of some danger, when you already know fine well that there's a danger and despite best efforts you still come to grief?
The sign might as well say "Caution: tram tracks" and a secondary sign below it saying "and quite frankly we'd rather you cycled somewhere else altogether".
The hazard is known and the reasons for the hazard are known. Roe vs Sheffield Supertram has made it very clear to the tram operator that there are some actions that they can take to mitigate those hazards.
There will thus be judgements and case law to determine where the Duty of Care under Section 3 of HSAW Act to present a facility which is safe for use by members of the public (non employees) has been reasonably discharged by the tram operator, through minimising the ridges and slots which are known to be a problem for cyclists, and even eliminating or providing sensible avoiding routes for locations where the flangeway groove or rail head cannot be otherwise dealt with.
If the surface has ridges that cause loss of control, where ridges could have been eliminated, then there could be a case that the notices do not absolve the operator in the event of a crash.
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