It’s quite simple, really. Cyclists and pedestrians are regarded as third-rate road users and are treated as such at roadworks.
Pedalling off to Critical Mass at the end of March this is what I encountered while cycling along Middleton Road in Hackney, one of those recommended cycle routes marked out on the Transport for London cycle maps. At the junction with Queensbridge Road (B108) the road was blocked off, with no consideration at all for the needs of pedestrians or cyclists. They just aren’t worth the effort of temporary lights. Temporary lights are for drivers. So pedestrians and cyclists have to get round this obstruction and then cross a busy road without any assistance at all.
As Velorution rightly and angrily notes, this culture of indifference sometimes has tragic consequences.
