An iconic contraflow cycle lane

Cyclists get the red carpet treatment in Leyton.

If you look at the list of ‘Achievements’ on the website of the LCC’s Waltham Forest branch you will read ‘Helping to get the contraflow cycle-lane approved in Manor Road, Leyton.’

Yes, indeed. What not to like about this exemplary example of permeability? The British way is best and we want none of those nasty Dutch ideas in Waltham Forest, thank you very much. The bollard in the centre of the cycle access helps to prevent the spread of the ‘cargo bike’ contagion.

(Above) A two inch ridge ensures that cyclists entering the cycle path are given a helpful jolt, ensuring that there is no danger of nodding off while cycling. It also helps to deter cyclists from carrying dogs or children on their bikes, as many irresponsible cyclists do in drug-crazed places like Amsterdam.

(Below) A particularly impressive touch. The sign instructs all traffic to turn left, to follow the one-way system. But those cyclists who aren’t going straight on along the Manor Road contraflow are advised that if they turn right they can get to the George Mitchell secondary school. The only problem is that the highway engineers long ago converted Park Road to one-way, meaning that any cyclist who follows this advice will find themselves cycling directly into traffic coming towards them. But not to worry, if you are killed your family should be able to secure a substantial amount in compensation from the Council for its gross criminal negligence.

(Below) Crap design and a complete subservience to the car-centric status quo? It must be the London Cycle Network!

And this is what happens when the contraflow lane meets the junction with Capworth Street. Classic design and maintenance. As the song says, This is the end. Of our elaborate plans, the end.

why go to Tate Modern?

I go to Tate Modern quite a lot but I usually end up feeling the exhibits are okay but not really up to the standard of talented local artist Chris Robbins, who enjoys working with mattresses, rubbish bags, heaps of clothing and broken bollards.

Chris's new installation ‘contraflow’ cleverly evokes the state of the nation, with its triangular evocation of the British Isles and its poetic collection of nuts, lighting and metallic strips at the centre. Truly a magnificent representation of ‘broken Britain’. Well done Chris! (See this exhibit on Pretoria Avenue E17, where it is also sometimes known as ‘cycling infrastructure’.)

The Manor Road contraflow fa(r)cility

On its website, the Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign lists among its “Achievements since 1997”

Helping to get the contraflow cycle-lane approved in Manor Road, Leyton.

Yeah, right. More on this far(c)ility another day. For today let me just point out that the entrance to the Manor Road contraflow lane seems to be permanently blocked just about every day of the year by this particular parked car.

As far as I can tell the driver is not committing an offence. There’s a continuous white line, but there is along the entire length, which means that all drivers accessing the on-street parking bays have to cross it.

It appears that the only way of preserving the integrity of the start of this contraflow lane would be to introduce double-yellow line ‘no waiting at any time’ restrictions. But obviously the transport planners of Waltham Forest wouldn’t want that. Because a parked car must always come before the safety and convenience of a cyclist. It’s a question of priorities, and the London Borough of Waltham Forest is fully committed to car dependency and increased car ownership and use.

Trench warfare

The Pretoria Avenue E17 contraflow cycle lane, which directs cyclists against oncoming traffic, continues to be full of exciting challenges.




















(Below) And pedestrians can 'take a trip' (to hospital) here, too!

Velorution in Blackburn

Ian Kay, who manages Ewood Bikes on Bolton Road, Blackburn, said: “I have not heard of anything like that before. You would have to be brave to use it”.

Lancashire Telegraph cycling columnist Dave Brown said: “It’s a good thing - but Blackburn is a very difficult town to get around for a cyclist. There’s no structure”.

Judging by the photograph, this is an exemplary contraflow system - at least a couple of metres wide and distinctively marked out. Quite a contrast to this.

Pro- and con- contraflows

A CYCLING group says bike riders should be allowed to pedal the wrong way along one-way streets in Portsmouth. But, despite its claims the system would be safe, the idea has been labelled 'dangerous and unworkable' by leading figures on Portsmouth City Council.

Contraflow not flowing

(Above) The contraflow lane for cyclists on Pretoria Road E17. Yesterday. Now of course when drivers are diverted into a cycle lane because of roadworks, the convention is that the contractors put up a sign reading CYCLISTS DISMOUNT HERE. So when the reverse applies, surely there should be a sign DRIVERS GET OUT HERE AND PUSH.

Mind you, if you were a cyclist going in the opposite direction, there wouldn't be any problems, would there?

Well of course there would. This is the London Borough of Waltham Forest, after all.

Contraflow lane

Below: the new contraflow lane for cyclists on Pretoria Avenue E17.

(One way only traffic heading away from the camera in the lane on the left, cyclists coming towards the camera in the contraflow cycle lane located in the middle of the carriageway.)

Can you spot any design flaws? (Clue: the lorry is legally parked.)

Contracted to obstruct cycling

The inconsiderate contractors scheme is now fully operational across the London Borough of Waltham Forest.

'NO ENTRY' one-way street with contraflow lane for cyclists directly ahead. Queen Elizabeth Road E17.




















No sooner are the markings down for the new off-road cycle lane outside Waltham Forest College than... contractors are digging it up:




















And as you can see, great sensitivity has been employed to ensure that sufficient space has been left for cyclists on this two-way cycle lane:




















There are no less than four contractors's signs in the cycle lane on High Road Leyton after the junction with Leyton Green Road. Here's two of them. All photographs taken yesterday.






































Warren Road E10 (below).

One way street

Watch the Mirror’s shock-horror David Cameron video [see previous post] and you’ll see that the one way street has ample room for a contraflow cycle lane. As there is clearly a cycling need, why isn’t it being met? Car parking on both sides of the road is given priority, which tells you everything.

The solution is easy enough. Allow cyclists to use ALL one-way streets in the 'wrong' direction. Here's an interesting example: Crowland Road in South Tottenham. Cyclists don't get a contraflow lane, simply intermittent markings.

At the end of the road cyclists are physically separated from traffic entering the one-way system.

Unfortunately that's where it breaks down, because drivers have flouted the (faded) double-yellow lines and obstructed the contraflow lane. This is just another symptom of the widespread lawlessness of drivers and their contempt for cyclists, which is underpinned by the knowledge that even if they get a ticket it will just be a piddling fine. Drivers who park like this should get a £200 fine. Fat chance, as long as the Daily Mail dictates transport policy.

Spot the contradiction

The Links E17, approaching the junction with Pretoria Avenue.

So what's missing?

Answer: the 'RIGHT TURN ONLY' sign should include the qualification 'EXCEPT CYCLISTS'.

Cyclists are entitled to turn left to use the contraflow lane on this one-way section of Pretoria Avenue. You can spot the cycle lane cut-through on the chicane on the left. It's a pity that the dropped kerb hasn't been installed professionally, which means cyclists hit a two inch high kerb rather than a surface level with the carriageway.

Caution is required when turning left here. A wide vehicle approaching from the left might well be in the cycle lane and would hit you head-on.

It's also the case that some drivers don't seem to fully understand the design concept on this section of Pretoria Avenue. A one-way street with a contraflow lane for cyclists is something not all drivers are familiar with or perhaps understand. When I turned left from The Links here recently I met a white van coming towards me on Pretoria Avenue. There wasn't any problem, since the vehicle was in its lane and I was in mine and there was plenty of room. But rather to my surprise the driver slammed on his brakes and threw his hands in the air in a gesture of despair. I think he thought I was a crazy rogue cyclist going the wrong way down a one-way street.

Would you like ice with your contraflow, madam?

The contraflow lane for cyclists on Queen Elizabeth Road, E17. At one end the markings have been obscured by resurfacing and not replaced. But then that kind of neglect is ubiquitous in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. And there's a protective bollard which has been lying there for weeks, presumably demolished by a heavy goods vehicle mounting the protective kerb for cyclists. These are symbolic of the Council's widespread neglect of the cycling infrastructure, but not in themselves a deterrent. The real problem lies at the other end - see below.




















Water pours down the hill on Higham Hill Road, on that section between Forest Road and Winns Avenue. It does so on a permanent basis. Presumably a pipe has cracked beneath the carriageway. Instead of spending money on repairing the pipe, Thames Water just turns up the water pressure and forgets about it. Scenes like this are duplicated all over the Borough and the Council shows no inclination to get tough with Thames Water.

The result is that water flows down across the entrance to the contraflow cycle lane. It brings with it all kinds of rubbish and deposits it here. The entrance to the cycle lane is permanently coated in water, which is an obvious hazard if the temperature drops below freezing. Many cyclists using this facility will be coming down a hill and then turning sharp left into the lane. Even without the potential for ice the entrance is clogged with slimy, slippery leaves. And the drain is beginning to clog up, too, which will make this location even more waterlogged.

Happy cycling! And if you come off your bike here and break a leg I think you'll have a good case for compensation on the grounds of gross negligence by the highway authority.