Question
It's somewhat bizarre that whilst WBC is basking in the reflected publicity of its partnership with TVP on the campaign to discourage drivers from passing too close to cyclists, its Highways Dept is actively encouraging motorists to overtake within a nanometre of a cyclists’ life.
Take New Wokingham Road. As the Executive Member can see from the picture provided WBC have installed red tarmac overlaid with diagonal stripes to dissuade motorists from deviating from their lane to overtake cyclists, encouraging them to barge cyclists off the road as the lanes are now not wide enough for a vehicle and a cycle to pass side by side.
Numerous traffic islands make it difficult for motorists to overtake, those that do either cut in too close to cyclists or pass the wrong side of the islands to avoid slowing down.
Can I surmise the Council view accidents as an NHS problem whilst the extra paintwork is a cost issue purely for residents?
Interestingly as soon as the road crosses into Bracknell Forest, that Council has opted for a conventional single centre line to give cyclists more space.
Are the Council planning to make safe this vanity project before a cyclist is killed?
Minutes:
Question
It's somewhat bizarre that whilst WBC is basking in the reflected publicity of its partnership with TVP on the campaign to discourage drivers from passing too close to cyclists, its Highways Department is actively encouraging motorists to overtake within a nanometre of a cyclists’ life.
Take New Wokingham Road. As the Executive Member can see from the picture provided WBC have installed red tarmac overlaid with diagonal stripes to dissuade motorists from deviating from their lane to overtake cyclists, encouraging them to barge cyclists off the road as the lanes are now not wide enough for a vehicle and a cycle to pass side by side.
Numerous traffic islands make it difficult for motorists to overtake, those that do either cut in too close to cyclists or pass the wrong side of the islands to avoid slowing down.
Can I surmise the Council view accidents as an NHS problem whilst the extra paintwork is a cost issue purely for residents.
Interestingly as soon as the road crosses into Bracknell Forest, that Council has opted for a conventional single centre line to give cyclists more space.
Are the Council planning to make safe this vanity project before a cyclist is killed?
Answer
The traffic management scheme on the New Wokingham Road I am told was installed over a decade ago and was introduced to tackle high vehicle speeds and to encourage speed limit compliance. The approach taken to reduce the effective width of the road using red tarmac and hatching along with the traffic islands to prevent overtaking and the installation of Vehicle Activated Speed signs is a recognised speed management approach and has proved to be successful. Our data shows vehicle speeds to be broadly compliant with the 30mph speed limit, over all periods of the day.
Whilst the red tarmac overlaid with hatched markings does dissuade motorists from deviating from their lane, this is a permitted manoeuvre for drivers when it is safe and legal to do so, when they need to pass a cyclist.
The introduction of the scheme has supported the safety of cyclists by reducing the speed of traffic and the occurrence of only one pedal cyclist collision since the scheme was introduced is testament to the success of the measures on this busy, local distributor road that carries over 8,000 vehicles every day. That I believe is one in ten years.
Central hatched road markings are a recognised form of traffic calming used to discourage drivers from overtaking which can give the impression that the road is narrower than it is in reality. Placing them on a coloured background can give additional emphasis. As the road is wide enough and, given the ability for drivers to pass cyclists safely, Officers have considered it appropriate when designing the existing scheme to provide narrower lane widths in which there have been no reported safety issues.
Supplementary Question:
I think this just highlights the ongoing problems, with no one with cycling experience in the Highways Department. I have ridden that road many times and all it has done is increase the speed of certain motorists who in an attempt to get past will sort of speed up to get to the island, or just avoid them altogether by going on the other side of the road. It has made it considerably more dangerous. As with all the other bizarre cycling schemes such as the cycle path that morphs into a sandpit, the cycle lanes two or three metres long, can you actually commit to employing a proper, experienced cyclist who can review all these desktop, tick box exercise projects, and produce reports to improve safety for all road users?
Supplementary Answer:
You are completely incorrect Mr Humphreys. There are several experienced and keen cyclists in the Highways Department, and they are actively involved in designing these roads.