Safety plan to improve conditions for cyclists at road works

Guidelines are to be drawn up to deal with the recurring problem of how cyclists are treated at road works — the rules will only apply to the Fingal County Council area but the councillor who suggested the measure hopes all Irish councils will follow suit.

“The issue of roadworks being carried out in a way that increases risks for cyclists is a recurring problem, often resulting from a failure of those carrying out the works to consider the needs and safety of cyclists,” said Cllr David Healy (Green Party), writing on his website this evening.

Common complaints include the needless blocking of cycle lanes with  road works signs, pointless “cyclists dismount” signs, and temporary traffic lights which do not allow for slow-moving cyclists, especially on rural roads. 

He said: “At this evening’s meeting, the Council agreed to my motion to include the production of guidance for those planning and carrying out roadworks in the Road Safety Plan 2017-2020.” 

“I hope that the fact that there’s already a draft by Transport for London might help Fingal to finalise guidance soon and that in turn other Irish local authorities might follow Fingal’s example,” added Cllr Healy.

IMAGES: Cycling and road works

One of the problems around road works in Ireland is signs needlessly blocking cycle lanes: like this example which is blocking the cycle lane after the roadworks — yes, this photo is from Ireland and there is another sign on the other side of the road warning in-coming traffic:


Another problem is signs blocking cycle lanes on the approach to road works, far before you need to pull out — these signs could be on wide footpaths, grass margins or attached to polls or lamp posts:


And, of course, there’s the “cyclists dismount” signs — used where it’s usually needless or where dismounting would made things worse for people trying to cycle and also footpath users.

But it’s not all bad, as covered on IrishCycle.com in 2015, Dublin City Council’s on-going works on flood defences on the south quays in the Docklands includes a segregated cycle path:


This approach is common in Denmark and the Netherlands, as per this example from Amsterdam:


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5 comments

  1. Some genius decided to put up signs warning of a cycle lane closed half way across the Becket Bridge southbound, instead of giving warning before you cycle down a cul-de-sac

    Reply
  2. > Becket Bridge cycle lane closed

    The ‘shared’ path on the south side of this bridge during normal operation is one of the worst I’ve experienced, so I always use the road during busy times.

    How they do it in Europe: http://i.imgur.com/i0D06dO.jpg (fully signposted diversion routes for people who cycle)

    Reply
  3. I’ve just come back from a week in Munich. If road works block a cycle lane, a CAR lane is closed, and a temporary cycle lane provided with cones. Bleedin great!

    Reply

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