SHORT-READ / COMMENT & ANALYSIS: A number of recent IrishCycle.com articles have featured or made reference to protected junction, both the tried and test Dutch design and the experimental Dublin design — this image from Limerick Cycle Design explains the main difference:
And here's an animation of one laid over the other. The difference all revolves around the pedestrian crossing – should pedestrians cross both cycle track and carriageway in a single stage or cross the cycle tracks first and then cross the carriageway separately? pic.twitter.com/jv3BGP1tCL
— Limerick Cycle Design (@LkCycleDesign) March 15, 2021
Here’s a glimpse of the first Dublin-style design in action which this website reported on last week:
Cyclists go straight while drivers turn left. Drivers turning left are supposed to yield but this didn't always happen. So I was nearly struck and beeped at in the middle of the junction on the way home. pic.twitter.com/XEQl7e4pv6
— Feljin Jose (@Feljin_J) March 8, 2021
Probably the best explanation of how Dutch protected junctions work is provided by protectedintersection.com —
The key point is that Irish motorists when tuning left rarely check their blind spot. This running over cyclists. This happened at a roundabout near me, killing a cyclist. Dutch designs force the motorist to take a wider turn crossing the bike lane at right angles so you can clearly see a cyclist. The’Dublin’ design seems wrongheaded and poorly thought out.
Brilliant article. Sums up the entire case for protected junctions in one picture. There simply is no excuse for anything less.