Same, I always use the road. I have been honked and shouted at though by drivers that hate not being allowed to speed.

Secondly, its hard to get from the separated cycle lane onto the roadway if one wishes to do so, for example to make a right hand turn off of Tuam St.

Thirdly, one has to be exceedingly wary of pedestrians who have no idea they are stepping right in front of a cyclist, i.e. me, in the cycle lane without looking. And this is while the central city is still quiet and most of the street-side parking is not fully used most of the time. I cannot but imagine the problem will only worsen when more cars park along Tuam St., especially if and when disgorging passengers unaccustomed to cycle lanes to the left of the roadway.

On the positive, I like that the intersection signals formalise the road code by “red arrowing” turning vehicles for a bit after greening other traffic in order to prevent them turning in front of cyclists going straight ahead. Its something all drivers MUST be doing all the time anyways when thinking of crossing a cycle lane (yeah right), so its difficult to fathom why the cycle lane green phase is much shorter than it is for vehicles – except that it practically recognises that driver compliance with this rule is abysmal.

Negative on balance, the lights seem to be timed for travelling at 30kmph. In and of itself this is fine – for me – but for others this may mean having to stop at every set of lights. Boring. Noting above that pedestrians have trouble with comprehending that a cyclist might actually be using that funny no so wide on and off green paved bit between the roadway and footpath, however, cycling at 30kmph or faster is not a good idea unless one has an absolutely clear field of vision unobscured by parked cars. The separated cycle lanes currently extant in the central city and at University of Canterbury are OK for travelling say 10-15kmph, and maybe even 20, but not for anything above this.

All things considered above, I am reluctant to use the cycle lane and more inclined to use the roadway.

Criggie,

This is a common occurrence in my experience. More than half the time its a driver pulling over to talk on their phone, as if not obeying the thing immediately would mean certain death, or seven years of bad luck or some such. Right thought to pull over, wrong solution. I cannot but come to the conclusion that many drivers think a cycle lane is an “answer your phone safety pull-over lane” even if it is VERY clearly marked as a no-stopping zone. They must think their taxes/rates/road user charges are being used to very good effect.

Bear in mind that CERA oversaw this work, not CCC. My understanding is that perpendicular grates are not as hydraulically efficient (i.e. in serious rain, it won’t drain the water as quickly). The wavy design minimises that problem and in theory also gets around any concerns about getting caught in them. In reality I suspect that you wouldn’t get stuck, but that doesn’t change the perception… My personal peeve about these new drains is that they keep locating them right at the traffic lights – precisely where I want to stop by the kerb to rest my foot there.

On the plus side, the new set of lights on Waimairi Rd, that go from Ilam Fields to the old Teacher’s College are wonderful as the sensors always seem to pick me up, even when I am the sole cyclist and the road lights are turning amber before I even get to the crossing!! Very responsive!