Given the recent fuss about cyclists stealing parking spaces, perhaps we should be reminded that often it’s the other way around. Memo to road designers and operations staff: if you’re going to fit a parking lane inside a cycle lane, at least make sure that a car fits…
Have you come across other examples in Chch where cars stick out into the cycle lane?
The link provided to ‘Tension as car parks make way for cycleways in central Christchurch’ is typical of Stuff & how they selectively allow comments. My point is it seems any Stuff article that’s likely to read as anti cycling & the comments will be open. Conversely try to find any Stuff article where which might be anti vehicle & comments will be closed.
Luckily we can be unbiased on here! đŸ˜‰
mmmm not sure how the comments would have gone on this one. The court decided the cyclist wasn’t at fault however suspect many drivers would think they were baiting the driver just by being there. Can’t win! http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/74982071/cyclists-cameras-show-all-angles-in-court-case-against-aggressive-driver
Why doesn’t it surprise me that it’s a bus driver. They drive their buses in the same way.
Good point Col.
Good crap journalism spotting Col!
interesting point , however I note with a smile sometimes when bad behavour stories are open to comment every man and his keyboard has a personal story to tell about how bad the driving in New Zealand is. If a problem with cycling is reported those same people seem to report that drivers are angels and those pesky cyclists are the real problem. In fairness to the Press the editorial this morning shows just how far we have come toward creating a culture of riding our bikes. Cyleway opponents please take note !!
Car park buildings should be the same price as road side parking now. That’s the idea of car park buildings and when they are more expensive that’s what puts of people parking in them. Lots of drivers have told me that.
I really didn’t think measuring a car and measuring a cycle-lane width was rocket science, but I stand corrected. Perhaps the line-painter wanted to add an artist flourish with that jaunty angle that leads from the yellow to the white, unaware that car parking is totally dependent on line colour, not spatial perception?
My other theory is that it looks suspiciously like a new road surface finishing just before the rider and someone forgot to re-mark the no-stopping lines that used to extend further…
What’s your thoughts on moving cars off the curb to create curb-side cycle lanes? Any merit to the idea or is it unworkable in reality?
It can work – just look at the new Island Bay cycleway in Wgtn. But it’s never just a straight swap, because you’re now confining cyclists between a kerb and a parked car. No room to take evasive action or overtake another bike if you use the same widths as before. And now you need to provide car door opening space on both sides. So you need to have extra road width to start with to make it work, e.g maybe the traffic lanes were already quite wide.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
If we are stuck with the current lanes then what’s the best solution to avoid being ‘doored’ by cars from your left? I have had a couple of near misses over the years despite looking preemptively for occupied cars and biking defensively when passing parked cars.
Are separated lanes the only way to remedy this particular risk factor? I’d be curious to know what designs you’d recommend building if budget constraints / politics weren’t an issue.
If the cycle lanes are marked 1.8m wide (industry standard practice) and you ride in the right half of the lane then a car door shouldn’t get you. If you can reach out and touch the parked car, you are too close. The rookie mistake is to ride in the middle of the cycle lane (or worse, hugging the parked cars) , but the cars passing you will give you space – a parked car can’t.
How many cycle lanes in Christchurch are 1.8m wide? That seems larger then a lot of them appear to be – correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, thanks for the tip. I already ride on the far right side of the cycle lanes when passing bunched up parked cars for that very reason.
Generally new ones should be 1.8m; Chch has been pretty good at following best practice. But I get the impression that sometimes during re-marking after sealing there’s a bit of ‘creep’ for where some of these lines end up. Also, as the photo indicates, they’re not always good at doing tapers to the right width if trying to squeeze in one more car park.
I like this example from Melbourne http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T8WtT22QVuY/UfttkubkUCI/AAAAAAAAA8E/amJm70h2LX0/s1600/DSC02773.JPG. It reminds cyclists to stay out of the door zone and also negates specious thoughts and comments from motorists about cyclists riding on the outer edge of the cycle lane in order to aggravate them.
That’s great! I see it’s rumble strips on the right too so a reminder for the drifter drivers when they accidentially cross the painted median. Great idea.
And what about the new extra wide cars and utes in the city. Even parked to the kerb they overflow the space allocated (up to 40 cm for some of them). And the new marking on Ferry Road where it branches off Moorhouse also starts off narrow.
What is the law concerning these lines anyhow? Do cars have to stay within them legally?
There have to be 10’s if not hundreds of examples of car parking spaces impinging upon designated cycle lanes in Christchurch (and where there are not yellow dotted no parking marks at the curb). Motorists seem to think that if there are no no parking lines then anywhere along the roadside is fair game, even if it means partially or completely blocking a designated cycle lane. I’ll be very surprised if there is any policing and/or ticketing of what is illegal and/or dangerous parking.
I’ve gotten so used to them I hardly notice them any more and have only begun noticing the worst examples since seeing this article when it was first posted. Just off the top of my head, there’s one on Kahu Rd. just before Straven Rd. travelling east; one just past St. Andrew’s Sq. where it intersects with Norman’s Rd. travelling SW; one on Shirley Rd. travelling east past the intersection with Hills Rd.
All things being equal and when safe to do so I have no qualms about “taking the lane” after very clearly indicating my intention in order to safely negotiate my way around a parked car blocking or partially blocking a cycle lane.
Another spillover problem occurs when the vehicle is too wide and then some for the parking space and/or the driver doesn’t is incapable of parking any closer than half a meter from the curb as Joy notes. Additionally, there are any number of places where a bus at a legitimate bus stop will not only completely block the cycle lane but also impinge a further couple of metres of so into the roadway. Again, I “take the lane”.
I came across 3 cars parked on a cycle lane. It’s one of the new two way green cycle lanes with a barrier between the cycle lane and roads with enough room for a car or 4WD to park.
The road was to busy to use.
I took photos of all 3 cars with their number plates.
Where can I email them to?
A Christchurch City Council email address or Police email?
Sadly, neither the Police nor Council will consider photo evidence of parking behaviour for infringement purposes (they might consider a warning note to the owner eg via a Police Roadwatch form). If you want immediate action, ring the CCC Parking Enforcement team directly to get them to visit the site on 03-941-8741, noting that they only operate during daytime hours (7am-6pm weekdays, 8am-4pm weekends)