Roads where cycling NOT permitted in UK?

[Warekiwi]

I am a 60+ year old and ride a Quest velomobile which is basically a fully aerodynamic recumbent tricycle.

I know that some people will criticise me for riding on A roads at all so please don't bother of that is all have to add! Because of the high cruising speeds and higher weight/inertia best efficiency is attained with fewer stops and IMHO the biggest danger to me is being hit on the side by vehicles at intersections ! The machine is bright yellow with excellent lights and indicators so hard to miss visually.

I average over 600 miles a month, but in the last 6 days I've done about 510 miles in SIX days. because of the aerodynamics these machines are much faster than conventional bikes/trikes and great distances can be covered at speed. On good roads AVERAGE speeds can be in the high 20s with maximums of 50+.
As a result, if I'm attempting long distances I sometimes wish to use A roads but am aware that there are a FEW of these with special restrictions banning bikes. Only yesterday I was coming back to Hertfordshire from Harwich and was pulled over on the A120 near Stansted by two policemen who then escorted me onto the B road. They informed me that there was a sign at the beginning of the dual carriageway portion of the road but I didn't see this (and have ridden this road on three previous occasions)
Am I blind? Not according to my optician. Could someone please lead me to a listing of roads NOT cycle-able? (I know ALL M roads and some A roads in Wales) A picture of the sign on the A120 would be a help as well!

Quest XS velomobile

yellowvelo_small.jpg (20.76 KiB) Viewed 5376 times

[Vorpal]

The A120 between Long Green (Braintree McDonald's roundabout) and the M11, and the A130 between the Howe Green and the A127 are places where cycling has been banned in Essex.

The A130 is clearly marked. The A120 is not.

The problem with the A120 is that the ban was introduced in sections, as the new road was completed. Cycling was permitted on the bypass while it still led to the old A road. After the new road was opened, a traffic order banned cycling from Long Green to the M11. But signs were not put up on all access points. This is made worse by the fact that on one section around Braintree, there are still cycle lanes along the edge. I would argue that the traffic order is not correctly implemented. So, whilst it may be illegal to cycle there, it is unenforceable, unless they have fixed this in the last 6 months (since I moved)

Here is a link where one of the signs in visible on Google maps, and here is another.

[thirdcrank]

Brought to you by the wonders of streetview, the "NO CYCLING" sign on the A 120 - this one in the opposite direction to your travel was the easier to find, but there should be a sign at the other end.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Braintr ... 23,,0,0.09

That's diagram 951 signifying that there is a traffic regulation order prohibiting cycling

NO CYCLING

951.jpg (5.35 KiB) Viewed 5352 times

I can't help with a national list. Perhaps CTC HQ has one.

(PS as a general tip, don't bait the hook if you don't want people to rise to it. )

(Edit -vorpal got in in front of me - for some reason there was no post review )

[Warekiwi]

Brought to you by the wonders of streetview, the "NO CYCLING" sign on the A 120 - this one in the opposite direction to your travel was the easier to find, but there should be a sign at the other end.

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Braintr ... 23,,0,0.09

That's diagram 951 signifying that there is a traffic regulation order prohibiting cycling

951.jpg

I can't help with a national list. Perhaps CTC HQ has one.

(PS as a general tip, don't bait the hook if you don't want people to rise to it. )

(Edit -vorpal got in in front of me - for some reason there was no post review )

Thanks for the link to the photos-- as I've ridden past the first site on numerous occasions I'm left wondering if the sign(s) are still there-- Google photos can be out of date by years in some cases.
Looking closely at photo 1 there appears to be a knocked-over direction sign on the centre island-- maybe a bike diversion?
I'll contact CTC HQ to see if they have a listing--

[Vorpal]

I believe that the ban goes from Priory Wood roundabout (shown in TCs link) to Galley's corner (McDonald's roundabout, in the first of my links). The only way to be certain, however is to request a copy of the TRO from Essex County Council.

[thirdcrank]

vorpal's info seems infinitely better than mine, not least because it's obviously based on local knowledge while I'm sitting here in the middle of what was once called the West Riding of Yorkshire.

The only thing I can really add is that I think there are two ways in which cycling can be banned on a road. The first is if the road is a "special road." That experession is almost synoymous with a motorway, but not quite. You referred earlier to a road in Wales and afaik, parts of the A55 are a special road. The other is by traffic regulation order or TRO. TRO's are made by the relevant highway authority which can be a local council for most of the network and the Highways Agency for trunk roads. AFAIK, The CTC gets copies of all the Highways Agency stuff, but I'd be surpised if they receive everything from other highway authorities.

Diagram 951 is also used for local byelaws but they are normally made for footpaths in urban areas where cycling is banned. (What we'd call ginnels around here.)

[Vorpal]

The Highways Agency is the relevant authority for the A120, but I had the impression from someone in the highways department at ECC that they were responsible for the TROs (is that possible?). I thought at the time that this was because the ban was introduced as various sections were finished. This was a few years ago, so I may be misremembering, or the person I spoke to could have been misinformed. I also thought that I had a copy of the TRO, but couldn't find it anywhere.

edited to add: I'm pretty certain the ECC can provide a copy of the TRO, because that's where I got the one that I now can't find.

[RickH]

I had a look at some of the junctions on the A120 from Stansted airport to round Braintree in Streetview & I don't think that things are helped by the fact that (assuming the signs are still the same as on Google Streetview*) many of the no cycling signs (& the no horses/ horsedrawn vehicles ones too) are positioned partway down slip roads so you may have already be on the slip road before (if) you see them. Similarly with what appears to be the start of the No Cycling the signs are (were in March 2009) positioned several metres after the roundabout exit.

Rick.

(* The image date is now shown at the bottom of the Streetview image - not sure then that was introduced but I only noticed it fairly recently)

[thirdcrank]

Vorpal

I think there's possibly a "not" missing somewhere or I've misunderstood a "they". Either way, I don't really know. It's not something I had many dealings with until I became a CTC CRN rep (as it used to be.) Many roads have been de-trunked in the last decade or so, so it's possible that a scheme might have begun under the auspices of the Highways Agency and passed to a local authority.

I believe there are arrangements whereby a local authority acts as the agents for the Highways Agency. I have an idea that this applies to the A58(M) a short urban motorway in Leeds, but I don't really know.

I would expect that if somebody was trying to get hold of the relevant TRO, if they went to the local highway authority and the TRO was somewhere else, they'd be helpful in pointing the enquirer in the right direction.

On the issue of presence or absence of signs or their poor positioning, I don't think this affects the operation of the TRO. Any prosecution would be for failure to observe the ban, rather than disobeying the signs. This isn't a sign specified under the RTA for the fail to conform offence. On the other hand, it would be iniquitous if somebody were to be prosecuted when the relevant sign was missing. In any event, my interpretation of this is that the police warned the OP that there was a ban and then escorted him to an alternative road. Ignoring the rights or wrongs of the TRO, that seems to me to be a reasonable way to enforce it.

[Vorpal]

Vorpal

I think there's possibly a "not" missing somewhere or I've misunderstood a "they". Either way, I don't really know. It's not something I had many dealings with until I became a CTC CRN rep (as it used to be.) Many roads have been de-trunked in the last decade or so, so it's possible that a scheme might have begun under the auspices of the Highways Agency and passed to a local authority.
I believe there are arrangements whereby a local authority acts as the agents for the Highways Agency. I have an idea that this applies to the A58(M) a short urban motorway in Leeds, but I don't really know.

I would expect that if somebody was trying to get hold of the relevant TRO, if they went to the local highway authority and the TRO was somewhere else, they'd be helpful in pointing the enquirer in the right direction.

Thanks, TC. I wasn't certain if ECC could be responsible for a TRO where the HA was the highway authority, but you answered the question. I know that the HA is the authority reponsible for the A120, and I think that the ECC is responsible for the TRO.

As you said, though, they can certainly point a requester in the right direction.

[mrjemm]

Not sure if it is true, but I was told that you cannot cycle down the "Acle Straight" (A47) between Acle and Great Yarmouth.

Can't see a no cycling sign on Streetview though. Not that anyone in their right mind would want to ride it. Or drive/motorbike on it either, for that matter. Horrible road to a horrible place.

[thirdcrank]

Something else has occurred to me which may be relevant to the general point about banning cyclists from certain roads as this certainly looks to be the way things are going.

We've had threads about this before linking to the regulations and I'm pretty sure that an existing road can only be "upgraded" (or "downgraded" depending on POV) to special road status on the authority of the secretary of state and one of the the requirements placed on him is that he must be satisfied that there are alternative arrangements for "prohibited traffic." There's no such requirement in respect of TRO's banning a particular class of traffic such as pedal cyclists. The relevant highway authority must consult statutory consultees including police etc, but only others it considers appropriate. Afaik, the Highways Agency consults the CTC automatically but this is not necessarily the case with local highway authorities. Now, before a highway authority can make a TRO it has to resolve objections (the exact wording of all this is in the legislation) or take the matter to the council's elected representatives - the highways committee or whatever in these times of council cabinets. If elected members confirm the TRO that's pretty much it, with few exceptions. The only one I can remember is an opposed 24 hour restriction on loading, which can only be confirmed after a public inquiry.)

[grayn]

Can't add to the list of no go roads for cycles. I never knew they existed. Good to know.

But I have to say, what a very cool cycle you use. Love to see one of those whizz by me, on a sunny day.

[gaz]

Cycling is not permitted through the A289 Medway Tunnel in Kent (well signed), A282 Dartford Tunnel/Bridge* (not fully signed but most people think the road is the M25 anyway), and A102 Blackwall Tunnel (I don't know about the signs ).

I'm sure there are lots more.

*A 24/7 piggy-back service is available to transport bikes and riders across from Crossing Control, it would pay to call ahead if your machine is not a standard DF bike.

Edit 31/1/16. A282 Dartford Tunnel/Bridge remains no cycling but the prohibition is increasingly poorly signed. The piggy-back service is no longer 24/7.

[meic]

Just another possible angle.

Does the fact that the Velo is, to the best of my knowledge, a tricycle have any bearing on the legality?