Accident waiting to happen.

[SA_SA_SA]

Surely much of the worry abou cyclists at "tiger-ish" crossings simply ploughing on across said crossing due to assumed priority could be avoided by a stop or giveway sign* before cycle route joins said crossing, combined with a preceding slowing chicane?

*I know a proper one is probably currently not allowed on a shared route but couldn't they legally sneek a a picture of one onto a plate with explanatory text on how the crossing works?.


I don't know why toucans are viewed as better on quieter roads: they will dumbly not change for a while on an empty road**, and I dislike "seeming to go thru" the advisory red cycle on puffin panel s as this is not well known to be advisory..
**a pity pedestrian/shared crossings aren't left in pedestrians favor when road is empty (assuming proper deection of on-road cyclists

[SamSaunders]

A couple of quick things. The crossing on Queen Charlotte Street is very wide indeed and there should be no conflict between pedestrians and cyclists. The raised table and extra paint on the road are similar to crossings on at least one other well used cycle route in Bristol see:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/samsaunders/12116325356
My experience of that particular crossing near the M32 is that drivers are scrupulously deferential and tend to stop and wait for a cyclist approaching.
My full set of pictures of Baldwin Street is here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/samsaunders/sets/72157647276740493/
Three of those images have parts of that crossing visible.
It is a shame that so many variants and so much idiosyncracy have being finding their way onto the roads. The DfT carry a heavily responsibility for this so I don't think we should be too miserable about Councils who do at least want to improve things, despite the ridiculously thin and time limited budgets they are given. It's also worth saying that the main problem for Baldwin Street is not so much that crossing as the very long wait we are all suffering for resolution to problems at its far end, where bus and other projects remain unresolved.

PS I did believe I had found that closed end of Telephone Avenue referred to as "Telephone Street" on one old map, so I put it in for fun. On looking again, I cannot find it. Never mind, it is closed to hostile traffic with large bollards and raised curbs.

[mjr]

Thanks SamSaunders! So it doesn't connect to Broad Quay? How far west does it go? Any changes to the signals at Bristol Bridge?

I've ridden around there in the past (not much fun but not awful) but I rarely get chance now.

I agree that we shouldn't grumble about councils that want to improve things,but I think it's still fair game to criticise delivering half a street, which is what that looks like, especially if it's not obvious how it'll make that junction safer in the context of recent collisions nearby.

[SamSaunders]

mjr - from the descent back onto the roadway at the end of the new track there are about 178 metres until Baldwin Street merges with Broad Quay and the Centre. Marsh Street (part way along those 178 metres) should probably have had a junction treatment too, but that seems not to be in the plans at present. I haven't seen any change to the lights up by Bristol Bridge but I do find them and the road layout very confusing. There are all sorts of conflicts to notice while standing about and generally observing. The photo here shows a typical misunderstanding: https://www.flickr.com/photos/samsaunders/11001128206 (a pedestrian crossing on cycle lane).

Some new money that has emerged from central funding for the cycling ambition grant cities has created a flurry of activity, as the date for costed proposals is in January (call put out just before Christmas). There will be opportunities to resolve some long-standing problems and maybe even do something a bit more ambitious. The general short-termism is a real handicap, almost guaranteeing sub-optimal use of the small sums that are available. It's understandable that a lot of people shake their heads at the bits and bobs that are created as activity lurches from one funding rush to the next.

[mjr]

Thanks for the info. I agree about the short term ism. It's been this way for two years at least and is a real discredit to the Cameron government.