"cfsmtb" wrote

I *strongly* recommend, if people are interested in bicycle facilities,
to have a perusal of VicRoads Cycle Notes:

http://tinyurl.com/c4m4o

The link for the May 1999 pdf on Bike Lanes is faulty - just brings up an
error message. However while perusing other Cycle Notes I found these new
designs for "bicycle friendly" roundabouts:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrpdf...R2005253v2.pdf

This is full of lots of warm words about how intimidating and dangerous
roundabouts are and providing safe roundabouts for cyclists and pedestrians.
However have a close look at the designs proposed for 2-lane, and especially
3-lane, roundabouts. Bear in mind that the provision of a bike lane compels
cyclists legally (at least in the eyes of motorists and police) to use the
bike lane and not the road.

These designs force cyclists to ride in a situation where they must give way
_multiple times_ while on the roundabout, to exiting traffic, even if the
cyclist is confident of negotiating the roundabout on the road. The 3-lane
design is a total joke - cyclists making a right turn are forced to travel 3
sides of a square, using 2 ped crossings. For _all_ cyclists, including
traffic-experienced riders, the right lane turn is not an option. Luckily
where I mostly ride there are not many of the larger roundabouts, but there
are more of these going in all the time, and in particular many outer
suburban and fringe rural routes use them a lot.

I know how I'll be riding roundabouts, but it may be harder to take control
of the road space with these god-awful bike lane designs. :angry: