Is anybody using the new Bike Super Highway?

Sorry if this has been mentioned before but I couldn't see it....

Since the new bike lane has opened in St Georges Road I have only seen 1 cyclist using it, and then for only about 50 yards before going on the main road. Is anybody using it? Will it ever be used?

Not a cyclist (or driver) myself but just wondered if this is an indication that after all the pain and cost of the build will it be used as hoped?

It was raised previously that the section up St Georges Road wouldn't be used as it isn't very direct. Clearly those concerns were correct (or maybe it's still too soon to say).

I live just outside the cycle lane on St George's road so I am using it northbound every morning but since I have to go towards Westminster bridge, I have to cross back to the main carriage way to continue with normal traffic. There is a feeding lane but it is not yet opened so I have to cross with pedestrians to be safe.
In the evening, I have found that Westminster bridge Road between Morley College and St George's circus has become atrocious for bikes. It used to be very quick and easy for all vehicles and now the queue comes all the way to Morley college. It is not easy to negotiate for bikes and I feel really unsafe joining this mess. Also the circus is really small so you have to compete with cars and buses. Instead, I have started walking along St George's cathedral to join the new cycle highway going south. I don't know why they did not think of extending the cycle highway up to Morley college and further north to join the new cycle highway that will soon be built at the north of Westminster bridge.

I've been using the new lane along St George's Road - it's very handy for me.

But I think it's probably too early to draw conclusions, as the ongoing roadworks at either end of the open section of segregated bike lane don't make it very attractive as part of a through route.

connie wrote:

In the evening, I have found that Westminster bridge Road between Morley College and St George's circus has become atrocious for bikes. It used to be very quick and easy for all vehicles and now the queue comes all the way to Morley college. It is not easy to negotiate for bikes and I feel really unsafe joining this mess. Also the circus is really small so you have to compete with cars and buses.

Absolutely agree with you there, connie. The astonishing three sets of consecutive traffic lights in the space of about 20 yards, guarding the approach to the circus from the direction of Morley must have been dreamt up by someone very special, and plays a huge role in slowing everything down.

If you watch a bus or lorry try to get round the circus, it's painfully slow and sometimes it's potentially dangerous.

It seems to me that a lot of the new road remodelling in the area has chosen to make junctions a lot sharper, with the result that vehicles take a lot more time getting through them, slowing the flow even further and sometimes resulting in some wacky manoeuvres as frustrations rise.

I'm all in favour of giving priority to cyclists and pedestrians, but we've also got to keep the other traffic flowing in what space is left to it, and imho this is not happening at all.

In many cases (including St Georges Circus), lanes have been taken from the regular carriageway in order to give extra, space to cyclists (A Good Thing, imho), but then there's also lots of additional space that's been taken from the carriageway which is just useless* paving (A Bad Thing, imho).

*When I say "useless", I mean useless to pedestrians and of no value in improving the general streetscape.

James Hatts wrote:

I've been using the new lane along St George's Road - it's very handy for me.
But I think it's probably too early to draw conclusions, as the ongoing roadworks at either end of the open section of segregated bike lane don't make it very attractive as part of a through route.

Yeah: we should hold judgement until the works have been completed.

I think it's a bit too early to judge, given that the rest of the superhighway isn't finished, so it doesn't really link up yet. But it seemed at the time that putting the bike path along St George's Road was a bit of a roundabout route to avoid London Road. London Road would have been the more obvious route to take, given that it's meant to link up to Blackfriars Road. Once it's completed I'm hoping to use it regularly - the roads around Elephant are either gridlocked (making it hard to cycle) or wide and flowing (encouraging some drivers to go too fast).

connie wrote:

I don't know why they did not think of extending the cycle highway up to Morley college and further north to join the new cycle highway that will soon be built at the north of Westminster bridge.

I am sure they will about 6 months after the works have been finished - after an expensive consultancy firm has been brought in to advise that it's a sensible idea of course.

I've seen several cars and a van using both the superhighway on both St George's Road and Blackfriars Road to bypass congestion... so cyclists use them with caution, as you may find a car bombing towards you. Remember they're experimental infrastructure and TfL have are working it out as they go along.

i've seen a few people accidentally going into the cycle lane from St Georges circus on to Blackfrairs Road (you can tell it was not deliberate by their reactions) and have sympathy as very poorly signposted

yet to see anyone use the one on St Georges Road cars or cycles. I am waiting till finished but St Georges Road so far is not working well-the car lanes are down effectively to one due to the bus stops and as has been mentioned by the lights where meets Lambeth road is very dangerous as cars try to cut accross to turn left and others try to go straight on. I worry for motoer cyclists here as lanes narrow and seen a few near misses already. It appears to be very badly thought out and laid out but will wait to pass final judgement when finished