UK highway engineers and cyclists again.

Published by Matt Polaine | Filed under Uncategorized

Copenhagen has, on certain stretches of bike lanes featuring heavy traffic (15,000 + bikes per day), started coordinating the traffic lights to give cyclists a ‘green wave’ all the way along the route.

This means that if you ride at 20 kmh one will be met by green lights the whole way. The idea was later trialled in Amsterdam in November 2007. However this is coming under attack (December 2008) as motorists are complaining the green waves hold them up by 45 seconds.

This concept of considering cyclists at a level beyond a splash of paint and numerous CYCLISTS DISMOUNT signs is beyond most UK highway engineers, as this typical example in Harlow, Essex, UK, demonstrates. The Harlow Highway Department has come up with its own version of a ‘green wave’ - the ‘blue wave’.

This is where the cyclist stops and gets off their bike to wave at every junction every few metres. This highly imaginative piece of engineering is very effective at removing cyclists from the path, by sending a very clear message that cyclists are not welcome along this route, and that using a car is preferred.