Medley

Reminds me of the story of a Derbyshire bus timetable in the '70s which allowed no time for picking up or dropping off passengers.

There are lots of fudges in the system - delays only count if they're more than 5 mins for short distances, 10 mins for long etc. etc. The usual nonsense money go round between govt (in the form of either DfT or Network Rail) and the companies, with all sides complicit. Still, at least punctuality and reliability are 'up'!

Because the delay regime only counts delays at final destinations, not en route.

That's a real shame about the cuts - strongly encourage anyone interested to get the individual lessons, they were great for me.

And the trouble with this is that cyclists just won't do it when there's a bus on the road - because there's no room to get past. If the road could be widened a little, that would help.

Renata - fair enough on making it more obvious, that would help everyone. The recent comments beautifully illustrate the point! No, folks, it's one way - southbound only.

Renata, if all your objections win the day then what's the point of even raising it? I suppose another - horrendously expensive - alternative would be to shift the road slightly westwards and thus extend the bike path into the road to make it wide enough for two-way. Sounds like we'll continue to have a good old British muddle; there are worse things after all.

If you can raise the energy I advocate compiling the actual running times over say 3 weeks and then sending that to the train company. You'll get a meaningless response - which you should then send on to London TravelWatch. I doubt very much this will change anything, but if you don't even raise your voice, what can you hope for?

It's not big enough, as it currently exists. I think the only half decent solution is to widen it at the expense of either road or pavement, probably pavement as that'd be cheaper and the pavement's reasonably wide as it is, segregate it and make it two-way.

Painted lines certainly couldn't hurt, but I fear the design is fundamentally flawed for 3 reasons: 1. It's just not obvious to all parties that it's a one way cycle lane southbound; 2. The fact that you can't overtake on a cycle once a bus is at a stand in the road means cyclists will in reality always use it northbound too; 3. It's also not obvious to many pedestrians that it's a cycle lane at all. The look I mostly get when tootling my bell to warn them I'm coming is one of total surprise. Then they look at the ground and, if they're near one of the bike symbols and it's light enough to see one, they get it.

Agree with that

To be clear, James is talking about the short Rye Lane stretch, with its absurd design, whereas most of the thread is about the Surrey Canal path, which is quite different in design (if also a bit absurd).

Agreed on the headphones. Madness.

I don't know what case Renata is on exactly, but my point of view as a cyclist is that I want to make as rapid progress as reasonably possible, while still being safe for myself and other users of that path. No, it's not a road but yes, it is a cycle path. The design's a joke, but that's usually the case in the UK with cycle paths. And it's a super-useful link to have. And a paragon compared to that cycle path on Rye Lane, the one way for buses bit. More clear markings - what does that mean? A dividing line? The path's very twisty for that, and people will never respect the boundaries, either through not seeing them, not understanding them or deliberately contravening them.

What consultation?!

It's a mixed use path so it's not about pedestrians wandering, it's about both sides needing to watch out for the other. Not ideal, but that's how it is. Painting it Tory/Barclays blue won't make any difference at all. And as another poster has said, the Cycle Superhighways (nothing in themselves to do with so-called Boris bikes) have their own problems, some of them very serious.

Over in HOP we've got the anti rat run barriers and it's like the 1950s. The odd car, but otherwise peace and quiet reigns. There's a barrier in the block to the north and east of the station, north of the road Honor Oak Park, and one to the south and east. Worth a ten minute wander around if you're using HOP station any time and want to see the difference they do make. No speed bumps either!

Interesting to hear how it went. I still think the 63 is not a goer when the traffic etc. is bad. The timetable gap is a real pain, agreed on that - one way to fix that is to walk to the station, as that's at least predictable, but of course often takes longer. Cycling - there are hairy moments on any route, in my experience mainly caused by pedestrians. Get the free cycle training available through Southwark Council, I found it excellent when I did it a couple of years ago. Really helps build confidence - you start on paths in parks and progress to busy road junctions.

Given the times the OP needs to travel, by far the best option is to get the 63 to P Rye and then the Thameslink train. The 63 all the way will only work when traffic is luckily light - you can't count on it day in, day out. Heavy traffic, schools coming back, roadworks, rain - there are too many variables. You could just walk to P Rye - if you stride out it should be just under 25 mins. That would save you the bus fare. You could also get a folding bike to cover the stretch to P Rye, although that's an expensive option if you wouldn't otherwise need or have one. Would make zipping around town after work a doddle though, and then you could choose your route home with impunity! 63 back from E and C is more of an option, but still a fair drag. When the 63 does work well for riding it all the way is at the weekend - I've had quite a few journeys that were 45 mins from the starting stop on FHR all the way to King's X. BEST OF ALL - get a bike!

There was traffic monitoring on Forest Hill Road back in 2010 - hasn't delivered much so far....

hear hear about the volume of traffic and how can it possibly all take 2 years?!

I don't get this line of argument - how would all you call for (training etc.) have stopped the idiot driver who sideswiped you? My sympathies on the crash, which sounds awful. The junction under discussion is clearly an utter disaster, and I wish I was surprised that it takes so long to do something about it. Brian Tee Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Matter of Highway code 'correctness, here Henry. > If you are turning right on a boxed section, you > are completely entitled to enter it and wait for > an opportunity to turn. It should only be kept > clear for traffic travelling straight across. Just > goes to show how cyclists aren't up to the mark > when it comes to following the rules of the road. > > > Get a coppy of the highway code, and abide by it. > Even if you do that, as a cyclist, you are still > vulnerable - especially if you wear dull > clothing/ride in an inappropriate position/don't > use lights/ignore traffic lights/pedestrian > crossings etc. > > As stated on another thread, I was a victim of a > glancing side collision with a car in central > London while wearing bright racing gear, and > turning in a correct manner into a one way feed > that left me with a severe head injury, as it > planted me straight into the back of a parked car. > I was not in the wrong at any stage, but was left > with a fractured skull, almost lost my right eye, > and also demolished my beautiful hand built Condor > race frame. > > I really get annoyed when cyclists who so > consistently flout traffic management signs and > signals moan about cars that are doing the exact > opposite. From my own painful experience, which I > would never wish on anyone else, I can only > express a wish that cycling should be more > regulated, with proper road training, insurance > and possibly road tax as a component of legitimate > road presence.

The TfL cycling website is a good place to start, although it's a bit addicted to taking you on quiet side routes, even on the fast setting (there are slow medium and fast settings). http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11598.aspx

My version of the Forest Hill Road route into Charing X or beyond into the West End is: down west side of P Rye Park Rye La for a nice fight with the buses Up the canal path Almost all the way along middle of Burgess Park Bear right and go diagonally up to junction just east of junction with Portland. All the way up that and then a right/left followed by... Another right/left to get me onto final stub of Old Kent Rd Stuff the cycle gyratory (calmer, too slow for me) so straight over roundabout Waterloo Rd Waterloo roundabout Waterloo Br Incredibly badly designed by incredibly handy cycle path up side of Royal Opera House etc.

Brian, see your point - but I can't see getting the work stopped is going to happen, and is a separate point really anyway. Interesting about the increased speeds since the resurfacing.