The Luton and Dunstable Busway. Cyclepath review

Morning all.

These things which are mentioned are in the snag list. Things which will be resolved hopefully before the official opening. Date will be updated soon.

Today I took a trip on the unofficially open cyclepath on the new luton and Dunstable Busway. On paper it looks like a fantastic way for people to get on their bikes, walk or jump on the bus. Be it for a short journey or to soak in the views on blows downs.

However I've spotted a few issues with it. Some of them could bring dangerous concequences.

Let's explain. Part of the cycleway crosses a dangerous area, Dog Kennel Down. This area is well known for sexual assaults, robberies, assaults and other random crimes.
In 2012 there was a serious assault on a heavily pregnant lady. This sent shockwaves through the community due to the nature of the attack. The council assured people that CCTV would be installed in the area. I don't think the community expected a small temporary mobile camera. The only other cameras I've seen are cctv at junctions for the busway, the stops (both the passenger side and the cyclepath side)

Additonally there are no lights on the pathways. Something which is genreally dodgy given the crimerate in one area, this is not good especially in low light.

One other thing i do not get is the lack of decent paving on the track. It's all stone, in some parts (high street north to dog kennel) the path is attracting creeping brambles and grass growing through the path, meaning they've not prepped it properly. Oh and in the exit to high st north the turn is hazardously tight on stone.
In other parts of the path they have botched it with more stone on top, making it unstable on the path in places.

I do appriciate that some of these snags will be sorted eventually but I am genuinly concerned that some will be ignored until they cause harm to others or their property.

Additionally i see the amazing benefits from having this busway and cycle route. But it only takes a few things to spoil it for everyone.

Paul

Opinions on this are truely welcomed,

Road Safety Fail?

You all know i'm a cyclist. Confident enough to take control of my lane where safe to do so, but with enough respect for other road users that I'm glad it's rubbing off on locals. I'm not perfect at it but Willing to learn from and fix mistakes I make.

But there are places where nobody bar the planners need to apologise for.

Houghton road's new modifications are horrically dangerous to cyclists.

Look at the image below (click it for larger) where the cycle lane moves to and from the pavement to where the flow of traffic goes over said lanes. 

These lanes in green are to protect less than confident cyclists. but in reality they are poorly designed. i've been hooked by cars where the chevrons kick out suddenly and most drivers move suddenly with them. Right over the cycle path and over the other cycle path as they've put it on a corner.

Imagine pulling out thinking it's safe to do so as your following the lane (many kids do this as there are many schools around this road) and being under a 38 bus or a Meeks of luton wagon for following the path set by the planners. Well it's a severe possibility I've witnessed at least 3 near misses this month alone

Secondly the angle of the pavement and cycle path merging is stupidly small on the approach to the junction. the path widens 20 ft after the cyclist has entered the joint use area. Also the drop in the pavement is too small. resulting in sharp turning or near missing the fence. And for cyclists using trailers it's miles too tight and could result in tipping it over.

I will be presenting this to houghton regis town council as well as I don't wish for anyone to be hurt. But this does need to be looked into.

Paul