Things tagged 'obstruction'

limited to the area of Cambridge Cycling Campaign:

47 issues found for 'obstruction':

  • Blockage of cycle lane by street light replacement

    Created by Heather Coleman // 1 thread

    Yet again, Balfour Beatty are doing an utterly shocking job on the street light replacements. I thought there was a thread about this somewhere but I can't find it thus can't find if we've got any contacts to directly complain to.

    Basically, there's a large hole in the pavement around where I've put the pointer - not sure that's 100% accurate since I was occupied with other things. So the cycle lane is closed to allow pedestrians somewhere to walk.

    That has been fine this week as it's the school holidays and there is virtually no traffic to speak of. Come Monday, when Hills Road is nose-to-tail gridlock, cyclists will be double and pedestrians probably doubled, it's going to be dangerous chaos. The pedestrian route will not actually be wide enough for all the pedestrians that walk along there on a school day - they will be queuing to get through, let alone the effect of all the 'stuck' cyclists who can't get into the car lane as that's queuing all the way to Cherry Hinton Road.

    What is particularly annoying is that this hole has been there all week with no change.

    Basically yet again, they've just dug holes, stuck up obstructions and gone off leaving them. How about digging the hole, doing the work, and filling in the hole in a timely manner. This whole now four-year operation has been a shambles from beginning to end.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for direct phone numbers or email addresses so I can complain?

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Ice Rink on Parker's Piece

    Created by cobweb // 8 threads

    There have been problems before with unsatisfactory cycle parking and obstruction of the paths across this busy green space. New people are providing the ice rink this year though.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Chicane installed by Astra Zeneca developers on guided bus track

    Created by James Gilbert // 1 thread

    The Astra Zeneca developers (I assume) have installed a chicane made from two plastic roadwork blocks, plus a little "Chicane Ahead" warning sign on the down slope of the guided busway path as it approaches Francis Crick Avenue.

    I assume that the idea is to slow down cyclists, but I don't see why this is any more necessary than it was before their building site was created. I think it will make collisions between cyclists, or between cyclists and pedestrians, more likely.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Gresham Road Resurfacing - No Diversion

    Created by MJR // 0 threads

    For a change, I tried following the route signs for the station today. As well as a mystery tour near the Grafton centre where the signs simply stop, my route was blocked at Gresham Road by "WET TAR" and a sign proclaiming it. No diversion was signed and there were no advance warning signs that would have let me pick a better route earlier. Plenty of people were riding along the footways - enough that it was too crowded for me to feel safe doing so. I performed a U-turn, waited a second time at the crossroad traffic lights and rode along the very busy Gonville Place and Hills Road instead.

    I've tweeted at Cambridgeshire County Council and Cambridge City Council in https://mobile.twitter.com/mjray/status/453926972843118593 because I don't think that is legal - a cycle route suddenly being blocked by wet tar does not comply with the code of practice on safety at streetworks, which is required by law. I'm disappointed to encounter this in Cambridge.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Dangers from roadsigns for drivers placed on pavements and cycleways

    Created by Peter Lawrence // 2 threads

    Please sign my change.org petition http://chn.ge/1epSzpK

    Accident CC-23012014-0561 (Incident logged by the Cambridgeshire Police)

    Leaving Zoology Department 18.15 walking east on Downing St, north side on 23 January, 2014. Car stopped in Downing st just west of Corn exchange road junction, obscuring the light. Lying on the road was a road sign warning cars of road works further left in Corn Exchange St, a needless warning. This 1 metre road sign had been placed on the pavement, occluding it seriously and had been, presumably, knocked over and left lying on the pavement with its black and invisible legs raised up about 10cm from the surface and its reflective surface tilted away (see picture). I tripped over the road sign in the dark and fell forwards injuring my face and forehead; the metal cut into my right leg. My glasses are destroyed, the leg of the sign tore my shoes.
    I was taken to Addenbrookes and treated there. I left there ca 20.30 with head injuries and abrasions and now have an impressive black eye and surround.

    I am seeking redress. I am exploring legal action against the County Council whose idiotic health and safety rules (for drivers, not for the rest of us) say that drivers should be warned in advance of even highly visible roadworks (in a 20mph area) and the company responsible for placing such a flimsy and dangerous sign right in the middle of a narrow pavement. Also am anxious that in general people who leave road traffic signs occluding the pavement or creating dangerous obstacles there, should be held responsible and penalised. I see these road signs often as I walk around Cambridge, they should be on or above the road, not blocking the pavement in my opinion.

    The next day the same road sign, with my blood still on it, was back in the middle of pavement waiting to be knocked over again and even now forcing pedestrians to avoid it by diverting on to the roadway. I attach a photo of it taken on Friday the day following my accident with a diverted pedestrian on the right.

    It was again fallen on the ground waiting to kill someone on Saturday night, presumably following the afternoon storms.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Building sites

    Created by Heather Coleman // 4 threads

    I'm creating this as a general "issue" in the hope that people will put different threads here for problems they have with building sites, generally associated with deliveries. Listing those problems and any action or complaints they've taken personally, and also asking how further complaints can be made.

    I can't help feeling we should be talking to the council about making it a condition of planning permission that deliveries that either require "odd" movements of HGVs eg, reversing and taking ages doing so, or parking on the street eg while delivering scaffolding, should not take place during "rush hour", especially on roads that are busy and are major cycle routes.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • lack of queue busting cycle lane

    Created by Heather Coleman // 1 thread

    Since they appear to have changed the phasing at the lights at Cherry Hinton Road the other side of the railway bridge this morning, it becomes ever more apparent that if you have queueing traffic all the way southbound from Station Road to Cherry Hinton Road, the lack of even a narrow "queue-busting" cycle lane here, combined with the shocking state of the kerbside approx 9 inches of road surface (uneven cobbles and slabs, very slippery, very difficult even to use while scooting your bike along by a foot on the pavement), that cyclists are being seriously held up. Once the advisory lane outside the Centennial Hotel (well obeyed by drivers this morning in general apart from when the right hand turn queue for Brooklands Ave starts) ends, you just get stuck in a queue of kerb-car-car traffic and cannot access the ASL at the junction with Brookgate, in order to take advantage of the cycle lanes which queue-bust you across the railway bridge.

    This leads to a) pavement cycling, b) people nipping in and out of a queue of vaguely stationary/starting to move traffic c) nipping back infront of traffic which is starting to move at the lights after white lining to get past the queue. All of the cars stuck in that queue will have to wait at least two cycles of the lights at Cherry Hinton Road before proceeding and thus are just an obstruction.

    Given that this is a relatively recently refurbished/altered road, I suppose this should have been spotted at the time.

    What can be done about it retrospectively? If the traffic light phasing at Cherry Hinton Road stays as it is, there will be an accident before too long.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Green Dragon pub sign

    Created by Ian Jackson // 1 thread

    The landlord of the Green Dragon has taken to putting a big advertising sign at the bottom of the north side of the bridge. This is a busy spot and the sign doesn't help make things any less awkward.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Route obstructed at Lammas Land

    Created by Jon Warbrick // 1 thread

    The link from Barton Road to the Lammas Land car park (and the car park itself) have been closed to all use by the County Council for some development work. This is a buisy cycle route, and no effort has been put into providing a diversion. Currently most people are cycling across the grass behind the hedge beside the road (though how long this will remain possible if it rains is unclear); an alternative is to use other paths across Lammas Land, but they are narrow, not actually marked for cycling, and it's further.

    According to a notice at the junction with Barton Road this work will continue to the start of December. There was and is no warning when approaching from east of the river.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Should we campaign for more rush hour (enforced) loading bans?

    Created by Heather Coleman // 1 thread

    Dropped bike off for service at Grand Arcade and walked to get Uni4 bus from outside Pembroke at around 8.30am today. At least four separate lorries stopped on double yellow lines between Little St Mary's Lane and Fitzwilliam Museum, causing traffic chaos. This is really dangerous for cyclists since even if a cyclist has had the courage to get past the obstruction, or has right of way, drivers just don't seem to see them or think they really are only about six inches wide. This also causes massive traffic hold-ups. Congestion (where there is no mandatory or advisory cycle lane) is generally dangerous for cyclists as it tends to lead to "white lining" or squeezing through gaps. This is a busy cycle route. I'm sure Peterhouse have a back entrance for lorries for example.

    Why is loading allowed on double yellow lanes on busy cycle and bus routes during the rush hours? OK, I know there's an alleged loading ban on Hills Road which is rarely, or if ever enforced, but at least there is a ban there. I've highlighted that bit of Trumpington St as road users were having to do a slalom there this morning, but this is a Cambridge-wide problem and I'm sure members can also provide evidence of other examples.

    I can't quite believe that certain businesses being allowed to hold up the traffic willy-nilly is good for the Cambridge-wide economy in general.

    Do we have a position on this? Should the new Police and Crime Commissioner have a position on this? Should Stagecoach (who probably find it causes them a problem, even though they're not our favourite people) have a position on this? Is there a Chamber of Commerce? What do they think about employees who are late for work or deliveries they are expecting being delayed by these sort of hold-ups?

    I have lots of photos which will tell me how long I was standing at the bus stop observing these lorries, which I will unload when I have the means.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Contractor's fencing part-blocking cycle path

    Created by Jon Warbrick // 1 thread

    Contractor's safety fencing for some of the work going on adjacent to Addenbrookes has been put up on the adjacent cycle path, presumably because it's easier to to that than put it up in the building site itself. Unfortunately this obstructs about a third of the path.

    Whoever did this obviously realised that this was problematic, since they have painted the path side of all the bases yellow. Unfortunately this doesn't help in the dark.

    I can't see any obvious contact details for the contractors, apart from 'Tamdown' on an attached 'Danger - Deep Excavation' sign. Anyone any idea how to get this addressed?

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Parker's Piece entrance blockage by street trading

    Martin Lucas-Smith // 1 thread

    The entrance to Parker's Piece has been blocked at various points over the last year by thoughtless location of a street-trading van.

    Trading in this location should be permitted only further along the path so that conflict between cycles and pedestrians in an already-confined space is reduced.

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Bollards on footway near Hemingford Road

    Created by cobweb // 0 threads

    The proposal is to install two bollards on the corner of Hemingford Road in order to prevent cars from mounting the pavement. The pavement here (as with much of Mill Road) is not that wide. A build out was considered but it was felt that this would create pinch point of cyclists.

    (Scheme 16, page 29)

    http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/democracy/documents/s13016/Appendix%20B%20-%20Details%20of%20Proposed%20Schemes.pdf

    Please sign in to vote.

  • Green Dragon Bridge

    Created by Jim Chisholm // 2 threads

    Currently there are 'No cycling' notices despite this being a major cycle route.
    Although it is unlikely that major works can be done to the bridge, changes on the approaches could reduce the conflicts, by improving 'intervisibility' between the different users.

    A meeting between various parties (Councillors, County bridge engineer, cycling officers, and cycling campaign is proposed.

    Please sign in to vote.

63 threads found for 'obstruction':

One library item found for 'obstruction':

No planning applications found for 'obstruction'.

Back to top