Is there anything to stop drivers parking in cycle lanes ?

[Tazilly]

I often cycle into Hereford. There are cycle lanes for about 1 mile of the journey coming out of the city. But cars park in the cycle lanes in one particular half mile stretch. The Council, who installed the cycle lanes, say there is nothing they can do to stop this. It annoys me, and probably the motorists behind me, when I have to pull out to pass the parked vehicles (and there are some serial offenders who do have space to park on there drives). Is there anything to stop this kind of antisocial parking ?

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I often cycle into Hereford. There are cycle lanes for about 1 mile of the journey coming out of the city. But cars park in the cycle lanes in one particular half mile stretch. The Council, who installed the cycle lanes, say there is nothing they can do to stop this. It annoys me, and probably the motorists behind me, when I have to pull out to pass the parked vehicles (and there are some serial offenders who do have space to park on there drives). Is there anything to stop this kind of antisocial parking ?

According to this news article, it seems there's a legal miswording that prevents the enforcement of parking in cycle lanes.

It’s time to fix the law to stop parking in cycle lanes | Cycling UK

A legal loophole means that parking in a mandatory cycle lane – breaking the Highway Code – isn't always illegal. We are working to fix the law in Scotland, as Jim Densham, our Campaigns and Policy Manager for Scotland, explains.

www.cyclinguk.org

Worse still, those enforcing this breach of the Highway Code are often powerless to act due to a legal loophole.

Rule 140 of the Highway Code states that: "You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation".

When the Highway Code states that you ‘MUST NOT’ do something, that’s supposed to reflect laws which prohibit it. In other words, it’s a ‘MUST NOT’ in the Code because it’s an offence if you do.

You would think that’s quite simple and straightforward. It is, except that the law on cycle lanes does not currently back up the Highway Code as it usually would. Therefore if someone parks in a mandatory cycle lane (one marked by a solid white line), it’s unlikely they will be charged with an offence.


It all goes back to an underhand law change at Westminster in 2016, which omitted the word ‘parked’ from the list of activities not allowed in a mandatory cycle lane.

 

[Tazilly]

If you read of a 69 year old charged with putting a fake "parking notice" on a car in Hereford, it could be me. Not that I've done it. Yet.

 

[Jim the Jim]

Some councils have put double yellow lines in mandatory cycle lanes.

 

[lrailadventure]

There was an issue with parking in Gloucester along a stretch of the cycle lane on London Road (particularly outside the bus depot/ Tesco). The council eventually acknowledged this and added bollards along the edge of the cycle lane. Essentially segregating it from the road and physically preventing drivers from being able to park on the cycle lane. It doesn't look pretty, but it does work.

Best image I could find for it unfortunately comes from Gloucestershire Live.. https://i2-prod.gloucestershirelive...RNATES/s615b/1_London-Road-cycle-barriers.jpg [a link to an image of the cycle lane on London Road with bollards segregating the cycle lane from the road. Image is owned by Gloucestershire Live and taken from an article titled "I cycled on four Gloucester and Cheltenham cycle routes - I was left with mixed feelings", published in April 2023].

I wonder if something like that would help the parking situation in Hereford? However as you've mentioned driveways possibly not..

 

[Tazilly]

There is a similar bollarded road in the centre of Hereford which is better, though there was a 4x4 driver who managed to park between the bollards & block the lane when I cycled in this morning - she only moved when I got my phone out to take a photo.
As for the other route, yellow lines wouldn’t be appropriate as it would inconvenience delivery drivers, builders, tradespeople etc who can’t use driveways. I can live with that. It’s the lazy people who can’t be bothered to park responsibly (and are able to) that annoy me.

 

[Harpers Tate]

One of these days, councils are going to work out that simply painting a white line with a picture of a bike in it on a road does not a cycle lane make. They need to by physically separated (whether by a high enough kerb or bollards or other) to be effective. This google aerial image illustrates. I'm sure we could all find similar examples:

 

[Bletchleyite]

That image is of an advisory cycle lane with what appears to be no parking restriction, and as such that car is parked legally.

Dashed-marked cycle lanes are just to give people a clue of where to drive/ride, nothing more.

 

[jfollows]

There is a "cycle lane" made with white lines as in the picture above along the old A34 between Wilmslow and Handforth. Some years ago the council admitted that it did not prohibit people parking in the lane, which they do all the time. It makes it hard to cross the road as a pedestrian also because the parked cars block the line of sight. Eventually the latest administration has put together a plan for a proper cycle lane, but this has taken years and I don't know whether or not it's been implemented.
The idea that people are so selfish as to park in such clearly marked cycle lanes is shocking, in the sense that I wouldn't, but many drivers feel a sense of entitlement to do what they want. I won't park on pavements either, but plenty do. There was a shocking place for parking which the council took a couple of years to fix by painting double yellow lines, but the process by which they did this was not quick, and the outgoing Conservative council couldn't be bothered to even start it, it appears.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The idea that people are so selfish as to park in such clearly marked cycle lanes is shocking

Why? Parking is permitted. They are just guidance on spacing/overtaking. It's no different from parking in a bus line outside its displayed operating hours.

Parking in solid-line cycle lanes would not be on, of course, even if a legal technicality is an issue as mentioned above.

 

[stuu]

As for the other route, yellow lines wouldn’t be appropriate as it would inconvenience delivery drivers, builders, tradespeople etc who can’t use driveways. I can live with that. It’s the lazy people who can’t be bothered to park responsibly (and are able to) that annoy me.

Unfortunately a minority of drivers will park absolutely anywhere, you would need automated CCTV enforcement or similar, and even then people will still park there. And that would definitely be described as war on motorists so completely unacceptable for our spineless leaders

 

[JamesT]

Why? Parking is permitted. They are just guidance on spacing/overtaking. It's no different from parking in a bus line outside its displayed operating hours.

Parking in solid-line cycle lanes would not be on, of course, even if a legal technicality is an issue as mentioned above.

It may be legal to park there, but that shows up how utterly useless that kind of cycle lane is. A cyclist using that lane now has to try and insert themselves into the traffic flow to get past the car.

Interesting that you mention guidance of spacing and overtaking. The Highway Code now states you should give 1.5m, but most drivers will take the presence of the lane to indicate they can be as close as they like as long as they’re the other side of the line.

 

[WelshBluebird]

Surely it is simple - having actual proper segregated infrastructure that physically stops a car from being in the cycle lane.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Surely it is simple - having actual proper segregated infrastructure that physically stops a car from being in the cycle lane.

That's the best plan. Or if not quite going that far, use mandatory cycle lanes (solid line) and mark parking bays inside of them where parking is necessary, i.e. so it blocks the car bit, not the cycle lane.

Advisory cycle lanes are of lowish value. They don't do a lot other than warn that there might be bikes. Though regarding the 1.5m thing, as a cyclist I prefer that line to be there than to trust cars to judge it right, even if it does mean they're a little closer than the 1.5m. These are usually on 20 and 30mph roads anyway, and a 30mph pass when cycling at about 20 a bit closer isn't that scary, while if it's a 20 I feel a bit safer when the right location (ish) for the car and me alongside each other are marked.

The ones that really do need removing, though, are the very narrow ones, as that does encourage really close passing. The one pictured above is almost as wide as a car which at least means passes are likely to be at around 1m if you're slightly left of the middle of it.

 

[adamedwards]

Vital to ensure any parked cars near cycle lanes don't design in "dooring" of people on cycles. In Fallowfield Manchester, metal bollards stop the cycle path side doors from being opened which is good.

Where I live in Hatfield Herts we have a terrible advisory cycle lane around the outside of a roundabout which places a right turning person on a cycle to the left of a left turning car. Crazy, so I don't use the cycle lane, so you then get beeped at for not using the dangerous cycle lane! (See the drivers view here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7619724,-0.2268224,3a,75y,100.95h,78.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-vOy9oNxJjAZBlfTDzj9tw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en&entry=ttu ) Desigining in accidents.