I see pedestrians (and dogs) when I cycle it. If I'm on my road bike at a decent speed, I definitely feel safer on the road there - especially as you avoid the possibility of getting left hooked at Rivercourt Road.This time of year, all of those paths aren't likely to be gritted either. Another reason why the road is safer if you can keep up a decent speed.The problem comes for those you can't do that kind of speed. It's very different at 6 to 8mph than at 18 to 20mph. That's where you need these lanes.What people forget is that cyclists aren't all the same. If you commute into town regularly, you will get fit, and you can cruise at around 20mph without any problems. At that kind of speed, a shared use path is just not safe, and the cars are a lot less scary. There is a bigger difference in speed between a cyclist doing 20mph and a cyclist doing 6mph, than between the 20mph cyclist and a car doing 30mph.Cars are predictable. They can't suddenly hop sideways. I've cycled more than 30,000 miles in London, and my only trip to A&E was caused by a pedestrian who stepped out in front of me from behind another pedestrian. I've had pedestrians step out in front of me hundreds of times. I've been doored 4 times. The first time I was doored, I was travelling quite quickly, and I actually ended up going over the top of the car door. In all that time, I've had one minor low speed incident with a moving car.The A4 is far better than the High Road as there are a lot less pedestrians, and it removes the risk of being doored. There are also far less junctions, which is where the most risk is. It does need a dedicated lane though. The shared use path isn't safe at decent speeds.Even with the lane on the High Road now, the A4 is still least bad option. Even going more slowly on the shared use path, it's still quicker than the High Road, as there are so many less junctions and lights.East of Hogarth Roundabout, there would be space for a dedicated lane. The verges are quite wide - especially on the North side, and the central reservation is wide. If you narrowed the central reservation, you could make quite a lot of space.West of Hogarth, you would have to remove a traffic lane, but it goes into 2 lanes anyway for the eleveated section of the A4. You get big queues there where the 3 lanes go into 2 lanes. If you made it 2 lanes from the Hogarth roundabout, you would lose very little capacity. It might make things flow more smoothly as the traffic wouldn't be trying to merge. That was the whole idea of Prescott's M4 bus lane. You could make the left hand lane coming to Hogarth Westbound a filter lane for the A316, and just have 2 lanes after the roundabout.
Al Webber ● 2078d