Instead the road narrowings have been imposed on the exit from the junction and traffic in the left hand lane going north is supposed to turn left....
Well, this results in traffic queueing down the right hand lane and a nice inviting empty lane on the left....
This means that anyone cycling north along Deansgate ends up having to cycle in the left turning lane, but has to get over to the right at the junction. Even worse, the more aggressive drivers also drive down the left turning lane, only to push back in at the last minute.
Cycling south it is now almost impossible to turn right at this junction as you never know where the cars are coming from. Here the driver of the white van changes his mind once on the junction...
Further south at the junction with Liverpool road the situation is even worse. Here drivers are all over the place and keep going through the red light phase.
This car moves forwards through the ASL and the pedestrian crossing to get forward far enough to go straight on from the left turning lane. Pity anyone on a bicycle coming the other way trying to turn right.
So there you have it. A road narrowing scheme which was supposed to reduce the impact of traffic on Deansgate has resulted in the traffic behavior becoming far worse. I see fewer people cycling along here since this scheme was built. The design is so bad one wonders if a 10 year old could do better....
Its horrendous. I avoid the place like the plague after living for a few years in St Johns Gardens. Took the car into town last week and got completely taken unaware by the latest change. No excuses. Familiarity breeds contempt. I went up the inside wondering why there was no traffic and then realised, not only did we need to be in the RHL but we also needed to turn right. What a nightmare. Its impossible to turn right here in a car let alone a bike. They at least need a filter on the lights to ease the congestion.
ReplyDeleteFrom the south the madness starts at the approach to the Mancunian way roundabout. The white hatching narrowing and lane swaparama there is bad.
ReplyDelete"This means that anyone cycling north along Deansgate ends up having to cycle in the left turning lane, but has to get over to the right at the junction. Even worse, the more aggressive drivers also drive down the left turning lane, only to push back in at the last minute."
Adopting primary position in the northbound, right-hand lane and waiting in line with the cars is an option. Not a great one though - the aggressive left-hand lane pusher inners seem to think the smaller vehicle/apparent gap is an ideal place to push in. And on a bike you have to give them way because it's your well being at risk. Waiting in these junctions to turn right northbound is a nightmare too for the same reasons.
Appeared to collide with bollards...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/driver-deansgate-manchester-walks-away-6677316
Yes, hit two bollards. I saw the aftermath quite close up.
ReplyDeleteVery dangerous!