Why didn’t the cyclist cross the road?
No, I it’s not an “ironic” version of an old joke. I reckon, though, that the punchline could be, “They couldn’t get to the other side.”
And it would accurately describe what cyclists encounter on a new bike lane in Newcastle, England.
Carved out of Heaton Road, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, it features separate traffic signals for the auto traffic and bike lanes.
That would make perfect sense if they were timed so that cyclists could cross without having to worry about being struck by a turning car or truck. The problem is that the signals don’t allow cyclists to cross at all.
Not legally, anyway. According to local riders, the signals for cars operate normally. The bike signals, on the other hand, are permanently stuck on red.
It’s as if the local authorities want to legitimize motorists’ complaints that cyclists are “always running red lights.”
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