Danger to Cyclists at Meadow Court?

South Gloucestershire Council have recently replaced speed bumps at Meadow Court (just before Bitton Railway Station on the Bristol-Bath Path) with bollards. Do they make things any safer for cyclists and pedestrians? Danny Collyer, a regular commuter on the path, doesn't think so.

These bollards were installed on the Bath-Bristol cyclepath at Meadow Court Drive on 9 October 2001. They are clearly intended to make it safer for pedestrians to cross the cyclepath. Unfortunately, they will also make the path more dangerous for cyclists.. (They may also make it more dangerous for pedestrians - see below).

This diagram shows how the bollards have been positioned at a point where pedestrians, particularly children on their way to school, often cross the cyclepath.

The bollards were originally spaced a minimum of 119cm apart diagonally or 88cm laterally. They were repositioned on 19/10/01 and are now spaced a minimum of 118cm apart diagonally or 76cm apart laterally. Effectively, there is 76cm clearance for cycles, trailers and wheelchairs to pass between the bollards - less than the handlebar width (including mirror) of my (recumbent) Street Machine!. This clearance will be greatly reduced in spring and summer, when the cyclepath becomes overgrown at the edges. The striped area on the left hand speed bump represents damage to the cyclepath caused by the contractors. This area is currently not useable. Update - The bumps were removed on 19/10/01 and the path resurfaced on 20/10/01.

You will see that there are two groups of three bollards. When they were installed, the central bollard in each group was lit with a red light at the top. However, one of the lights was removed by vandals within two days. The other was destroyed five days later. It seems certain that someone will be injured by a collision with one of these bollards during the winter. The outer bollards are not lit, but have reflectors at the top (red on the left, white on the right). Update - Since 19/10/01, the central bollards have had reflectors at the top. There are no plans to replace the lights.

So how might the bollards make the crossing less safe for pedestrians? When I stopped to take the photos, I chatted to the local kids for a while about my bike. During that time, we watched quite a few upright cyclists ride past. The bollards slow me down a lot, but then the handlebar on my Street Machine is wider and lower than that on an upright bike. The upright cyclists, as long as they've seen the bollards, can weave around them quite happily without slowing too much. But they may be concentrating on weaving around the bollards, rather than checking for peds on the crossing. Not good for either party.

Danny Collyer

In response, South Glos. Council said that they have to slow cyclists at this point because of the number of pedestrians, particularly children, who cross the path there. They thought bollards were a better option than the speed humps which could be very dangerous to anyone not expecting them. They have now installed other bollards with reflective tops (see photo), but take care if you're cycling there in the dark.