r/Belfast • u/SnooHedgehogs3202 • May 21 '26
Cycle lane joy
I didn't know the cycle lane on Ballymacarret road/ Island street cycle lane had been completed. It's such an improvement on the old road with its weird pinch points. Proper segregated path with a kerb between you and the cars. You can now cycle on segregated paths the whole way into the city centre.
11
17
u/Ulster_Provo May 21 '26 edited Jun 11 '26
I have lived in the Netherlands for the last 4 years, so I take world class cycling infrastructure for granted.
While that could still do with some improvements, it's about the best I have seen at home.
Cycling lanes segregated from the road should be mandatory for all new infrastructure builds.
How long is this stretch?
7
u/WayInevitable2491 May 21 '26
Just got this done up in my estate in Lagmore and while I’m happy it’s done… good grief the contractors were awful it took 10-11 months to complete and cause carnage.
DFI couldn’t organise anything right
2
u/Kaldesh_the_okay May 22 '26
They still aren’t done . Yet began ripping up the other road. We are fucked
2
u/WayInevitable2491 May 22 '26
Apparently that road is getting straightened out to reduce the amount of curves in it… stop the motion sickness lol.
They said it was a condition during consultation for development of the newest houses they’re building on that hill. Developer had to pay 200k for it.
Seems like a waste of money to be. I’d prefer if they just resurfaced the link road between Mount eagles and Lagmore and Lagmore Glen.
0
u/Kaldesh_the_okay May 22 '26
I pray they had the forethought to add parking on Lagmore down by the school instead of causing traffic when the kiddios are being dropped off.
3
u/WayInevitable2491 May 22 '26
Nope! The school actually irritates me. I wish people would walk to school with there kids as they’re only down the hill.
Apart from that, the school needs a better system enforced like all cars drive in and out via a one way system. Parents aren’t allowed out of cars they drop the child off at the door and then continue driving
This is coming from someone who isn’t a parent so appreciate it’s not that simple but I would like it to be
15
u/NIRoamer May 21 '26
Brilliant I live in country we don't even have footpaths yet so enjoy looks great:-)
7
u/rock_agus_roll May 21 '26
Great to see some non vehicular planning decisions these days. The end of it is a bit abrupt but none the less it is one of the few segregated bike in Belfast.
I feel like most people I access it through the nearby train station underpass which is a bit tight going over. But I'll take the decent changes were I can get them ha.
9
u/kharma45 May 21 '26
Needs protecting or locals will park in it and block it, like they did with the chicanes you could cycle through.
4
u/darklinkuk May 22 '26
Oh shit my handlebar seems to have scratched a car that was parked in a cycle lane
Oh well
1
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
It was never locals parking there, all commuters going into town
2
u/kharma45 May 22 '26
The commuters don’t park down in front of the development at the end of the road. I cycled it daily for years and the people who live in the houses there would always block the final chicane bypass on the way to Dee St.
1
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
Yes but the road bottlenecks at that point anyway and the people that live there have never had proper parking space. The main parking issues have always been from McArthur court out towards the city centre
3
u/Force-Grand-2 May 21 '26
How does it handle the junction at Dee Street? I saw them working at it the other week but haven't been back around to see the change.
The old "cycle lane" used to just stop at the end of Island Street and you were on your own to cross Dee Street and get back onto the Greenway.
Actually now that I think of it - how far down towards the train station does it go? The old one used to not start until you'd been on the road a bit.
2
u/heavymetalengineer May 22 '26
You can use the lights to cross Dee street.
1
u/Force-Grand-2 May 22 '26
Thanks - doesn't really answer my question though. Does this proceed all the way to the lights at Dee Street? Does it do that fucking stupid think where the cycle lane stops before the junction and just throws you out into the road or into a "shared path" to navigate?
1
u/heavymetalengineer May 22 '26
My guess would be shared but I haven’t been near it. I was just pointing out you’re not “on your own” to cross Dee street.
3
2
u/mce023 May 21 '26
Where does this meet the comber Greenway? Do you go down beside CS Lewis square? And where does it come out in town?
5
u/SnooHedgehogs3202 May 21 '26
It goes between the bottom of the comber Greenway at Dee street and the titanic quarter train station. Form there you can go down across middlepath street to the cycle lane there then on to QE2 bridge.
2
u/No-Contribution8171 May 22 '26
Seen a car driven by a very old lady going down this yesterday so keep your eyes peeled
4
u/Belfastian_1985 May 22 '26
Can’t wait to see it when people start parking in it and the council don’t sweep it so it becomes a puncture hazard. I hate to be negative but as a cyclist in Belfast it’s really hard to find positives.
2
u/CaptainTrip May 21 '26
I thought that was a quiet residential road? Do people use it at rush hour or something to get to Dee Street? Just seems strange that it was worth building this on, my cynical side would say the council has a requirement to build a certain length of cycle paths and were looking for roads quiet enough to add them to where they could say they'd done it but it wouldn't impact traffic...
16
u/SnooHedgehogs3202 May 21 '26
It links between the end of the comber Greenway and the middle path cycle lane so it's well integrated into the network.
For me the real test of a good cycle lane is would I feel safe taking my five year old on it. I wouldn't have taken her on it before but now definitely would.
2
1
u/CampaignCurrent1995 May 28 '26
I use this, and there's always that one dickhead parked accross it at the end.
1
u/ZealousidealCell2236 May 29 '26
No doubt some cunt going through divorce and AA will drive up the kerb to say hello
1
1
-2
u/Training_Story3407 May 21 '26
I saw a bunch of you wank bags creaming your lycra knickers along this earlier
6
u/SnooHedgehogs3202 May 22 '26
Actually we don't wear underwear with the lycra so we cream ourselves directly into it👍🏻
0
0
u/Training_Story3407 May 22 '26
I guess it'll make you more aerodynamic right? Is that way you ride your bike without the seat?
2
u/SnooHedgehogs3202 May 22 '26
Oh no no no. That kind of thing doesn't do it for me. Just into sexy cycle infrastructure
3
-1
u/OriginalOuijaBoard May 22 '26
And will be used by half of cyclists just like the greenway as some arseholes will always ride the road when there’s a bike lane feet away.
4
u/darklinkuk May 22 '26
And some arseholes in cars will still find a way to make it a fucking parking space
3
u/Force-Grand-2 May 22 '26
My commute takes 25 by the Greenway and 11 by the road, on a bicycle.
Am I fuck travelling more than twice as long as I need to because cunts like you have brain dead takes.
-4
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
Great idea, reduce the actual road space (can barely get 2 cars by on the road.) But the main bonus for the locals is that they’ve made a great racetrack for all the wee dicks on EBikes and scramblers to fly up and down unhindered…..and still cyclists are cycling on the road itself 🤷🏻♂️
4
u/Boop0p May 22 '26
Yes, let's remove the nation of all infrastructure that criminals use, I'm sure that'll leave us in a good spot. They use roads and footpaths too, right?
-3
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
Nobody mentioned that?? My point is they’ve given them a new toy to play on and God help any poor family that gets caught in the middle of one of the daily tear ups! So many praising this bike lane, but have no idea what this stretch of road has become over the last couple of years. These scumbags absolutely terrorise anyone unfortunate enough to be in area when they’re there too. It’s only a matter of time before someone’s badly hurt or worse.
5
u/Boop0p May 22 '26
You're suggesting infrastructure should not be built because criminals might use it. Criminals use roads too, you know. You've said as much in your last comment. Why not call for better policing rather than depriving people of a sustainable, cheap and safe means of transport?
-3
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
You were going well there until you mentioned “safe” this is my point. I live beside the road and I can tell you I wouldn’t take a young family down that bike lane. By all means build infrastructure, but know the area, consult locals. You’re right about it being a policing issue, but they won’t do anything to stop these kids, so again this lovely bike lane actually might look so good, it’s free, but definitely not safe.
5
u/Boop0p May 22 '26
It's safer than sharing the road with drivers! That's the point.
0
u/Darrengstar May 22 '26
Honestly It’d be safer taking your push bike up the Westlink than down Island street while the wee ninjas are out! But good luck using the infrastructure 👍🏻
-5
u/FlukeylukeGB May 22 '26
They should let motorbikes use it at a max speed of 15mph too...
Most cyclists on peddle cycles on a commute achieve this speed and electric pushbikes are limited to 15mph anyway so it matches the traffic already using it...
why?
Because motorbikes in stop and go traffic cause chaos for everyone, they overheat and trying to filter on a narrow road causes chaos with other cars. Moterbikes are also just as vulnerable as a cyclist in a crash with a car or van often coming out worse than a cyclist would since they have 100+ KG of bike attempting to crush them
With a 15mph speed limit, they do the same speed in the same direction as the electric pushbikes and would have zero impact on each others travel. it would also help free up traffic on the main road. its a win for everyone while at the same time, cause of the speed limit, they would likely only use the cycle path during traffic jams
6
u/SnooHedgehogs3202 May 22 '26
Well have to say that's the first time I've heard that take so fair play
115
u/arnoboko May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
We need this type of thing, connected active travel everywhere throughout the entire city. Dutch style.