Hey guys. I’m curious about this type of scenario, because I see two ways of approaching it and neither seems like the best way.
Legend for the photo: MUP = multiuse path; SW = sidewalk; BL = bike lane (sharrows, but it turns to a bike lane).
Assuming you were on the MUP going north, and wanted to turn onto the bike lane heading west.
What’s the best/safest/legal way to do this?
A. Use the crosswalk (not a crossride, so you’d need to get off your bike and walk) and position yourself on the lane facing west?
B. Turn from the MUP straight into the bike lane on a green? This would mean going across two lanes.
C. Position on the left turn lane of the road, and make the left turn from that lane? Cars turning right don’t make this easy or safe.
For context, there is a bus route going south to north, and this particular road has a lot of speeders. What I’d think would be safe, usually isn’t.
If this were an intersection with cyclists in mind, it would have a large green box for cyclists to move into to make the turn safely. In that case, I’d think C would be the most ideal. But without that, what’s the next best?
I tend to choose A at this particular intersection, but that’s nearly gotten me run over by people turning left from the north side.
Thoughts?
EDIT: Thank you for all the input, guys. I will stick with “A” (which is a Copenhagen left turn), and will suggest to my city to add a proper green painted bike box at this intersection for cyclists to safely make these turns.
I don’t like mixing with the cars so anything that is not that. I’d probably wait to reach the end of MUP and take whichever green light is on. Either the left or the front crosswalk. And then wait on the opposite side for the other green light.
I normally do C, or A if it feels too dangerous to join traffic.
Legality for your area aside, what I’d do is on a green bike across the cross walk then position myself in the north east corner, in the bike lane on the east side of the intersection if it’s safe, at the pedestrian waiting area if not, then bike across the roadway into the westbound bikelane when east-west traffic may proceed.
No matter what, always remember to look behind you to your left to make sure no one is trying to overtake and turn right when you are about to cross an intersection.
I don’t know the actual best practice, but my 2 Canadian cents:
For complex intersections I personally cross on foot both ways. I’m not a particularly experienced street cyclist so whenever I come to an intersection that’s not well designed for cyclists I tend to take the safest option.
Depending on the speed limits and personal abilities I think we should be able to take the intersection as a street vehicle but in my neck of the woods people don’t know what the heck to do with a cyclist and can make some poor decisions.
Better to be slow than flattened by a lifted pickup that didn’t even see you lol
This is a Canadian intersection, unfortunately.
The MUP is great. Getting to it, or off of it, is not so great. LOL
Lots of trucks and buses along that stretch of road (north to south) and it turns into 1 lane each way, with no bike lane or shoulder, once you cross that intersection.
Another option, depending on how busy the road is. Go straight across on green, bang a u-turn when it’s safe, then turn right. Or hang a right at the light, u-turn, and go straight across.
Neither should be necessary, but there’s an intersection I sometimes go through with a similar setup (albeit without bike lanes, just wide shoulders). If traffic is clear coming north, I get in the left turn lane and wait there, but if not, I’ll go right and turn around. The other problem at my intersection is that the left turn is triggered and a bike won’t do it, so that’s another consideration.
That cross section layout reminds me of a Tom Scott video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SYeeTvitvFU
2 cyclists dead in 10 years before, but now the one dangerous cross section has reportedly been turned into 2 safer “t-sections” (if that’s a thing).
A full explanation as to why accidents happen there, from before the changed cross-section layout, but on a shitty website unfortunately: https://singletrackworld.com/2018/01/collision-course-why-this-type-of-road-junction-will-keep-killing-cyclists/
Edit: unlike the cross section of the op, the Isley cross-section had less traffic and no stoplights, so there was nothing that forced traffic to come to a full stop before crossing, which made the oblique angles that much more dangerous.
I would cross the EW street on the MUP 90% of the way and put myself at the front of the pack on the east side of the cross street and wait for a green. Personally preference, not saying it’s the correct way to do it.
