When it comes to the idea of separate cycleways (or cycle paths if you prefer) that run along a road but are separated from the motor traffic by a verge or line of parked cars, it has been said that they place cyclists in a more dangerous position than if they were on the road mixing with other traffic.

The argument goes something like, at a junction, a cyclist on a cycleway will be forced into a dangerous position ready to be left-hooked by a turning vehicle.

There are of course a number of problems with this logic that have already been pointed out by other people with a better understanding of the issues than myself, just look at modern Dutch cycleways.

• Correctly designed junctions make cyclists wait in view of turning vehicles.
• The risk of being crushed by left turning HGV’s is removed.
• Turning vehicles are given a different light phase to bicycles or the crossing is set back from the junction.
• Since junctions are dangerous (and expensive) by definition, the number of junctions should be kept as low as possible.

However there is one point that I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else.

With or without (the frankly horrible and dangerous) advance stop lines and left hand filter lanes, cyclists will try to filter down the left of traffic to be in front of motor vehicles. You can see it all the time in London and leaves cyclists in a terribly dangerous place.

There is no way that being trapped in the blind spot of so many vehicles can be a safe place to be, and yet no amount of training will stop cyclists from filtering past traffic queues. Move the cyclists 2 metres to the left into a cycleway, pull the vehicle stop line back a few metres and cause left turning vehicles to give way to the cycleway, and you’ve got a much safer junction for everyone.

What about cycles wanting to turn right? The Copenhagen left/right is a neat solution, and so is the “all ways green” cyclist phase. At large junctions with enough road space, separate left, straight on and right phases for all vehicles can be introduced.

For me, if you don’t have a cycleway going into junctions, you have a “ghost” cycle lane along the left had edge of the carriageway that drivers are not aware of. Cyclists will try and use it, motorists will get in their way, everyone will get angry and someone might get run over. So you’ve got a cyclelane whether you like it or not, so for everyone’s safety and sanity, you might as well make it official and as safe as possible.