The Highway Code gives authoratitive advise on using cycle infrastructure. John Franklin gives more detailed advice in his book ‘Cyclecraft’.
Cycle Lanes
The Highway Code gives the following advise on the use of cycle lanes:
49. These are marked by a white line (which may be broken) along the carriageway. Keep within the lane wherever possible.
119. These are shown by road markings and signs. You must not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its time of operation. DO not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable. You must not park in any cycle lane whilst waiting restrictions apply.
Advanced stop lines
These are used at signal controlled junctions and provide a waiting area for cyclists in front of the general traffic stop line. This helps protect cyclists travelling straight ahead from left turning traffic and helps cyclists turning right to position themselves correctly.
All new advanced stop lines have a 1m wide cycle or ‘feeder’ lane leading to them, which helps cyclists to pass stationary traffic in order to reach the waiting area.
Toucan Crossings
These are signal controlled crossings that can be used by walkers and cyclists. They are used to link a cycle route across a busy road or to enable a cyclist to better negotiate a busy junction. In this case there are often lowered kerbs next to the crossing that enable a cyclist to leave the road to reach the crossing.
Contraflow cycle lanes
These allow cyclists to travel in both directions on a road that has been made one-way for motorised traffic.
The contraflow can run the whole length of a road, but often the road is only made one way for a short distance in order to prevent access. In this case the contraflow cycle lane will run for only the distance required.
Shared use footways
Where road conditions are difficult for cyclists and footways are wide cyclists are sometimes allowed to share the footways. If this is the case then signs are provided to indicate this. If no signs exist then the footway is not for shared use. Cyclists should act respectfully to pedestrians on these routes, and recognise that close, fast moving cycles can be very unnerving to some users, especially elderly or disabled people, even though actual collisions or injuries on these routes are extremely rare.
Shared use footways can be either unsegregated with only signage to indicate their status or can be segregated with white lines and tactile paving or other features. The tactile paving indicates to blind people which side they can expect cyclists to be travelling on. Pedestrians have the right to walk on either side of the footway but cyclists may only use the side indicated.
Alert pedestrians to your presence as you approach and be prepared to slow down or stop if necessary.
Cycle tracks
These are essentially similar to shared use routes except that they are away from the highway.
Traffic calming
On of the best ways to improve road conditions for cyclists is to reduce the numbers and speeds of vehicles using the road. This can be done in a variety of ways including speed cushions, speed humps and give way priority features.
Access control exemptions
Restrictions are sometimes put in place that control the movement of vehicular traffic. For example vehicles may be prevented from making a right turn or may be banned from entering a bus gate. Short cuts for cyclists can be created from exempting them from these restrictions. This is usually achieved by placing an ‘Except Cyclists’ sign below the restriction sign.
Road closures or chicanes are sometimes provided with arrangements that allow cyclists to pass by. For example if a road is closed with a traffic island and bollards, dropped kerbs can be installed so that cyclists can ride over the island.