I took off at the intersection by the hospital going south. I was in the new cycle path and took off when the light went green, at the same time as the #23 bus. Usually a merge is quite smooth with cars but because a bus is so much longer and the bike in front of me was slow I got caught behind the cyclist and between the bus and the parked cars in front of Newtown school. I tried to keep riding to get infront of the bus but I don't think he saw me, and perhaps was focusing on the slightly wobbly and slow cyclist in front of me. I stopped cycling because I was being squeezed so much that I could feel the parked car against my left leg and the moving bus sliding past my right leg. It was incredibly scary! the pedestrian who was waiting at the lights in front of Cafe Laz also acknowledged the situation.
I would recommend 2 controls to mitigate this issue:
1. Install a bike light at the traffic light to allow cyclists a head start. Because the bike lane turns into a car park space, cyclists have no where to go when the light is green.
2. Remove the car parks in front of Newtown school to extend the bike lane so merging is not required
I would recommend 2 controls to mitigate this issue:
1. Install a bike light at the traffic light to allow cyclists a head start. Because the bike lane turns into a car park space, cyclists have no where to go when the light is green.
2. Remove the car parks in front of Newtown school to extend the bike lane so merging is not required