York Police slammed for carrying out vehicle checks – while parked in cycle lane

I think what is actually happening here, is the police have coned off a dangerous bit of infrastructure to keep cyclists safe.

I'm not sure the police count as 'infrastructure'.

There's a big hole underneath the police car.

Terrible bit of infrastructure. Left turn at the end down to the bus station too and the bike lane just ends, so often see bus drivers passing *on* the corner as a cyclist goes round it. Thankfully, there's an alternative route through the station car park but if you're wanting to go into the centre you have to be confident riding in traffic, but then even at motor vehicle speed there are very regular MGIFers. I live just round the corner but very, very rarely use this stretch.

Looks to me like a strip of coloured tarmac...

A cycle lane is defined by white lines, so that isn't legally a cycle lane...

Finding that on gmaps, other sections are heavily worn and almost certainly couldn't have been cycle lanes until very recently (e.g. coloured tarmac through zig zags). (There are several <5m long cycle lanes along the road... Showing it may have been intended to be a cycle lane, but it hasn't been maintained as one...)

 I suspect a significant number of cyclists will be heading straight through the width restriction, not following the 'bypass' around the old city walls (Only reason to follow it round left is access to railway station; everywhere else is better served by going through the gate); So a lot should use the middle lane there anyway.

If anything the police presence overall makes a bloody awful looking section of key infra safer (Due to the old city walls and railway stations placement I can't see any alternative routes on a map (except by starting at least one compass point round...);

Given key route (unavoidable for station or city centre), limited parking (as always), a major bypass road further out and city centre access being restricted heavily for cars already (narrow, one way through gate) IMHO they should take out one of the turning lanes, using the freed space to put in dedicated cycle lanes with a seperate phase for cyclists. Even if the rest of the road is still shared,  a quick look at a map has that junction being by far the worst place along the route because a good chunk of cyclists will want to go straight into city centre while cars want to turn left across them...

Unless you're confident enough to take the middle lane early, you'll end up stuck on the far left trying to move over (as I see regularly happening). There is an alternative route to the station if you're coming from holgate way, it's a marked cycle route but crosses a large car park 😂
As you say, this road should only theoretically be used by cyclists going through the bar as there are better alternatives to the left or right turns, but they're not obvious unless you know the area well.
Hopefully some consideration will be given to all this when they do the station works.

As an aside, if you do find yourself going through the bar wall don't think the width restriction will prevent motorists attempting to pass you both before or *during* you going through there.

York though - "Our historic gates and mediaeval town centre are too narrow for cycling infra!"  When last there a couple years back I was surprised to find some - but not much more than I recall from my prior visit decades back.  Here's a compact place, there's only one hill, major tourism (and some parts are thus pedestrianised), a high proportion of students, there's a useful inheritance (disused rail lines - some already "done up" [2nd page]).

But...