CYCLE LANE MADNESS
Disability equality consultant Mik Scarlet told BBC News he was happy for cycling to be encouraged, but he wanted travel to be made more accessible in the capital.
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “Any policy which deters people from coming into central London and safely resuming their old routines, especially those who do not feel safe using public transport and for whom walking and cycling is simply not an option, will undermine London’s recovery and do further eco- nomic harm.”
BRIGHTON LEADS THE WAY… TO THE BEST EXAMPLE OF STUPIDITY
Last month PHTM Facebook featured the photograph below of a road in Brighton, where one of the temporary pop-up cycle lanes was erected in such a way that it blocked access to… an electric vehicle charge point.
How very clever. Our Facebook followers agreed:-
Abdul Haseeb Khattak: Ridiculous. Whole country is being ruined by cycle lanes. Here’s an idea - let's charge cyclists road tax and bring in a proficiency test so there is no excuse for bad cycling, and fines.
Bob Cochrane: Park up and pull the charging cable across the cycle lane; when a cyclist comes along and kicks off tell him to bolt and say the charger was here before the cycle lane take it up with the clowncil.
Arif Maywandi: They have no idea what they are doing, same here in East London they did the same thing.
Steve Cooper: You couldn't make it up! Bryan Jennings: Bit of luck they will get garrotted by the cord.
Paul Kent: That is about as much thought that has gone on pushing this nonsense through; just remem- ber motorists con- tribute billions £s to use the roads, cyclists Zero! Think about it. Wait till it turns cold, wet, and windy - you won’t see a bloody bike, but we will be stuck with this non- sense forever.
Brighton 60
Ian Greenstreet: I too ride a bike, and a motorbike, and drive for a living, but I don’t expect the world to have to change so I’m not scared to ride my
bike on the road. Bikes are a hazard on the roads as are hors- es…Bikes are on the road, without insurance, road tax, or any concern to the safety of the bike’s condition - which if you want to dictate how the roads are regulated can’t be right.
Christopher Wiggy Aries: Yes I agree it’s a total nonsense, and even though I agree there should be safe passage for bikes, it should not impinge on main roads flow of traffic, or closing an entire through route (as in Hailsham) so as making it very tedious to get from one side of the town to the other.
There were many other comments, as you might imagine; check out PHTM Facebook to see them all, and to reply if you wish.
Meanwhile, five Councillors in Brighton have criticised the set- ting up of a second cycle lane on the seafront for causing an “unacceptably difficult time” for the local taxi trade with unnecessary “mayhem and gridlock”. They said putting a cycle lane next to the existing one at the expense of a lane of traffic was “ideologically driven, poorly planned and totally unnecessary”.
Cllr Jackie O’Quinn, former chair of the Licensing Committee at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “…[the new cycle lane] is hardly used, with cyclists preferring to use the lane that was already available along the seafront. During the time [I have been a member of the Licensing Committee] I have done my very best to stand up for the taxi trade…
“Many taxi drivers were on the edge of despair as they fell through the holes in the net of many of the assistance schemes from the government. Finally lockdown ended and taxi drivers hoped for recovery, which looked likely until the double whammy of the closure of two lanes of the A259, [which is] an arterial road from east to west and as such it needs the traffic to run smoothly…
“Please don’t forget that our taxi drivers are a lifeline for the disabled and vulnerable and are also vital for the tourist trade… By all means have cycle lanes, but let’s use some com- mon sense, consultation and compromise in order to establish where they can work best and without causing such conflict between drivers and cyclists and putting the city’s economic recovery at risk.”
That last statement says it all… and applies across the entire country.
CAMBRIDGE: DUTCH ROUNDABOUT OPENS TO MIXED REVIEWS
We briefly mentioned July’s opening of the new Dutch-style roundabout at Fendon Road in Cambridge in last month’s PHTM. This marvellous construction cost £2.3million, having been originally budgeted at £800,000. Motorists have to give way not only to traffic on the right, but also to cyclists and pedestrians – each of whom has their own dedicated lane. The approach roads were narrowed down with the intention to further reduce the speed of approaching traffic.
OCTOBER 2020
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