Friday, March 11, 2011
Allow Tonbridge cyclists on the pavements?...
The Courier front page today is banging on about the number of cyclists on the pavement in Tonbridge town centre. I must say that I haven't noticed many, if any, and there certainly doesn't seem to have been a huge recent upsurge in the incidence of this petty crime. So is this just media hype or is it a big problem in the town? You have to remember that the roads are actually an awful lot more dangerous than they were in the Sixties and Seventies when I was growing up. Maybe the rules are out of date. In some countries, like Denmark for example, it's very common to see pedestrians and cyclists quite happily sharing the pavement. Perhaps the problem isn't whether they should be allowed of not but, more, whether cyclists should just show more consideration. When my kids were younger I wouldn't have dreamt of encouraging them to cycle on the main roads around the town. Yes I did tell them to go on the pavements but to do so slowly and safely. You can't blame young people for not wanting to risk their lives by taking their chances on the A26 to Tunbridge Wells for example, or Pembury Road. What about the A21? No way and there's not a cycle lane or a pavement there at all. Cycle lanes are often ill thought out (probably by car-loving non-cyclists) with absurd crossings from one side of the road to the other, they're very expensive to lay, badly maintained and what's more hardly even used. So why not let people ride on the pavements? After all bikes are probably less of a hazard than the growing number of mobilty scooters which don't have any restrictions at all; they are a lot heavier than your average push bike and can shoot along at a fair old rate of knots....
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12 comments:
I disagree, cyclists should not be allowed on the pavements unless they are walking with their bike.
There are two types of cyclist in Tonbridge that I have noticed;
1. People that use their bikes as a genuine form of transport. These tend to be workers cycling to and from the station or their office in town, they stick to the roads and cycle paths and are actually rather stable.
2. Young people/teenagers, usually on a BMX who weave round everybody on the pavement before darting into the road to pull a wheelie and eventually jumping onto the opposite pavement.
The second group I would suggest cause far more concern to people than the first, as they are far more unpredictable. I'm not sure what I would want done in the long term as you can't ban young people from cycling in the High Street without also banning more responsible cyclists. The main roads in Tonbridge are very busy and often have vehicles parked, making them hazardous for those on bikes, and the swerving around cars coming out of side roads poses a very real danger to motorists following the cyclists (I speak from experience on this).
I think the only sensible solution is to require that cyclists walk their bikes along pavements with heavy footfall e.g. High Street, outside schools at chucking out time. Then requiring that roads are used when it is safe to do so. Enforcing this would be nigh on impossible but at least it's a start.
Well, I fit into the first group and would love to be able to stay on the road for the journey. Unfortunately car and especially bus and van drivers tend not to give two hoots about us and rountinely drive not more than a foot away from me at well over the permitted speed limit.
I cycle from North Tonbridge to the station - things are fine up until the (now shut?) Pinaccles pub but after that the road narrows and cars start to park on the side of the road meaning even less space to ride. Add to this the dodging of pot-holes that has to take place and you have a pretty hazardous situation.
As for stopping people from cycling on the paths - if you cycle in a safe manner and not interfere with pedestrians then what is the problem? It's not as if safe cycle paths are provided into the town....
I think we can pretty much be assured that no new cycle paths will be made for the foreseeable future in Tonbridge.
I think I know the narrow bit you mean Anon, the bit where the Greyhound used to stand. In fact from there to the box junction is a death trap for cyclists.
I'm not too sure about the question of cyclists, but I have almost been knocked down on numerous occasions by a lady that uses her mobility scooter on the High Street pavement. Sooner or later something is going to have to be done about these. I'm not anti mobility scooter. In fact my grandmother uses one and it gives her the freedom that most of us take for granted. However, when the person has poor driving skills or a general lack of awareness, these machines have the potential to be very dangerous.
I think most of them are drunk. That's why mobility scooter jockeys drive so eratically. I'm basing this thought on the number of these lethal little machines that are parked up outside Wetherspoons during the day, for hours at a time.
As for cycling on pavements: I think if you took all the kids that cycle to school, and forced them on to the road during rush hour, there would be carnage. Who's supposed to enforce this law anyway?
How many kids cycle to school these days?
I think all motorists should be made to cycle on our dangerous and crowded roads for a week. Just to get an idea what it's like to ride a two wheeled machine on the roads that are full of pot holes and to have cars come from behind and almost take the skin from your elbow because they are so close.Maybe then when they were behind the wheel they would give cyclists a second thought. And before you all start calling me a car hater, I do have a car and i do drive most days.
In Germany most towns and cities have well defined, and safe, cycle lanes, so that cyclists do not have to risk their lives by coming into contact with traffic. There also appears to be little problem with pedestrians and cyclists sharing pavements either.
I'm not sure whether it's compulsory, but most bicycles appear to have a bell, so cyclists can sound a clear warning to anyone straying into their path!
I seem to remember a headline from the Courier about 3 months ago, proclaiming that Tonbridge was most probably the fat capital of Kent.
Fat people are a lot harder to ride round than normal people. They take up three times as much space, and they have a tendency to veer about all over the pavement. Couple this with the fact that bloaters rarely travel alone; there always seems to be two or three of them spread across the pavement.
Given the high population of these porkers, if you gave them their own lane to waddle along, I think us slim, fit cyclists would be able to ride on the path with ease.
Problem solved...
Bit harsh sebfox!
Although when I have walked down any high street I have thought that it would be a good idea to have two lanes, the one closest to the road being the "fast lane" where people who have places to be can walk at a decent pace, and a "slow lane" on the shop side for people who are window shopping.
The "slow lane" would also be for buggies and generally slow people. You can usually hear or at least notice people approaching and judge their pace so it would be possible to change lanes as appropriate, just like on a dual carriageway.
Cyclists should not be on the pavements and to be honest the disabled buggies should have a speed limit on them. A very slow one. there some regular old people who speed through the High Street and I am sure that they are not of fit mind to react quickly if a child ran in front of them. I also think there should be provision for a cycle lane through the High Street - not a stop and start lane. The safety of such a lane would encourage children to cycle to school and I think they would. Maybe the pedestrianisation of the High Street is the answer with cycle lan provision.
I do ride on pavements between Hadlow Road and Higham Lane, most often because I simply can't get out into the flow of traffic. Cars can go 'half-way' when turning right but cyclists obviously can't. I ride on the road into town several times a week to do my local bits and I leave the car at home as often as possible. It's hairy when the artics roar past. An old gentleman haring along on a mobility scooter told me off the other day for being on an otherwise empty path. I'm 44 but I felt about 10! I do know the laws but I'm courteous and I get off if I feel I might impede a pedestrian. I do think it's time we agreed to share paths safely.
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