My message to cyclists on here

Why should pedestrians be forced to dodge out the way of some lycra clad loon riding down the pavement?

Sheffield at rush hour. Especially in the summer is a nightmare.

 

Quite agree. I rarely ride on pavements, only if I'm forced to by inconsiderate motorists (not leaving room for cyclists to filter past them) and when the pavements are clear of pedestrians.

 

Hee hee!

Just a comment on this, to show how views can differ. In Germany it's illegal to ride a cycle on a road, unless there's no pavement available (in the countryside, for example). All cyclists MUST ride on the pavement. In many cases, the pavement is wide enough to be divided into a cycle lane (nearest the road) and a pedestrian lane on the other side. But even on narrow pavements, cyclists and pedestrians mix with no problems whatsoever. I think the pedestrians have priority, unless there's a separate cycle lane, and the cyclists use their bells to warn pedestrians. The system works very well and, having ridden a bike here on a road from time to time, I'm amazed that in Britain we force cyclists onto roads. Madness, in my opinion, and an accident waiting to happen.

 

In Manchester we#re starting to see shared use pavements in areas where it would be more dangerous to cycle.

 

Views certain can differ! I couldn't disagree more, and hate it when cyclists and pedestrians are forced to share space. Bicycles are vehicles, and as such in my opinion should use the road. It's down to cyclists and drivers to act like grown ups and show a bit of respect to each other.

I say this as a regular pedestrian and occasional cyclist. As the former I don't like being continually rang at by bicycles, and I avoid using canal towpaths at certain times of day because of the huge number of university students/staff who use them to commute by bike. With my cycling hat on the main problem is the number of roads you have to cross. If you're having to stop at all of them to check that no cars are turning left then it would barely end up being any faster than walking in the main.

I also believe that it reinforces the notion that cars are the most important form of transport, relegating cycling and walking to something which needs to fit around cars. It does this by letting them have the most road space - a big statement - and allowing them complete right of way apart from if you can find a controlled crossing, but even then you'll have to wait for it to deign to let you cross. In my opinion it sends all the wrong messages about what modes of transport people should be using and what we want our cities to look/sound/smell like.

It's something I feel very strongly about! Having said, that, in Birmingham they're building a couple of extremely high quality cycle routes into the city centre, properly separated from both pedestrians and cars. It's going to look great, and will make cycling along what are at the moment very busy dual carriageways much more pleasant. High quality routes exclusively for cycling is the best state of affairs for me, but where that's not possible for whatever reason I think car drivers should just have to learn to deal with the fact that they need to share.

 

On subjects like this there's always going to be different views, that's fine. I just wanted to point out that in Germany the system is the exact opposite of what we have here, and it works very well.

Recently my brother considered buying a bike to commute. He wasn't sure so he borrowed a bike and tried it. After a few days he gave up on the idea. He told me it would only be a matter of time before he was killed or badly injured.

I ride all the time in Germany - I wouldn't dream of doing it here. I'm too much of a coward.