For the bank holiday w/end we checked out the anti-bicycle improvements in Portsmouth.
We couldn't be bothered to drive our van to where the new segregated bike path is, so we stood by the Southsea Pier to watch two cyclists who have come from it experience the joy of a FirstBus bus turning over them.
We couldn't be bothered to drive our van to where the new segregated bike path is, so we stood by the Southsea Pier to watch two cyclists who have come from it experience the joy of a FirstBus bus turning over them.
They survived to carry on the short distance before they have to swerve out past the parked cars to then get in our way.
For those people who aren't in the loop, the Portsmouth Council has pulled in plans to expend the bike path all the way west "for review" after complaints about the first stretch. This means there is nowhere safe for cyclists in this part of the town.
Well, some people may make the case for the sea front itself, but you can see on a bank holiday weekend that this is over-busy. The valuable revenue streams of the telescope and southsea pier fairground are dependent on passing traffic. These people walking down here -presumably people who drove here first- hold together the local economy. Reducing parking or making walking more hazardous would destroy it.
This parent selfishly cycling down the pavement at five miles an hour, with small child on the back, is not only endangering pedestrians
He is threatening the entire economy of the Portsmouth/Southsea seafront.
He is "He is threatening the entire economy of the Portsmouth/Southsea seafront."? There are a few cheap stalls and a run down arcade along the front...so how much do you think the economy of Southsea is really affected? Of course the real sensible solution is(like many other seaside towns in the UK)to paint a cycle lane along the promenade. It has ample width. We must try harder to get people out of their cars and(safe) walking or cycling.
ReplyDeletePS I am a Southsea motorist, walker and cyclist