Former mayor says "people of Reading beware" about town centre cyclists

Whichever way the council go you will still get the rehab crew on bikes with no brakes, wonder if that is why their teeth often look a bit well used or is that the medication they partake in?

This is why tourism in Amsterdam has sharply declined since the 60s. Barely anybody visits nowadays. Bloody cyclists.

Frankly this isn't going to make any difference at all to cyclists' behaviour in Reading. Plenty of people cycle along Broad Street (with appropriate care as it is a pedestrianised area) both on the permitted end and the banned end - and permitting cycling over the whole of the street isn't suddenly going to unleash a torrent of bicycles. Probably most, like me, were unaware that cycling was only permitted at one end until the recent coverage. The ban is both illogical and unenforceable, and whatever the outcome I shall continue to ride my bike to those convenient racks located in the middle of the banned section.

Mixing pedestrians and cycles works well in Denmark and Holland plus other European countries. In Copenhagen the shopping areas, people with cycles pushed them, shock horror

Jones concluded: "If the council were to take a sandwich board and said to people 'do you think this should be cycle-free or cycling willy-nilly, I would bet a penny to the pound people would say ‘thanks but no thanks’. But we live in a democracy so let's see what happens."

1) Why would they need a sandwich board to talk to people?

2) What about offering the option of cycling 'sensibly and considerately' as well as 'willy-nilly'?

3) I think he means 'a pound to the penny'. 

4) 'Thanks but no thanks' wasn't one of the options. Why would they say that? 

Reading is one of England's many armpits, anyway, and should be avoided if at all possible. It's one of the most unfriendly places to pedestrians and cyclists I've ever come across. Stay far away, if possible.

So it's perfectly ok for cyclists to mix it with 1.5 tonne vehicles moving at high speed on narrow roads, but it isn't ok for pedestrians to mix it with cyclists doing 10-15mph down the high street?

Logic.  Also, guess who doesn't cycle often:

http://i2.getreading.co.uk/incoming/article7343845.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/C...

What about some independent research or robust data to actually find out (a) what people really think, and what problems there are in similar areas where such things have been tried.

Why seeks facts when opinions are immediately to hand, of course?

You reap what you sow.  

Having just built a £6 million bridge that mixes pedestrians with cyclists... and loads of other "urban realm improvement" schemes that mix cyclists with pedestrians... how can Reading Borough Council then decide mixing pedestrians with cyclists on a particular town centre street is a bad idea and ban it?

The police have said the current ban in unenforceable, when you go and look its neither enforcable or enforced.  

Quote:

But we live in a democracy so let's see what happens.

Ah, yes, democracy: that thing he's trying to subvert...

Cycle free center, well that is some imagination. What's next? Baby and old people free center? Babies make a lot of noise and old people don't look nice... I guess they just want to have less visitors in the city center?

Quote:

a fellow councillor has argued that such a move would put people off visiting Reading town centre on foot

Madness. I don't think I've ever heard the words "I can't visit XYZ because I'm scared of all the cyclists"

Quote:

If the council were to take a sandwich board and said to people 'do you think this should be cycle-free or cycling willy-nilly I would bet a penny to the pound people would say ‘thanks but no thanks’.

Well no shit. If you say to people "here's one option, and here's another option that we've worded it in such a way that it sounds illogical and childish" I wonder what option they're going to take.