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news
Reading Town Hall (CC licensed image by Tom Bastin:Flickr)Former mayor says "people of Reading beware" about town centre cyclists
A former mayor of Reading says he is against the plan to allow cycling along Broad Street, while a fellow councillor has argued that such a move would put people off visiting Reading town centre on foot.
Currently, cycling is only allowed at the eastern end of Broad Street from Cross Street, but a formal consultation proposing that cycling is permitted along its full length is to be held soon.
An informal on-line consultation at the end of last year saw 796 respondents in favour of lifting the ban, out of 1,283 responses. 448 were in favour of not allowing cycling in Broad Street at all and 39 selected no change to the current arrangements.
But Councillor Tony Jones believes Broad Street should be left to pedestrians and Get Reading reports his view as being: “People of Reading beware.”
Jones told the Reading Borough Council traffic management committee: “Over the next three weeks or so, unless people say otherwise, the whole of Broad Street will be open to cycling.”
Another councillor, Ricky Duveen, said: “I would suggest that this is simply a bad scheme and will put people off visiting Reading town centre on foot.” Councillor Liz Terry added: “We call it pedestrianisation for a reason. It’s for people who are walking, not cyclists.”
Jamie Wittham was one councillor in favour, however, saying: "I will welcome this, if it goes ahead it really will help join up the fragmented cycle network."
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."
Reading has benefited from a number of cycling developments in recent times. A new pedestrian and cycle route opened under the railway line at Napier Road last month. Known as the Biscuit Tunnel, it provides people living on Napier Road and Luscinia View with direct access to and from the town centre; and for people heading north to the River Thames and Caversham.
In addition to this, a new £5.9m bridge for pedestrians and cyclists has been opened across the River Thames, linking Caversham to Norman Place and Reading Station. Both projects were paid for using the Government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund – funding that has also given rise to the ReadyBike hire scheme in the town.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- Hirsute 1 hour 23 min ago
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
- lonpfrb 1 hour 43 min ago
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
- lonpfrb 2 hours 9 min ago
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
- TheBillder 2 hours 55 min ago
In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
- don simon fbpe 3 hours 23 min ago
What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
- chrisonabike 4 hours 4 min ago
The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
- ktache 4 hours 43 min ago
Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
- Veganpotter 5 hours 40 min ago
My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...
- chrisonabike 6 hours 56 min ago
David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...
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17 comments
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
Yeah - but the cyclists get safe segregated routes around the shopping streets. The difference is Reading doesn't have that option.
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.
As someone who rides from London to Bath on the A4 several times a year I can honestly say that going through Reading is the worst part of the journey. Incredibly agressive driving which leads to close passes and being regularly cut up.
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...
Reading's other big cycling fan, who had 15 minutes of fame last year. Well I say other, but then has anyone seen them both at the same time?
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.
There was a video last year of a plastic bobby trying to give a bollocking to a cyclist using the bit that cyclists are allowed on! There is no difference between the end of Broad Street that you can cycle on and the bit you cannot cycle on. When it's busy you may aswell walk anyway, I prefer to practice my low-speed balancing, pedestrians often seem to think you should be getting out of their way, most just aren't even paying attention because they are too busy looking at the shop windows from afar or down at their phones (this annoys me more when I'm walking than when I'm cycling). In short, allowing cyclists to use all of the pedestrianised bit will only make it a nice (almost) motorised vehicle-free short-cut, it won't affect anyone else in the slightest.
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?
Apparently there are some parts of the larger city centres where you're not allowed to run, and not allowed to sit down and eat a sandwich on a bench, so it's not as far-fetched as you think.
Madness. I don't think I've ever heard the words "I can't visit XYZ because I'm scared of all the cyclists"
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.