An on-going debate about a place for cycling along Britain’s seafronts has taken another twist after a surprise ban by Portsmouth’s council leader.
Campaigners and local politicians were fully expecting that cyclists would be allowed to ride along Southsea promenade this summer, and a public consultation saw 3,000 people back the idea.
But to the disappointment of some fellow Liberal Democrats, council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson has made a U-turn and stopped the idea in its tracks.
He said: “There will be no cycling on the promenade. It will remain for pedestrians only. There is a lot of concern about safety.
'There is obviously significant demand for a seafront cycling route but the promenade is too narrow to safely provide one.'
The council now plans to create a cycle lane on the seafront road, although details are still being finalised.
Fellow Lib Dem councillor Lynne Stagg, in charge of traffic and transport, said she was 'disappointed' by Cllr Vernon-Jackson's decision.
She said: “We need to get more people cycling to improve health and reduce obesity. I am disappointed.
“The majority of cyclists are not a problem and are perfectly safe, it is the miscreants that ruin it for everyone.”
Portsmouth Cycle Forum urged the council to provide an alternative seafront route.
Chairman John Holland said: “We are disappointed, but we are pleased the city council is going to go ahead with some sort of cycle route, although this has to be safe.”
Cycling along promenades is a contentious issue, particularly during the summer months, and the law regarding it seems to be something of a grey area. Cycling along the prom at Bognor Regis has been banned for more than 20 years, but its continued use by cyclists has prompted the council there to propose a shared use promenade cycle route. A ban on cycling along Morecambe’s promenade was lifted two years ago and a 20 per cent increase in cycling in the area was recorded soon after.
Straight into the sun is perhaps an exaggeration, but at that time it would be about ESE, and there are bits of the road which head roughly SSE, so...
7 October was just a bit of harmless fun until the "msm" ramped it up.
It's not censored if you just pirate it
an example of Kesgraves "best cycling infrastructure in the country" https://maps.app.goo.gl/GsCMbzDUTPdq59qS9
They are not going full gas at every point. They would destroy themselves. And tactics, they save themselves for when effort is really needed....
It turns out that that is national police policy. We found out from this process that there is national 'secured by design' policy which causes...
Been available for quite a while, full GRX mechanical 12 speed. Probably around the same time as 105 mechanical 12 speed if I were to guess.
Less harmful citrus degreaser is easy to find at £8 or less for 5 litres. Works ok for me, even diluted up to 4:1. Both paraffin and white spirit...
Nope, it's to keep your straps down and quieter. Plus most sunglasses are polycarbonate and aren't going to shatter like glass anyway
And, more seriously, where's the coverage of the closure of the cycle lane which forces you to cycle on the Totton bypass.