"Majority of cyclists are reasonable people and will dismount": Cycling campaign opposes controversial town centre cycle ban which has seen "738 cyclists fined in last few months"

The Chair of a cycling campaign has lamented the "large drop in residents cycling to Bedford" caused by a controversial town centre cycling ban that has seen "aggressive" fining of cyclists, with "738" handed out "in the last few months". 

Peter Blakeman, Chair of the Cycling Campaign for North Bedfordshire, made the comments in a letter published in the Bedford Independent today, the quotes coming a fortnight after a dismayed local councillor had questioned the bike ban policy and reported being "inundated with complaints from residents that have been fined dismounting their bikes", raising questions about its enforcement.

> Bike ban council wants "safe place where people don't worry about bicycles" and claims cyclists "fly through town centre" – but cyclists say they are being fined for dismounting and pushing their bikes

Like many other towns and cities we've reported on in recent times, Bedford has a PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) banning cycling in certain pedestrianised areas, the order brought in with the cited aim of cracking down on "anti-social behaviour". 

Under the PSPO, which according to Bedford Borough Council was put in place "following consultation suggesting that reckless riding of bicycles in Bedford town centre was reducing the quality of life of residents", cycling is not permitted in certain parts of the town centre between 9am and 6pm.

Since the ban was introduced, thousands of Fixed Penalty Notices have been issued to people riding their bikes in Bedford town centre, perhaps most famously when, in 2019, ultra-distance cyclist Josh Quigley was slapped with a £75 fine for cycling through the town just a week into his second – and ultimately successful – round-the-world ride. 

Now, Mr Blakeman has argued that despite initial assurances that only those "irresponsible" individuals displaying "anti-social behaviour" would be fined, thousands of cyclists have indeed been stopped and issued financial penalties.

"A number of these were UK/European tourists while the perpetrators who caused the anti-social behaviour remained fine-free," he suggested in today's local paper. "In the last few months, a further 738 cyclists have been fined. The outcome has been a large drop in residents cycling to the town to do their shopping, etc."

He also suggested part of the reason why some cyclists use the pedestrianised areas is because "there are currently no safe north-south or east-west cycle routes through the town centre" and that "the majority of cyclists are reasonable people and will dismount if an area becomes too congested", without need for being slapped with fines just for cycling to the town centre.

"Cycling can play an important role in helping to reduce emissions and save the planet as well as improving a person's health and the NHS budget," he concluded.

> Build safe cycling routes to help people ditch cars for local journeys, urges senior doctor "redressing balance" of city's "polarised" cycling ban debate

"Around 71 per cent of all trips are less than five miles and 50 per cent are less than two miles. Everybody should therefore consider whether their trip could be made using sustainable modes such as by bus/train for long trips and by cycling or walking for shorter trips or as part of a longer journey. It is therefore important that connectivity for cyclists is improved in and through the town centre."

During a recent Bedford Borough Council meeting, Labour councillor Caroline White said: "I've been inundated with complaints from residents that have been fined dismounting their bikes in the town centre near Harpur Square.

"We are supposed to be encouraging people to cycle into town. Should we be fining people who are using their bikes to go into town?"

In response, the council's chief environment officer Paul Pace said: "That zone is for pedestrians only. We want to encourage people into our town centres, and they want a safe place where they can actually not worry about bicycles.

"I've witnessed, many times, bicycles flying through the town centre. The only reason we bought these fines was we had a number of instances with one or two people getting clipped with bicycles, mostly the elderly, but also huge amounts of near misses."

PSPOs are a hot topic at the minute, the seemingly never-ending saga in Grimsby rumbling on into the autumn. Last month we reported that another cyclist had been ordered to pay £500 for riding through town centre, as a councillor insisted that cyclists "who have not followed rules" will be "rightly punished".

Grimsby's council has also begun trialling playing a "no cycling" message on speakers every 15 minutes to combat the "anti-social behaviour".

The major criticism that cycling groups have made about such town centre cycling bans is largely the point Cllr White made in Bedford recently — that they discourage people cycling into the town. But also that they do so while also failing to deter the sort of anti-social behaviour it is believed they'll combat.

> Proposed city centre e-bike ban will "discourage cycling and penalise responsible cyclists," says cycling and walking commissioner

Active travel charity Cycling UK has long been a prominent critic of PSPOs, which it claims have the effect of criminalising cycling.

"Some councils have used PSPOs as a geographically defined version of an ASBO to restrict the use of public space and criminalise behaviour not normally regarded as illegal," Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK's head of campaigns, has previously said.