“There are enough hazards without adding cyclists”: City centre bike ban could be lifted to make “unfriendly” streets safer – but opponents say “unprecedented” move will “endanger people”; Tom Pidcock’s old-school heat training + more on the live blog
“There are enough hazards without adding cyclists”: City centre bike ban could be lifted to make “unfriendly” streets safer for cyclists – but opponents say “unprecedented” move will “endanger people”
It’s been a while since Worcester – and its one out of four rating from Active Travel England (it used to be zero, mind you) – has been in the news, to be honest.
For a few years there, it seemed like every other story on road.cc was about Worcester, the West Midlands cathedral city the centre of rows over non-inclusive bike path gates, “discriminatory” roadworks signs, and guerilla School Streets.
And, of course, its longstanding, controversial town centre bike ban.
For two decades, people on bikes have been banned from Worcester’s central shopping streets, including High Street and 10 other routes around it, between 10am and 6pm, seven days a week. The ban, which carries it with a fine for any city centre cyclists, was first introduced in 2006, and its hours were extended in 2019.
However, in March 2024, Worcester City Council opted not to extend a PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order) which banned cycling in other parts of the town and that campaigners branded a “psychological barrier” to people using bicycles. At the time, councillors said they were “never convinced dangerous cyclists were the big issue” and argued the ban felt like “political theatre”.
Later that year, a proposal was also made to the local authority to review the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which governs the current city centre cycling ban. That particular proposal was greeted with derision by Conservative (now Reform) councillor Alan Amos, who also claimed the council’s PSPO decision would signal a “free-for-all” for “dangerous and selfish” cyclists.
Amos, a regular on these pages due to his vociferous anti-cycling stance, said he was “horrified” by the council’s proposed TRO review, claiming that it would transform a “safe and welcoming area where pedestrians can shop and walk” into a “dangerous and unwelcoming place”, solely to appease a “handful of lazy, selfish cyclists” who “routinely flout the law”.
Others, however, viewed the lifting the bike ban, at least partially, as key to encouraging more people to cycle through the city, with one local doctor urging policymakers to see past “so much negativity locally” and implement safe cycling routes that would enable people to leave their cars at home for short local journeys.
For a while, the whole issue quietened down, no changes were made, and that seemed to be it. Until this week, when Worcester City Council confirmed that it would be investigating how best to ‘water down’ the existing, 20-year-old TRO.
The city council, controlled by a Green-Lib Dem-Independent coalition, has approved a motion asking Worcestershire County Council to explore options for “improving cycling connectivity through the city centre”.
The motion calls for an investigation into the “feasibility of allowing cycling through all restricted areas in the city centre” covered by the current TRO, while also recommending a public consultation on the subject.
If any changes are to be made, according to the motion, they will first be implemented on a 12-month trial basis.
The BBC reports that councillors have suggested that the changes will likely not apply to High Street, but instead focus on the dozen or so streets around it.
“A lot of cyclists do say the city is very ‘unfriendly’ for people who want to cycle – it’s about time it was looked at again,” Green councillor Tor Pingree told the broadcaster.
“There’s a lot of examples of cycling lanes that are very short and don’t go to where they need to go. I know lots of young people in particular, who won’t cycle because they feel Worcester is unsafe because of all the cars.
“There are plenty of cities where even if you can’t cycle along their high streets, the pedestrianised areas around it are actually available to cyclists – places like York and Cambridge have very historic city centre layouts like we do, but manage to do it better.”
Danny Brothwell, from the Bike Worcester group, described the development as “long overdue” and said he was “so pleased” to see the hitherto dormant matter raised once again.
Of course, not everyone was pleased with the proposal. Our old mate Councillor Amos, who switched from being the only Tory in Worcester City Council to become its only Reform representative, said the move was an “unprecedented” attempt to “undo a pedestrianised city centre”.
Amos also claimed lifting the bike ban would “endanger people and create unnecessary conflict”.
Steve Mantle, a local resident questioned by the BBC, also took Alan’s side, saying: “They should keep it as it is. There are enough hazards in town already, without adding cyclists.”
However, other shoppers were more positive.
“I cycle a fair bit and the roads aren’t great – what we really need is more cycle lanes,” said Colette Kelly. “If this helps start a bigger debate, then it’s good.”
“I used to cycle but stopped, mainly because I didn’t feel that safe,” added John Livermore.
“I don’t have an issue with [the TRO] being looked at or even changed a bit, it feels odd that we can’t allow people to cycle through as long as they’re careful.”
Finally, a spokesperson for the county council said: “Once we have formally received the letter from Worcester City Council, we will respond in due course.”
I imagine this could rumble on for quite some time…
Heat training, the Tom Pidcock way
You can stick your hazmat suits and your sauna training sessions.
Last night, Tom Pidcock posted a video of his rather old-school approach to heat acclimatisation: lots and lots and lots of layers. And some very baggy white shorts, too:
Pidcock no treino de aclimatação pic.twitter.com/YmajuzeWch
— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) September 17, 2026
Although, Pidcock – one of the big favourites for the rainbow jersey next week in Canada – does appear to have embraced some new-age training techniques, such as this mud-based skin purifier, which I assume is for aero reasons:
View this post on Instagram
Or maybe he was just trying to emulate that Hyrox athlete from the news, who knows? What, too far?
Either way, if it works in Montreal, it works.
Cycle to work myth busting, courtesy of you lovely lot
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Presumably the removal of the cycling ban is being driven by a requirement to increase city centre footfall? The final decision will no doubt be a commercial one. Re the reference to Cambridge allowing cyclists in the city centre. I have seen this at first hand and it seems to work well. Most of the cyclists are suitably cautious and most pedestrians appear to have waived their right to be gormless and aren't totally focussed on getting to the next shop or fast food outlet.
@Aluminium can The description on Lezyne's website says it "Includes a versatile silicone rubber mounting strap that securely mounts on both round and aero bars or compatible components." So it's definitely "meant" to be mounted on handlebars if you want and would seem to be the default location. Yes it can be mounted in other places too, and the review does note it can also be mounted on the fork. Just from the pictures, I'd be surprised if the strap was long enough to go around a typical headtube.
I think this is meant to be mounted to your headtube or fork...
@cardch For cycling in the dark, bright colours make next to no difference. What helps is reflectives (which many of these backpacks include) or lights (which some of these rucksacks include dedicated attachment loops for, if you so wish). That said, hi-viz rucksack covers are readily available if you do want to go down that path.
@rookybiker Until they start squeaking. And both Shimano and Look pedals with metal plates are guilty of that.
@cardch dark for *over* half of the year? Are you doing night shifts, working like an American or just need to clean your specs more regularly? (I believe it's close but still over half days have > 12 hours daylight). (Indeed a Google suggests this is universal, as the sun isn't a point source and the atmosphere refracts light) More colour might not hurt but isn't the biggest concern. Most if not all here will already have lights, other reflectives, reflective parts on bikes... And indeed some of the reviewed backpacks do.
To commute with a black backpack, when it is dark for over half of the year in the UK, seems insane.
@quiff And not all EAPCs comply with the EAPC regulations: Viz; fitted with pedals, have max 250W motor, 15mph cut off, etc.. An EAPC that does not comply with the regulations, is treated as a motor vehicle, etc.. To paraphrase the DVSA & DoT guidance. :-)
@the infamous grouse I would imagine most women in sport's priorities are the same as men in sport, in no particular order: Sporting success (titles, medals etc), Personal satisfaction, Respect from fellow professionals, Respect from the media (much less important than that from fellow professionals), The feeling of belonging and contributing to a team, Fair renumeration and being able to make a living from the sport. I do think that women's sport (and men's to a lesser extent) is still sometimes patronised by parts of the media, where there is total ignorance of the talent, efforts and sacrifices required to get to the top. One example of this was the past heralding of Katy Price aiming to make the GB Olympic Equestrian squad. I'm not sure whether things like this calendar contributes to the patronisation.
@Mr Blackbird i find it all quite laughable, the person being targeted isn't pretending to be a sportsperson ... she's being eyecandy. surely the women in sport don't care about or aren't interested in male recognition?
1 thought on ““There are enough hazards without adding cyclists”: City centre bike ban could be lifted to make “unfriendly” streets safer – but opponents say “unprecedented” move will “endanger people”; Tom Pidcock’s old-school heat training + more on the live blog”
Presumably the removal of the cycling ban is being driven by a requirement to increase city centre footfall?
The final decision will no doubt be a commercial one.
Re the reference to Cambridge allowing cyclists in the city centre. I have seen this at first hand and it seems to work well. Most of the cyclists are suitably cautious and most pedestrians appear to have waived their right to be gormless and aren’t totally focussed on getting to the next shop or fast food outlet.