Police take children's details after reports of dangerous cycling on the way to school

This is what I said the other day.

Surely the police could approach the school and say, "We've seen some pupils in your uniform riding irresponsibly and think you ought to have a word with your students generally", but not pass over their names.

And if it really is something that needs name and address taken down, then the parent or whoever is in loco parentis is the person to speak to, not the school.

If they are outside of school premises and/or outside of school hours then I don't see why or how the school could discipline them.

John Stevenson wrote:

Looks like a residential street to me. Loads of such streets in Cambridge are one-way for motors, two-way for bikes. Carnage remarkably fails to ensue.

I think one-way roads should all be considered two way for bikes, scooters and pedestrians as long as care is taken when going the opposite direction (and giving priority to oncoming traffic). It seems obvious to me that one-way roads are only considering the needs of motorists.

It was many years after the roads were made one way, that the two way dispensation for cycles was introduced.

And there would be ample room for a contra-flow cycle lane if they simply stopped cars parking/waiting outside the primary school. There's only space for half a dozen or so cars anyway so no real loss - although I daresay there would be uproar from the parents of that school if they weren't allowed to pull up and idle their engine or stop on the zig-zag markings (both of which are already illegal but it appears that the school has had to take additional measures to try and prevent them).

John Stevenson wrote:

Looks like a residential street to me. Loads of such streets in Cambridge are one-way for motors, two-way for bikes. Carnage remarkably fails to ensue.

Works brilliantly in Paris where it is pretty much the norm.

I encountered this in Belgium some years back.  There it was also done on main roads.  That was clearly done to cheaply expand cycle access on a larger rural network.  It worked but I found "jousting" with oncoming lorries across the width of a painted line a ... stimulating experience.

It's best with proper protection / segregation or in lower traffic areas.  Which our example site should clearly be.  My only concern is that crossing traffic needs to be aware of cyclists from two directions.  In the UK that would (currently) increase the risk.  That can be mitigated but requires stuff we don't currently do well - or at all e.g. continuous cycleway across the side street, attention to sight lines etc.

Maybe close Lydes Road to motor traffic at 'school run times', so even more children can cycle to and from school safely?

lesterama wrote:

Perhaps the various authorities need to work out how schoolkids on bikes can get safely to school from the NW

Absolutely.  If the desire line is that way then it would make more sense to make it safe to cycle on that road.