Letter: Bikes and Pedestrians Don’t Always Mix Well

Published on: 21 Aug, 2016
Updated on: 21 Aug, 2016

From Paul Stevenson

In response to: The Solution to Guildford’s Traffic Chaos – Is the Bicycle

I do agree that cycling should be encouraged in Guildford and I would love to see more dedicated cycle paths. Can we even be so bold as to think of getting the kind of bikes for hire that can be found in London?

I’d like to speak up a little for the pedestrian, though. I walk around Guildford quite a lot, often with a buggy or a walking toddler. I think some of the new “shared-use” (as in pedestrians+cyclists) paths are not fit for shared use.

The path alongside the A3 and Ash Grove which seems to have been recently designated shared-use is only just wide enough for a parent with a buggy to use. That’s fine when pedestrians are passing each other, but many cyclists that use it do not cycle at a suitable shared-use speed.

The river towpath (which is not a designated cycle path) is somewhere I’ve long since abandoned when with kids, as it’s turned into something of a bicycle expressway.

Bikes are great, but please let’s prioritise turning vehicular roadway into cycle lanes, not cramming bikes onto pedestrian pavements that are not really big enough to share.