Letter: The Active Travel Proposal Is the Safest Option for London Road

Published on: 21 Nov, 2024
Updated on: 21 Nov, 2024

From Howard Smith

Labour borough councillor for Westborough

In response to: We Need to Stop Shouting and Start Listening

I don’t think it has ever been claimed that the proposed scheme of pedestrian and cycle improvements on London Road in Burpham are 100 per cent safe, unfortunately nothing ever is.

However all the expert reports and reviews say that it is safer than the current route and I am happy to rely on the experts.

On the current route the danger is so great that very few cyclists even attempt to use it, for example, students at George Abbot school (I used to cycle to and from that school when I was a student there and the roads were quieter).

Quite rightly, the issue of safety is paramount for both sides of the discussion. But it is obvious to most that a collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian very rarely ends up with anything more than bumps and bruises whereas a collision between a cyclist and a vehicle can all too frequently result in a fatality.

So when weighing up which is the safer option then the choice is clear. Let us now see the Cabinet at SCC approve this scheme next Tuesday and have it go forward.

Responses to Letter: The Active Travel Proposal Is the Safest Option for London Road

Paul Robinson Reply

November 22, 2024 at 2:50 pm

I think the author has a rather naive view the cyclist/pedestrian issue. Times have changed since we were cycling in the ’60s and 70s. Society has become a lot more selfish.

Some cyclists have no regard for pedestrians. I have been out with my wife, who uses a mobility scooter, and experienced cyclists squeezing by us with no warning bell (if they have a bell) or even a simple “excuse me”. No thought that the pedestrian they are passing may be hard of hearing or even deaf.

Some cyclists use electric bikes, or a bike that has been modified by the addition of an electric motor. These bikes can also have the built in speed limiter by-passed. There is documentary evidence of people being killed or seriously injured, possibly leading to death, after coming into contact with one of these machines. This particular problem is not going to go away without legislation and even then some will risk it and ignore the law – they do already.

Finally, there is the issue of some cyclists using every trip out as a time trial to beat the fastest recorded time for the route that gets published on cycling apps. There is evidence of cyclists screaming at pedestrians to get out of their way in Richmond Park as they try to beat the latest time.