Radical Cycle Idea

If we are to successfully follow Copenhagen as a Green City - we need to do something very radical about cycling.  ALL paved areas need to be shared by pedestrians and cyclists.  Everyone would be expected to keep left and pedestrians and cyclists alike should be expected to wear a high visibility vest in the dark.

We need to ensure that cyclists are not forced to cycle on dangerous roads.

 

Why the contribution is important

If you have been to either Copenhagen or Amsterdam you will soon see how much easier it is to cycle in a place where there are dedicated cycle lanes.

by user607517 on November 21, 2013 at 11:35AM

Current Rating

Average rating: 3.5
Based on: 19 votes

Comments

  • Posted by user563645 November 21, 2013 at 15:46

    How would this work in residential areas though? Imagine you are trying to get out of your front gate and onto the pavement and cyclists are whizzing by, with a false sense of security because they are on the pavement,cycling at a speed because they think they are safe from cars? Likewise if you are a pedestrian needing to cross the pavement to get to a house you will need to look for cyclists first- which does not seem fair if you are supposedly on a pavement where you should be safe from vehicles. I pity a postman having to go from house to house, constantly having to check for cyclists first. I can see collisions galore in this scenario.

  • Posted by user122507 November 21, 2013 at 21:59

    I've lived in Amsterdam and it works very well indeed. Cyclists don't mix willy-nilly with pedestrians, they have segregated bike lanes. If a pedestrian walks in a bike lane they'll get someone ringing a bike bell at them. Have a look on Google maps. You'll be surprised.

    Bikes and pedestrians also interact with trams in Amsterdam. Trams have absolute priority. You only get your front wheel stuck in a tram track once. You either learn quickly or get squashed.

  • Posted by user734334 November 23, 2013 at 14:48

    Totally brilliant idea that is entirely possible and practical and just needs a bit of consideration from everyone. Also, not in all areas this will be needed as in most residential streets it is quite safe to cycle on the road. Come on people, stop whining and make a positive difference.

  • Posted by user515911 November 25, 2013 at 23:45

    I understand that about a third of all people suffer from balance problems at some point in their life, and someone cycling near you could be enough to make you topple over. Wouldn't this idea effectively ban many of the elderly and people with osteoporosis from walking? (My elderly neighbour didn't go out alone for the last 6 months of her life as she was afraid of pavement cyclists---while it was still technically illegal to cycle on the pavement.) Would there have to be a 5mph speed limit and, hence, a requirement for speedometers on all bikes?

  • Posted by user302288 November 26, 2013 at 16:56

    I think this could be made to work if there was a speed limit on bikes and all bikes were fitted with lights as a legal requirement.
    Its cars that kill - only one person has ever been killed by a bike.

  • Posted by user569747 November 27, 2013 at 15:38

    Love this idea! Where there is sufficient space and the pavement is wide enough for pedestrians and cyclists lets both be able to use them. If too tight then a speed limit applies and people are polite and reduce their speed if a pedestrian is there. Simple! The roads are dangerous! I have been knocked over by a bus and if there is a pavement I will use it if possible (slowly and cautiously) until there is a cycle lane. Why should pedestrians have preference over the use of pavements? We all pay our taxes for them

  • Posted by user536903 November 28, 2013 at 12:49

    I Guess most of the roads have pavements on both the sides. if the pavement is too small for sharing, we can make one side for cycling and the other one for pedestrians..

  • Posted by user515911 December 20, 2013 at 12:40

    Does bkrish really propose that it is an improvement to have a system where people (perhaps elderly, disabled and/or infirm) coming out of their gates may be required to immediately cross the road to get to a pavement free of (two-way) cycling? (And I would be hard-pressed to think of any roads in my area that have pavements on both sides wide enough for two-way pedestrian use and/or two-way bike use.)

  • Posted by user515911 December 20, 2013 at 15:39

    I had a look at what mr123 said. It seems from the ctc website (I've no idea how authoritative this is) that, in
    2001-2010, 22 pedestrians were killed in the UK by cycles. As regards cyclists on pavements, the only figures that they seem to give are for 1998--2007 in London: no pedestrians killed on the pavement by bikes in those years, but 23 seriously injured. [Presumably, most people who (like me) have been only mildly injured do not report it to the police.]
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