Being a pedestrian in Cambridge

[Will Spin]

I'm err a cyclist too....having read the first post I realise a bit a self flagellation by way of atonement is required!

 

[PK99]

I'm err a cyclist too....having read the first post I realise a bit a self flagellation by way of atonement is required!

I'm not talking of errors I'm commenting on deliberate dangerous cycling putting pedestrians on the pavement or shared track at risk

 

[Reynard]

I learnt to drive in Cambridge. That was, in itself, something of an eye-opener.

The area around the bus station, grand arcade, lion yard and sidney street can be particularly chaotic.

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

I learnt to drive in Cambridge. That was, in itself, something of an eye-opener.

The area around the bus station, grand arcade, lion yard and sidney street can be particularly chaotic.

Grand Arcade and Lion Yard are both pedestrianised so I can see why you found the driving tricky...

 

[Reynard]

Grand Arcade and Lion Yard are both pedestrianised so I can see why you found the driving tricky...

Aaaargh, I meant to say the St Andrews Street & Drummer Street side of things

 

[mjr]

The twunt in question shot straight across a busy pavement with a constant stream of pedestrians forcing my wife and I, and others, to stop to avoid being hit.

Exactly. The problem was passing too close to pedestrians, not crossing a pavement to reach cycle parking. It'd still suck if it had been a cycle track with people walking on it.

 

[mjr]

Aaaargh, I meant to say the St Andrews Street & Drummer Street side of things

Was it a while ago or are they now teaching motorists how to jump the bollards on St Andrews Street and the gate on Sidney Street?

 

[Dan B]

[QUOTE 4675712, member: 9609"]Attach anyone to a wheel and there is a good chance they will turn into an uncaring moron[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure you need a wheel for that. A wheel is just a device for amplifying the consequences

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 4675712, member: 9609"]Attach anyone to a wheel and there is a good chance they will turn into an uncaring moron. Cyclist seem particularly bad at it as there is little to no accountability. I wonder what would happen if reg plates were removed from cars and vans, I certainly wouldn't venture out there during the experiment.[/QUOTE]
That reads like you think there's much accountability for motorists at the moment because they've got registration plates which is just - Plate readers are almost never attached to restrictions like access-only gates, red light cameras or yellow box cameras and there's tons of rage and fury any time it's suggested. Reg plates still haven't prevented tons of motorists from making loads of bad movements including killing people in hit-and-runs like earlier this week in Enfield - why would they fare any better for cycles? And would you then want to hang numbers on people walking, to deter them from tripping or bumping into others?

Much more thinking on this at http://ipayroadtax.com/licensed-to-cycle/licensed-to-cycle/

 

[PK99]

Exactly. The problem was passing too close to pedestrians, not crossing a pavement to reach cycle parking. It'd still suck if it had been a cycle track with people walking on it.

If you care to look back at my op you will see it concerns dangerous behaviour in the close vicinity of pedestrians, not simple accessing cycle parking across a pavement.

 

[mjr]

If you care to look back at my op you will see it concerns dangerous behaviour in the close vicinity of pedestrians, not simple accessing cycle parking across a pavement.

If you care to look back at your OP, you'll notice that point 2 seemed to be solely unhappy about someone crossing a pavement a bit fast/sharp to access cycle parking and didn't explicitly mention coming close to you, unlike your points 1 and 3. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[QUOTE 4675802, member: 9609"]What I meant was that if reg plates were taken away from car vans and trucks, then an unimaginable chaos would surely ensue. And of course the accountability of reg plates don't stop the committed idiots (even a 45' sign written trailer does not discourage some complete planks from being complete planks) but overall it keeps the vast majority on the straight and narrow.[/QUOTE]
I'd still drive properly even if I didn't have reg plates and I disagree with you because I suspect the vast majority of those who currently drive properly would keep doing so. I'm disappointed if you wouldn't!

Shouldn't we disqualify drivers who only behave because their vehicles have reg plates?
[QUOTE 4675802, member: 9609"]And NO i would not like to see reg plates on bikes.[/QUOTE]
Cool.

 

[PK99]

If you care to look back at your OP, you'll notice that point 2 seemed to be solely unhappy about someone crossing a pavement a bit fast/sharp to access cycle parking and didn't explicitly mention coming close to you, unlike your points 1 and 3. Sorry for the misunderstanding.


l.

Ah. You missed the first word "Similarly"
And my later comment that each incident put me at risk.

Perhaps it might be better to read properly before knee-jerking a defence.

 

[mjr]

Ah. You missed the first word "Similarly"
And my later comment that each incident put me at risk.

No, I saw it but misunderstood what it meant. As I'm sure you know, many people consider even someone cycling across a pavement with no-one else nearby still puts all walkers at risk - and they tend to turn up to consultation meetings to tell police and politicians

[QUOTE 4675926, member: 9609"]But I still predict if all reg plates were removed chaos would soon ensue - who would bothr to slow down at speed cameras?[/QUOTE]
I don't slow down for speed cameras because I don't need to! Speed limits don't only apply to bits within sight of speed cameras

Edited to add: even without reg plates, spotter-and-catcher operations would still catch tons of speeders. It's just easier to catch the few hazardous criminals with cameras and plates... but cyclists do very little damage and don't really merit such expensive measures.

 

[Reynard]

Was it a while ago or are they now teaching motorists how to jump the bollards on St Andrews Street and the gate on Sidney Street?

Now I know who's to blame for the sudden vision of cars on pogo sticks that's made me spit my tea all over my keyboard...

 

[Tin Pot]

Being an anything in Cambridge at rush hour seems to be a nightmare based on my 6pm arrival there. Taxis? Gridlock. Buses? Gridlock. Bike? No space between the gridlocked cars(!). Pavement jammed with people.

I eventually gave up walking out on some trainers and started running - ran out of street lights fairly quickly, then ran out of pavement!

The whole place seemed like a transport nightmare.