Cycle solution

[Alien8]

Taken from the Cambridge News letters section:

Cycle solution

From Marmaduke Soddy

JUSTIN Morgan (Letters, September 11) is absolutely right about the lanes on Hills Road bridge. Safety for cyclists? They don't deserve it.

They speed along the roads killing and injuring pedestrians and car drivers by the thousand, destroy the road surface with their incredibly heavy bike frames, bring about massive air pollution by breathing out their breakfast fumes, and cause enormous tailbacks and traffic jams.

All bicycle lanes and paths should be ripped up to make way for the virtuous motorists, whose road tax contributes at least 0.0003 per cent to the cost of keeping up the roads.

It would also be a good idea to remove the pavements which, apart from harbouring all sorts of perambulating undesirables who pay not a penny towards their maintenance, take up a large proportion of the roadways.

And while we're at it, we could build a motorway through the middle of Newnham, so Justin can go wherever he wants as fast as he likes (while being completely accountable, of course).

York Street
Cambridge

I'm sure someone won't get the sarcasm.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I love that.

 

[2Loose]

 

[Gerry Attrick]

What sarcasm????

 

[ComedyPilot]

What sarcasm????

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Ayup CP, I hope you are not being sarcastic

 

[Crankarm]

Not sarcasm........ irony .

 

[xpc316e]

The funny thing about this is, and please take into account the fact that I am a keen cyclist for all sorts of reasons, that if Cambridge is the future of our towns and cities because of its large numbers of cyclists and its measures to cater for them, then I don't want it. Cambridge is a nightmare with lawless cyclists riding wherever they like in contravention of traffic laws. The inconsiderate riders make life difficult for pedestrians, and bus drivers. I see the cutting irony in the letter, and I like it, but if we cyclists are to get treated well we ought to behave well on our roads. I didn't see the original missive, but I suspect that it was a moan (justfiably so) about the way cyclists act in Cambridge.

 

[Alien8]

The funny thing about this is, and please take into account the fact that I am a keen cyclist for all sorts of reasons, that if Cambridge is the future of our towns and cities because of its large numbers of cyclists and its measures to cater for them, then I don't want it. Cambridge is a nightmare with lawless cyclists riding wherever they like in contravention of traffic laws. The inconsiderate riders make life difficult for pedestrians, and bus drivers. I see the cutting irony in the letter, and I like it, but if we cyclists are to get treated well we ought to behave well on our roads. I didn't see the original missive, but I suspect that it was a moan (justfiably so) about the way cyclists act in Cambridge.

Well, I just did the original post because I thought it was funny. I suspect Cambridge in no different to anywhere else with respect to the behaviour of cyclists in cities. There just happens to be a very high concentration of cyclists in a small space and hence the muppet-on-bike element is more visible. No one notices cyclists/car drivers/pedestrians who go about their business in a reasonable way. "Cyclist Stops at Red Light!" letters are unlikely to get published - except in an ironic way. I have also heard it suggested that the number of foreign students in the city, unfamiliar with UK road law, may also be a contributory factor.

Is Cambridge a flagship city for cyclists? I don't know, I hardly ever ride in the town but I know it is full of the usual pointless roadside cycle paths which do nothing but marginalise bike riders. However, it also has a number of cycle/pedestrian specific features routes such as specialised bridges and short-cuts which I can see are progressive for inner-city cycling.

"Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?". "Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron."

 

[2Loose]

Don't forget that a large proportion of Cambridge cyclists are in fact, foreign students and not particularly aware of our road laws. Or used to cycling at all in many cases.

 

[HJ]

Don't forget that a large proportion of Cambridge cyclists are in fact, foreign students and not particularly aware of our road laws. Or used to cycling at all in many cases.

Ach, that is not way to talk of the finest products of the English public school system...