NICE advice on walking and cycling

[User]

 

[Beebo]

the Mail web site would be fantasticly funny, if it wasnt true.

This is the lowest rated comment:
Great idea. The weird reaction by people when I say I walk into town (2.5 miles each way) is hilarious. Our species has reached a point where walking is considered weird. It's our natural form of transport for goodness sake!
Which seems very reasonable to me.

 

[Melonfish]

my face daily mail comment was the "you know what they'll get us with next? pavement tax.."
hehe

 

[Fnaar]

Years ago (mid 1990s) I went on a work trip to Santa Monica, Califrnia (lucky me). Ended up at an R'n'B gig in a bar on my last night there (proper R'n'B with guitars and stuff, not the modern poo that moonlights under that name). It was about 20 mins walk from my hotel, along a dead straight road, with a pavement. I was given a lift there, but had to make my own way back to the hotel. So I walked it. Blimey, the STARES I got from passing cars!!! As though an alien had landed and was using a hitherto unknown form of transport to get around.

 

[ianrauk]

Years ago (mid 1990s) I went on a work trip to Santa Monica, Califrnia (lucky me). Ended up at an R'n'B gig in a bar on my last night there (proper R'n'B with guitars and stuff, not the modern poo that moonlights under that name). It was about 20 mins walk from my hotel, along a dead straight road, with a pavement. I was given a lift there, but had to make my own way back to the hotel. So I walked it. Blimey, the STARES I got from passing cars!!! As though an alien had landed and was using a hitherto unknown form of transport to get around.

This is pretty standard in the US.
Experienced the same many a time in many a different State.

 

[Drago]

I saw it in the Telegraph. It looked an interesting piece and should really be plugged very hard by the Government.

 

[ComedyPilot]

If I can ride a (fully loaded touring) bike 1,400 miles around Germany, then there's no reason people cannot walk or cycle short distances.

They just don't want to, and hate being 'advised' to do it.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I landed at Heathrow last summer, had booked a hotel less than a mile away from the airport.
When I got there and asked for directions, I was told by several people that it was impossible to walk it to the hotel as it was too far.
Puzzled, I took the bus: the journey was about 10 minutes!
The hotel staff said "it is not allowed to walk to the airport, you must take the bus"
Next morning - on the bus back - I discovered that a shared pedestrian/cycle path runs from that hotel right into the airport!

 

[slowmotion]

In North America, unless you are in some kind of "heritage location", I got the distinct impression that pavements were only for complete losers. A very rare approaching fellow pedestrian would shoot you a furtive glance of utter fear. Most odd.

 

[growingvegetables]

In North America, unless you are in some kind of "heritage location", I got the distinct impression that pavements were only for complete losers. A very rare approaching fellow pedestrian would shoot you a furtive glance of utter fear. Most odd.

Ah - my memories are a little more positive.

The merest hint that you might be looking over your shoulder, just considering possibly crossing the road at some point, somewhere, to get to the hotel on the other side - just that one wee glance?

Enough to bring four lanes of traffic to a juddering halt, to let your cross.

 

[asterix]

Locally (in France) they are just completing an obesity clinic primarily intended for young people. The project includes narrowing the main road and providing a nice wide pavement for the inmates to walk the couple of kilometres into town. Bet they'll love that!

 

[BrumJim]

the Mail web site would be fantasticly funny, if it wasnt true.

This is the lowest rated comment:
Great idea. The weird reaction by people when I say I walk into town (2.5 miles each way) is hilarious. Our species has reached a point where walking is considered weird. It's our natural form of transport for goodness sake!
Which seems very reasonable to me.

My favourite response is:
WOW Talk about an unbalance, biased, and political article. Has anyone commenting here read what NICE are actually calling for? Having read through the NICE press release I have not seen one single call for parking charges to be raised. It is about making it normal for SHORT journeys of up to 20 minutes to be walked or cycled.

As expected, 8 down arrows for pointing out the truth. It hurts, sometimes!

 

[theclaud]

the Mail web site would be fantasticly funny, if it wasnt true.

This is the lowest rated comment:
Great idea. The weird reaction by people when I say I walk into town (2.5 miles each way) is hilarious. Our species has reached a point where walking is considered weird. It's our natural form of transport for goodness sake!
Which seems very reasonable to me.

It's fantastically funny anyway. I'm enjoying the indignation immensely!

I'm sorry but a loads of absolute CR*P!!!! Parking fees are extortionate enough without having to add more to get us fit!? My cheapest local car park in Leeds is £1.50 per hour, and trust me that's actually good compared to some places. I was desperate to visit the bank last week to sort out a payment they owed me; local car park was full so I had no choice but to use the Pay & Display - which is £1.00 for 20 minutes WHOLE minutes! How lucky am I!?!?!? In my opinion this is just another way to attack motorists. "Let's not the dear motorist who spent thousands of pounds learning to drive, buying a car and insuring that car actually DRIVE that car! No, let's encourage them to use over crowed, smelly, poorly managed, over priced public transport! Or make them walk all the way through the lovely cold, wet, dark November days!" UTTER RUBBISH AND UTTERLY DISGUSTING! ​

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[theclaud]

Bless

I'm almost tempted to register on the Daily Mail site just to gloat.

 

[ColinJ]

All I can say is that I don't drive and for over 20 years, I walked and cycled a lot and never neeed to see a doctor. Less than 2 years after cutting down on the excercise, I was lying unconscious on my floor close to death and then spent 9 days in hospital!

I'm going to get back into regular exercise ASAP and I suggest that the DM readers do the same!