Last updated at 14:09, Thursday, 29 July 2010

There was a double dose of bad news for Carlisle cyclists last week.

Helen Davison

A scheme for a bridge over the River Eden near the Sheepmount and a cyclepath north to Kingmoor Park was shelved for lack of funding.

Then county councillors threw out proposals to allow bicycles into the pedestrianised area of English Street because they were worried about the potential for accidents.

Cyclists say this attitude is typical. While the authorities make the right noises about cycling being a green and healthy form if transport, in practice cyclists play second fiddle to motorists and pedestrians.

Dr Helen Davison, a member of the group Cycle Carlisle, said: “I take my life in my hands when I cycle up Stanwix Bank.

“Car drivers need to be aware of cyclists and give us a reasonable amount of space. There’s a significant minority that come too close and too fast.

“Dual carriageways are the worst. Because there are two lanes motorists think they can get past.”

The national cycle group CTC has a campaign, Stop Smidsy – Smidsy stands for ‘sorry mate I didn’t see you’ – with a web site where cyclists can log bad driving, accidents and near misses.

Dr Davison, 43, lives in Stanwix and has been cycling since she was 11.

She said: “The problem has got worse as the volume of traffic has increased. I’m a hardened cyclist but I’m now being scared by traffic. People with children don’t even think of taking them on the roads.

“The more cyclists you have, the more drivers become aware of cyclists. It’s a Catch-22. In places like Holland, motorists are much more aware because most of them are also cyclists.”

Cycle Carlisle has produced a manifesto.

The wish list includes completion of the Connect2 scheme, promoted by the cycling charity Sustrans, for a cross-city cycle path from Currock to Kingmoor Park.

This is the project that was partially shelved last week for lack of funds, despite a £1m Big Lottery grant.

Cycle Carlisle also wants to see the completion of the Petteril Valley cycle path from Petteril Bank to Rickerby Park – only the section from Dale End Road to Carliol Drive is open.

And it is calling for cycle lanes on radial roads, contra-flow cycle lanes on one-way streets, parking stands outside public buildings and for cyclists to be allowed into the pedestrianised area of the city centre.

This idea was thrown out by county councillors last Friday despite the support of council officers who said there were similar schemes in 28 British towns and cities that worked without conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.

Dr Davison spoke at the meeting but was unable to persuade the Carlisle local committee.

She said: “I’m disappointed but not surprised. They didn’t listen to what I was saying. There’s a lot of unnecessary hostility towards cyclists among various councillors.”

Cuts in public spending make it unlikely that more money will be available for cycling.

But Dr Davison says there is plenty that can be done at little cost.

She said: “Cyclists should be allowed on pavements more. There should be more dual-use pavements like the ones on Castle Way and Eden Bridge.

“The pavements along Scotland Road, Warwick Road, Shaddongate and Newtown Road are wide enough but, just as car drivers need to consider cyclists, cyclists on pavements need to be considerate of pedestrians.”

She argues that new flood defences along the River Eden, parallel to Warwick Road, could carry a cycle path.

She also believes there is a good case for cutting the speed limit to 20mph on many roads.

She added: “Evidence shows that these reductions improve safety for all modes of transport.”

Toby Harling, who cycles to work at the Civic Centre from Denton Holme, says that a contra-flow cycle lane in Finkle Street would make his journey easier.

He said: “I don’t see how anybody could possibly object to that.”

Presumably somebody did. The contra-flow lane was part of plans to improve Carlisle’s historic quarter, along with closing West Walls as a through route for vehicles. Both proposals were dropped.

Mr Harling also wants county councillors to rethink their objections to cyclists in pedestrianised English Street.

He said: “It’s absurd that cycling isn’t allowed. For 12 hours a day the city centre is quiet. They could say ‘no cycling between 10am and 4pm’. Outside those hours there is plenty of space for cyclists.”

Mark Lloyd, another member of Cycle Carlisle, wants obstructions to be cleared from cycle paths such as a lamp post and telecoms box bang in the middle of the pavement cycle lane on Eden Bridge.

He is calling too for the disused Waverley railway viaduct over the Eden to be re-opened for cyclists and walkers.

He said: “We have 3,000 signatures on a petition and we’re thinking about resubmitting it. If we’re definitely not going to get the Sustrans bridge [across the Eden] then it’s more important than ever.”

There is some progress on cycle routes, however.

A missing link in the Caldew cycle path is being completed by developer Citadel Estates as part of a new housing scheme in Lime Street.

And the Caldew path is to be extended under Bridge Street, providing access to Bitts Park and Hadrian’s Cycleway, as part of the Sainsbury’s superstore development in Caldewgate.

Virgin Trains has promised to restore cycle parking on the platform at the Citadel railway station – it was withdrawn four years ago for “security reasons”.

There’s also good news on another cyclists’ bugbear – the footbridge between Lund Crescent and Maryport Court over the Cumbrian coast rail line.

Network Rail and the Environment Agency are considering three options to build a ramped bridge that can be used by cyclists, wheelchair users and parents with prams.

It will be funded by £100,000 from the county council and Sustrans Connect2 money, and will give cyclists in Upperby and Currock a route to the Caldew cycle path.

Bridget Barling, of Quebec Avenue, Currock, cannot wait. She crosses the bridge regularly with her daughter Anu and is frustrated at the lack of progress.

She said: “Very few of our councillors ever get on a bike. You can tell that by looking at them. That bridge is difficult to cross with a bike. It’s covered in dog poo and, because it’s enclosed, it can be a scary place.”

She also says the cycle lane in London Road is so narrow that it is dangerous.

Ms Barling added: “I think car drivers should have to ride a bike as part of the driving test. It would give them an insight into what it’s like to be a cyclist.”

County councillors say they are not anti-cyclist, although there was a suggestion of a party-political divide over allowing cycling in pedestrianised English Street.

All seven Labour councillors at last Friday’s meeting voted against while the two Liberal Democrats, an Independent, and four of the six Conservatives voted for it.

Speaking later, Conservative John Mallinson, who chairs the Carlisle local committee, left open the door to cycle-friendly schemes.

He said: “While it won’t be easy to secure funding for large projects to improve the cycling offer, I would be interested in exploring anything that makes the cyclist’s life a little bit easier.”

The cycle lobby has a powerful ally in Carlisle’s new Conservative MP, John Stevenson, who is a keen cyclist.

Mr Stevenson said: “We have to accept economic reality. The big schemes we’d like to see aren’t going to happen.

“But austerity can lead to innovative ideas. We should be encouraging cycling from a health point of view and an environmental point of view. If we can come up with low-cost schemes, I’m all for it.”

First published at 11:24, Thursday, 29 July 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk