Consideration is key to shared bike space
Dear Editor Re-letter (Observer, June 7) by Bob MacDougall who supported Police Scotland educating motorists about giving people on bikes space when overtaking, but suggests cyclists also needed police attention to deal with those cycling on pavements with impunity in Stirling.
Readers will see many people on bikes riding on the pavement in Stirling since Stirling Council have reclassified many pavements from “footways” for pedestrians only to “shared use walking and cycling paths”. Some have circular blue signs with pictures of pedestrians and bikes to indicate the conversion.
Examples include Station Road, Goosecroft Road, Cornton Road, Airthrey Road, Dumbarton Road by Kings Knot, Lovers Walk, Quakerfield and New Road, Bannockburn and parts of Firs Road, Pike Road and Whitehouse Road
Other pavements have been reclassified for shared use walking and cycling but do not have the blue circular sign; instead Stirling Council have used subtle paving slabs with cycle symbols so as not to clutter the area with extra signs. If you look closely you can find these on Murray Place outside Stirling Baptist Church and in Dunblane near the station.
It must also be remembered that the
Land Reform (Scotland) Act makes it legal in Scotland for cyclists and horse riders to share space with people walking on any path that is not a pavement by a road, providing the riders act responsibly and look after the walkers.
Robert Goodwill, a recent minister for Transport in the Westminster Government, has reiterated Home Office guidance from 1999 that cycling fixed penalty notices were only for “inconsiderate cycling” and shouldn’t be used for “cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other road users when doing so”.
Bob also notes that where Stirling Council has introduced cycle lanes some cyclists still ride on the pavement. This is often seen beside Causewayhead Road, a road which is busy with large motor vehicles passing very close to people riding bikes in a very narrow 1.1m substandard cycle lane.
The guidance in Transport Scotland (The Scottish Government transport department) “Cycling by Design” manual states cycle lane minimum width should be 2.0 m with an absolute minimum width of 1.5m. It explains that: “Lane widths narrower than 1.5m can present a hazard to cyclists and motor vehicle drivers. In many cases, a narrow cycle lane can encourage close proximity overtaking by motor vehicles. Limited space alone is not a reason for providing sub-standard width cycle lanes. Alternative solutions should be sought at such locations.”
When cycling north up Causewayhead Road once you pass the traffic lights at Dumyat Road there is no longer a cycle lane painted on Causwayhead Road and ironically drivers then move over to overtake cyclists giving them more room than when just driving next to them in the cycle lane before the Dumyat Road junction.
The good news is that Stirling Council have secured funding from Scottish Government to improve the cycle lane on Causewayhead Road and consultation should start soon on how best to implement the sort of infrastructure that is often seen in Netherlands and Copenhagen who solve this problem by not expecting pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicle to share space but by giving each group their own segregated space.
So I agree with Bob MacDougall that meanwhile all road users need to show consideration and would urge all those riding bikes and sharing space with people walking to be responsible and considerate: Let the walker know you are coming with a friendly call (much nicer than dinging a bell which some interpret as a “get out of my way” message), slow down to pass, wait if there is not room, and say “thanks” if the walkers step aside.
An excellent local development is that Cycling Scotland support Recyke-a-Bike to deliver this sort of message to children in Stirling schools as part of their Bikeability training.
Andrew Abbess Dalmorglen Park Stirling www.stirlingcycletraining.com