Get cyclists back on the right track

MANY people will wonder why the mammoth figure of more than £16m is being earmarked from the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Fund to develop routes across the city, and encourage more people to cycle. The funding is to come directly from the Government, on schemes specifically for cyclists. In my opinion, this is an exorbitant figure, and totally over the top.

If new cycle lanes are constructed will they be used, and, more to the point, as many incompetent cyclists could start using them ,will motorists still be safe? The local authorities think an abundance of new cycle lanes will create a surge of cyclists. I think a better use of time and money would be to ensure each school in the city educates children in cycling proficiency. This means not only teaching them to ride a bike safely in cycle lanes or roads, but also laying the foundations for correct road usage when they become drivers.

On a personal point, when I was a pupil at Gosforth Grammar School, I was honoured to captain a road safety team of four, which took part in an inter-schools knockout competition.

We were all questioned on the Highway Code, and tried to learn it from A to Z.

We went on to become the champion school in the city. Several questions in the quiz concerned cyclists, which we all were, and through them we became very conversant with all their relative rules of the road.

Many cyclists today aren’t qualified to be in traffic, with a high percentage having little knowledge of the Highway Code.

CHRIS ROBINSON, Gosforth