Cycleway change From cradle to grave, but not if you want to ride your bike?
Concerning the Phase 2 transport project layout within the area of Cordelia St to Swansea Rd — I live right in the middle of this project, and have for 40 plus years.
It is already a mission to safely get in and out of the driveway without the council taking away the “buffer zone” we have in the way of the roadside parking. Secondly, the side they propose to put the cycleway on is fraught with obstacles and is also too narrow. In my opinion, the plan would also condemn the Pioneer Village to a certain death — this park is used by tour groups, with buses, which park outside. Also a good many vintage car groups and rally groups use it too.
People returning to visit Stratford currently don’t stay long due to the dark and dingy hedge and there is nowhere to sit and have a picnic lunch. An iron fence would be far cheaper to maintain. Thirdly, the roadside parking is widely used every day both sides for business people doing paperwork and phone calls before proceeding into town along with truckies checking their loads and logbooks, etc, so the cycleway plans would impact a good many people.
I think the solution is to cross over to the other side somewhere on Cordelia St, fill in that big ditch, and put the cycle lanes straight down the centre of that verge. It would mean much more room and be less invasive
with no need to change the parking, nor have the risk of condemning the Pioneer Village.
L Gooch
I was surprised to read in the Stratford Press that members of our Christian community are opposed to the creation of cycleways near the Catholic church. The phrase from cradle to grave, implying care for all ages, was used by a man of the cloth way back in 1892 — the Rev James McKernan used it in his poem Viewing
the Procession — but perhaps times have changed, and our priests and parishioners no longer look to care for all, only those who want to park near their church?
I would think, as a church with a school attached, the priority would be to keep the younger members of the community safe — with cycleways an obvious positive way to do this, but instead we have members of the church complaining they might lose a car park or two.
I doubt even the most devout of our community need to park at their church every day of the week, yet we do have school children wanting to attend school five of any seven days