A safe future for cyclists

I see that the Chichester

Local Plan includes an aim that there be more active travel and that this includes cycling. I welcome this aspiration, as it is so good for people’s health, for the environment, to reduce car traffic, and in any case is often quicker than driving, by the time parking is taken into consideration.

Moreover I think that Chichester could be a natural cycling centre.

However, it will not become that until a lot more is done to make things safer for cyclists, not least if people who have not cycled for years are to feel safe enough to get back on a bike. I think that there are two particular immediate problems.

The worst of these is the state of the roads, where a proliferation of potholes is presently accepted that is downright dangerous for cyclists, not least as a pothole that might not give a motorist too many problems can pose real risks for a cyclist. Summersdale

Road, Wellington Road, Winterbourne Road, and Kingsmead Avenue are but four bad examples of this in my part of Chichester.

I am a lifelong, experienced, and confident cyclist, but sadly I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to cycle locally at night for the time being except on roads where I already know the location of the potholes.

Would a motorist accept such constraints?

My other particular safety concern is the proliferation of brambles and branches protruding at face height over local cycle tracks, which is a real risk to faces and eyes – not so much a problem at this time of year, but it soon will be again within weeks.

Our local authorities do not inspect for this anything like enough – think how quickly vegetation grows! – let alone take the necessary remedial action.

I want to believe in a future for cycling – but for this to obtain it is necessary for our local authorities to act effectively to make it safe and attractive.

John Newman Maplehurst Road, Chichester