Marco gets on his bike after 40 year gap

No issue in Peterborough seems to raise such anger and passion as the cycling ban in Bridge Street. One of those who fully supports stopping cyclists from riding through Bridge Street between the hours of 9am and 6pm, Mo n d a y to Sunday, is Peterborough City Council leader Councillor Marco Cereste.

Cllr Cereste once had an altercation with a c ycl i s t he claimed was going so fast that he could have killed his little son.

Yet the com- batative leader was prepared to take to the saddle for the first time in over 40 years after regular cyclist Nik Williams (45) aired his grievances to him on Twitter.

And after hearing his complaints face-to-face, Cllr Cereste invited Nik to meet council officers to see what changes can be madeand agreed to a fact-finding city cycle ride.

The ride took place on Monday evening and i nvolved c ycl i ng from Central Park to the Posh stadium in London Road and back, including a detour through Bridge Street.

Cllr Cereste said: “I think the resident was happy that we were listening to him and taking notice of what he had to say.

“With cycling in Peterborough I think we can do a better job and we will learn from it in the future.”

Cabinet member Cllr Graham Casey, who joined in the ride, added: “For me it was helpful. I think Peterborough is blessed with the cycle network that it has and it’s easy to get from one place to another.”

Nik, who lives in the city centre, was impressed that Cllr Cereste and others had agreed to the ride, but does not expect much change even after his meeting with officers.

He said: “The city is poor for cycling and it takes a lot to change attitudes. I think I got across that the kind of language Cllr Cereste uses is not helpful in putting the needs of cyclists in a positive light.

“I believe needs for cyclists is usually an afterthought.”

Cereste with Cllr Graham Casey and the team of PCC riders.