Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Cyclists to be banned from cycling through Windsor and Maidenhead high streets

Riders could be given fines of £100 if they are caught breaking the rules

New rules have been brought in to prevent cyclists riding through Windsor and Maidenhead High Streets.

Riders will soon be banned from riding through pedestrianised zones in King Street and High Street, Maidenhead, and Peascod Street, Windsor as a majority of councillors waved through a new public space protection order – which will last for three years.

If caught by police or community wardens, cyclists could face a fine of £100, reduced to £75 if paid within 10 days.

The Windsor Observer reports that signage will be erected to warn cyclists to dismount when approaching the zones.

According to the report, community wardens claim to have witnessed ‘many incidents’ of cyclists causing ‘alarm and distress’ to residents when riding through the High Streets.

The lead member for public protection and parking, councillor David Cannon (Con), said this new order was designed to ‘change’ residents’ behaviours and deter anti-social behaviour.

However, councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dem) was concerned the £100 fines were too high for cyclists and asked for it to be reduced to £50.

He said: “One thing that Covid and the lockdowns have shown us is that we have lots of residents getting out and about on their bikes and finding new places around the borough.”

He also asked if the private firm District Enforcement, which enforces littering and fly-tipping rules on behalf of the council, will police this.

Cllr John Baldwin (Lib Dem) added he was concerned about the ‘choking points’ in Maidenhead as some parts of King Street would require cyclists to mount and dismount again.

He said: “I’m just concerned we’re going to have a bunch of guys standing at that choke point and handing out tickets like they’re going out of fashion."

In response, Cllr Cannon said the order will be reviewed annually and can be adjusted ‘at any time’ if complaints are brought to community wardens.

Cllr Cannon said District Enforcement will be considered to enforce this new order, but they will operate under the council’s policy – which is to educate before enforcing a fine.

As to the fines, he said the council already agreed to costs and would have to be considered at their next fees and charges review.

An eight-week consultation was launched in December asking the public their thoughts on the plans.

According to the report, nearly 300 people responded to the online consultation, with a majority stating they strongly agreed or agreed with the measures.

There were 36 councillors who approved the order, one against, and three abstentions.

Add new comment

30 comments

Avatar
Secret_squirrel | 2 years ago
7 likes

Don't forget that this is the council that has members who wanted to move on the homeless out of the borough during the last Royal Wedding. 
 

And the twats who tried to close down Velolife.  

No low will be too low for them. 

Avatar
stevelinus | 2 years ago
3 likes

its aimed at the kids who pull wheelies on their mountain bikes down the high street but will affect the hundreds of cyclists who come from all around to cinnamon cafe for a mid-ride coffee. david cannon is actually my local mp in datchet i would of expected a lot more support from him than this.

 

Avatar
mdavidford replied to stevelinus | 2 years ago
0 likes

He's the MP and on the council? I didn't realise that was allowed.

Avatar
stevelinus replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
1 like

well, I got a reply it's not affecting cinnamon cafe but will affect cyclists on the pavements in front of the castle and peascot street. Basically ride up the hill on the road, dismount, walk 10 metres to the cinnamon cafe. The thing that worries me is  the company enforcing it are the same ones that issued me a parking ticket a few weeks ago in the 3 minutes it took me to pop into costa in datchet. I had a disabled badge displayed too and was parked legally but they need to get their quota's and the guy was a stuttering jobsworth.

Avatar
Sriracha replied to stevelinus | 2 years ago
3 likes
stevelinus wrote:

I had a disabled badge displayed too and was parked legally but they need to get their quota's and the guy was a stuttering jobsworth.

?

Avatar
stevelinus replied to Sriracha | 2 years ago
1 like

the guy issuing the parking ticket from the company the council is contracting to manage all of this fiasco.

Avatar
Sriracha replied to stevelinus | 2 years ago
4 likes

I just found it strange that someone with a disabled badge would mock someone's disability.

Avatar
Secret_squirrel replied to stevelinus | 2 years ago
0 likes

I think Sriracha is implying the stutter may have been a result of a disability rather than nerves when confronted with a challenge, and hence there may have a "Pot and Kettle" situation. 

Avatar
bobrayner replied to stevelinus | 2 years ago
2 likes

If they're inept jobsworths, by all means criticise them for being inept jobsworths. But mocking a speech defect isn't helpful.

(I still bear them a grudge from years ago when I tried to use a pay & display carpark, found the ticket machine had a sign up saying it wouldn't take cards, went to a shop to get some change for the machine, returned a minute later to find a bloke in hi-vis giving my car a ticket; despite my highlighting the broken ticket machine and my receipt from the shop, the biggest concession he could offer was "When you get the letter, you can appeal")

Avatar
Rendel Harris replied to mdavidford | 2 years ago
0 likes

mdavidford wrote:

He's the MP and on the council? I didn't realise that was allowed.

Boris Johnson was mayor of London and an MP for a whole year 2015-2016, so presumably the same protocols, or lack thereof, would apply. However in this case Mr Cannon is only a local councillor, the MP representing Dachet as part of the Windsor constituency is Adam Afriyie.

Avatar
AlsoSomniloquism replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
0 likes

Gary SambrookEatsBigDinners is an MP of Northfield in South Birmingham whilst also being Local Councillor of Kingstanding in North Birmingham. So not common but happens. 

Avatar
mdavidford replied to Rendel Harris | 2 years ago
0 likes

So it appears that if you're an MP or in the Lords you can hold pretty much whatever other posts you like, whereas you can't be on a council and be an elected mayor, and if you're a member of a devolved national assembly you (mostly?) can't have any other posts at all.

Which makes a lot of sense - I mean, being an MP is only really a part-time job that shouldn't require your full attention...

cool

Avatar
Chrissk | 2 years ago
5 likes

Surely this has to be based on behaviour. You can't fine somebody for riding a bike in a considerate manner. You should fine people from walking with their face in a mobile phone or people with extending dog leads before you fine a sensible cyclist.

Avatar
Jenova20 replied to Chrissk | 2 years ago
0 likes

Chrissk wrote:

Surely this has to be based on behaviour. You can't fine somebody for riding a bike in a considerate manner. You should fine people from walking with their face in a mobile phone or people with extending dog leads before you fine a sensible cyclist.

This. They're only doing it because they don't consider cycling a valid form of transport. They see cycling as inherently antisocial.

Can you imagine how much of an overreaction it would be if they banned cars for 3 years every time there was a car accident? And the subsequent backlash...

Avatar
brooksby replied to Jenova20 | 2 years ago
1 like

Jenova20 wrote:

... They're only doing it because they don't consider cycling a valid form of transport. They see cycling as inherently antisocial.

Exactly.

It appears that many people believe that we are all just riding around on our kids' toys, for fun.

They can't imagine that people have spent a LOT of money on their bikes, or that people use bikes to - you know - do things or go places because they have to (rather than recreationally*).

*And what's wrong with recreational riding anyway? You can't tell me that every motorist is making an absolutely essential journey...  Many are just motorvating, going for a drive.

Avatar
GMBasix | 2 years ago
4 likes

What is wrong with the PSPO permitting considerate cycling?  Another bunch of nuts wielding a sledgehammer!

Avatar
cordulegaster | 2 years ago
12 likes

I live in Maidenhead and have done so for 40 years. I have never seen any problem with cyclists in the town centre. The council does little to encourage cycling except provide ample bike racks. Crossing the A4 is particularly hazardous. In general people are quite tolerant, even if the council isn't. Walkers, motorists, horse riders, cyclists seem to get on and more so since lockdown.

Avatar
That Merril | 2 years ago
0 likes

I wonder how many Mr Martin Michael Ouse's there are in those parts???

Avatar
wtjs | 2 years ago
12 likes

I think that cyclists are not permitted to collide with pedestrians, and are required to look out for them no matter how dim they are. We are obliged to comply with these legally applied rules in order to further the cause of the prevention of motor vehicles colliding with cyclists. The problem still arises, however, when the system views offences by cyclists much more strictly than offences against cyclists.

Avatar
didsthewinegeek replied to wtjs | 2 years ago
4 likes

Well that's the rule of law. In shared areas pedestrians always have right of way.

Avatar
Eton Rifle | 2 years ago
13 likes

So where is the evidence of a problem? The plural of anecdote is not data. How can these clowns make such a change without producing the evidence for it?
A lot of these councils are packed with dim, cyclist-hating Gammons, who have nothing better to do. Could become a real problem if copied elsewhere.

Avatar
Simon E replied to Eton Rifle | 2 years ago
15 likes

It's classic out-grouping.

Perhaps ask them about annual road casualty statistics for their region and how many of those are caused by cyclists; then ask what they're doing do reduce the numbers.

If they cared this much about people's safety they'd want to address speeding, close passes and driver aggression. Perhaps we'd finally make some progress.

Avatar
iandusud replied to Simon E | 2 years ago
6 likes

Or simply ban cars from their roads.

Avatar
TheBillder replied to Eton Rifle | 2 years ago
0 likes
Eton Rifle wrote:

The plural of anecdote is not data.

This is my new favourite maxim, thank you.

Eton Rifle wrote:

A lot of these councils are packed with dim, cyclist-hating Gammons, who have nothing better to do.

Is that meant to be the exception that proves the rule?

Avatar
Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
9 likes

does this mean my 3 year old on her Frog push along, or my 5 year old on stabilisers is going to get fined £100 each?

 

Avatar
Capercaillie replied to Oldfatgit | 2 years ago
4 likes

Not even the police have the powers to arrest, fine or caution a child under the age of 10 for riding on a pavement.

It these private security "officers" try to stop them you should just ignore them and be ready to film them if they get difficult. 

No-one can expect a 3 and 5 year old to cycle on the road with traffic.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Capercaillie | 1 year ago
0 likes

Capercaillie wrote:

Not even the police have the powers to arrest, fine or caution a child under the age of 10 for .

anything at all

Avatar
sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
9 likes

Ha! This is another pedestrians are too fucking stupid to look both ways or are on their phone story so let's make villains out of cyclists.

Again another town that's turning its back on people choosing a healthier way of getting around rather than trying to put in infrastructure to allow everyone to get along safely. 

Avatar
Wardy74 replied to sparrowlegs | 2 years ago
14 likes

And it won't make a blind bit of difference, sensible cyclists will be penalised and the local hoodlums will ignore it.

Avatar
eburtthebike replied to Wardy74 | 2 years ago
7 likes

Wardy74 wrote:

And it won't make a blind bit of difference, sensible cyclists will be penalised and the local hoodlums will ignore it.

And since the people they are employing to police it aren't police, they don't have the authority to detain you, do they?

Latest Comments