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news
Whitelegg Way, Bournemouth (via BCP Council)MailOnline and its readers have meltdown over video of cyclist riding perfectly legally on road
MailOnline and its readers have had a collective meltdown after footage shot by a car passenger showed a cyclist riding on the main carriageway of a road in Bournemouth, as he is entitled to do by law, next to a cycleway that is still under construction.
The newspaper also originally claimed – wrongly – that the facility, on the A347 Whitelegg Way, is a “£150m cycle lane scheme” when in fact it is just one aspect of a £102 million initiative aimed at encouraging sustainable travel, including by public transport.
The headline to its article yesterday said, “Motorists' fury as cyclists IGNORE £150m cycle lane scheme in Bournemouth and pedal along the road – forcing drivers into oncoming traffic.”
> 10 of the most hysterical anti-cycling Daily Mail headlines
That figure has now been quietly corrected to £1.12 million... still, what’s £148.8 million between friends?
Meanwhile, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has said that the cycleway may have been blocked by barriers that had been blown over by the wind, and that parts of it are still being construction and permanent signage is not yet in place.
The car passenger, quoted in the MailOnline article, said: “I just couldn't believe it – the situation definitely had me swearing a bit. It’s infuriating.
“The road is already narrow with no room for drivers to let emergency vehicles pass and you have this cyclist ignoring the designated lane.
“There were four to five cars in front of me and they were having to avoid the cyclist as well as oncoming traffic.
“Some people have said that parts of the cycle way is still unfinished but it was definitely open and safe to use.
“My frustration is with the local council for the money spent on these cycle lanes when the whole infrastructure of the town needs urgent attention.
“The whole of Bournemouth is turning into cycle lanes and there's no room for cars anymore. I hardly ever see cyclists in the bike lane.
“It's hard enough for the emergency services as it is without the roads being like this,” she added. “The council just doesn't seem to listen to the public.”
That claim is incorrect. In fact, BCP Council held a public consultation on the proposals, which were viewed by 27,000 people with 2,500 completing surveys.
As far as Whitelegg Way is concerned, 56 per cent of respondents backed the proposals, with 44 per cent opposed, according to a report published by the council.
One potential reason for the cyclist taking to the main carriageway – perfectly legally, since there is no obligation for bike riders to use cycle lanes where they are provided – can clearly be seen in the video, with the path partially blocked by barriers.
A spokesperson for BCP Council told MailOnline: “We don't know why the cyclist chose to ride on the road rather than use the cycleway along Whitelegg Way.
“Road work barriers blew over during the Christmas period obstructing sections of the cycleway so this may have been the reason; they have now been cleared.
“The sustainable travel improvements along Whitelegg Way are still under construction and permanent cycle route signage has not yet been installed.
“Cyclists may not be aware that the cycle lane is now open. We will review the temporary signage in place to ensure it is clear that the lane is operational.”
The spokesperson continued: “One of the biggest concerns stopping people from cycling is their safety when using busy roads. Evidence shows that people will use bike infrastructure once it is built.
“A study found that in cities where bike infrastructure was added, cycling increased up to 48 per cent more than in cities that did not add bike lanes.
“Whilst there is no legal obligation for people to use cycle lanes, they are separated from traffic and therefore much safer for people cycling rather than using the same lane as traffic.
“We encourage people to use cycle lanes wherever possible and follow the Highway Code rules for cyclists. We will be carrying out campaigns around road user and cycle lane etiquette in due course, once the works along the route are complete.
“The Transforming Cities Fund investment in infrastructure on Whitelegg Way should not be viewed in isolation – it is the first section of a 13km walking, cycling and public transport route that will link north Poole with Christchurch, providing residents with more choice on how to travel to work, education and local amenities, as well as easing road congestion and improving air quality.
“Once the entire route is constructed then the benefits of the Whitelegg Way section will be fully realised.”
Regarding claims that the new road layout impeded the emergency services, they said: “The carriageway on Whitelegg Way is between 6.4m and 6.6m wide, adhering to current national standards set by the Department for Transport.
“It is able to be used safely by all vehicles, including emergency services vehicles, and has undergone, and will continue to undergo, a number of independent road safety audits.
“The Transforming Cities Fund programme team are working with the emergency vehicle operators and have not received any objections about Whitelegg Way.
“We recommend drivers follow the Highway Code when they encounter emergency vehicles using flashing lights,” citing Rules 219 to 225 of the Highway Code.
BCP Council and Dorset Council were awarded £79 million in March 2020 from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund for the South East Dorset City Region, with additional funding from other sources bringing the total to £102 million.
The money from central government was provided under Tranche 2 of the TCF, as part of the final allocation of funding to local authorities under the initiative.
While building a 78km network of six high-quality segregated cycling and walking routes does form an important part of the plan, that certainly does not account for all of the money.
Other aspects of the successful bid for the South Dorset City Region include improved network management (eg bus priority at key traffic signal locations, and an HGV traffic management system at Longham Bridge to help avoid bridge strikes), plus improvements to bus interchanges and bus infrastructure, as well as smart ticketing and improved facilities including cycle parking at local schools.
> Judge orders council that scrapped safe cycling and walking route to reopen consultation
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- levestane 3 sec ago
Cutty Sark is still with us.
- Hirsute 1 hour 38 min ago
No driver involved https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/24728452.car-crash-station-way-colch...
- chrisonabike 2 hours 3 min ago
On the last that's also a problem of success in many ways and I don't think is fixable by "more of the same". Roads attract motoring - better...
- hawkinspeter 2 hours 16 min ago
The kind of common sense that associates global financial crises and recession with a need to cut back on libraries and allow unlimited banker...
- chrisonabike 2 hours 18 min ago
There you go, you had a chance to correct your tacit support for the cultural revolution (and you've been silent on the burning of the Library of...
- hawkinspeter 3 hours 29 min ago
To be charitable to the police (though I wonder why I should), they're acting on a specific complaint raised by the motorist and so are doing their...
- chrisonabike 4 hours 49 min ago
They almost never get to experience them... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ngifg--1eW4
- stonojnr 4 hours 57 min ago
its tricky because there are arguably hundreds, maybe even thousands of "problem areas" on any sportive route, that potentially could result in the...
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64 comments
It's because it's a fake link for comedic purposes.. note the wording 'highway code/made-up-shit-that-isnt-in-t...'
Ah, welcome back! How was your Christmas and New Year? What with the mild weather and the festive / virus-avoidance-induced quiet on the roads it was a great time to get out and about. It's always pleasant to get cheerful responses from the folks you see too.
Got nice and cold now, perfect for some swift distance riding (mind the ice)!
In Ontario Canada we have cycle lanes. But there no law saying we have to use them I don't I ride in the road legally Roads are faster. Shorter route Yes I own a car and a motorcycles
Indeed. However there are laws about following on from your annoyance / anger and abusing / threatening and assaulting people. Sensibly these have fairly high standards so casual insults don't generally trigger these. There are also a range of penalties for behaviour on the road likely to pose a threat to others or indeed actually causing injury or death. I wouldn't mind them being more widely enforced, possibly with longer suspension of licences...
You sad twat.
Comment of the day! (Nigel Fromage is the village idiot on this site. Every village has one.)
Dredging the trolling barrel here
The only cycle paths in my neighbourhood are shared use paths with pedestrians and as such, are completely inappropriate and unsafe to ride any faster than the speed of a jogger, so around 10 kph. They also don't follow the road system, so may not go where you want to go. Obviously, the Dutch system of separate cycle only paths, that follow existing vehicular roads are the way to go, for the sake of both cyclists and motorists.
So they weren't able to just wait until the road was clear?
I was hoping that the woman interviewed was the passenger and doesn't actually hold a license. That being the case she might not have realised that avoiding hitting stuff is a basic requirement.
But how would they do that while sticking to the minimum speed limit?
makes me facking laugh.
YES YOU HAVE TO AVOID RUNNING PEOPLE OVER YOU TIT
As far as I can tell, the video shows drivers being delayed by exactly zero seconds because a cyclist chose not to use the half-finshed cycle lane that was blocked by blown-over barriers and which abruptly spits riders out with no protection onto the roundabout anyway (the place where segregated infrastructure is probably most useful).
Am I missing something?
The words 'Daily Mail'?
Perhaps the fact that the article promised cyclists plural and I only saw one, the fact that the van in the film close passes the cyclist on the approach to a junction or the simple fact that if we don't cut our reliance on the internal combustion engine we're going to destroy the planet. Unfortunately maths, the Highway Code and Climate change are not concepts familar to a Daily Heil journalist
HAHAHAHA look everyone, he said "journalist"
That brings to mind those self important clods making worthless content for their utube channel and make a nuisance of themselves at government facilities, filming for no discernible reason other than to provoke a reaction, whereby they announce themselves as a journalist researching a story...
Yup - somebody coming onto this very site to complain about how that cyclist wasn't making a 'real' journey or was being a recreational cyclist and should have their bike impounded and sold. Or some such sh!t...
I expect that Garage D'Ordure will be along in a few minutes to do just that.
Nope... don't miss that at all
If you were to come towards where that pic is taken, it ends taking you either on a long detour, or doubling back on yourself around barriers, to then try and join traffic, if you want to turn right at the roundabout. Riding away from photographer, if turning right, you either have to dice with drivers when the lane ends, or press the beg button, walk round the roundabout, cross a road, then another, then join the carriageway to start riding. Safer to ride on the carriageway, especially as this way is slightly downhill, and 25mph+ is easily acheivable. It ws a 40 limit, now 30
Funny how the video doesn't show the beginning of the cycle lane which is likely blocked.
Anyway, that road is half a mile long and slightly downhill. The amount of fuss being made it makes it sound like they were behind a turtle for 10 miles.
Birmingham had two much publicised bike lanes put in a couple of years ago, one is on my normal commute route home. It did take over 12 months to finish and actually caused me to mix with cars as they closed my normal bus lanes routes. Anyway I remember someone leaning out of their car moaning I wasn't on them. I stated they weren't open yet because at the ends they still had barriers blocking the entrance / exits. "yes they are" came the grunted reply in a huff.
PS: I still don't use them as although they are good in the main there are sections were they become shared instead of dedicated with Street Furniture as well. So my average speed along that stretch would be 5-6mph down if I did and they still have the bus lanes which apart from the occaisonal bus, are empty.
Since you mention the Daily Mail, can I just mention that most other brands, such as Andrex, Cushelle, Nouvelle and most supermarket own-brands, are all delivered unused.
I'd like them to pick up on why there's no motorists using the M49 junction that cost £50 million for the wonderful Highways England to build: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-53808525
Is that another super power I've got? The ability to force drivers into oncoming traffic.
Along with the ability to "appear out of nowhere" ?
Our chief weapon is surprise... surprise and fear... fear and surprise... our two weapons are fear and surprise... and ruthless efficiency (assuming the drive chain is in good nick)... Our three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency...
The Daily Mail - never let facts get in the way of bashing an 'out-group'
I'm actually quite pleased that readers of the Daily Mail hate me. I'd be worried about my life choices if they didn't.
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