Tunbridge Wells cyclists lie down for better infrastructure

More than 100 Tunbridge Wells cyclists staged a ‘die-in’ style protest on Wednesday, stopping traffic in Mount Pleasant. The protest was an effort to encourage the town to give greater priority to cyclists and pedestrians.

Die-ins are often staged by cycle campaigners to draw attention to unnecessary road deaths. The Stop Killing Cyclists group has arranged a number of them in London, for example. In this instance, the move was a nod to Amsterdam cycle campaigners of the 1970s who made use of such a ploy to drive a change in attitude which has seen vast improvements in cycle infrastructure in the Netherlands in subsequent decades.

More than 100 people are reported to have turned out in Tunbridge Wells, including children on their Easter school break. Paul Mason, from Tunbridge Wells Bicycle Users Group (TWBUG), told the Kent and Sussex Courier  that the protesters were keen to see a number of major changes to encourage cycling in the town.

"What we are really calling for is a radical new approach to the whole thing, but it is not a war on drivers. What we are looking for in Tunbridge Wells, there is no single silver bullet. We want the existing cycle paths improved; it is a whole series of things which could be done. Some of these things have been done in other parts of the country, such as Brighton and Bristol.

“For it to work, it all has to be a continuous network. We are calling for Tunbridge Wells to be remodelled – that way it serves as a brilliant example. Tunbridge Wells and other places in Britain need to be looking to Holland as best practice."

TWBUG is keen to see a 20mph speed limit across the town, segregated cycle lanes and far more children cycling to school. The group estimates that currently only 0.5 per cent of children are doing so. In comparison, around 20 per cent of the 7,000 children attending schools in St John's Road are travelling by car.

Recent data released by the Office of National Statistics showed that in 2011 only 643 residents in the borough of Tunbridge Wells cycled to work. Not only is this a strikingly small proportion in an area with a population of around 115,000, but it also represents just a four per cent increase from ten years previously, when 616 did.