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news
Yellow card (licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 on Flickr by Jon Candy).jpgPolice in Surrey town giving yellow cards to pedestrian zone cyclists
Police in Woking, Surrey are giving ‘yellow cards’ to people who cycle through pedestrianised areas of the town centre in a move described as "utterly stupid," with the charity Cycling UK questioning the motives behind the initiative and calling for roads in the borough to be made safer for people on bikes.
The scheme, devised by Woking Borough Council and implemented from 8 May, applies to certain streets in the Surrey town where cycling is banned from 10am to 4pm.
The council says the campaign is aimed at "encouraging cyclists to think of others and walk their cycles through the busy, shopping streets of Woking town centre."
It adds that police officers will patrol the town centre “on the lookout for cyclists” and that “yellow cards will be issued to cyclists who are caught cycling through key town centre streets in a manner that compromises the safety of pedestrians.
“The yellow card is a positive and polite request for cyclists to think of others and dismount,” the council adds.
Councillor Beryl Hunwicks, Woking Borough Council’s portfolio holder for environmental services, commented: “Thanks to the investment we made in our borough-wide cycle network, cycling has become a popular way to commute to work, stay active and as a leisure activity.
“However, this has led to an increase in anti-social cycling such as cycling on footpaths and pedestrianised areas of Woking town centre.”
The chairman of a local cycling campaign group has said that it will force cyclists to ride on more dangerous roads, and branded the idea “utterly stupid.”
Norman Johns, from Woking Cycle Users' Group, told Get Surrey: "What a waste of money - it is over policing.
"There are a lot of cyclists who would cycle if they were allowed to and that would reduce the use of cars which the council want."
He continued: "It is putting people at risk because they will have to go on Victoria Way, which is a disaster area, a really high speed road.
"As a very senior cyclist, I will keep on cycling and just watch out for police, if I got a yellow card I would just say 'thank you very much, prosecute me if you like' – I'm sure the magistrates would not be interested."
He continued: "There are a group of youngsters who are a pain but they're youngsters! They're not going to be deterred from cycling because of a sign or a yellow card.
"More importantly, this will stop other young people from getting active – if you're going to Woking High School, you can cycle there but can't cycle back because of the timings so it is a disincentive for many people.”
Mr Johns added: "It is nonsense - we love cycling and the whole network leads to the railway station, but if it can't be used in the day, the heart of the network has been banned."
Sam Jones, senior campaign officer at Cycling UK, told road.cc that the council would be better off addressing issues that discourage people from cycling on the town’s roads, and highlighted a case study compiled by the charity which demonstrated that cyclists do adjust their riding behaviour in pedestrian zones according to how busy such areas are.
“Cycling UK would never condone illegal or irresponsible cycling, but we are intrigued to know what evidence Woking Borough Council has for their latest policy,” he said.
“If it's been inspired in response to concerns from a tiny number of people complaining about their comfort or, on the other hand, by serious incidents, then we need to know. We can then make an informed decision on how justified the policy really is.
"What we do know, though, is that research shows that cycling behaviour tends to adjust to amount of footfall, and isn't a problem for most pedestrians.
“It seems a waste of national funding for Woking to adopt an anti-cycling policy when they are meant to be improving cycling facilities.
“Cycling in and around Woking on the roads is a nightmare even for an experienced cyclist.
“The one way systems, road surfacing and traffic volumes are not cycle friendly.
“Councillor Beryl Hunwicks would be better to address these issues rather than looking to shame people scared off the road,” he added.
Cycling UK Case Study: London Borough of Croydon
In April 2016, Croydon councillors agreed to give cyclists permanent, all-day access to a busy pedestrianised shopping street in the borough. Having looked at the results of a CCTV-based survey during the 18-month trial, the council concluded that:
“Cyclist behaviour was very good. It became clear that cyclists modified their manner of riding depending on the density of pedestrians.
“Light pedestrian traffic - cyclists rode at a reasonable speed and always kept a sensible distance from pedestrians.
“Moderate – Cyclists rode at walking pace behind pedestrians, waiting patiently until there was a place to overtake.
“Heavy – Cyclists got off and pushed their bikes.
“It was clear that cyclists made all of the speed and directional changes. Pedestrians were not required to take any avoiding action.”
A follow-up camera survey also found that: “Pedestrian and cyclists have different movement patterns through the day and different peak periods. This reduces the overlap of the two transport modes and therefore any potential for conflict.” [ … ] “No conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists were observed.”
Measures to mitigate concerns from groups representing people with impaired vision and the elderly include creating an alternative two-way route that cyclists can opt to use at busy times; providing ‘comfort space’ for pedestrians; advisory signage saying: ‘Cyclists please keep towards the centre of the street’; ‘Cycle with care’; ‘Pedestrians have priority’; indicating a 10mph limit; and events to encourage considerate behaviour and promote cycling to people of all abilities.
For more, see report to Croydon’s Traffic Management Advisory Committee, 26 April 2016.
Case study courtesy of Cycling UK.
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.
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19 comments
While the borough of woking has some good cycling infrastructure, much is sub standard. (the usual issue of patch coverage and really incovinient or longer routes) Additionally there are major roadwork disrupting the one way system around the town centre, with little to no though of how they wil impact cyclists. Existing routes have been disrupted, alternatives have not really been considered, and signage is poor.
Focusing on that would be much more benficial for the saftety and well being of residents
I think you will find it is aimed mainly at those who insist on cycling through the area from Jubilee Square through where the food court is to where Toys R Us was.
It is always heaving with pedestrians but no matter someone always wants to try getting through on a bicycle, scooter or skateboard.
i
if asked to dismount by a pedestrian, I would then carry my bike across my shoulders and ask them if that's more convenient for them.
we really need to know how and why this policing is being applied
At each end of that stretch there are cycling prohibited signs that apply between 08:00 and 18:00 if I remember rightly.
Edit
Thinking about it it may be 10:00 to 16:00 but without going to have a look I can't be sure.
Does that help?
No.
There are plenty of signs prohibiting things that are not being policed, or are policed in a different way.
Is anyone policing drivers in cycle lanes or ASL boxes, or driving at cyclists on the wrong side of a traffic island through traffic lights?
No, just no!
If there is a rule in place for safety then it should be followed or challenged through the correct channels.
Just because a rule is not adequately monitored or policed does not mean that it is a rule that can or should be ignored!
Sorry, I disagree with this.
There's plenty of historical examples of laws that were unjust or poorly thought out and just blindly following such laws gives them more authority. Look at the legality of homesexuality in the UK - would it have been appropriate for all homosexuals to refrain from sexual activity just because of a bigotted law? Or, alternatively have a look at the Apartheid laws in South Africa or anti-semitic laws in Nazi Germany - like I say, there's plenty of examples.
"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws." - MLK
I've always wondered about that. If you are walking beside your bike then you are a pedestrian so any ban on cycling doesn't apply. However, if you're walking beside your bike then you are taking up more room than any other pedestrian (even one towing one of those stupid wheeled suitcases!), and more room than if you were riding the bike.
...and the whole street would cheer and give you a round of applause because you totally owned that pedestrian. - except it would be one of those special rounds of applause where they curl one fist and move it up and down diagonnally.
Which would be just as mature a response as me telling them to go f*ck themselves.
It's not about pwning a pedestrian, it's about teaching an ignorant person to think about how stupid their request is.
I can just imagine the scenario. Curtain opens on a busy pedestrianised street , cyclist enters stage right on bike.....
Ped"Excuse me mate , this area is a bit busy with pedestrians for you to be cycling, someone might step in front of you and end up hurting you both. Can I recommend you push your bike till you're out of this pedestrianised area"
Cyclist " would you rather i hoist my cycle across my shoulders and carry it *Aside -that ll show this ignorant lady how stupid her request is*
Ped " if you like but it has wheels so you might find it easier to push it"
The End
As a helpful tip, being passive aggressive to "ignorant" people in order to "teach" them that they're "stupid" is:
a) not okay;
b) very, very ineffective.
Also, insisting on carrying your bike through a pedestrian zone is a bit... odd. I can't see how it makes the point you appear to think it does, unless your intention is to look like a bit of a tit, in which case it's a fabulous way to achieve it.
As a local resident and cyclist I have often cycled arround and through the town centre. I suppose it is all about the details. As quooted above "cyclists who are caught cycling through key town centre streets in a manner that compromises the safety of pedestrians" is perfectly fine in my book. However if implented as a blanket policy then obviously I have issue.
I have in the past been rolling through the area in question at less than walking pace bechind a group of older people paitently waiting for the path to widen and been shouted at, so even with the most curtious cycling outlook you can be considdered a mennace.
Here is hoping for common sense.
And let us also hope for an end to dyslexia, too.
I don't understand.
I seem to remember on my second to last visit to Woking these pedestrianised areas were open to cyclists then the following year cycles were banned, so who's brilliant idea was that! Also as of yet I have not heard of any cycle related carnage from the local rag but the traffic collision reports keep flooding in!
Excellent news. Clearly the crisis of police funding has been resolved if they have the resources to pursue this sort of nonsense.
As they have police with nothing better to do, can't they just have a shift of focus and patrol the roads instead? They could be handing out yellow cards to drivers (and/or cyclists) using phones or close-passing or generally acting without due care and attention.
Well, I'm just glad that Surrey police don't have any other more pressing matters to be dealing with...