- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
park-bench-338429_1920Benches better than cycle lanes, claims councillor
A councillor has argued that benches would be a better alternative to proposed new cycle lanes.
It was claimed that possible new bike paths were causing 'huge concern and distress' among locals and that if they were built they would put people off using public transport.
> Ealing to scrap almost all LTNs - 'consultation' with handful of responses used as 'referendum'
Sefton Council's Cllr Sir Ron Watson made the comments after he secured funding for four new benches around Southport, Merseyside.
The new seats have been installed along various points of Lulworth Road and Sir Ron says they will provide rest points for people using public transport, the Southport Visiter and Ormskirk Advertiser, reports.
Sir Ron is one of a number of vocal critics of proposals which could see cycle lanes added to a route running between Crossens, Southport and Ainsdale.
> Residents complain about 'motorway' style cycle path
He said: “The aim of the benches is to make it easier for people who are considering using public transport instead of travelling by car because it will allow them to take a break on the way to the bus stop or in its very close vicinity and as such will make like easier for them.
“This is the sort of initiative and forward thinking that has a much more practical effect than the current proposals in respect of cycle lanes which are continuing to cause a huge amount of local concern and distress amongst the public.
“The aim of greater use of public transport is a good one and we have a comprehensive rail and bus network that is the envy of many other parts of the country so we start off with an advantage but we should not in turn put people off by things such as the current cycle lane scheme and I can only express the hope that when the consultation process in respect of cycle lanes is analysed the public will be given a clear view to which the council must adhere.”
Latest Comments
- froze 4 min 27 sec ago
This was a very good listing of bikes for under 1,000....
- Hirsute 3 hours 25 min ago
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
- lonpfrb 3 hours 45 min ago
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
- lonpfrb 4 hours 11 min ago
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
- don simon fbpe 5 hours 25 min ago
What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
- chrisonabike 6 hours 6 min ago
The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
- ktache 6 hours 46 min ago
Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
- Veganpotter 7 hours 43 min ago
My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...
- chrisonabike 8 hours 58 min ago
David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...
Add new comment
52 comments
while they are putting in benches to accomodate people taking a mid walk rest, perhaps they can make drinking water available so cyclists can get a refill mid ride.
Surely freely available potable water in all areas would reduce the number of single use plastic bottles being sold.
Great idea. I have my doubts that the Big Water Lobby would allow it though.
Didn't Bristol put in free water fountains all around the city centre?
Unfortunately, they finished the project just before Covid hit and everyone became afraid of touching anything out in public without bleach spray and rubber gloves...
(Mind you, even before Covid, you wouldn't get me using the one in Broadmead that the interesting folks who hang around outside the mini Tesco's used as a "litter" bin...).
I'm sure the water companies would not mind as long as someone was paying for the water.
I think metered water is about £1.30 per cubic meter in Bristol or 7.7 litres for a penny. Remember that the next time you buy bottled water for a pound. a pennys worth of water and 99p for the plastic + the inefficiency of transporting full bottles to the consumer.
This app shows places that will happily refill your water bottle for free - I can't vouch for how many places will have signed up for it on your routes but it works pretty well.
https://www.refillapp.com
Quite useful, but I'd prefer taps outside which are available 24 hours per day, rather than business which are open some of the time. Taps which spring closed will prevent water wastage by people leaving them on.
Weirdly, after this conversation, I just heard today that 100 new water fountains have been opened in London. They're supposed to be in busy and accessible places, so possibly aimed at people on foot but it's a start at least. I'm off now to top mine up at the Oval tube and see what they're like.
sounds like good progress, as long as you can get the water into a bidon, and it doesn't just trickle out so you can only get a mouthfull with you face an inch from the plumbing.
Well the one at Oval was covered up - it didn't say why - so I didn't get to try it anyway. But yes, they're designed to fill bottles from above, to reduce single-use plastic waste, rather than let someone stick their gob on it during a pandemic. So the idea is good even if I didn't get to use one today. A pub a few hunded metres away filled me up and threw in a few ice cubes for good measure.
I understand it's standard in London for infrastructure that benefits cyclist to be removed quite soon after being installed. So presumably there were many vociferous complaints about the hazards these water fountains caused to inattentive car drivers, and that there would be an increase in pollution.
Well after a while the water fountains might leak, causing the area around to get slippery and dangerous - much better to remove them straight away. A sort of pre-emptive hazard removal.
"aimed at people on foot"? - well hopefully not aimed at cyclists. I get wet enough as it is
"in respect of cycle lanes which are continuing to cause a huge amount of local concern and distress amongst the public."...
-_-
Living in the Netherlands I see this everywhere. We have so many freaking bike lanes and the societal fabric is only just barely holding together. Some Dutch folk are even using recreational drugs in order to deal with the situation.
Look, we're proud of our national heritage of driving everywhere and drinking to excess (and sometimes both at the same time though that is frowned upon). The last thing we want is clean, cheap and effective transport and we need to keep our brains pickled in alcohol to keep us thinking in a purely tribal manner - we don't want your devil's lettuce opening us up to foreign ideas.
And another thing, the Netherlands numbers bike paths. Motorists are really scared of this - its bad enough have main highways numbered, but suburban roads will all have to be numbered to conform to the Dutch system. Imagine trying to find your mum's place at 36 route 7.
I love the idea that cycle lanes cause distress!
I suppose this is actually the case for many people, and it's why they are so irrational in their hatred of them. The old world order is being upset, one bike lane at a time!
We Don't Want No Cycle Paths Here https://t.co/WQqYYLXvZs
Maybe they're getting cycle paths and psychopaths mixed up!
Are these magic benches that transport you from A to B simply by saying the magic word? Do you need to buy a ticket to use them?
I thought you use floo powder; and no the seats are for those who get tired half way through walking to and from the bus stop. Maybe more bus stops would be a better option, so commuters don't have to walk so far. Of course a modern seating style would have the drinking fountain built-in, not to mention a weather shelter as well, and stick up a pole to alert people to their presence - oh wait a minute, that is a bus shelter.
Useful when rolling home from the pub though.
A civilised society might make way for both... especially one where people are getting both older and fatter. Perhaps they could put some toilets up too as we become more incontinent! Indeed, its a pity there's no similar invention to deal with the mentally incontinent... apart from town councils, it seems.
So he's in favour of seats that go nowhere, but opposed to bikes because they allow you to sit for your entire journey?
Plus moronic trolls could hide under them and pop out to annoy people with their tedious and risible opinions.
Excellent comeback, not seen that since primary school, "You are but what am I?"
Nige is back on the normal distraction from the point technique.
Opposition to cycling infrastructure, let's talk about E-Bikes instead.
Transparent once more.
I think he's simply misunderstood what it means to get a seat on the council.
Why don't we get rid of the roads, and replace them with benches too? That way people can stop to rest every few miles.
Finally someone with the "initiative and forward thinking" to install some benches!
Sir (?) Ron has unwittingly pointed out the need for cycle lanes (but he's too stupid to realise). If people need a rest on a bench (honourable exceptions aside) on the way to a bus stop, they really do need to think about their nactive way of life and consider a more active one.
or else the bus stops are too far apart, and they need to consider wether their public transport system meets the needs of residents.
While you didn't say which party he belonged to, it was 100:1 he was a tory, and so it proved. It is quite clear that he hasn't got the first idea about transport, he just knows he hates cyclists, so will say and do anything to obstruct any possible benefit the council might be considering for them.
Not entirely controversy-free either "Huge row as Tory's motion about adult social care dubbed 'brain dead'. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/huge-row-torys-motio...
But he's definitely gammon, maybe past his prime, but his experience makes up for it.
Pages