On August 27, you printed an interesting letter from Jonathan Frascella on the subject of the dangers of cycling in the city.
He pointed out that the dangers are being increased because the police are cracking down on cyclists riding on pavements.
This is despite the fact that cyclists and pedestrians mix freely on most of the many paths and cycleways throughout the ci
ty.
His letter struck a chord with me, because I had just returned from a visit to Amsterdam where you get the feeling that everyone owns a bike and uses it on a daily basis. The results are that the streets in the city centre are almost traffic-free, the air is breathable and the city seems a very pleasant place to wander at will.
Small wonder millions visit the place every year. Could it be that with a small amount of effort and goodwill we could become the new Amsterdam? Or, if this is too ambitious, at least the new Cambridge.
In Amsterdam it is quite common for cyclists to share quite narrow streets and paths, and one thing those pedestrians new to Amsterdam need to learn is that they have some responsibility for the safety of themselves and others.
No cyclist sets out to run down pedestrians, after all it could be the cyclist that comes off worse in the encounter, but there is little or no danger of this happening if the walker walks in a straight line and takes a quick look over their shoulder if they are about to change direction.
This is as true in Amsterdam as it is in Ferry Meadows.
So what would make more people consider cycling into and out of the city centre? Well, for a start, if I cycle into the centre I do not expect to have to push my bike through two of the widest roads in the place.
Long Causeway and Bridge Street are wide enough to install two sets of tram tracks and still have room for a cycle path and all the pedestrians that would ever want to walk there. A pot of paint is all you would need to mark out a cycle path on one side of the Town Bridge, and on the very rare times it is crowded with pedestrians cyclists would simply have to dismount.
Finally, like your correspondent, I wonder why the police have suddenly taken an interest it this pavement riding crime wave.
The full article contains 421 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
