‘Cycling Special’ – what about the law?

• I AM sure your Cycling Special, August 17, will have been welcomed by many.

What a pity that you missed a golden opportunity for the police and or a lawyer to lay out the law as it affects cyclists, whether the Highways Act 1835 or the Highway Code, or any other relevant instructions.

How many cyclists were fined for cycling on the pavement in the last year?

What does the borough commander recommend people should do if they want to report a cyclists for breaking the law?

It would have been marvellous to hear from the Mayor of London’s walking and cycling commissioner!

Pedestrians, especially those with impaired sight or hearing and those with children and pets, would have been interested in seeing what cyclists are expected to do in order to safeguard their interests.

A photograph of a cyclist speeding along the footpath, and of a cyclist breaking a red traffic light, would have showed that not all cycling is good. There are some pretty bad and dangerous cyclists on our roads and they need to be called out.

A picture of Lyme Terrace, Camden Town, one end of which still has a “cyclists dismount”
sign, the other long gone, with one of the frequent law-breaking cyclists terrorising pedestrians on that narrow footpath, would have been good.

What about cycling on the towpath of the Regent’s Canal? What are the relevant byelaws of the Canal & River Trust as they affect the towpath? What is the speed limit for cyclists on the towpath, if there is one?

The towpath has become a pretty dangerous place at rush-hour. What are the rules about cycles having bells, and what is recommended as the best way when speeding up behind a pedestrian ambling on the towpath?

In the eight-page supplement it would have been good to report on the dark side of cycling – it’s certainly not all good for pedestrians.

Nothing about the cycle hire companies and what they are doing about dumped bicycles on the footpath. What about the couriers whose cyclists are near the top of the list for breaking the law?

This supplement was written by cyclists for cyclists and not for the rest of the borough’s population.

It was a missed opportunity to show the non-cycling people of Camden, the vast majority, that while cycling is indeed a good way of exercising and travelling, of reducing one’s footprint on the planet, that the cabinet member for a sustainable Camden, and other authorities understand, and are dealing with, the business of cycling in a holistic way and not just from the viewpoint of the cyclist.

I look forward to a comparable feature on walking.

LESTER MAY
Reachview Close, NW1