Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
Jan
You failed to mention the middle aged tatooed skate boarders.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
Then there's the issue of The Law. Anyone remember that one?
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
Are you having a 'larf' Peter.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,879
I have now given up on "The Law", anything that does not have the ability to get a parking or speeding ticket no longer bothers them.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
it was always against the law to cycle on the pavement then the last government enacted a new one but then did nothing to enforce it.
it goes without saying that the new administration will follow suit.
Ed is right we need to encourage cyclists, but I chime with Howard (they can't touch you for it...) - since I have been using a walking stick I have been almost toppled a few times by cyclists. If they actually contacted with my seriously painful knee I wouldn't be responsible for my actions, frankly.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the cyclist in the centre must have been in training for a cycle slalom event judging by the way she swerved swiftly through the shoppers yesterday.
the question here is, assuming that fines eventually get issued for illegal cycling, will there ee one for each rider or just one for the bike?
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the situation always gets worse in the school holidays.
the real speeders are too fast for me to get my camera out, here are the more serene ones.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Well, I never...
These are some of the sunniest, brightest and delightful pictures I have seen of Dover going about it's business.
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
Guest 673- Registered: 16 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,388
Yes, indeed. Howard should be congratulated for producing a series of photos which could almost be a manual promoting the peaceful coexistence of the cyclist and the pedestrian. The photos show kids frolicking, shoppers with their shopping in side carriers, a bloke on his way home from work with his stuff in a bag on his back, another bloke out for a jolly on an empty seafront, etc.
This is the way it should be. More people on bikes and less people in cars. Cyclists have to take their lives in their hands out in the road, particularly in Dover with all the trucks and cars passing through, mainly foreign. In my view, they should be actively encouraged to use the pavements and pedestrians advised that they are no longer entitled to monopoly rights.
The daft cycle lanes should be dispensed with and cyclists given free rein to use road and pavement at will, and encouraged to use both responsibly and with consideration for the motorists and pedestrians sharing their space.
For starters, I suggest that the pedestrian precinct be renamed the pedalestrian precinct.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
quite right the majority of head cases are out of sight before i can even get the camera out of my pocket.
Guest 710- Registered: 28 Feb 2011
- Posts: 6,950
Woah! Wait just one cotton-picking minute, Ed.
It can hardly be disputed that pedestrians are as unpredictable to cyclists as cyclists are to motorists and although the song has it as, "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail..." It will not do in the least for cyclists to transfer their fears of other road users to a fear in pedestrians of the cyclists themselves.
As with the old adage, "sail before steam" there must be a clear understanding that the slowest mover has right of way at all times.
With presently pedestrianised precincts it may be helpful for a central 'track' to be designated for the convenience of cyclists, but even here the priority MUST be given to the pedestrian.
Be sure also, that if any advance comes in the mixing of foot traffic and the cyclist the need for insurance cover will follow, as day follows night.
I would add...
That a bell on a bike signifies ONLY that "I am here" and not "Make way".
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
DT1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 15 Apr 2008
- Posts: 1,116
I really don't see a problem, I totally agree with Ed.
I have have never been hit by a bike in town and although having a few near misses generally find cyclists (as I am as a cyclist) very courteous.
What I do object to is the blatent disregard displayed by the users of mobility scooters. Again this cannot be said for all of this group but a large number would happily run you and your family down. I find it amazing that a group of people who are not even used to moving at the speed of a walking pedestrian (3 mph) should be entrusted to negotiate precincts at 20mph, generally whilst eating sausage rolls (Catch 22).
These are the real criminals!
A very dear friend of mine in her 90s was hitb y a cyclist on a pavement , shesustained a fractured hip became immobile , had to give up her home and independance move into care and died 9 months later , The damage a speeding cyclist can do to the infirm or vulnerable can be and is life shortening
Guest 673- Registered: 16 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,388
That is tragic, Sarah, and I do see the problem. A speeding motorist can also do damage to a cyclist or another motorist which is life shortening but nobody is proposing banning all motorists from the road. We simply have to learn to be considerate and co-exist.
It occurred to me to wonder what happened to the Segways which we were all supposed to be going to get about on a few years ago. Not good......
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315518/Segway-tycoon-Jimi-Heselden-dies-cliff-plunge-scooters.htmlPavements are currently for pedestrians , cyclists are not allowed or suposed to use them , just because they do does not make it right . Because damage can be caused by cyclists by cars does not give them the right to risk injury to pedestrians by using a space they are not allowed to . The action of the cyclist was not just "tragic" it was criminal .
Lets take your arguement a step further , why not enable cars to use the pavement when they can , Or for pedestrains to walk down the motorway , after all with a little bit of "consideration" Im sure that would be acceptable .
Jan Higgins- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,879
Well said Sarah
, some seem to forget that the pavements were designed for pedestrians not cyclists or mobility scooters for that matter.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 720- Registered: 20 Jul 2011
- Posts: 114
I think I am with Ed on this one. Sensible cyclists are not a problem, and I have often seen what are obviously holiday-making cyclists from other countries, such as Holland, pedalling slowly down through the precinct, probably because they think they can and it's what they do "back home". I wouldn't like to see them being given a ticket. It's those who pedal furiously through the precinct, weaving in and out of people, who cause the problem with no regard as to what could happen if an unsuspecting pedestrian should happen to step sideways just as they are about to pass. If I remember rightly, cycling has been banned in the past along Barton Path. Now it is to become part of the cycle way, I think. If people ride sensibly, there's no problem. And, dare I suggest, it's all very well taking photos of "offenders" and putting them on the forum, what about having a word with the cyclists at the time and pointing out the dangers. What's the worst that could happen - they might shout and swear at you, or they might just take a bit of notice. If more of us "had a word", or just stood in the way when they try to get past, the message might get through.
Guest 673- Registered: 16 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,388
I think we need to recognise that a lot of developments have taken place since the days when people walked everywhere and pavements were predominantly for pedestrians. The inventions of the bicycle, prams, baby buggies, mechanised sweepers, skateboards, mobility scooters, etc, etc, mean that pavements are now a shared space and pedestrians need to get used to it and keep their wits about them.
The world moves on, as Tom's quote re the old adage "sail before steam" demonstrates. This was coined in the old days when sailing ships dominated the seaways and steamships were a new invention. The movement of the sailing ships was dictated by the wind and the steamships were in a better position to avoid them than vice versa.
The reverse is true today. A giant tanker, containership, or whatever, is seriously constrained in its ability to manoeuvre by virtue of its deep draft. If it is approaching a port up a narrow fairway, any movement out of that fairway will result in it running aground. If a yacht is messing about in the fairway, it is up to the yacht to get out of the way and pronto. It happens all the time. The deep draft ship has nowhere else to go and the yacht is acquainted with that fact by continuous blasts on the ships whistle and broadcasts on the VHF. The Rules of the Road have been rewritten to reflect this reality.
