Karl McCracken to speak at Darlington Cycling Campaign (From The Northern Echo)
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Karl McCracken to speak at Darlington Cycling Campaign
12:35pm Wednesday 17th March 2010 in
A LEADING cycling campaigner will be the guest speaker at town group's second open lecture event of the season.
Karl McCracken will give an illustrated talk about raising the profile of cycling at a Darlington Cycling Campaign event on Friday, March 19.
His talk will be entitled "What's needed to make riding a part of the transport rather than the sports and leisure agenda".
It will also include an open forum with people encouraged to ask questions and give their own opinions.
Mr McCracken has recently warned cyclists about the dangers of pinch points on roads and the hazards they pose to their cyclists.
As a result campaign member Mike McTimoney has blogged on the campaign's blog site about similar problems in Darlington.
Using Google maps and new Street View service, he has highlighted just three problems caused with pedestrian refuges in Haughton Road, Darlington.
Mr McCraken's talk is being held at Darlington Arts Centre's media workshop on Friday, at 7.30pm. Entry is free and open to all.
Comments(48)
miketually
says...
9:24am Thu 18 Mar 10
grandmab
says...
11:56pm Fri 19 Mar 10
BMD
says...
8:03am Sat 20 Mar 10
A 27-year-old cyclist has been arrested after the death of a tourist who was knocked down by a pedal bike in London.
Scotland Yard said the man was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and bailed.
Marian Anderson, 56, from Denmark, was hit while crossing a road in Camden on 21 February. She died in hospital from head injuries on 1 March.
Police said she was with her daughter, who is in her mid-20s, at the time. The cyclist involved stopped at the scene.
The incident happened in Lidlington Place, at the junction with Eversholt Street.
Cyclist arrest after Camden tourist death.
Ms Anderson was taken by ambulance to University College Hospital before being moved to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, where she later died.
The man was arrested on Friday after attending a police station in central London, Metropolitan Police officers said.
The arrest was on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter by recklessness and negligence.
He was bailed until a date in May pending further inquiries.
I think raising the profile of cycling accidents in the town centre should be a priority
miketually
says...
8:17am Sat 20 Mar 10
uk/1/hi/england/lond
on/8577612.stm)
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I'm not sure what your point is though? From the article, it sounds like the incident happened on a road. We'll have to wait until the legal process is complete before we know what actually happened.
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Shall I copy and paste all the news articles about people being killed by cars, buses, trucks and pedestrians?
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I would welcome all accidents in the town centre having their profile raised, because I know how many there have been and their cause. What that has to do with poor road design, which is what the article mentions, I don't know.
BMD
says...
1:47pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Road design is not mentioned in the article.
But surely if this can happen on the roads, you can’t expect it to be safe for cyclists to be riding on the pavement.
miketually
says...
3:50pm Sat 20 Mar 10
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Because a pedestrian was killed by a cyclist on the road, you think we should look at accidents involving bikes in the town centre? (They are already being looked at, by the way, and have been for the last couple of years.)
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By the same logic, should we ban cars from urban roads if there's one death on a motorway?
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Do you know what the best way of getting bikes off pavements would be? To build some proper infrastructure for bikes, by taking space away from cars.
Laird
says...
4:29pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Are the 80 bikes which the council have bought going to be hired out to both male and female residents?
Is there a website on this subject anywhere?
BMD
says...
6:33pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Let’s get into the 21st century; cycling is now considered a leisure activity, that’s why there is NO tax to be paid on its use.
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Motor vehicles are a necessity for people’s hectic life-styles, Road tax is collected from each motor vehicle and this tax is distributed to the NHS, road maintenance and even cycle path construction.
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Hopefully now you may well see the benefit of motorized transportation.
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The point of view I am trying to discuss is cycling is not permitted on the pavements when entering Darlington town centre, but upon arrival in the pedestrian heart project this rule is changed. Therefore would it not be advisable to erect warning signs to the pedestrians to the cycling hazard.
Super steve
says...
6:51pm Sat 20 Mar 10
Just this afternoon I watch a bus have to do an emergency stop near the science labs at Durham Uni. Two cyclists just should off the pavement and cut in front of the bus as it turned right at the traffic lights.
If we are ( rightly) to give cyclists respect and consideration as all other road users then they must be governed and registered the same way as all other road vehicles. Taxed, Insured, Registered and preferably illuminated.
miketually
says...
8:29am Sun 21 Mar 10
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Nick, cars are allocated far more space on urban roads than they need. Why do they deserve so much more space than pedestrians and cyclists? Recently, the number of trips made by car in Darlington fell by 10% and cycle trips increased by 79%; should some road space not be reallocated to take account of this shift?
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BMD, now that we are in the 21st century, should we not start to move away from the 20th century transport system, based upon low-occupancy motor vehicles?
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We could have some big, blue rectangles with white bikes painted upon them at the end of every street in the town centre from which motor vehicles are banned between 10am and 5pm but bikes still have access. Would that be enough?
Steve, I wonder at what level insurance companies would set the premium? Of the almost 30,000 people killed or seriously injured in Britain's roads each year, what percentage are caused by bikes? That would be a good starting point for setting premiums, do you think?
Laird
says...
9:53am Sun 21 Mar 10
are men going to be allowed to rent the bikes?
miketually
says...
10:51am Sun 21 Mar 10
BMD
says...
11:47am Sun 21 Mar 10
May I suggest a Big RED triangle with a Black Bicycle painted on it, with the words underneath:- Beware Cyclists on a Pedestrian Highway.
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After all Bikes can KILL!
miketually
says...
12:15pm Sun 21 Mar 10
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The town centre is not a pedestrian highway, whatever one of those is. It is a series of roads from which motorised vehicles are sometimes restricted from entering.
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You can have the big red warning triangles when cars have to have a man with a red flag walking in front of them again.
Laird
says...
12:28pm Sun 21 Mar 10
Can my Father rent one? Or are they just for the Ladies?
*shakes head slowly*
says...
1:23pm Sun 21 Mar 10
LOLLL@big pink-laced contributions!!!!
Laird
says...
1:32pm Sun 21 Mar 10
Why don't you do us all a favour and go take your face for a sh*t
LOLLLLLLLL - not!
BMD
says...
5:32pm Sun 21 Mar 10
You stated earlier that motorized vehicles are prevented from using the Pedestrian area between 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M.
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It has been proven that bikes are as capable of killing a pedestrian as much as a car can.
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Therefore you must agree, it would be sensible and less of a liability for the Council to enforce the Pedestrian heart project a cycle free zone between the above times.
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After all, how long would it take a cyclist to walk his bicycle through this area. Plus this would prove which cyclists are community spirited.
*shakes head slowly*
says...
5:46pm Sun 21 Mar 10
!
Laird
says...
6:13pm Sun 21 Mar 10
I am a cyclist myself SHS, not on the scale of Mike though.
Still, no-one has answered the question on whether the bikes are on hire to females only.
miketually
says...
6:42pm Sun 21 Mar 10
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All the bikes are "women's" bikes, but I rode one quite happily for a month.
BMD
says...
6:43pm Sun 21 Mar 10
In the town centre on a weekend, the Bikes for hire are the females.
miketually
says...
6:46pm Sun 21 Mar 10
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The question of whether bikes should be allowed in the "Pedestrian Heart" has been looked at and a decision reached.
BMD
says...
7:01pm Sun 21 Mar 10
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Will Darlington Council be liable if somebody is seriously injured by a cyclist, after all no cyclist is insured and there are no warning signs to alert the pedestrians! or will it be a civil matter?
miketually
says...
9:19am Mon 22 Mar 10
The decision to allow cyclists to continue to use the roads, as they did before they were closed to motor vehicles, followed DFT guidance and is probably one of the most scrutinised and debated decisions that the Council has made.
Liability will be exactly the same as any other road traffic accident. Did you ever think that there's a reason that cyclists are not required to be insured but drivers are? (In fact, there are a few hundred thousand reasons each year.)
BMD
says...
11:41am Mon 22 Mar 10
I must take it from your answers, that your only priority is your own self interest.
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You have stated that you are an Assertive / Aggressive cyclist, whom has no consideration for other road user's, you are unable to even acknowledge the fact cyclists can pose a danger to pedestrians, you declined to answer the community spirited question and you are not prepared to dismount your bicycle to walk a maximum of 5 minutes to cross the Pedestrian heart scheme.
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I only hope you never have an accident with a pedestrian, pensioner, or a disabled person.
You could seriously injury or even kill someone.
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But then you could use the excuse that it was the motorized vehicle owners fault for not giving you your own cycle lane.
miketually
says...
12:10pm Mon 22 Mar 10
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I have stated that I am an assertive (not aggressive) cyclist who takes the primary road position when approaching dangerous points on the road, as recommended by the HMSO-published Cyclecraft and by the Institute of Advanced Motorists.
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I have acknowledged that cyclists pose a danger to pedestrians, but have stated that this is many orders of magnitude smaller than the various dangers posed by motorised vehicles and therefore insurance is not needed.
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I'm not sure to what "community spirited question" you think I'm not providing an answer.
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The issue of cycling in the town centre has been discussed at length.
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If cyclists were required to walk through the town centre, they wouldn't. The (few) 'dangerous' cyclists would continue to ride there. Some would give up on cycling and revert to driving, which poses a greater over all risk to pedestrians. Most would ride on the ring road, which is the most dangerous place in the town for cyclists and where there have been serious injuries in the last few years.
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I also hope that I never have an accident with a pedestrian, pensioner or a disabled person, and I don't intend to do so. Firstly, because I'd not ever want to hurt someone. Secondly, because it's highly likely that such an accident would result in harm to myself; something that is not a consideration for anyone safely cocooned in their metal box.
Mordillo
says...
1:26pm Mon 22 Mar 10
melwilson
says...
1:31pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Mordillo
says...
1:34pm Mon 22 Mar 10
melwilson
says...
1:37pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Mordillo
says...
1:54pm Mon 22 Mar 10
atomheartfather
says...
2:18pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Ah the joys of online discussion about cycling in Darlington.
BMD wrote:
Mike,
Let’s get into the 21st century; cycling is now considered a leisure activity,
Er, if you examine transport policy trends throughout the developed world, I'm afraid cycling is 21st century, motoring, especially in towns and cities, is 20th.
Laird wrote:
Mike,
Are the 80 bikes which the council have bought going to be hired out to both male and female residents?
Why are some posters so casual with their reading of the news? Ah yes, Darlington. Small town. Council does EVERYTHING here. The funds have been raised by the voluntary sector, from the bike industry.
BMD wrote:
The mistakes this Council have made, does not reassure me that the decision is correct.
So how far back should we go with these mistakes? The building of the inner ring road?
The reason cycling is a 21st century form of transport is that it can solve many of the wider problems generated by car-centric transport policies. Can we please raise the level of debate above the small town "a cyclist MIGHT hurt an old lady" pettiness, and consider for a second the longer-term implications of, say, preferring a parking space for our car outside our house to making our street safe for our children to play in?
miketually
says...
2:27pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Mordillo
says...
4:56pm Mon 22 Mar 10
miketually
says...
4:59pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Mordillo
says...
5:13pm Mon 22 Mar 10
It is not speed limits that need to be reduced it's the standard of driving which needs to be looked at and pedestrian education, when was the last time you saw the green cross code or anything similar advertised on the TV?
Both these will massively reduce road casualities.
miketually
says...
5:21pm Mon 22 Mar 10
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All primary school children now get pedestrian training, which is way more effective than a sub-superhero, hedgehog or squirrel telling them to stop look and listen.
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However, kids do stupid things sometimes and having cars driving slower means they're less likely to be hit and less likely to be killed if they are hit.
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Is there any evidence that lower speed limits increases congestion? if it encouraged people to walk or cycle instead of drive, there would be fewer cars on the road...
miketually
says...
5:21pm Mon 22 Mar 10
BMD
says...
7:00pm Mon 22 Mar 10
Mike,
I am sorry but your comments don’t add up, the "aggressive" tag was labeled with a smiley face, therefore a reasonable conclusion that this comment was tongue in cheek.
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I note you agree that cyclists do pose a danger to pedestrians, but fortunately as you stated there is no motorized vehicles in the pedestrian areas between the times of 10 A.M. and 5 P.M. unlike cyclists.
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The "Community spirited" question relates to cyclists dismounting there bicycles and joining there fellow citizens and walking through the pedestrian areas.
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I am sure the dismounting bicycles for a short walk, would not discourage people from cycling. It would be easier to police and CCTV would be able to identify the culprits (They could even publish there face's in the Town Crier.) There is at great expense a cycle path around the ring road system and the areas that there isn’t a unconfident cyclist could dismount and walk on the pavement.
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Just to put the record straight, I am a leisure cyclist, I prefer to walk into the town centre or catch a bus if its raining. I do drive a car but only when I have heavy goods to pick up and 90% of the time when I need to drive I shop at Teesside park, less congestion plus free parking.
miketually
says...
7:59pm Mon 22 Mar 10
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Cyclists pose a pretty small danger to pedestrians, which is why they're not barred from the town centre.
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Cars pose a bigger danger to cyclists.
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A cyclist on the ring road is more likely to be seriously injured by a car than than they are to injure a pedestrian in the town centre.
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Human nature says that those cyclists not put off cycling altogether by a ban in the centre would ride around the ring road rather than dismounting to walk through. A ban would lead to more injuries.
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There have been several cyclists knocked off their bike on the Parkgate roundabout. Why will car drivers not do the community-spirited thing and get from one side of the town to the other by driving around the bypass, which has been built at great expense?
Brian Vigurs
says...
8:22am Thu 25 Mar 10
Pro cycling – Pro car – Pro pedestrian you name it!
I use a cycle whenever possible, but also do around 80,000 miles a year by car, mainly for work.
I’ve seen bad drivers, bad cyclists and bad pedestrians.
Slagging each other off will not improve the situation of cycle versa car versa pedestrian.
Non of the above “owns” the road, though road tax payers may well disagree (for which I have my sympathies), but each user must respect the other by showing tolerance, patience and courtesy.
The roads would be a far better and safer place for all.
miketually
says...
9:24am Thu 25 Mar 10
Nobody has paid road tax since 1937...
Brian Vigurs
says...
11:13am Thu 25 Mar 10
miketually
says...
11:39am Thu 25 Mar 10
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It's a tax on the ownership of motor vehicles. It's not a tax to pay for the roads.
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Churchill was worried that if one group of users were "paying for the roads" they would resent the other users. It seems that he was right :)
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Everyone who pays any sort of tax pays for the roads.
Brian Vigurs
says...
1:19pm Thu 25 Mar 10
Me thinks you have to much time on your hands!
miketually
says...
2:31pm Thu 25 Mar 10
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It's an important point though. Nobody owns the road, and so everyone has equal right to access it safely.
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In fact, in law, the disabled, pedestrians and cyclists (in that order) have the most right.
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That's important to recognise when it comes to, for example, removing a protected right turn so that there's space for a proper cycle lane/path; replacing pinch point-causing pedestrian islands with full-width controlled crossings; or making some roads impermeable to motor vehicles.
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Laird says...
9:42pm Wed 17 Mar 10