Cycle Paths

As a cyclist, I am a big fan of cycle paths, they mean that I don’t have to worry about pesky cars trying to run me down, and generally keep pedestrians out of my way. This is of benefit as it means that I can get from A to B a lot quicker. The cycle path that runs between East Worthing and Shoreham, for example, is a very good piece of tarmac (with a minor exception at Lancing). In addition, it sticks to the beach, therefore providing a more scenic route, rather than going along the road between houses and shops.

However, there are a couple of things that I don’t understand… firstly the width of the things. They do not need to be as wide as they are when they are on the pavement. Often they will consume over half of the pavement, when there is always going to be more pedestrians than cyclists, and cyclists do not take up that much space.

Secondly, why does the council decide that the pavement is a good place to store things, and then force the pedestrians on to the cycle path? The above photo is a shot from Worthing beach taken on Friday 29th. Surely that is just a hazard more than anything?

Finally, there is the pointlessness of some of the paths that have been put in, that quite probably cost millions to put down! This photo shows one of many two/three metre cycle paths. I just fail to understand the point of this piece, why would I use it? Hmm, I’m sure that there is a reason somewhere here…

To conclude, cycle routes with paths equals good idea… Pointless short cycle paths equals bad bad idea!