DEAR Editor – I note with sadness that, after the Worcester News reported police calls to give cyclists more room when overtaking, that some members of the public just show resentment for their fellow road users.
One comment I saw on social media even suggested that they would give cyclists ‘a little nudge’.
In addition, recently, Worcester City Council has taken great pains to clamp down on alleged anti-social cycling using PSPOs.
Although while I have heard anecdotal evidence of such, though I haven’t witnessed any real evidence of it myself.
Given all of this, I grow more and more concerned that cyclists are becoming marginalised in Worcester.
Furthermore, I grow concerned that some individuals may take it upon themselves to target cyclists with aggressive road use, leading to more dangerous situations.
Cyclists have every right to use our roads, and rule 64 of the highway code states that you must not cycle on pavements. But if the police have to put a call-out like this, then surely there is a clear safety risk.
Given all of this, there has to be a clear case for county councillors and officers, in charge of highways and paving, to look harder at creating more cycle paths in order to give pedestrians, cyclists and other road users clearer spaces to avoid one another.
Expanding our cycling infrastructure could not only help improve safety, but help to encourage people to use bikes and e-bikes more as an alternative to journeys undertaken with other vehicles on our already congested, busy roads.
Steve Mather
Worcester
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