Opinion is always divided (From Bournemouth Echo)

Opinion is always divided

11:02am Monday 25th January 2010 in

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THERE'S a news article out at the moment saying that people in Dorset are being asked where they want new cycling routes to be built.

Dorset County Council wants to encourage residents to cycle more often and is trying to map out a safe and easy cycle network across the county.

The deadline for suggestions is 26th February, however it would seem that someone isn't very keen for opinions to be submitted as you have to do quite a lot of searching to find out where to actually make yourself heard.

I have gone to the effort of finding out, so if you do want to submit your suggestions follow this link: http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=394777

Good luck if you do go to the link as it's not exactly an easy tool to use either!

I'm all for people having their say when it comes to new schemes, did you know that in Bournemouth & Poole there is a group who represents the views of cyclists when it comes to new road schemes and developments?

This group is generally invited to consultation meetings on new road and cycling schemes and are asked for their views and opinions.

The group is made up of local cyclists from different backgrounds and repesentatives from groups like the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) and Agenda21 who are a group that aims to encourage and develop a local sustainable community.

However, there is one big problem with consultation groups, you do tend to get the same number of opinions as there are people in the group!

Having attended some of these meetings, I'm always amazed at the criticism that is aimed at those people planning the new schemes who are just trying to do the best for everyone and come up with a level of comprimise to satisfy all road users.

There always seems to be a few people who are so blinkered and single minded that if their view isn't seen to be correct then the scheme is a failure, comprimise seems to be a difficult thing for them to understand.

Any new road scheme has to be a comprimise and the new cycle lanes on Sandbanks Road in Poole are a good example of this.

As a cyclists who uses that particular road several times a week, I can't say that the lanes are pefect but they have reduced traffic speed and the number of accidents on this route, so surely they must be a success?

There are one or two bits that I particularly don't like:

Heading towards Sandbanks there is one area when the cycle lane is on the outside of parking space and cyclists are forced into the middle of the road.

In both directions near the shops and petrol station at Lilliput there are two "pinch points" with traffic islands in the middle of the road. At these points the lane for motor vehicles narrows and cars etc are intended to slow and allow cyclists to have priority, however as a cyclist you are regularly skimmed by cars unless you are assertive and adjust your road position to ensure that no-one tries to squeeze past.

It's been said before, but until the general motoring community realise that they share the roads with other users, slow down and have some respect for other people, cycling on the road will continue to be an "extreme" sport!

Personally I prefer my adrenaline buzz to not be related to near death experiences!