Cyclists could enjoy traffic-free days on Cheddar Gorge as 80% back proposal... but opposition claim "people will be run over by bikes" and "Putin's election was fairer"

Did that wonderful man ride into you, or did he realise he was going to hit you and go around you?

(the whole junction thing really hasn't filtered out to the general public, I think - I still get nearly run over by motorists every time I exercise my priority…).

Last time I looked, the number of people put into wheelchairs in the first place by motorists was orders if magnitude greater thant that by cyclists.

Wheelywheelygood wrote:

We really need more Ron's on bikes like the wonderful man who rode straight at me yesterday whilst I was crossing the road at a junction in my wheelchair and therefore had priority under current legeslation .

I had exactly the same thing with a car yesterday, I was crossing the road on a zebra crossing and so had 100% priority but someone in their car drove directly at me. If they hadn't put on the brakes and stopped before they reached me it could've been very nasty.

Same thing happened to me the other day, a Tuesday I think it was. Nearly got knocked down by the Grimethorpe Colliery brass band. I had priority under current legislation but they just barged into me. They are such a nuisance round here, along with drum majorettes and Boys Brigade parades. It's a real nightmare. I'm thinking of staying in on Tuesdays.

David9694 wrote:

I'd like to see some car free Sunday day-times for the whole of Purbeck - that's everything from Corfe Caste to the coast and with wall to wall (vintage) buses running - check the 1965 timetable for a template. 

I'd like to see some car free  day-times for the whole of the UK.

People have all but forgotten what a nice place the world can be without cars.  They flock to Center Parcs and Snowdon, but never make the connection.  

Meanwhile, back in Dorset the public  consultation every bit as extensive as the one about the rise of mass car ownership has started:

Farmergiles2014: THRY CAN CLOSE WATWVER ROADS THEY WAT IF I HAVE TO VITSI A SICK ANIMAL ON SUNDAYI WILL AD THAY CAN THROW ME IN JALE IF THEY WANT 

David9694 : Have you thought this through?

"It's a lovely morning Fido, let's get your 20 foot lead out and I can watch that TED talk on my 'phone at the same time". Mate, your dog isn't stupid, it knows you aren't giving it your attention, "I mean thanks for the walkies and all but you still owe me."  

My experience is that dogs off lead are smart enough, and adequately aware of their surroundings to cooperate with other users of shared paths, including cyclists, providing there is enough space to start with, so there is room to go between the dog and the owner if required. A lot of those owners will keep an eye on where their dog is as they aren't reliant on a lead to do the work for them.

I have far more of a problem with the ones on leads, especially when a dog is fixated with walking by a wall, but the owner hasn't noticed and persists on walking on the other side without calling them to heel. This is an issue for pedestrians on pavements too.

Long leads come with the added bonus of not being sure where the trip hazard actually is, and too many owners who think simply holding onto one end fulfils their responsibilities.

There will be challenges to ensure the car free days at the Cheddar Gorge work, and it will require the different groups who will benefit to be thoughtful towards the needs of others. 

Tazwaz wrote:

Dogs running free, kids playing football etc will make ascending a ball ache let alone descending. Throw into the mix that pedestrians probably view cyclists with as much if not more disdain on shared paths as drivers do on the road...

But isn't that the council's stated aim?  They want to turn it into a huge and very picturesque shared space for that one day per month.

Like a shared cycle path means walking 6 abreast whilst staring at a mobile phone and walking a rabid pit bull on an extending lead.

Richmond Park was closed to cars for a few days during the 2012 Olympics. It was great and not dangerous at all.

RP is a very different place though - it's wide open space where pedestrians tend to spread out. Cheddar's Gorgeousness means everyone bar those with ropes and harnesses are concentrated along the bottom where the road is. And visibility around bends is limited.

I'd rather ride CG when it's open to all traffic (albeit at a quiet time). I'm looking forward to walking there when there are no cars and - ideally - no cyclists chasing PBs.

john_smith wrote:

Richmond Park was closed to cars for a few days during the 2012 Olympics. It was great and not dangerous at all.

It was also closed to cars for many days during the pandemic and some of it still is and I thoroughly agree that it was/is great. Unfortunately it did also show that such schemes need perhaps a little more signage and supervision as some cyclists went lashing through crowds of pedestrians as if they had a right because it was still a road, and some pedestrians wandered all over the road shouting at cyclists to slow down (even the slow ones like me) even in the areas where there is a very good wide, solid concrete footpath just a couple of yards to the side. I thought at the time, and did suggest it to Royal Parks but got no response, that a simple line down the middle of the road, cyclists one side, pedestrians the other, would have improved matters greatly.

There's clearly an increased risk on the downhill of a collision, so the question is how best that is managed. "Share with care" is a joint effort and a number are questioning how realistic it is to expect pedestrians of all ages and animals to make it work.

It's going to be closed to motor vehicles.
You still have a duty of care to anyone else using the road. If you want to be a spoilt child about then go another day.

Good luck with the dogs on extendable leads and dogs on no leads.
And for your information I am thinking of the consequences of even cycling down safely as I'm an adult. Perhaps you could think a bit more about the risks and mitigation instead of throwing our petulant insults

gazza_d wrote:

Enjoy the climb without some impatient mouth breather in an SUV all over your rear tyre wanting to be past

That right there would be the main advantage of the whole thing 

lesterama wrote:

They will need to manage this: either warn peds to keep out of the road (or even to stop, look and listen!) or have a speed limit for riders.

I can't see them warning pedestrians to keep out of the road, given the stated aims of closing the road to motor traffic in the first place, and I'm not sure how they'd enforce a speed limit.

I beg to differ - hideously short sight lines because the of rock faces and crappy tarmac make it way too dodgy. Use the Gorge as a climb, and descend Burrington instead!

lesterama wrote:

warn peds to keep out of the road

Really??