Well, this is certainly one way to annoy people who ride bikes in your area…
Police in Lancashire have been roundly condemned online after what could best be described as a clumsily worded Facebook post warning cyclists against riding on pavements in the seaside town of Lytham St Annes and advising them – if they don’t feel safe cycling on the road – to “find another method of transport”.
The post from Fylde Police, shared yesterday afternoon by Officer Rowe, noted that that the force has apparently “been receiving an increase in complaints around cycling on the footpath in and around the St Anne’s area, including the town centre and all the way up to Heyhouses Lane, and we are concerned that someone is going to get seriously hurt as a result of this happening.”
The statement continued: “Please can we remind you that, if you choose to cycle on a footpath and not on the road, then you are in fact committing an offence (aside from shared footpaths, Clifton Drive North etc) which will be dealt with via a fixed penalty notice.
“If you don’t want to cycle on the road, then I suggest you find another method of transport.”
It’s fair to say that the advice hasn’t gone down too well with local cyclists, with some reaching for their calendars to check the date.
“Is this actually for real, or a joke?!!” asked an incredulous Graeme. “The path along Lytham prom is actually a SHARED PATH... supposedly! It’s not ideal for that, admittedly, because it’s narrow, but it IS a shared path, and part of National Cycle network 62.
“If this is a joke by Fylde Police then it’s not a very funny one... and April 1st was last month.”
Meanwhile, Gareth was suspicious about how the police came about their data, and accused the force of adopting an anti-cycling attitude.
“Can I ask for your actual stats on this as you say increased... how have you been monitoring this?” he asked. “And how have you correlated the actual evidence? It seems far-fetched at best and your post seems very anti-cycling rather than balanced in its nature.”
> Why do cyclists ride on the pavement? New study explores why
Others, meanwhile, astutely noted that perhaps Fylde Police would be better off exploring why so many cyclists don’t feel safe riding on the borough’s roads.
“It’s tricky this,” wrote Michael. “I agree hurtling at speed on the pavements is dangerous.
“Though as per the advice from Fylde police – should you not feel safe cycling on the road, then the PCSO suggests finding alternative transport – sadly it’s dangerous for cyclists on the road. So as per the advice – jump in your cars.
“Maybe a review by LCC and council to make the problem of dangerous roads a priority. As I say, I agree that speeding on a foot path is wrong, but a parent taking a young child out on a bike… I don’t believe that the majority of cyclists, particularly those with a young child, feel entitled. They and I feel the roads are just too dangerous [thanks to] speeding motorists.”
Gill added: “I have to cycle from St Annes to Whitehills Business Park for work and on, especially at the moment with the state of Queensway, have no choice but to cycle on the pavement.
“I am always very careful and I do stop if there are people walking on the pavement. I only wish car drivers were as thoughtful. I feel as though sometimes, especially on School Road, that some drivers go as fast and as close to me as they can just to frighten me.”
Finally, Rob offered a simple solution to the whole thing: “Build more cycle lanes instead of threatening folk!”
Remember how, over the course of the last year or so, activists opposed to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods have vowed to boot those responsible for them out at the next local election, and prove once and for all that LTNs are deeply unpopular?
I know it’s still early in the day, but let’s see how that plan is panning out so far:
A fascinating result for active travel folk:
Bath's Tory candidates made opposition to the city's Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) central to their campaign, but lost 8 seats, and pro-active travel Green @SaskiaHeijltjes was elected.
Maybe LTNs just aren't that controversial? https://t.co/4JUiB0Yi9v
— Jon Owen (@anotherJon) May 5, 2023
“We’ll vote them out,” to get rid of Jesmond’s LTNs, said the antis. How did that pan out? The anti-LTN candidates (Fish & Evison) got 5 percent of yesterday’s vote. #LocalElection2023 Labour holds. (Fish not local, but still part of Jesmond LTN protests.) pic.twitter.com/4cO8nvHBix
— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) May 5, 2023
Are you sure about this? I thought that the vast majority of people were just waiting for the opportunity to vote out the globalist local neighbourhood low traffic 15-minute metropolis fanatics. Perhaps they weren't allowed park their cars near enough to the polling stations.
— paul gannon (@paulgannonbike) May 5, 2023
Yes, that must be it…
A substantial and vocal portion of the cycling community appears to have been finally granted their wish, after all these years – Lance Armstrong has been sent packing to Mars.
But, before you all rush to your keyboards, this isn’t some new draconian punishment dreamed up by Travis Tygart during a particularly bad bout of the flu.
Instead, Big Tex, Mellow Johnny, Juan Pelota etc. will be taking part in a new reality TV series called ‘Stars on Mars’. Yes, you read that right.
‘So you know what I did then? I took a photo with all my yellow jerseys! That showed them…’
The imaginatively titled show, which is set to air in the US on Fox (where else?) in June, will feature a dozen celebrities (and disgraced former Tour de France winners, apparently) who will compete, while dressed in very snazzy spacesuits, to colonise a simulated version of the Red Planet. So far, so very American.
The crew members – who also include UFC and WWE star Ronda Rousey, Super Bowl winner Marshawn Lynch, Modern Family’s Ariel Winter, actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin!!!!), and some other people I’m not as familiar with – will receive their assignments on ‘Mars’ from none other than Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner.
Although, for some reason, the producers went with a Star Wars reference for the promo clip, shared by LA. Because space, I think…
Greetings from Mars. Doing well up here….for now. https://t.co/AzSH2bXju5
— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) May 5, 2023
Anyway, each week the celebrities will send one of their teammates “back to Earth”, before the “brightest star in the galaxy” is left. Let’s just hope that Lance doesn’t employ his old persuasion tactics to avoid being booted out again, eh?
> Why was Mark Cavendish riding with Lance Armstrong this week?
Most importantly, however – what’s Big George going to get up to when his buddy’s away on Mars?