More than 100 Tunbridge Wells cyclists staged a ‘die-in’ style protest on Wednesday, stopping traffic in Mount Pleasant. The protest was an effort to encourage the town to give greater priority to cyclists and pedestrians.
Die-ins are often staged by cycle campaigners to draw attention to unnecessary road deaths. The Stop Killing Cyclists group has arranged a number of them in London, for example. In this instance, the move was a nod to Amsterdam cycle campaigners of the 1970s who made use of such a ploy to drive a change in attitude which has seen vast improvements in cycle infrastructure in the Netherlands in subsequent decades.
More than 100 people are reported to have turned out in Tunbridge Wells, including children on their Easter school break. Paul Mason, from Tunbridge Wells Bicycle Users Group (TWBUG), told the Kent and Sussex Courier that the protesters were keen to see a number of major changes to encourage cycling in the town.
"What we are really calling for is a radical new approach to the whole thing, but it is not a war on drivers. What we are looking for in Tunbridge Wells, there is no single silver bullet. We want the existing cycle paths improved; it is a whole series of things which could be done. Some of these things have been done in other parts of the country, such as Brighton and Bristol.
“For it to work, it all has to be a continuous network. We are calling for Tunbridge Wells to be remodelled – that way it serves as a brilliant example. Tunbridge Wells and other places in Britain need to be looking to Holland as best practice."
TWBUG is keen to see a 20mph speed limit across the town, segregated cycle lanes and far more children cycling to school. The group estimates that currently only 0.5 per cent of children are doing so. In comparison, around 20 per cent of the 7,000 children attending schools in St John's Road are travelling by car.
Recent data released by the Office of National Statistics showed that in 2011 only 643 residents in the borough of Tunbridge Wells cycled to work. Not only is this a strikingly small proportion in an area with a population of around 115,000, but it also represents just a four per cent increase from ten years previously, when 616 did.
Yep. I reckon they just need their bluff called if they're doing anything other than just warning you about the language.
Nobody should get too surprised by the comments on that Finchhamstead new road layout. Comments on any topic of local interest are invariably at...
hawkinspeter, I totally agree with your observation when discussing helmets in the public media - which may make people decide against using a bike...
The port is in the middle of the top tube, many frames have this hole as it's also where a Shimano Di2 EW-RS910 junction A could go instead of the...
The bike hangars in Bristol and other places have no chevrons. Also, the ones on skips and lorries are red and yellow, these look red and white.
Can someone explain why this is even being proposed (does it end at the big roundabout?) when the Bearsway is right there begging to connect to...
Shouldnt this say - after forcing Stages into bankruptcy, waiting 9 months for the products to die, Giant has bought the remaining distressed...
I have been buying Rapha for 20 years. The 'urban' stuff rather than the road stuff. And it's very good and it looks good. I do think the quality...
And looks like the wrong type of racks in the shed...
The bikes may be good, but their after sales support is terrible. Maybe their financials are weak, after the post pandemic slump in sales, but...