Locals furious after car-shaped bike rack replaces disabled parking bay, demanding "give us back our parking spaces"

Pollax wrote:

We're living in strange times right now where cycling is getting shoved down our throats every day for no good reason.

Ah, that'll be because you're going on *cycling sites* on the internet. Simply switch to the BBC or almost any other media and the problem will go away, except for the occasional negative take, like yours.

Pollax wrote:

The most obvious problem is that we don't have a good enough climate to allow for comfortable biking more than 6 months of the year

Presumably you're writing from Bahrain or maybe Minnesota? In such places people are reluctant to walk outdoors now, because it's so hot, or cold (although they got there in the first place somehow)?

Anyway, here in the UK (and indeed everywhere I've been in Europe) I see people walking throughout the year. So I'm pretty sure cycling isn't a problem "because weather".

https://cyclingfallacies.com/en/8/the-weather-isn%E2%80%99t-right

I'd say the most obvious problems are one you've identified ("living a normal life") and one other.

The first- we have made choices in our built environment which make cycling feel inconvenient and indeed unsafe to most. So it's a niche activity. And the normal media - outside of a few cycling corners - seems to delight in joining in either as you're doing (the majority are under attack! Being harassed somehow by a tiny minority!). Or portraying cyclists as at best weirdos.

The reason behind this? A choice to go all-in on mass motoring (to the detriment of alternatives - actually to the detriment of many things). Other countries show its possible (and more pleasant) to keep driving AND have alternatives.

Recent studies show that we actually aren't in the minority. Most people, 2/3, actually want better active travel opportunities. We just feel in the minority due to the information we are being fed.

I think it very much depends what we're talking about.  For "people now using cycling as part of their transport" it's a small percentage (nationally in the UK - a very small one).  For people honestly prepared to try with things more or less as now - also pretty small (probably saw the maximal version of that in the pandemic lock down).

Equally, we know from places where they've made it attractive (never mind "possible") that in fact the majority of people (just like us) can be happy adding cycling to their transport mix.

I would agree that - depending on how it is presented to people - we do seem to be broadly supportive of some active-travel-friendly things.  So e.g. kids being able to walk places, or being able to do so more safely).  We are certainly aware of the negatives of motoring e.g. people would be generally in favour of "nicer places", appreciate less road noise, certainly would like some green in the environment ...

BUT as e.g. Chris Boardman has noted we're very quick to back off when we feel we will lose something.  Particularly something that has literally become a part of our identity (well, our status / social position).  Whether it's "my" parking space, or "the main road is busier now" or "I can't take a cut-through so driving a short distance takes minutes longer".

You correctly note we're in a conflicted information environment now *.  Those objections (or just fears about negatives) are absolutely the meat and drink of politicians, the media, the (checks notes) (electric) car and tech-with-everything sellers etc. And they've been very effective at grabbing the popular discourse.

* Always been the case but perhaps it's the volume or speed with which this is circulating that is novel? I think there's probably more science (and more resources spent) in increasing the salience of or selling some ideas (or the reverse).

Pollax wrote:

and those who do are such a tiny insignificant minority for us to be wasting so much public money on at the expense of the vast majority who would prefer to carry on living a normal life. I don't understand why we are allowing those in power so much control over this. I sometimes cycle and the additional parking and ill thought out cycle lanes do not encourage me to try and cycle more.

The majority of people aren't children, or disabled, but we spend lots of money on them. Would you consider that a waste?

People in power allocating money to things that some people don't care for?

Respectfully, you don't seem to have thought this all through.

Keep cycling!

We're living in strange times right now where cycling is getting shoved down our throats every day for no good reason.
 

If only.  I am literally considering retiring from the UK to The Netherlands, 

David9694 wrote:

If only.  I am literally considering retiring from the UK to The Netherlands,

Good luck - have you seen the weather there? [1] [2].  And there's a reason they had all those windmills...

And what if you want to live a normal life?  Aren't you worried about being trapped in your homes? [3] [4]  If you have to drive to drive to e.g. the doctors' how on earth will you do that - surely it's impossible, or at least extremely inconvenient?

Actually I think the "Stop forcing your views on me" cartoon you posted on the Funnies thread is probably the best response.

I'm reminded of this one - live scene from Beccles - especially in the light of all the on street car parking. 
 

Pollax wrote:

... the vast majority who would prefer to carry on living a normal life.

This is an insightful observation. On the timescale of 300,000 years of H. sapens' existence our time is anything but normal. Over my lifetime the human population has gone from 3 billion to over 8 billion and on average each one of those 8 billion is using nearly 10 times the (non-renewable) resources. I'm not convinced that times are anywhere near 'normal'; new-normal maybe.

Agree. I am almost 60. I remember for much of my childhood nobody living on my street had a car. My father eventually got a motorbike, but we generally walked, all the shops were nearby, or took a bus. The road itself was a playground to us. All the children played together. Once cars started appearing it was as if the floodgates opened. We stopped playing on the road.
Our present time is not normal.

I think Reach.plc and all the other local news purveyors could save themselves and their readers a lot of bother if they turned it into one national publication with one headline that just reads: "Locals Furious".

Mpcleathero wrote:

Not sure why it needs to be a garish colour and can't be painted a more muted tone. 

It's obviously deliberately designed with the intention of catching the eye and making the point that 'just one car would have taken all this space'. Making it a muted colour would rather have defeated that purpose.

Whether that's actually an important design consideration for a bike rack in the first place is another question, but if you don't think it is, then why bother having the 'car' to start with?

I imagine the bright colour was to make them more noticeable. Except car drivers are obviously blind to anything outside of their vehicles. In my experience, where these bike racks have replaced a single parking space,I have noted they have all been hit and damaged then replaced or repaired several times before they are eventually removed. ( Most recently, Stevenage, Herts.)
Some drivers have zero observational/coordination skill.
🙄

Perhaps things would improve if more people like you stood for election. The chances of succeeding on an 'Active Travel' platform are not good. We get the Councillors we deserve.

IIRC eburtthebike from this parish has done just that, with success.  (Presumably they stood for various things - Green Party I think?)

chrisonabike wrote:

IIRC eburtthebike from this parish has done just that, with success.  (Presumably they stood for various things - Green Party I think?)

Yes, Greens, but trying to get anything actually positive done is proving beyond my meagre means.  Motornormativity is so totally ingrained here I'm nearing despair.

Hi @Bigtwin.  What an utterly negative comment.  I wonder what qualifies you to spout such hatred?  Isnt this simply a reflection of the way motornormatively inclined spout about us as cyclists?   Are you refering to Councillors or Officers?  Do you engage in civic life for your community?  Do you write positive communications to your own council/councils looking to guide the outcomes you receive for the money you invest in services? Have you considered a career in local government?  If you simply sit on the sidelines jeering into your social media platforms then you are just part of the problem.

Samtheeagle wrote:

Are you refering to Councillors or Officers?

Voters?

(Theyworkforus, and all that...)

Bigtwin wrote:

It's amazing how, the length and bredth of the land, Councils are run by complete and utter idiots. 

I'm on our local council and am always more than happy to argue in favour of pedestrianisation (which we're looking into) or charging for car parking (which we're bringing in soon) and to point out motonormativity whenever it rears its head. But as pointed out above, if you feel your councillors are inadequate in some way, why not stand for election yourself?

It's a spot that's considered the most secure for cycle parking, its directly covered by cctv that is on the ticket machine, well lit, and has the most footfall, or would you prefer it got stuck in the corner out of the way ?

They've already said they intend converting one of the other spaces in to a disabled spot, so what's the issue ?

In a more perfect world the replacement disabled bay would be installed first.

Likely comes from different budgets of money