Now, if I believed that a cycle lane had the potential to cause collisions between cyclists and pedestrians, I probably wouldn’t then block half of it with barriers, but that’s just me.

The landlord of a Harrogate pub located on the new Otley Road bike path, however, has done just that, with ad-laden barriers now protruding into the lane like it’s the finishing straight of a small Belgian one-day race.

The new cycleway on the Otley Road, which at points morphs into a shared path with pedestrians, has been somewhat controversial since funding was secured in 2017, with complaints focusing on the potential dangers for walkers and the narrowness of the path in certain areas.

Last month, the Harrogate Residents Association (link is external) wrote to North Yorkshire County Council to argue that the new route is “very dangerous and there could be an accident”.

“The creation of these paths has been hugely expensive and disruptive. Now, all pedestrians of differing ages and disabilities have to share the path with cyclists and electrics scooters,” the letter said.

In January, Charlie Tinker – the owner of the aforementioned pub – said that the shared path was a “disaster waiting to happen” (link is external) as cyclists would come down the hill past his establishment “at speed”, and that the council’s apparent refusal to address the issue “absolutely stinks”.

While many local cyclists have agreed with criticisms of the path, including its narrowness, Tinker’s decision to place barriers outside his business (reportedly to act as a refuge from flying cyclists for punters as they leave the pub) has been criticised by one Twitter user for restricting “possibly one of the few sections that was wide enough”:

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-14-march-2022-291043#live-blog-item-32457

On 14/03/2022 11:39, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> The new cycleway on the Otley Road, which at points morphs into a shared path with pedestrians, has been somewhat controversial since funding was secured in 2017, with complaints focusing on the potential dangers for walkers and the narrowness of the path in certain areas.

Obviously, a collision waiting to happen.

--
Spike

On 14/03/2022 11:39 am, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:

> Now, if I believed that a fairy-cycle lane had the potential to cause collisions between fairy-cyclists and normal people on foot, I probably wouldn’t then block half of it with barriers, but that’s just me.
>
> The landlord of a Harrogate pub located on the new Otley Road bike path, however, has done just that, with ad-laden barriers now protruding into the lane like it’s the finishing straight of a small Belgian one-day race.
>
> The new fairy-cycleway on the Otley Road, which at points morphs into a shared path with normal people on foot, has been somewhat controversial since funding was secured in 2017, with complaints focusing on the potential dangers for walkers and the narrowness of the path in certain areas.
>
> Last month, the Harrogate Residents Association (link is external) wrote to North Yorkshire County Council to argue that the new route is “very dangerous and there could be an accident”.
>
> “The creation of these paths has been hugely expensive and disruptive. Now, all normal people of differing ages and disabilities have to share the path with fairy-cyclists and electrics scooters,” the letter said.
>
> In January, Charlie Tinker – the owner of the aforementioned pub – said that the shared path was a “disaster waiting to happen” (link is external) as fairy-cyclists would come down the hill past his establishment “at speed”, and that the council’s apparent refusal to address the issue “absolutely stinks”.
>
> While many local fairy-cyclists have agreed with criticisms of the path, including its narrowness, Tinker’s decision to place barriers outside his business (reportedly to act as a refuge from flying fairy-cyclists for punters as they leave the pub) has been criticised by one Twitter user for restricting “possibly one of the few sections that was wide enough”:
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-14-march-2022-291043#live-blog-item-32457

Fairy-cycles should be on the carriageway. Not on the footway.

On Monday, March 14, 2022 at 11:39:52 AM UTC, swldx...@gmail.com wrote:
Jogle replied to open_roads | 76 posts | 38 min ago
2 likes

open_roads wrote:

I'm with the landlord on this one.

Constructing a bike path right outside doors that open on to it creates a hazard for cyclists and pedestrians.

The fencing in the picture has been installed to give a safety box immediately outside the doorway - you see the same arrangement at stations and in warehouses where there is a risk of vehicles coming into conflict with pedestrians.

The council should have removed 3-4 parking spaces (shock horror / insert incredulity in this space) and then moved the bike path further away from the pub door.

I'm pretty sure that the landlord would not have been supportive of the parking spaces being removed. Where else would they park their PT Cruiser?
>
> https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-14-march-2022-291043#live-blog-item-32457

Here is the site:

https://cdn.road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/otley-road-16-dec-21-1.jpg