Contra-flow cycling works just fine

The Postbag page is always a good read and for me the highlight last week was the long and thoughtful Green Party assessment of the Clarendon Arcade. I hope the Arcade’s supporters read this more than once and think about the wider issues raised. What we don’t need in Leamington is another bleak temple to corporate greed and tunnel vision.

On the other hand the much shorter letter about cycle access to Tavistock Street, at the back of Tesco, managed to be wrong in all respects! Tavistock is still a two-way road even though drivers can’t enter from Clarendon Avenue. The provision for cycle access means bike riders are not disadvantaged by a scheme introduced only to benefit car users. Unless traffic speeds increase I can’t see that this provision increases the risk of collision.

Contra-flow cycling in genuine one-way streets is only slightly different. This is widespread in our European neighbours, whether formally permitted or not, and in my experience it works fine. These back streets with low traffic speeds are much safer than the wider faster roads and roundabouts that cycle riders otherwise have to use. The Government has relaxed the conditions for introducing contra-flow cycling so that it is now easier, and cheaper, for the council to introduce. I would urge them to make full use of the new rules and open up the one-ways to cycle users.

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The cost of car driving, to the users and the planet, is going to get worse. More cycling is part of the answer and councilors could make a difference even in these cash limited times. - Andy Patrick, Lillington Close, Leamington.