Keep danger off the pavements

Three years ago, as the Courier reported (July 9 and November 14, 2008), our next-door neighbour was seriously injured by a pavement cyclist who crashed into her as she stepped through her front gate. She had to have a major operation, spent three months in a wheelchair and was off work for even longer. Riding on pavements has become routine in recent years even though it is illegal and often dangerous. Cyclists constantly ride on the pavements in both directions on both sides of Radford Road outside our house, where the pavements are much used by pedestrians. Some of the cyclists travel very fast, some ride in pairs, some are on their mobile phones. They use the pavement even when there is almost no traffic of any kind on the road. When challenged, some are aggressive and many have no idea that it is illegal. The vast majority are men in their late teens to early 50s, not youngsters who might feel vulnerable on the road. The county council says it has no power to put up notices (like those about dog fouling) warning of the penalties for illegal pavement cycling. Following pressure from local residents and councillors, the South Leamington Safer Neighbourhood Team made a concerted effort on Radford Road in the summer of 2009, resulting in the issue of 51 warnings and nine fixed penalty notices in a single week, during which they were only present for a few hours. These figures convey a measure of the problem. The five warning notices they then put up on Radford Road were torn down within a week and have not been replaced in spite of frequent promises to do so by the Pcsos, who seem to have given up trying to stem the tide. We are not anti-cyclist, in fact we both use bicycles most days. But we, like our neighbours, are also pedestrians with the right not to be intimidated or injured by cyclists when walking on the footpath outside our houses. We call upon the Safer Neighbourhood team to renew their efforts on this front. - Nick and Meg Bond, Radford Road, Leamington