Chance for cyclists to have their say on how safe they feel on Cheshire’s roads

Cyclists have an opportunity to express how safe they feel on the roads by filling out a short survey designed to help make the county's roads safer for everyone.

Any cyclist who lives and or cycles in Cheshire is being encouraged to complete the short survey from Cheshire Police's Roads and Crime Unit. Officers will use the results of the survey to help shape the way they police the county's roads.

PC Lee Spencer, from the force's Roads and Crime Unit, said: "Everyone has the right to use the roads safely and we want to get a better understanding of the cycling landscape in order to make better informed decisions when completing education and enforcement activity, to help make the roads safer for everyone.

"A lot more cyclists have been getting out on their bikes throughout the pandemic to get their daily exercise or to commute to and from work. With the increase in cyclists on the roads, the county has also sadly seen an increase in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured.

"Cheshire can be a safe place to cycle and we want all road users to feel as safe as possible when out on the county's roads. This survey will give cyclists an opportunity to have their say on how they feel about cycling on Cheshire's roads and help shape how we police the roads."

Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, David Keane, said: "Since the national lockdown, we have seen a big increase in the number of people who have taken up cycling and there has been an increase in the number of fatal collisions involving cyclists in Cheshire.

"One life lost on our roads is one too many. I want cyclists to feel safe on the roads and I am encouraging anyone who cycles in or through Cheshire to complete the survey and tell us how safe they feel on the county's roads.

"I'll then work with the Constabulary to ensure cyclists' views are taken into account when we look at how we police Cheshire's roads now and in the future."

In 2020 4 cyclists were killed on Cheshire roads, compared with 2 in 2019. Additionally, 58 cyclists were seriously injured on Cheshire roads in 2020, compared with 35 during 2019.

Cyclists have until Sunday 7 March to complete the survey

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Simon Lundy
Tuesday 23rd February 2021 at 5:42 pm
As a car driver and a cyclist I am well up for some cycle lanes so that we can all be safe on the road. But until that day arrives can I ask what is it with some cyclists riding 2 abreast on normal A roads holding traffic up for miles? If there is anything guaranteed to **** people off it's that surely. Yes it may be legal to do this but its very antisocial and will alienate cars and cyclists, unnecessarily. I say this as a cyclist myself.
Elaine Taylor
Tuesday 23rd February 2021 at 6:26 pm
The other issue is cyclists using the road when there is a perfectly good cycle Lane present. There is no point building cycle lanes if cyclists refuse to use them.
Vince Chadwick
Tuesday 23rd February 2021 at 9:22 pm
UK cycle lane are usually nothing more than a line painted near the side of the road, where all the detritus ends up from passing cars, the surface is broken and often missing, and there's rubbish, puddles, and parked cars. And just when they are most needed (junctions etc.) they finish with a sign 'cyclists dismount'. If I wanted to walk, I'd have left my bike at home!

Look how they do it in the Netherlands and Denmark. Segregated cycle-only roads, properly maintained. But it wasn't always thus; the Netherlands used to have an appalling road casualty rate and a cycle-unfriendly road system like ours, until the 1970s when it all changed.

Have a look at the video below from Chris Boadman. In the Netherlands they don't have 'cyclists', they simply use bikes to get to places. No Lycra or helmets - they dress for the destination, not the journey. But they can only do that because they have a safe environment to do it in, and it benefits the whole of their society in so many ways.

If they did it, so can we. They were just like us not so very long ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq28fU2AuMU
Simon Lundy
Wednesday 24th February 2021 at 8:25 am
Elaine...where are all these cycle lanes you're talking about? Ive seen the odd token gesture here and there of a few hundred yards, but nothing which would provide a path of continuous safe transit from A-B.

Vince...absolutely spot on, and by and large they're all fit and slim which is no coincidence.
David Carey
Wednesday 24th February 2021 at 8:27 am
I've got to agree with Simon on this one. As a cyclist myself I do want cycling to be safe, but it is very annoying when you have people cycling two or three abreast down the centre of a minor road and as a car driver you cannot pass safely.
Duncan Herald
Wednesday 24th February 2021 at 10:25 am
Darwin & Survival of the Fittest?
Just a touch of irony!
Yes I do know that Darwin 'borrowed' the phrase.