What Happened at the Romsey Future
Walking & Cycling Workstream Meeting By Rich House (May 2017)
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At the meeting we mainly discussed how the Test Valley Borough Cycling & Walking Map should be updated. In summary we all agreed it should look similar to the My Journey Andover Cycling & Walking Map. This map looked modern and was easy to understand. There were a few minor exceptions, e.g. we decided not to keep the rings.
We thought that the reverse should have a zoomed in map of the town centre as well as a zoomed out context map showing major cycling routes from Romsey to other destinations and other the area covered by other maps. |
As a couple of cyclists (Bunty Wildblood and Alison Rosen) could not attend the meeting I offered to raise issues on their behalf, which I did. Unfortunately as almost all the meeting was taken up in discussing the map update we ran out of time to discuss anything else in detail.
Bunty asked if there were ...
"any plans to make the A3090 from Romsey to Ower cycle friendly, as this would allow safe access to the New Forest"?
The Cycle Strategy & Network Supplementary Planning Document includes making the stretch up Pauncefoot Hill cycle friendly. TVBC's current thinking is that cyclists should then follow the lanes to Wellow and access the New Forest that way. They are happy to discuss Bunty's idea when we focus on route improvements at a future workstream meeting
Alison raised the following points...
general situation about the shocking state of the cycle paths, and how they abruptly stop or end. Also that a lot of walkers are unaware that they share the paths and can become aggressive towards cyclists using them. General understanding of cyclists on roads by car drivers, as well as understanding that it is allowed in law for cyclists to cycle 2 abreast. A better understanding about how car drivers should overtake a cyclist - not cross into oncoming traffic in order to do so, but wait till it is safe, and pass with enough clearance next to cyclist. Also a general knowledge for drivers in Romsey that if a cyclist is crossing an intersection and has a right of way, then the motorist coming out of the intersection should wait; also when a cyclist is cycling down a road and there are parked cars on the other side forcing the traffic on that side to drive over the centre line, and into the other side of the road, the driver needs to apply the same law as they would to an approaching car travelling in the correct lane towards them, and NOT ignore the cyclist approaching them, and drive straight for the cyclist whilst the car driver is on the cyclists side of the road/on the wrong side of the road..basic common sense and basic common decency really! Thats all I can think of for now. What I do when I approach walkers who are walking in same direction I am cycling, is I ring my bell from a distance, to notify them I am approaching. If they don't respond or have earplugs in or something, I ring it again when I get closer. If they still don't respond, I slow down/stop and politely say excuse me as I pass
We briefly discussed the main points in the last few minutes of the meeting. There was general agreement that improving harmony between cyclists, cars and walkers is something that Romsey Future can help with that we would definitely discuss Alison's points at a future meeting.