No-one driving through Brigg minds pulling up at a Pelican crossing to let pedestrians cross the A18. However, how do you feel about being held up by cyclists astride their machines who push the button and halt the queue of traffic? Is there a legal requirement to stop for cyclists who belong on the road, rather than the pavement? This blurring of previously clear distinctions has been encouraged by the arrival of cycle lanes which have introduced the concept of two-wheel transport sharing what was, for years, the domain of pedestrians (men, women and children). To their credit, decades ago, the police in Brigg had a strict policy of enforcing the law prohibiting the riding of cycles on footpaths, particularly by children. Those of us who were youngsters back then grew up with a clear view that cycling belonged on roads and not footpaths.
Sadly, the town centre pedestrian area in Brigg nowadays sees a good many cyclists riding about - many of them youngsters. As little interest is shown in tackling this unsafe practice by the powers-that-be as in stopping vehicles driving through the allegedly traffic-free zone without lawful cause. We have publicly-funded CCTV cameras keeping an eye in the sky on the town centre. So how about taking action when footage shows wrongdoing?
PS - Don't hold your breath on that one!
Now here's the technical bit, as far as I understand and without looking up specific info....
ReplyDeleteThe crossing near the White Horse - geographically on the Wrawby St section of Barnard Ave is a PELICAN ...an anacronym of PEdesrtrain LIght CONtrolled (or summmit like like....)
A Pelican crossing is for pedestrians only.
A similar crossing, a TOUCAN (indicating that 'TWO CAN') - clever ain't it!...can been used by both pedestrians and cyclists.
The difference between the two crossingas is that the black/while crossing bits are much wider on the TOUCAN crossing - something like 4m wide, compared with circa 2.5m wide.
So the guy using the Pelican crossing whilst riding his bike is breaking the law.