Media mistakes

Owen Smith said:
Planning regs now encourage limited space to park cars, the idea being that this will encourage less car ownership and more use of cycling and public transport.
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How well is that working?!

Planners need to stop pandering to their utopian ideals and facilitate what we (their employers) actually need. As long as what we need/desire is unachievable without at least a couple of cars in the household, there will always be a need for at least a couple of cars in the household.

I am staggered by the rate at which Bournemouth is ripping up road width and installing cycle spaces. How many cyclists do I see? Very few, and even fewer when the weather is inclement. Meanwhile, the roads are a constant traffic jam because it is no longer possible to pass stationary vehicles (eg buses at bus stops).

This policy is ageism – good luck getting your groceries home from the shops on a bike, particularly if you are 80+, but more than that the things the older age group like to do are no longer available within an easy walk. The message being sent, deliberately or not, is: we (the council) don't care about the elderly, you can stay at home and rot.

I think the answer is to force all council members out of their cars and let them find out what it's really like.
 
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Black Hole said:
I am staggered by the rate at which Bournemouth is ripping up road width and installing cycle spaces. How many cyclists do I see? Very few, and even fewer when the weather is inclement
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There's a lot of this in Nottinghamshire. The A606 near me was a wide single carriageway road. It has been redesigned to be slightly narrower with a cycle lane each side (just a paint and red tar job). Also, some counting devices embedded in the road and the pavement tracking the cyclists. If I walk that route I'd be surprised to see six cyclists in 20 minutes. Then there is a full blown two way cycle track on a narrow road (now narrower) towards the National Watersports Centre. Don't think there was ever any demand for this and, on average, I'd be lucky to see one user whilst walking that path. Quite a few more tracks being put in by the City Council (was "bankrupt" - but can't stop splurging the money).
Black Hole said:
This policy is ageism – good luck getting your groceries home from the shops on a bike, particularly if you are 80+, but more than that the things the older age group like to do are no longer available within an easy walk. The message being sent, deliberately or not, is: we (the council) don't care about the elderly, you can stay at home and rot.
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There's always the bus - if it runs near you. Even if it does, around here there are a lot of cancellations due to - badly parked cars. :roflmao: And roadworks - lots of roadworks.
 
Black Hole said:
Ever tried carrying a week's worth of groceries home on a bus (not forgetting the walk to/from the bus)?
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Yes. I've also tried carrying a backpack and two heavy bags from the nearby Morrisons to my home on foot(0.8-1 mile depending on the route). Not ideal. A bus is helpful, but not if there are others doing the same thing at the same time. I certainly wouldn't (more likely couldn't) carry the groceries on a bike.
 
You are less likely to get pot holes in a cycle lane. More cycle lanes = less area of road for cars = huge future savings. Genius economic planning that even AI would be proud of.

@BH "Ever tried carrying a week's worth of groceries home on a bus (not forgetting the walk to/from the bus)?" Yes often though most weeks I just walk the 20 minutes each way and carry it home in a rucksack + 1 or 2 bags for life. No doubt when I hit 70 I might have to bite the bullet and get a shopping trolley, good exercise that keeps one fitter rather than constantly have your arse parked behind a steering wheel.
 
EEPhil said:
Yes. I've also tried carrying a backpack and two heavy bags from the nearby Morrisons to my home on foot(0.8-1 mile depending on the route). Not ideal. A bus is helpful, but not if there are others doing the same thing at the same time. I certainly wouldn't (more likely couldn't) carry the groceries on a bike.
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I am quite lucky I have a bus stop a stones throw from my house that goes to a stones throw from 2 supermarkets that I use when the weather is too bad to walk to the other 2 supermarkets not served by a nearby bus. A free bus pass means you can easily do a weekly shop in stages without further cost so BH's bus argument is pretty weak. As for on a bike I guess it depends on fitness Deliveroo riders have no issues and if someone was determined they could get one of those bike trailers and make it easily achievable.
 
trog said:
am quite lucky I have a bus stop a stones throw from my house that goes to a stones throw from 2 supermarkets that I use
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There's a bus stop in most nearby Morrisons car parks. The nearest Morrisons: I can get a bus almost to my door when doing my donkey impression. Most other supermarkets it would be a 2 minute walk my end. Sainsbury's is a sod. Only one with reasonable access (but two buses). The nearest one, one bus and a long walk, next - two buses and a short walk. Tesco: bus and tram and short walk gets me to two of them. There's a Coop around the corner, but that is useless, small, expensive and I'm boycotting it anyway because of the obnoxious manager they had during Covid. ASDA :roflmao: too far way and not on a sensible bus route. Aldi/Lidl slightly out the way.
If the weather isn't too hot, or too wet, I like to mix up where I shop and walk to some shops further away and catch a bus (or two) back. At the moment it's too hot.
 
EEPhil said:
There's a bus stop in most nearby Morrisons car parks. The nearest Morrisons: I can get a bus almost to my door when doing my donkey impression. Most other supermarkets it would be a 2 minute walk my end. Sainsbury's is a sod. Only one with reasonable access (but two buses). The nearest one, one bus and a long walk, next - two buses and a short walk. Tesco: bus and tram and short walk gets me to two of them. There's a Coop around the corner, but that is useless, small, expensive and I'm boycotting it anyway because of the obnoxious manager they had during Covid. ASDA :roflmao: too far way and not on a sensible bus route. Aldi/Lidl slightly out the way.
If the weather isn't too hot, or too wet, I like to mix up where I shop and walk to some shops further away and catch a bus (or two) back. At the moment it's too hot.
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Sadly we lost our Morrisons, it was my regular place as it was next to the train station so I could get off the train from London do a shop then home, big with a great plant section and you never had to queue which is why it closed as very few people used it. Now I have to use Aldi, Lidl ,Sainsbury and Asda with only an over priced Tesco Metro nearby and a Co-op just down the road that I use about once every 2 years since they stopped selling onion batons in the bread section.
 
trog said:
good exercise that keeps one fitter rather than constantly have your arse parked behind a steering wheel.
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That depends what you do when you get to where you're going! In my case, something decidedly more socially engaging and uplifting than a walk to the shops and back, and full-body exercise with mental stimulation to boot! Without a car, I would not have access to it.
 
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