Should children cycle to school in Upwood?
Children need exercise and to be able to interact with other children. YES, children should be *ABLE* to cycle to school in Upwood. That is one of the advantages of living in a village, is it not?
BUT, are our roads safe?
It is not unusual for vehicles to be speeding at 60mph in Upwood. A vehicle travelling at 60mph will require twice the distance to stop than the same vehicle at 40mph. Every doubling in speed requires four times the braking distance. Young children have less ability to assess vehicle speeds and have slower reaction times, yet we are asking in Upwood children to be able whilst cycling to assess vehicle speeds and react, making the right decision, on narrow twisting roads that require constant observation.
Our roads are unlisted C class roads, they are country lanes yet have become Huntingdon's relief road. Those who are local will remember in the 1980s the campaign for Ramsey's needed bypass, well, with the building of the Brampton Hut flyover (A1/A14) and the Wyton roundabout (A141/B1090) Ramsey got its bypass and Huntingdon got its relief road! Upwood and the Raveleys are that bypass and relief road!
I have produced my reasoning for this with maps on this web page, for those who think I'm being objectionable on this point - http://sisman.net/bypass.htm
Traffic from South Lincolnshire merge with traffic from the fens north east of Ramsey in Upwood, right at the junction where children cross the road for school.
Children cycling from Fairmead will do so on a narrow road that has seen 5 deaths and over 60 injuries in the last few years. The few hundred yards of this twisting road must make this for the short distance one of the most dangerous roads in England. Other dangerous roads talk of deaths per mile, on these corners its deaths per hundred feet or so.
Outside the school a cyclist was seriously hurt in 2006, after a vehicle failed to overtake properly.
Cyclists coming down the High Street to Longholme Road, then turning right towards the school are on a twisting road with limited visibility. There is NO escape route on the left! Coming back from the school there is on their left the footpath.
Cyclists coming down Church Road to Huntingdon Road, then turning left towards the school are on a twisting road with limited visibility. It is not unusual to find vehicles speeding and cutting the corner prior to Church Road when travelling from Bury. There is an escape route via the footpath on the left. There is limited escape route on the left coming back from the school, turning right into Church Road the cyclists are hidden from speeding vehicles by the corner.
Cyclists cannot use the footpaths unless a byelaw is passed as in other towns in Cambridgeshire.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
First, I support the idea of children cycling to school. But there is a need for a safe environment.
1/ Pass a byelaw allowing children to cycle on footpaths, particularly from Fairmead in the NSL and 40mph.
2/ It is now time for the County Council to carry out a safety audit on the roads around Upwood. This is going to be expensive but that is what WE pay taxes for.
3/ Consideration should be given to rumble strips, a 30 limit, with properly marked school zones. Drivers do not crash intentionally, they crash due to insufficient information. Lets give the drivers blasting through Upwood at school time the information that it is a village with pedestrians, cyclists and children.
Children should be able to travel to school safely by walking or cycling, which is a right they have. Every weirdo, lawbreaker and malcontent arriving illegally in the UK has rights under the Human Rights Convention, ratified by the UK Government, well, so do our children to safe passage to and from school, under the very same legislation that is used by others!
I support the children cycling and walking to school, but in a safe environment where they can interact with their friends and enjoy exercise.