Fined for cycling along Eastbourne prom? Unbloodybelieveable!!

EASTBOURNE had its finest summer clothes on this week. Ahead of the inevitable meteorological misery of the Bank Holiday weekend, the sun has shone brightly, the wind blowing off Beachy Head has been relatively calm and the beaches have been brimming with holidaymakers.

In recent months, the owner of the nearby Italian ice cream parlour has been pulling his hair out because of the disastrous summer we've had. This week, he's been filling his boots.

Also, is there not a finer sight or even smell while dusk is drawing on a summer's evening of a couple sharing vinegar-soaked fish and chips along the promenade looking out at the calm English Channel? Okay, maybe not!

It's been holiday time too for my youngest son Ross. Because of his lack of mobility - you can't walk too far with him before he drops to the floor in protest - so I've been getting him around in a specially-adapted stroller which was custom-made five years ago to allow me to run with him.

I have to say some people are so ignorant when you're walking with a pushchair. Heaven knows what it must be like for those trying to navigate a wheelchair. Dare I say the biggest culprits are older people who have an annoying arrogance about them that they will not give way, not even with 20 or 30 metres notice.

They can see you, for sure. You move a little to one side to make some room, but they stick rigid to their path. And don't tell me they're not mobile enough to move either. The other trick is to stop dead in their tracks suddenly, consult a shopping list and then have a look around, never mind they're blocking the passageway.

I thought I was being overly cynical about this elderly intransigence, but visiting on a day trip this week my father, himself a member of the free bus pass brigade, saw at first hand how bloody-minded and thoughtless folk can be as we strolled through the main shopping centre with Ross in tow.

Anyway, I digress. The stroller is perfect for getting about the seafront which this week has been bustling with folk strolling along the prom; couples walking hand in hand, children running about excitedly with joggers skipping past on their gentle runs along the wide walkway.

There are babies in pushchairs, dog walkers, inline skaters, wheelchair users and yesterday evening, amazingly, I was overtaken by one old dear haring towards the pier at breakneck speed aboard one of those mobility scooters. What is the speed limit for a mobility scooter?

Also, from time to time and along some parts of the promenade, we have to make way for Eastbourne's Dotto train - a trackless train with carriages which follows a route of about five miles from the Holywell Retreat at the foot of Beachy Head to the eastern end of Eastbourne.

Surprisingly, what you can't do on the prom is cycle. There are Gestapo-like signs posted on lampposts along the seafront warning of a ludicrous £500 fine for those who dare disobey this mealy-mouthed by-law.

And would you believe, cycling along the seafront has become the hot topic in the Eastbourne Herald in recent weeks.

To gauge the strength of feeling, here's a letter published in today's Herald:


“WHY can’t cyclists enjoy our wonderful seafront?,” asks Jane Schulze (letters Aug 3). 
They can, providing they are prepared to experience it on foot which was always its intended purpose. 
As an ex-pedal pusher myself I would be the first to acknowledge and respect that promenades, piers, pavements and precincts were all essentially designed and constructed first and foremost for pedestrians. 
Resorts that possess long, wide thoroughfares with minimal footfall may be able to offer some limited pro-sharing to cyclists with safety although that is debatable. 
Regardless, pedestrians, particularly young children, the elderly and those with hearing, vision and mobility restrictions, should all be free to go about their business on traffic-free walkways - including the promenade - with enjoyment, comfort and ease. And what’s happened to health and safety on this issue? 
Perhaps they consider that a can of white paint and a few lines and symbols on the pavement afford sufficient segregation and protection between pedestrians and cyclists? 
I suggest that local pedestrians, far from being less tolerant of cyclists, simply feel aggrieved, not to say concerned for their personal safety, as they see more areas designated for walking being hived off or under threat for a purpose that was never intended. 
And not without cause, given the current negligible chance of recompense should they be injured by a cyclist.
Sooner or later, with increasing numbers of cyclists on the road, serious thought must be given to enforcing liability insurance certainly for adults. 

Unbloodybelieveable! Eastbourne prom is wide. I've not been sad enough to take out a tape measure but we're talking at least three metres wide here - it's wide enough for a double decker bus and probably a marching band with majorettes!

I went running along Worthing seafront a couple of weeks ago whose narrow prom is marked out for cyclists. Walkers, cyclists and runners there seemed to get along just fine.

It seems incredible and so short-sighted that Eastbourne can't do the same. In fact, it's the inline skaters who are the biggest danger, weaving in and out, sometimes with huge uncertainty over which direction they are heading in. But we get on. There's room enough for everyone along this delightful stretch of coastline with a spectacular view.

To be fair Eastbourne has cycleways around town and cycle paths along far stretches of the seafront. The town even has its own cycling festival, so the council does its bit for cycling, although it could do more - and the prom would be a start.

When we talk about a post-Olympic legacy, it's not only about producing future sporting champions surely it's also about producing a healthier future generation. We were happy to bask in the glories of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton just a few weeks ago, but do we really do enough for our cyclists? Or do we merely pay just lip service?

Visit Holland where cycleways are central to any planning development and road network. Culturally, cycling is part of a way of life there because it is safe. Cycling is enjoyable and actively encouraged - encouraged not just as a sport or a way of transport, but as a pastime. Families can get out and cycle safely together without playing chicken with cars or sharing their exhaust fumes.

I can't believe there are similar no stern cycling signs posted on promenades along Dutch seaside resorts with draconian fines imposed for those who flaunt the regulation.

Here, cycling has a sad anorak image of cycle clips and luminous yellow jackets, of school kids with cycle helmets and rucksacks, city bankers with their natty fold-up bikes and racing cyclists in their tight-fitting lycra out for a Sunday spin on their state-of-the art, lightweight contraptions .

We don't think of cycling as a pure leisure pursuit. We don't go out of our way to encourage cycling, to provide a cheap and healthy way of getting around.

Cyclists are regarded as second class citizens. I don't cycle a huge amount, I prefer putting on a pair of running shoes to get around, but why are we threatening cyclists with £500 fines for cycling along the promenade in Eastbourne? How much does a tin of paint and a day's white-lining work cost?

Patronising letters like the one above just demonstrate how short-sighted our vision has become about cycling. Why can't we share, why can't we accommodate cyclists with walkers, runners, skaters, the Dotto train and even speeding mobility scooters? What has happened to our tolerant society?