I WAS fascinated to read the letter by Clark Cross in The Herald (August 14). I feel his pain. There he is, living a quiet blameless life and then suddenly, without his permission, the authorities decide to stage a major international cycle road race 30 miles from his house. How very dare they! Following his letter, I trust that the organisers of the European Championships 2022 will contact Mr Cross prior to closing any roads.
I did note, however, that his letter showed a degree of confusion which I hope clears up for him soon. While this was a sporting event for elite athletes he seems to have conflated the participants with ordinary cyclists and, just in case that they might be guilty of a misdemeanour, decided to go off on a nice wee rant about his cycling bugbears such as cost of cycle facilities, lack of rider ID, lack of insurance, and cyclist’s infringement of road rules. I am almost sorry he missed mentioning lack of helmet wearing. I hope that writing the letter was cathartic and that his blood pressure is now down a bit, thus allowing him to calmly reflect on his words and realise that maybe cycling per se isn't the problem. Perhaps it’s the simple fact that pavements are essentially provided for pedestrians and roads are essentially designed for motor vehicles. Just where is the poor old cyclist to go; they seem welcome on neither? Maybe, just maybe, society could find a little bit of money for cycle provision, say a modest 10 per cent of the total transport budget. That would be nice; in Scotland it was only 1.9 per cent for both cycling and walking in 2015.
And finally, cycling is environmentally friendly. It may not in the final analysis “save the planet” as Mr Cross sarcastically notes, but in the short term I would far rather live in an environment where most people cycle past my front door quietly and cleanly, rather than one where most people speed noisily and dangerously past my door while emitting noxious gases.
Bob Downie,
66 Mansewood Road, Glasgow.
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