Cycling banned in Woking town centre

The decision has been taken - cycling has been substantially banned in Woking town centre: http://www.cyclewoking.org.uk/aboutus/news?item=00004D933425.C0A801BA.00003F76.0008

Basically the street is cluttered by a couple of fast food stands on Commercial Way so cycling has been banned there, while in the Town Square area there isn't any clutter except for infrequent farmers markets, but for some reason it's been banned there too.

This decision has been taken in spite of no injuries caused by cyclists to pedestrians in Woking. Apparently it's enough that people feel threatened by cyclists.

Personally speaking I feel threatened by cars: a car weighs several tonnes and they pass through Woking at speeds of 40mph and upwards. Unfortunately it seems restricting cars is not on the agenda, so instead they are restricting bicycles - thereby encouraging more people into their cars.

Take my wife for example (well please don't, she's mine), she takes our daughter swimming at 10:30am in the Woking Pool. She has the option of driving through Woking and causing congestion and pollution, or going on the bike.

Since we live north of the Basingstoke Canal, we have to cross Victoria Way, an urban motorway, and the railway line to get to the pool. She wouldn't even consider cycling along Victoria Way, so she goes through Woking Town Centre, cycling along slowly. Now of course she can't complete her journey without dismounting and pushing the bike, with 20kg child on, along the road (well she can, but only before 10am - perhaps she can cycle there and then push the bike home).Perhaps she will drive in future.


 Anyway, the remaining shared use (see map here for shared use areas: http://www.cyclewoking.org.uk/getcycling/cycleroutes/shareduse.pdf) is now a bit of pavement adjoining the Chobham Road/Victoria Way crossing, the pavement outside the Big Apple, a stretch of Commercial Way that appears pedestrianised but is actually a road used by vans and cars as it is, a bit of pavement outside the old Post Office, and the alleyway between the two shopping centres - in other words there is no longer a continuous shared use path from one side of town to the other.

Of course while this has been going on, nothing at all has been done about providing a sensible cycle route for non-vehicular cyclists across the railway line under Victoria Arch - it's still just a narrow bit of green paint that is frequently obstructed with signs for car drivers that takes a circuitous route up a steep hill before disappearing at the top. So much for Cycling Town.....

Car-sick Surrey - bike shop

Spotted this thread about a new branch of cycle store Evans opening in Guildford:

http://boards.fool.co.uk/new-evans-cycles-store-in-guildford-12143659.aspx?sort=collapsed

"This will save the trek to London or the parking issues in Woking for anyone in Guildford"

Woking from Guildford is less than half-an-hour's bike ride or 10 minutes on one of the very frequent trains.

Why would anyone drive to Woking to visit a cycle shop???