Thursday 10 October 2013

The bike as a mobility aid

Looks like we'll see an annoying discussion on local radio this morning. Apparently some of the disabled parking spaces in Cambridge are under threat from being turned in to cycle parking, and the presenter just tweeted asking if we've got our priorities right.

It isn't about cyclists cruelly encroaching on disabled bays - I promise you, no cyclist wants it to come down to a choice between disabled folk and us. We've got four multi-storey car parks in Cambridge, but two dingy little underground bike parks - give us the ground floor of the Grand Arcade and Grafton Centre car parks other than the disabled spaces and we'll be right as rain.

Whats really lacking from such a question is any demonstrable understanding of the bicycle as a mobility aid. Riding around Cambridge you see plenty of older folk on bikes, frequently with walking sticks stuffed diagonally through the basket. The bike isn't just a form of transport for the most able bodied - its a superb tool for many who don't get around so well.

I find myself in that position now. I'm not pleading for sympathy here - suspected broken bone in hand and badly sprained ankle, I'll get better! But I am struggling to walk 20 yards right now. And yet I can get on the bike, as I did yesterday, and I can comfortably get as far as Addenbrookes hospital A&E 5 miles away on the other side of town - in fact the most painful part of the journey was getting from where I'd locked the bike into A&E. Even with the splint on my hand coming back, I could with great ease take a longer route back to enjoy the fresh air.

The bicycle isn't just a means of transport. Its a mobility aid and source of freedom for many who can't get around any other way, and its a source of exercise that integrates with our lives. And with a little imagination and some creative engineering its a boon for many who otherwise have serious mobility problems - here, take a look.

So can we have a bit less of this divisiveness please Andy? You're a good chap, you must see its not in the interests of your listeners to pitch this issue in such a divisive way?

8 comments:

  1. I know this is off topic, but not sure how else to contact you. Have you seen the BBC article, where Cambs police are complaining that nobody called them to report bikes being stolen by undercover police officers? Reading some of your posts, I can see why people might not bother... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-24442085

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    1. Yes, I saw that. Trying to report theft or criminal damage to plod when it isn't your property is such an uphill struggle, I quite get why people don't report. This isn't a story showing people are apathetic - it shows the people have no faith in police.

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  2. Also worth noting that some kinds of disability would bar you from obtaining or keeping a driving license, but not from cycling. Lack of cycle parking is an issue for mobility too.

    Slight aside, but I was thinking about the issue of older cyclists in Cambridge the other day. The cross-section of people who cycle in Cambridge is much broader than anywhere else in the UK.

    My friends and I have been hit by cars on a couple of occasions. Each time the cyclist had priority, it was daylight etc Classic cases of drivers just not looking for bikes, even though they make up 20+% of traffic round here. Anyway, since these have involved maneuvers from stationary, collisions were slow and the result was minor injuries (plus £50 I shan't see again to repair my bike). But we are young and healthy. Even a minor tap from a car could result in an injury from which an older person would never recover, severely restricting their freedom and mobility. But still this kind of carelessness is ignored by the police.

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    1. I may have a broken bone. If I were old and frail that could be life changing - and its such an easy thing to happen with the every day bullying from motorists. I share your frustration with police ignoring this, even when we give them camera footage.

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  3. More on topic, I guess I'd like to know how well-used the disabled bays are, which wasn't something addressed at the meeting. Obviously removing three bays which are usually empty is a different proposition to removing three which are in constant use.
    I'd also like to know what the alternatives are: all the council car parks have designated disabled spaces, and the Grand Arcade just round the corner has 27, Kings Parade has 10: how well-used are these?

    It's really not a question of whether disabled car parking or cycle parking is more important in principal.

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    1. Silly you, thinking about a 'rational' approach, and wanting silly things like 'evidence'. /sarcasm

      The whole point of this kind of media representation is to make it emotive; can we make our reader/listener angry (or feel good, or so on). Makes someone far more likely to buy the paper/listen to the station if they have an emotional investment.

      People are more likely to buy 'Cyclists STEAL 4 bays from the DISABLED' than 'Three unused parking bays replaced with cycle parking'. None of are immune; I'd be much more likely to read the troll-like first article.

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  4. An earlier point is a good one..There is a group of cyclists like myself, medically barred from having a driving licence, but otherwise healthy enough not to have a disabled badge. The idea of a disabled cyclist, therefore is not an oxymoron, So perhaps we could be treated with the respect of disabled drivers ?...possibly more so..

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    1. Heck, I don't see any reason to treat any abstract group of people with anything other than respect. Yet for some reason we're being pitted against each other - its bollocks. Look at this: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Call-for-new-cycling-ban-in-Cambridge-city-centre-by-disabled-because-of-inconsiderate-cyclists-20131019030036.htm

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