Something Stinks in Newcastle

[Valbrona]

Public officials, including the police, should be in the business of supporting the lawful activities of campaign and protest groups. Get the members of the Newcastle Safety Advisory Group as far away from public policy making as you can.

http://road.cc/content/news/149266-newc ... ty-grounds

[661-Pete]

So - let's see if I've got this straight. A planned group cycle ride in aim of promoting safety for cycling, has been cancelled on safety grounds. Sounds very much like the old joke about the "clairvoyants meeting postponed due to unforeseen circumstances".

Perhaps there's something to be said for the good old Critical Mass then - where cyclists simply turn up and go, no pre-arranged route, no risk analysis, no nothing in advance. I used to go on CM's - until they turned a bit nasty and political. Is there any chance that the original spirit of CM might be resurrected - in which one simply shows people what cycling in a big town is all about? Leaving out all the deliberate highway-blocking, the waving of bikes in the air, the intimidating of other road users, the political chanting, and all that stuff?

[Valbrona]

Council Officals and the Police clubbing together to get the activities of a harmless campaign group halted on the grounds of 'safety' looks like an idea straight out of the Stasi handbook.

[reohn2]

So what's to stop them meeting up and going for a ride,even if a couple of hundred turn up?

[Grandad]

So what's to stop them meeting up and going for a ride,even if a couple of hundred turn up?

They did - this is one of the comments

We rode anyway and stayed warm, though got wet and were accompanied by a sound system pulled by a bike. The Police left us alone and The Safety Advisory Group were nowhere to be seen. About 100 of us rode around rhe city and crossed our iconic bridges and guess what? We stayed safe, though one Jesmond Tractor seemed determined to pass us at a ridiculous speed on the Tyne Bridge. Most other vehicles respected the fact that we were made up of children as well as adults

[reohn2]

Good on them,I'm glad their ride prevailed over nanny state bureaucracy!

[661-Pete]

Sounds just like a good old honest CM after all. Go for it!

[sirmy]

Newcastle were palying at home that day, the police would have been busy elsewhere

[Joe.B]

Mrs B and our two kids were there and enjoyed the ride (I'm working away and missed it). Apparently the safety issue was the home game and some other event, the name of which I don't remember, which toghter left the police quite short of available coppers. Quite why they believe we require a couple of dozen coppers to stay safe on a short steady ride is beyond me.

[Oglet Lane Banjo Player]

So the Safety Advisory Group admits that the roads aren't safe for cyclists. Suggest they get on a do something about it then.

[Flinders]

I read the article and foudnthis amongst the comments lower down:

A council not to far from Newcastle organised a family ride to showcase its new infrastructure, installed following a bid to the DfT's Cycling Safety Fund.
Unfortunately the route had to be changed as two road crossings on the route were deemed to be unsafe for novice riders without marshals present.

You really, really couldn't make it up, could you?

[Manc33]

They would make fun illegal if they could. They would just use some moderately acceptable sounding reason like:

"If other people around you are not happy, it is an offence to smile because you're making them get stressed, which is harm"

So make sure if you see someone looking glum to stop smiling immediately, don't forget we have CCTV everywhere! Resistance is futile... just kidding, its almost futile.

The solution is to ignore these nutcases and their silly "Statutes" (not law by the way) that want to control every aspect of our lives. What we should do is all put money in to buy them their own little island where they can annoy each other, control each other and impose statute law on each other to their hearts content - while the real world gets on with living normally.

[reohn2]

I read the article and foudnthis amongst the comments lower down:

A council not to far from Newcastle organised a family ride to showcase its new infrastructure, installed following a bid to the DfT's Cycling Safety Fund.
Unfortunately the route had to be changed as two road crossings on the route were deemed to be unsafe for novice riders without marshals present.

You really, really couldn't make it up, could you?

You could,but no one would believe you

[mjr]

After this, after the short speech, what I’m doing is I’m going for a cycle to get warm. I would love some friends and colleagues to come with me and we’ll have a little cycle.[Applause]. One of my routes is from the Civic Centre and I’m going through the town, I’m going across to the bridge and I’m going to come back in a loop and end up back in the city. So if anybody wants to join me that’s what I’m doing. I’m going to get myself warm again. [Applause].

So, he clearly values the assessment of his council's Safety Advisory Group then...

[661-Pete]

Look, we all need to take steps to protect our kids from every conceivable hazard :