Cyclists Dismount – or not

Dismount sign at halfpenny bridge draws people
together in small space

A favourite sign in the Bath area is “cyclists dismount”. I will share a selection of those I have noticed in this post, but you will all have your own examples.  “Cyclists dismount” signs are a common sight for people riding bikes on shared paths.

In my view most of these are totally superfluous and sometimes add to any conflict with people on foot, although supposedly they are there to discourage the minority of aggressive people on foot and on bikes who might be guilty of verbal, or even physical abuse.  Most people ride bikes because the machine is easy to ride and to park, at or close to a chosen destination.  They do not relish being told to dismount in this commanding fashion without so much as a “please”.

Signs, such as the one above on the halfpenny bridge in Widcombe, are attached to railings positioned to bring people on foot and on bikes together in a space too small to allow both to enter the bridge.  It would be better to have no sign and no railings and ask people to be considerate to one another.  When the bridge, as it often is, clear of people walking it makes no sense to get off your bike.

This sign is definitely a highways department sign, but Sustrans sometimes authorise this type of sign.

This is the case in Monkton Combe Senior School, where the cycle path, which leads on to the Two Tunnels Greenway and on to Radstock.  There is probably justification here, as the path is over private property and used regularly by students, but again rails are used to force people on foot and on bikes together in a restricted space.

Obscured Cyclists dismount sign in Monkton Combe
School

This piece of the path is very steep, so most people push their bikes here anyway.

However, Monkton Combe School should be congratulated for giving access through their property to an off-road path to help connect the K&A Canal tow path to the Two Tunnels.  Would that all landowners were so helpful.

The sign below is at the top of the shared path on the south side of Wellsway, a road wide enough to have a cycle lane in the road.  This sign is ridiculous because a person on a bike here will be moving very slowly, and given the dislike of dismounting a rider will either carry on – most likely, as there is hardly ever anyone walking here – or ride into the road with fast moving traffic.

Silly sign at top of Welsway

Even this shared path only starts when past all the houses on this side of the road.  There is no reason why people riding bikes should not use this path all the way from the Devonshire Arms pub to the top of the hill, after all they are no danger to anyone when travelling at 4 to 6 mph.

If I am travelling up Wellsway I usually use the path on the north side, which is much better if negotiated with care.  This is a personal preference, especially when coming off the Two Tunnels.  It means that I do not have to cross traffic at the difficult Hatfield Road junction and I can cross further up the hill in safety.

The next sign is to be found on the Two Tunnels path, where it passes through the car park of the Hope and Anchor pub and this is a Sustrans sign.

Sign saying walk across pub car park

Although it asks cyclists to “please” walk, this sign also requires a dismount, when totally unnecessary and is ignored without causing any problem by people riding bikes. People can walk across this car park with no sign to drivers to be careful, yet if there is danger it is by cars colliding with people on bikes or walking, yet only people on bikes are once again singled out.

However in some places people on bikes are treated like human beings, who are considerate to others and are not commanded to

Sign on Llandudno promenade. Share with care.

“dismount”.  In Llandudno, North Wales there is an enlightened attitude to this issue. The sign below is repeated along the beautiful promenade.  The simple message is “share with care”. The promenade is wide, but the presumption of guilt, that people on bikes will cause a problem is not made and a positive message goes out to all to be considerate. Not one group is singled out for special treatment.  All the “cyclists dismount” signs I have outlined above could be replaced by “share with care” and become much more effective.