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“They wouldn’t walk onto a road, but a cycle track?” Cyclist badly injured trying to avoid pedestrian calls for greater protection on newly installed bike lane previously slammed as “hare-brained” by opponents

The local council, however, says the seafront infrastructure was “designed with safety as our top priority”, while other cyclists described the lane’s distinction between cycle and pedestrian zones as “gold standard”

A cyclist who suffered multiple serious injuries after crashing while trying to avoid a pedestrian who stepped in front of him on a new cycle path has called for greater safety and protective measures to be installed on the seafront infrastructure, arguing that while people “wouldn’t walk onto a road”, the “will walk on the cycle track” because “it doesn’t have the same threat”.

The newly installed two-way protected cycle lane in Tynemouth, where 66-year-old Garry Thompson hit his head on a kerb after being catapulted over the handlebars in July, has proved a source of contention for much of the past year.

Last October, Conservative councillors in North Tyneside branded the active travel route “disastrous” and “hare-brained”, claiming the coastal path will lead to an increase in congestion and collisions, and “prioritise a small handful of cyclists over thousands of commuters”.

And earlier this year, a family-friendly Kidical Mass cycling event was briefly re-routed due to concerns from organisers that the lack of progress on the construction of the infrastructure would endanger young cyclists and increase the risk of “conflict” with the path’s other users, though the council later ensured that the ride could go ahead by coning off parts of the road where the lane wasn’t finished.

However, the council has responded to calls for better protection between cyclists and pedestrians using the route by affirming that the lane’s design adheres to national design standards, while other cyclists have described the differentiation between the footpath and cycleway as “pretty much gold standard”.

Seafront Sustainable Route coned off in North Tyneside (Street Life in North Tyneside)

> Delays to new bike lane spark safety fears family cycle event could lead to “conflict with pedestrians” – but council ensures ride can go ahead

Construction work began last October on the two-way, segregated path in North Tyneside, which stretches for eight kilometres along the seafront between the North Shields Fish Quay and St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay, making permanent a popular pop-up scheme that was implemented in 2020 as part of social distancing measures.

North Tyneside Council says the revised scheme, which is expected to be finished by 2025, will provide “separate space for cyclists and other users of sustainable travel, while maintaining a two-way route along the seafront” for motor traffic, with the exception of a new 600-metre-long one-way system in Tynemouth.

The local authority also claimed that the protected walking and cycling route will create a “safe space” for families riding bikes, as well as improving air quality, boosting tourism, and “improving people’s enjoyment of an already beautiful space”.

North Tyneside active travel safe space proposals (North Tyneside Council)

> “Hare-brained” segregated bike path will “prioritise a small handful of cyclists over thousands of commuters” and increase collisions, councillors claim

However, as noted above, the lane has already been subject of several complaints, and this week cyclist Garry Thompson told the Chronicle that the infrastructure’s layout was responsible for a crash which left him in hospital for five days.

The 66-year-old was enjoying a leisurely cycle along the new route on 28 July, when a pedestrian stepped out in front of him near the Gibraltar Rock pub in Tynemouth. Trying to avoid a collision, Thompson was flung over his handlebars, crashing head-first into the lane’s kerb.

“I ended up with five staples in my head, a broken collarbone, and eight fractured ribs,” he told the local newspaper.

“I was probably doing four miles an hour because it’s uphill and there is nothing to stop pedestrians coming onto the cycle lane.

“It’s all well and good putting signs up but people will walk on the cycle track. They wouldn’t walk onto a road, but a cycle track? It doesn’t have the same threat.”

Seafront Sustainable Route, North Tyneside (Street Life in North Tyneside)

He continued: “Really there needs to be something on the part of the road from the Grand Hotel up, where they have got about 57 car parking spaces, where people are getting out, and crossing the road and the cycle track with their surfboards and their kids.

“It doesn’t really work. I do think it needs addressing before either a kid or an older person gets hurt.”

However, not all local cyclists agree with Thompson’s verdict on the safety standard of North Tyneside’s new flagship cycling infrastructure.

North Tyneside seafront cycle lane (Real Gaz on a Bike, Twitter) 2

Sharing photos of the lane on social media, Gaz wrote: “I don’t think the infra is at fault. It’s pretty much gold standard. You couldn’t ask for much more. Height and colour separation are all as good as you could expect.

“He said he was only doing 4mph, which I believe as it is a short uphill. Pedestrians also have a personal responsibility not to randomly step into the path of anyone else. Cyclists, be alert, especially on cycleways with new or changed layouts.”

“That looks like the gold standard of clear visual and physical difference, complete with centre lines to reinforce where the cycle track is,” agreed Kev.

North Tyneside seafront cycle lane (Real Gaz on a Bike, Twitter)

Responding to Thompson’s crash, North Tyneside Council’s head of highways and transportation, Paul Watson, also defended the infrastructure’s layout.

“I was very concerned to learn about the incident involving Mr Thompson, and I wish him a full recovery,” Watson said.

“The new seafront route was designed with safety as our top priority. It adheres to national design standards and provides clearly marked, separate spaces for cyclists and pedestrians, with different coloured surfaces, and signage.”

> "It would be sacrilege to take up the grass verges," claims local, as cycle lane plan with "enormous benefits for the community" met with vocal opposition

He continued: “The route includes a range of pedestrian safety improvements, including several new zebra crossings and a buffer zone where people can safely wait to cross the cycle lane after parking on the street.

“While these changes may take time to get used to, we urge all cyclists, pedestrians and drivers to take care and be aware of their surroundings, just as they would on any road. We are committed to maintaining high safety standards and ensuring that our seafront route works for all users.”

After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.

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58 comments

Avatar
Bigtwin | 2 months ago
1 like

If everyone wore helmets and used Campag rather than ShimaNO, this sort of thing wouldn't happen.

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grOg | 2 months ago
1 like

For those lefties that think everyone should be riding bicycles, this incident serves to remind that bicycle accidents even at very low speeds can cause serious injuries; riding bikes safely is really for fit, healthy young people.

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Rendel Harris replied to grOg | 2 months ago
17 likes

grOg wrote:

For those lefties that think everyone should be riding bicycles, this incident serves to remind that bicycle accidents even at very low speeds can cause serious injuries; riding bikes safely is really for fit, healthy young people.

Serious injuries can also be incurred from tripping whilst walking, bathing, gardening… I even once knew somebody who broke their leg playing croquet. Should all of those activities also be confined to fit, healthy young people? Honestly, pisspoor low quality trolling even by your subbasement standards.

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LordSandwich replied to Rendel Harris | 2 months ago
2 likes

Rendel Harris wrote:

I even once knew somebody who broke their leg playing croquet.

You can't just leave me hanging like that! HOW?! 🤣

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pockstone replied to LordSandwich | 2 months ago
2 likes

Millwall rules?

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Rendel Harris replied to LordSandwich | 2 months ago
1 like

Shouldn't have accused me of cheating...actually she stepped back to take a look at her shot and into a little ditch or gutter that marked the edges of the lawn, fell awkwardly with her leg still trapped and suffered a spiral fracture of the tibia. Very nasty, though obviously that didn't stop her being ribbed mercilessly about it by all and sundry for many months.

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Accessibility f... replied to grOg | 2 months ago
8 likes

I can't wait for the schools to go back so silly little children like this have fewer opportunities to post nonsense.

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ktache replied to Accessibility for all | 2 months ago
5 likes

I think they are old enough to drink...

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Smoggysteve replied to grOg | 2 months ago
8 likes

Statisically, most accidents occur in the home. Not a car or bike in sight. Mostly its things like falling in the shower, down the  stairs or slipping on a wet or icy floor. Mostly walking or standing based activity failures. So statisically, using your feet to walk is more dangerous than using them to pedal. 

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hawkinspeter replied to Smoggysteve | 2 months ago
5 likes

Smoggysteve wrote:

Statisically, most accidents occur in the home. Not a car or bike in sight. Mostly its things like falling in the shower, down the  stairs or slipping on a wet or icy floor. Mostly walking or standing based activity failures. So statisically, using your feet to walk is more dangerous than using them to pedal. 

Where's the campaign for mandatory shower helmets? I shall write to my MP about it and maybe get it raised in the House of Lords for debate. If it saves one life...

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eburtthebike replied to hawkinspeter | 2 months ago
8 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Where's the campaign for mandatory shower helmets?

Following the path set by the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust (BHIT) could we call it the Shower Helmet Initiative Trust?

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chrisonabike replied to eburtthebike | 2 months ago
4 likes

Quite right - why should this concern be limited only to cyclists?  There should be Cyclist, Runner And Pedestrian helmets.

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chrisonabike replied to grOg | 2 months ago
1 like

Good point - to save us all additional costs to the health service the government should be recommending spending more time sat motionless...

Meanwhile in the Netherlands... https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504332/

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bensynnock replied to grOg | 2 months ago
3 likes

If everybody was riding a bike they'd act with more sense around them.

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Clem Fandango replied to grOg | 2 months ago
3 likes

Whereas nobody "old" can be fit & healthy?
You know there's a simple solution for that right?

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chrisonabike replied to Clem Fandango | 2 months ago
4 likes

Brought to you by Logan's Run?  Or Brave New World (for a few extra years)?

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OldRidgeback replied to grOg | 2 months ago
6 likes

People falling off ladders is a major cause of injuries. I think those using ladders need to have a licence to do so and be required to wear body armour and a helmet.

As regards cycling, the British Medical Association says the health benefits outweigh the risks by a factor of 20:1. I'll stick with the BMA's judgement thanks. Looking at the Netherlands where people of all ages cycle, it's interesting to note that the country also has amongst the longest average lifespan in the world. Yes, there is a connection.

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john_smith replied to OldRidgeback | 2 months ago
0 likes

They've also got more frituren than any other country and have, until recently, eaten a lot of vegetables. Could be that too. Or all the rain they have in the western provinces.

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chrisonabike replied to john_smith | 2 months ago
0 likes

I bet it's the clogs.  Or the cheese (hmm... maybe not).

I think their Holland is similar to our Holland in terms of terrain (and around same lattitude) - so maybe we should compare those?

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john_smith replied to chrisonabike | 2 months ago
1 like

Sounds like a plan, although I suspect theirs is a bit wetter than ours, at least for half of the year, so that might skew the results a bit.

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eburtthebike replied to OldRidgeback | 2 months ago
0 likes

OldRidgeback wrote:

As regards cycling, the British Medical Association says the health benefits outweigh the risks by a factor of 20:1. I'll stick with the BMA's judgement thanks.

Except that the BMA believes that helmets should be mandatory.  Admittedly, that was in a completely biased vote about ten years ago which they immediately said that they would be revisiting but haven't. 

Would you trust an organisation consisting entirely of ex-medical students?

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stonojnr replied to OldRidgeback | 2 months ago
2 likes

Well you may jest, but if you climb a ladder for work purposes, yes there very much is a training course and a "test" to prove your are qualified, and properly kitted out, and then licensed to do it.

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joemmo | 2 months ago
13 likes

chipping in as someone who uses this bike lane - It's pretty much as good as it gets in this country at the location in question, to be honest.
Aside from the issue that the quality of the lane elsewhere is pretty variable along the coastal stretch, the main issue is just people being people and not being used to bike lanes existing. It's a really busy stretch at weekends for people out walking, jogging etc. Hopefully they'll get the hang of it.

As for all the doom mongering, the terrible congestion for commuters has yet to be realised. Mainly because its not really a commuter route

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bikeman01 | 2 months ago
5 likes

“They wouldn’t walk onto a road.."

Actually they would and they often do,

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stonojnr replied to bikeman01 | 2 months ago
7 likes

Not in the same way, pedestrians attitude towards cycle lanes be they shared paths or even separated is they're extensions of pavements.

As much as people walk in to roads, without paying as much attention as they should, they don't assume they're walking on a pavement.

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john_smith replied to bikeman01 | 2 months ago
2 likes

What happens when a pedestrian gets hit by a cyclist doing 70-80 mph? Must be pretty ugly.

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Yorkshie Whippet replied to john_smith | 2 months ago
1 like

Trolling or talking bollocks?

Considering tour riders only reach 60mph free wheeling down a mountain side on closed roads. 

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john_smith replied to Yorkshie Whippet | 2 months ago
1 like

Welcome to road cc comments. You are now entering a humour-free zone.

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Clem Fandango replied to john_smith | 2 months ago
2 likes

Talking bollocks then

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eburtthebike | 2 months ago
3 likes

Cycle lanes defn: advanced stop lines for pedestrians.

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