New meaning of 'improvement'

I've long been familiar with the idea that not making things worse for cyclists is called an "improvement" - perhaps the obvious case was not blocking off Crow Lane, Chadwell Heath, to cyclists wishing to turn left into it from Whalebone Lane (can't turn right into it as Whalebone Lane is a dual carriageway). This was called an improvement by the council and local press, but Vicarage Field's meaning of 'improvement' wins the prize for spinning the word so far it's facing the other way.

On page 3 of their glossy and on www.vicaragefield.com/scheme.php they claim "Dramatic improvements to St Awdry's Walk for pedestrians, cyclists and shoppers [sic]". What are these "dramatic improvements"? Well, in the words of the man at the exhibition, "we're going to ask cyclists to dismount"!

I pressed him further and he said that segregation of cyclists and pedestrians had been discussed, but that's what we've got currently. Every shared segregated path I use seems to have pedestrians in the cycle bit. That's not illegal, but I'm not sure why they do it, unless it's just obliviousness. OK, the cycle decals have never put in since St Awdry's Walk (known locally as Peto Alley) was segregated, but generally the decals don't seem to register with pedestrians. I think shared unsegregated is the way forward where a path is shared by cyclists and pedestrians. He agreed that may cyclists are considerate but said some are not. True, but these are just the ones to ignore signs telling them not to cycle. I doubt there has been a collision, let alone a serious one, in Peto Alley for many years, if ever.

The proposal is to have a high level walkway - at the level of the footway at Station Parade (a bridge over the railway) but in the scale model at the exhibition the walkway ended with steps at the St Awdry's Road end. I don't know whether they've looked into a continual slope or series of slopes with level platforms. If they are not going to genuinely improve this important route for cyclists then they should leave it as it is, not make it worse. In my campaigning to stop cyling from being banned through the town centre pedestrianised area (Blake's Corner where the band stand was, East Street etc) I have advocated making/improving alternative routes for cycling avoiding the very central area. Now is the chance to do this at Vicarage Field. I will not let thecut off this important link to/from the station for cyclists.

St Awdry's Walk - "Peto Alley" - update

http://stibasa.blogspot.com/2008/05/st-awdrys-walk-peto-alley.html

The Barking and Dagenham Post reports (28 May, p 7) that local residents have fought off the council's silly idea of block of Peto Alley ("St Awdry's Way" as they incorrectly call it - they mean "Walk"). "Other means of curbing anti-social behaviour will now be looked into".

Good.

St Awdry's Walk - "Peto Alley"

There are plans - early outline plans, I believe - to extend Vicarage Field Shopping Centre towards the railway line, resulting in the closure of St Awdry's Walk (known locally as Peto Alley).

Some people, it seems, feel this would be no great loss as there are safety issues in the alley. I don't know about that but having spent years camapigning to get a wheeling ramp for bikes at the station end (and the council having spent £s on the shared segregated upgrade to the path) I will fight this one tooth and nail, along I suspect with the resident of the area for whom it forms a significant shortcut to the station.

The next shortest route would be over the two footbridges between St Awdry's Road and Salisbury Avenue. The feeling of safety using these bridges is not strong, let alone the need to use 4 staircases - with no wheeling ramps for cyclists - instead of one.

Perhaps the idea is to force cyclists to use the town centre "bandstand" route, whereupon they will encounter gates across the road, no entry signs, one ways, pedestrianisation and a general feeling of hostility to cyclists.