Dawlish Discussion

And I thought there was no money in the councils coffers, just shows what a bunch of two faced liars they all are.

Cant mend the roads, cant meet the needs of the elderly and infirm, cant keep childrens homes and social services open, cant support Surestart, nurseries and leisure centres.

But yet they carry on with their ludicrus backward thinking ideas and excuses.

Try subsisdising the bus and train network more, then perhaps we can all enjoy a family day

out

£15 million its a bloody joke, and its the same old tired faces like  Younger Ross trying to get back into the public eye its all been said and seen before with no new thinking just stupid minority group intrest, and we pay their wages or expenses.

As for boosting local trade, get real. The main reason the majority of cylists use that method of getting around is because their to tight to put petrol in their cars or pay for insurance MOTs and tax. They carry all their carrot juice and tap water in their little back packs. Hope they can carry a toilet as well cause the council wont be providing any shortly

Am all for green policies but let's take a closer look at the maths for a moment.

Taking the Town Quay - Newton example which I understand is 2.5km (1.5miles) and cost £3million - please correct if wrong?

1. To keep the maths simple, let us suppose that for each trip a toll of £1 was levied on the user.  At reportedly 43000 trips in the first year then £43000 would have been raised.  To payback the project cost then this would take £3000000/£43000 = 70years.  If the toll was a more realistic 50p (would a cyclist be happy to pay even 50p for 1.5 miles?) then it would take 140years.   However, that assumes no interest payments which at say 1.5% = £45000 per annum means that even at an impossibly low rate of 1.5% the project could not be paid back with a £1 toll.

2. Kilbride Housing have conservatively estimated reinstating B.Alston to Tavistock railway at £18.5m for 5.5miles of track and all associated infrastructure.  That works out at £3.4m/mile.  The above cycleway cost £2m/mile but is only a cycle track not a railway.

Conclusion - green and social benefits ignored in the above cycle costing, but it does sound a bit steep and where is the money miraculously coming from all of a sudden?

Excellent news!

The money comes from ring fenced funds from the sale of Exeter Airport, half a million from the Big Lottery fund and historic funding from Central Govt. 

It really doesn't matter where the money is coming from (after all it is ours!) - It could be spent more wisely on essential services.

Its time cyclist's realised that the roadf traffic act applies to them as it does to other road users standing on jubilee bridge at the junction of Brunswick place yesterday 6 lycra clad cyclists cycled down the pavement the wrong way down a one way street then crossed red lights over to Baileys.  I did mention to the final cyclist that he shouldnt be on the pavement or cycling the wrong way down a one way street his reply at the top of his voice F**K O** Is it not time the Police target cyclists who break the law cyling on footpaths and riding the wrong way down one way sytems seems the norm it used to be that the old Police Traffic Wardens issued tickets to cyclists maybe its time the PCSO'S started to issue a few.

If you haven't seen this yet, it's a 'must watch' of cyclists behaving badly - scroll down to the clip - in the last sequence on it the guy learns the hard way by going completely head over heels that jacket sleeves and cycle wheels don't mix well.  Sound on is best.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2600627/Cyclist-outraged-fellow-riders-bad-habits-installs-helmet-camera-catches-jumping-red-lights-cutting-motorists-using-mobile-phones.html

And there are plenty of videos of car drivers, 4x4 drivers and lorry drivers behaving badly too!  What's your point?

It's the lycra, it seems to get some people more het up than white van man could ever aspire to. 

It's not the lycra, it's some cyclists' total disregard for road and pedestrian safety that gets people angry.  I've yet to see a motorist drive along the middle of the pavement, or up a one-way street in the wrong direction.

@burneside - take a pop up to west london and you'll see much worse driving, by motorists, than going along the middle of the pavement. as to those cyclist who feel they have to wear gimp suits to ride their bike, i think it speaks for itself.

Again yesterday cyclists x4 on the pavement on Exeter Road on the other side a cycle path when i asked why they where not on the cycle path the answer "we are not that type of cyclist" so how many types are there i asked they decided not to answer.   Now if i decided to park my car on the cycle path i would soon have a FPN for obstruction of a cycle lane come on PCSO,S lets start treating all road users the same.

Just announced by DCC mass closure of elderly care homes, hundreds of staff likely to loose their jobs, residents to be transfered into the private sector.

Why because they havent got the funding to maintain the care provision

How about transfering the 15 million they intend to spend on a cycle path that only the minority will use in the summer and nobody will use in the winter

add this to the forty or so roads closed due to lack of maintainance by DCC

I think the council tax payers of Devon need to be asking serious questions of this council

Just to add to leatash's comments perhaps Debbie or any of the real police could answer this question. If one of these lycra loonies injure a pedestrian or damage a motor vehicle how would they pay for this in the current compensation culture and why are they exempt from having insurance

@Mrs C - my point is:

- Am very pro cycling and cyclists in general for all the good health and environmental advantages it profers one and all, and am very well aware that ultimately (whoever may be at fault) it is motorists who kill cyclists not the other way around.

- However, if cyclists wish to be supported by capital investment in dedicated routes then they ALL need to pay heed to the highway code if they wish to generate maximum public to support for said expenditure.

- Last point, and I am sticking my neck out here but will say it anyway - my experience of cyclists and from watching this videos, is that if I could have a pound for every miscreant cyclist who was a man I would then gladly lose a fiver if it was a woman, as I feel very confident that I would end up a very rich man indeed!