[28
FEB 01] COVENTRY CYCLING CAMPAIGN NEWS
Cyclists Add Voices To Phoenix Opposition
Cyclists
in Coventry are up in arms over plans to ban traffic from the city’s
Millennium Place, which is to be built as part of the Phoenix
Initiative.
CYCLING WILL NOT BE
ALLOWED ON MILLENNIUM PLACE
They
say the order will make it an offence for cyclists to cross the square
on their way in and out of the city centre.
Millennium
Place is to be built across the junction of Hale Street and trinity
Street as part of the £40 million development in the city.
The
crossroads will be closed to traffic to make way for a bridge and a
map embedded in the ground showing the world’s time zones.
Other
protestors say the closure of the junction will make it virtually
impossible to drive around the city centre.
Coventry
Cycling Campaign say that bicycles should be allowed to ride in the
square as it is the main link to the north of the city.
If
Millennium Place becomes a barrier to this, the campaigners say it
will put people off using their bikes.
Spokesman
George Riches said:
“The
proposals act against the Council's stated cycling policies and
ignore cyclist's needs; they send out exactly the wrong message
about cycling's status in Coventry.
“If
this is carried through there will be no through cycling route
across the city's north. Cyclists will be expected to dismount and
walk across the new square, thus breaking their journey's
continuity.”
Mr
Riches said members of the campaign had drawn up alternative
suggestions, including exempting bicycles from the order, and creating
a two-way cycle lane.
He
added that Cyclic were linking up with other groups that had were
fighting various aspects of the Phoenix Initiative, such as the
traffic order and the planned demolition of the Hippodrome, but would
be focusing on cycling issues.
|
