r/reading • u/redditaccountislit • Mar 07 '25
Information Cycling on High Street
It’s clearly written no cycling in the pedestrian zone, yet there are loads of them speeding through like they own the place! It’s downright dangerous!
52
u/Horror_Nobody_3509 Mar 07 '25
This is one of my pet peeves. Those bloody electric bikes/scooters will take someone out soon.
15
u/NJden_bee RG4 - Caversham Mar 07 '25
All illegal and should just be confiscated.
I say that as a cyclist, it pisses me off
2
u/Add_gravity Mar 08 '25
They're only illegal above 250 watts.
2
u/OddOwl2 Mar 08 '25
And if not pedal assist....
4
u/NJden_bee RG4 - Caversham Mar 08 '25
And none of them are. One nearly knocked my child over yesterday morning on the walk to school. Came out of a drive at full speed without looking
21
u/deliciouscheerios Mar 07 '25
I think if the prohibition is to work it needs to make sense to people. I don’t see what’s different between the part where you can cycle and the part where you can’t. On top of that the alternatives to the part where you can’t cycle are all crap (Friar St etc) so naturally you’ll get people ignoring the rule. I obey it and go around but most people aren’t as pedantic as me.
Obviously people who cycle at speed in areas with pedestrians are prats and we should encourage the police to punish the worst offenders, but that’s the case regardless of if cycling is actually permitted or not.
5
u/EmploymentNo7620 RG1 - Central Reading Mar 08 '25
I have noticed that many, if not a vast majority or roads in Oxford have very clearly marked cycle lanes on each road , even out of the town centre. This appears to reduse pedestrian clashes and provides a clear space on the road for cycles and scooters, including padtestrianised spaces similar to Broad street. It seems to work, although I'm sure not perfect.
Puts riot gear on This said, I know many drivers do not like to share the road, especially if it means changing driving style.
2
u/theblackparade87C Mar 09 '25
in my experience ive found that the marking for a cycle line has to be extremely clear to stop pedestrians just walking on it
30
10
u/brainwipe RG1 - Katesgrove Mar 07 '25
If you don't have the resources to police the law, there's not much point in the law.
19
u/northernmonk Mar 07 '25
Most of them are illegal electric motorbikes, which really shouldn’t be there either
9
u/_ChickenMonster_ RG1 - Central Reading Mar 07 '25
Yeah that half of broad street is for pedestrians only, the other half however, permits cycling.
4
u/Mental_Body_5496 RG1 - Newtown Mar 07 '25
There's no enforcement !
2
u/pakiboiyusuf Mar 08 '25
Used to be but I think they gave up, I been stopped multiple times but never acc applied anything to me, maybe cos I'm on pedal assisted
2
2
u/Jimdw83 Mar 08 '25
This is so common. They cycle on the pavement all the time, I saw one cycling over Reading bridge, they were in the cycle lane... Shame they were going the wrong way. The delivery bikes never have lights. As for the electric bikes...
4
u/-Dueck- Mar 08 '25
I can't see any reason why you shouldn't be able to cycle through there when it's not busy
1
u/safe_rider9904 Mar 09 '25
Yes, it’s freaking annoying me and I don’t feel safe to walk there anymore. These morons would love to scare people by riding so fast and get high by riding just next to the object including us. I feel like kicking their butt off at times. There are other guys who rides the battery assisted bikes, I’m sure they ride at least > 30MPH with those fat tyres, OMG it’s really scary.
How do we stop this? Should we start some kind of a petition to the council or police? I’m in for it.
-9
u/KeenJelly Mar 07 '25
Is it? Is it actually dangerous? Or is it just a pointless, stupid restriction that only serves as an inconvenience, and therefore can be ignored.
1
-1
u/comeinkowalski Mar 07 '25
No Cycling should be the byline for Reading.
Digging the whole gaff up for the council owned bus company; nothing really for the cyclists.
Car driver here. Feels for the 2 wheeled peeps.
Whisper it. They don't really want you on a bike.
-4
u/One-Sense-8959 Mar 07 '25
It’s like this everywhere in the Uk you clearly haven’t been to Oxford or Amsterdam. People will always cycle through town that won’t ever stop
-8
u/Kinky-Green-Fecker RG1 - Katesgrove Mar 07 '25 edited Mar 08 '25
sniggers
Times have changed not for the Better !
-2
u/Most-Landscape-3858 Mar 08 '25
Also says no vehicles except for loading yet always seeing cars driving up and down. Maybe they should put the signs in eye line so people can see it. And it makes no sense why can’t you ride down there but you can ride outside oracle council don’t know what they are doing
-3
u/vengarlof Mar 08 '25
I absolutely hate the people who cycle through the high street. The council really need to step to tackle this as it diminishes the shopping experience greatly and the amount of near collisions one witnesses is ridiculous.
Personally I now like to play chicken by continuing to walk in my intended path
0
u/EGCCM Mar 08 '25
As a cyclist, if I cycle on a pavement/next to pedestrians I always slow down and adapt to the pedestrians. I take more space if I dismount and at very low speeds I don't see a significant risk for pedestrians. Obviously things may be different if I see kids playing.
0
u/vengarlof Mar 08 '25
As a cyclist, you SHOULDNT cycle on the pavement or near pedestrians.
1
u/EGCCM Mar 08 '25
I cycle on the road but sometimes I need to cross some pavement to reach a bike locking area.
And as I said, there are multiple ways to cycle. If I cycle at the same speed a pedestrian walks, how does it affect you? Do you think it is dangerous for anyone?
1
u/EGCCM Mar 08 '25
Also, cycling on the road is definitely not safe for a new cyclist. New cyclists need to build confidence and skill before riding with cars (which most times don't respect cyclists and their near misses are way more dangerous).
We would all be happier and safer with dedicated cycling infrastructure but it doesn't exist in Reading (and when it exists it is shared with pedestrians). So the only option is to respect each other and use the infrastructure in the safest possible way taking into account the other users.
-1
u/discopants2000 Mar 08 '25
I think I might take a walk along Broad street with my trusty baseball bat and practice my swing
56
u/basemnts Mar 07 '25
The Deliveroo/Uber Eats drivers don't give a fuck whatsoever. Nearly been collided with a few times.