You can shoot a Welsh person with a bow and arrow in Chester, a pregnant woman may relieve herself anywhere she likes, including in a policeman’s helmet and cyclists cannot cycle down one-way streets. All very silly laws and all actually still exist. But of all those, the third may be about to change.
There is a trial currently being run in Kensington & Chelsea borough that will involve placing signs that say “Except cyclists” beneath the no-entry signs. This will come as a surprise to some, however it is already common practise in many other countries and is about time it came to the UK.
As any seasoned London cyclist will realise there are many times when going down a one way street is far more appropriate. The main reason being that often the one way street is a far quicker route. Also it can often be safer than on the main road as side streets tend to be more quiet.
Obviously the success of the trial will depend on a number of things such as people not getting hurt so make sure you cycle safely. For now I think I, like David Cameron, will continue to use one way streets illegally but will feel a little better about myself when what I’m doing is legal.
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I really hope this comes into place. There are several one-way streets on my cycle commute route which would save me not only time, but nerves, as avoiding these means a lot of backtracking and going around on really busy roads. (NB: I am sure that drivers would like less cyclists on the busier roads too – surely they’d also back this?) The one-way streets are almost always completely empty…. I have cycled them once or twice but am always so wary of getting a fine. Which seems so ridiculous! There are obvious reasons why cars can’t go both ways down all these streets, but cyclists take up no room to traffic going in either direction. It would make cycle routes so much safer, direct and more pleasant if this law could be changed.
I hope it will never happen.