The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
On Monday, January 8, I was running along Pinchbeck Road heading in to town and an oncoming cyclist came around the corner by Sherwood Drive and almost cycled right into me.
We both had to stop abruptly and I was lucky not to be knocked down.
Cyclists shouldn’t be on the path there and if they are, they can’t see what is coming around the corner because of the tight bend and the bushes.
As a runner I certainly wasn’t expecting a bike to come at me at speed and if my responses hadn’t of been quick the cyclist would have crashed into me.
The second incident was on Friday, January 12, morning at approximately 9am.
I was coming home from a jog, I was just past the junction of Sherwood Drive heading out of town.
I had my headphones on listening to low level music as I normally do when I’m running.
The cyclist came up from behind me so I wasn’t aware of them, they would have seen me easily though.
The next thing I know is the lady on the bike has screeched next to me and fell into the road with oncoming traffic.
Fortunately there was no traffic on the road at that time.
I stopped and helped her and the bike off the road as I think she had hurt herself!
She was very lucky that a car wasn’t coming as it could of been a worse outcome for her.
I checked that she was ok and she said she had a scare as she fell into the road but then went on her way.
What worries me is that part of Pinchbeck Road between Woolram Wygate traffic lights and the hospital isn’t wide enough for cyclists as well as pedestrians, if you see them coming you can avoid them, but if they come up from behind you can’t.
Next time it could be a child or an elderly person who’s almost knocked over, there are lots of them going to the hospital.
If the cyclist or pedestrian ended up in the road and cars or lorries were coming past it could be quite serious.
Also there are a lot of driveways that cars have to pull off and not expect a bike to come along at 15mph.
The existing cycle lane finishes at the cemetery and starts again at Enterprise Way.
There is a signed track along the old railway behind the hospital but it is bumpy, dark and often overgrown so most cyclists use the footpath along Pinchbeck Road instead.
I have children and they like to ride their bikes but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a five and seven-year-old riding on the road along Pinchbeck Road.
If we go swimming for example we use the path until the cycle lane starts.
Joanne Hart
Spalding
