YP Letters: Make use of Harrogate's wide verges for cycle paths

CUTTING congestion in Harrogate is not just about finding alternative ways to travel to work.

There is plenty of motor traffic clogging up the roads but if the council wishes to encourage cyclists as part of an attempt to mitigate this, conditions for cycling here have to undergo a major improvement. I am not a cyclist in Harrogate but could be if I felt safer on the roads around me.

Whenever I travel to Europe, where I have cycled, I am struck by the prevalence of cycle paths. In towns and cities, the pedestrian paths are divided to accommodate cyclists and verges are converted for their use, even alongside motorways (a reasonable distance away so as not to be implicated in motor traffic). Accidents with pedestrians seem few and cyclists are well tolerated.

An argument for not having these facilities has often been that there is not enough space. Look around. Harrogate and the surrounding area have very wide pavements and verges, none of them used for cycles. The A59 west of Harrogate has huge verges and a cycle path could run alongside it for miles, yet you have to be very brave to cycle along that road at present. Cycleways have to be off the roads, sufficient money has to be allocated and the general mindset about cycling and cyclists needs to change.