The Courier & Advertiser 18 Jun 2015
Sir – It was good to read that Dundee City Council is behind plans to improve the city’s Green Circular Route.
However, I would suggest that it is not a hugely ambitious plan but more tinkering at the edges.
The docks are not the problem in Dundee. You do not need a security pass to get through, photo ID is sufficient and, in years of cycling through the docks, I have never been asked even for that. It is what is called sensible policing.
The real problem in Dundee, apart from the hills and the weather, is safety.I have been knocked off my bike twice by cars. Some bus drivers are cycle ignorant and pedestrians seem to think that because a bike is not a lorry, it is all right to step in front of it.
If Dundee City Council is really serious about encouraging cycling within the city then they need to spend some serious money and create proper cycle lanes, not the kind that are used by cars, taxis and buses for extra parking. I refer to ones similar to what they have in the Netherlands. A cycle lift up the Hilltown would help as well!
I will believe that Dundee is serious about cycling when proper provision is made. Until then cycling will be a risk sport, rather than the economic, health and social asset it should be.
David Robertson.