[visordown.com] - BMF and MAG at war over new roundabout

[Ninjette Newsbot]

A turbo roundabout sign in Holland


RIDERS' rights groups the BMF and MAG have fallen out over plans for a new type of roundabout designed to separate cyclists from traffic.

The British Motorcyclists Federation is supporting plans for one such roundabout in Bedford while the Motorcycle Action Group says the scheme is a 'potential killer'.

Dutch-style turbo roundabouts use raised sections of kerb as lane dividers to slow traffic, while allowing cyclists to use shared footpaths and zebra crossings.

MAG says they could cause fatal motorcycle accidents and claimed a victory earlier this year after halting one scheme in Bedford.

Now a similar scheme is to go ahead after the BMF said it was safe.

MAG chairman, John Mitchell, said: 'If this insane Bedford scheme goes ahead it strikes a killer blow against motorcyclists’ rights to have their safety considered in line with other vulnerable road user groups such as cyclists.

'I can’t understand how a riders’ group like the BMF can possibly be supporting it, unless they really have failed to grasp what this scheme is all about – and that it’s a potential killer.'

The BMF's lobbying director Anna Zee said: 'The BMF does not see that any part of the design constitutes a real danger to motorcyclists - there are no features which do not already appear in existing roundabouts in the UK.

'Naturally we will be taking an interest in how it does actually work in practice.'

MAG's Campaigns and Policy Advisor Dr Leon Mannings has published a 1,800-word statement on the group's website in which he attacks the BMF over its position.

Mannings says: 'To summarise the last year and a half, MAG blocked the introduction of two 'killer kerb' schemes. And, MAG was on the brink of stopping the latest Plan 2B scheme going ahead as it includes two stretches of 'killer spurs', i.e. 70mm high concrete ridges that cross the exit paths – and a pair of pinch-points that cut the lane width from 12m to 4m at critical points on the roundabout. However, the BMF did nothing regarding these proposals apart from supporting the latest scheme at the eleventh hour – and for reasons that may well merit further questioning and investigation.'

Bedford Borough Council has been awarded £300,000 for the scheme by the Department for Transport. Installation of the first turbo roundabout is set to begin on July 21 at the junction of Union Street, Clapham Road, Roff Avenue and Tavistock Street.



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