A crackdown on cycling on the footstreets and a big push on bike security were key parts of a Cycle Action Day in York.
The day was organised by the York BID (Business Improvement District) and saw their Street Rangers team up with police for a three-hour blitz in York city centre.
They were challenging cyclists who were riding through the footstreets, as well as promoting better bike security.
Organiser Carl Alsop, operations manager at the BID, said cyclists flouting the pedestrianisation zone was a concern.
“We’re looking at the pedestrianised area and trying to educate cyclists that actually, a bike is a vehicle and it can’t be going through the pedestrianised area during the pedestrianised times,” he told YorkMix.
“It is a danger to pedestrians. We hear this from businesses and it’s something we want to respond to and make sure that we are out there and tackling that issue head on.
“So the Street Rangers and the police have been out there today doing exactly that.”
The other major issue is bike security. “Cycle theft is on the rise in York,” Carl said. “And we are losing a number of bikes a week.”
Rangers and police went out and talked to cyclists about bike security while hanging ‘cycle theft hotspot’ information signs on bikes.
These reinforce the message that riders should use two locks to secure their bikes, preferably one of them a D-lock.
“And try and use appropriate locks to the value of your bike because we don’t want to make it easy for thieves,” Carl said.
During the action day on Thursday, police were also using the dot peen marking machine to add an indelible security code to people’s bikes, which makes them easier to track if they are stolen.
And the BID have also updated the signage on York city centre bike racks, complete with cycle route information – and the double lock security message.
Carl said: “We’re really hoping we can have a positive impact on the the nature of cycling in the city – make sure people can come in, enjoy cycling in the city appropriately at the right times and safely without getting their bikes stolen.”
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