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Now it's speed bumps for cyclists . . . to stop them rampaging down a road
By Jaya Narain
Last updated at 2:03 AM on 25th September 2009

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It is generally agreed that speed bumps are an effective way of slowing down speeding motorists and improving road safety.
But now one council has introduced the bumps in a bid to stop speeding cyclists rampaging down one road.
In the exclusive area of Canonbury, in London's Islingston, they have laid 14 bumps on the no-car backstreet after a catalogue of complaints about cyclists careering down the road.
Bumpy ride: A cyclist attempts to take on Islington's Douglas Road South, which has anti-cyclist speed humps
The move comes after Government advisers claimed motorists should be made legally responsible for all accidents involving cyclists, even if they are not at fault.
Cycling England, an agency funded by the Transport Department, wants the civil law to be changed so drivers or their insurers would automatically be liable for compensation claims.
The proposal has infuriated drivers, many of whom are angered by the antics of 'Lycra louts' - cyclists who sail through red lights, go the wrong way up one-way streets and intimidate pedestrians on pavements and zebra crossings.
The radical step to introduce traffic calming measures to combat dangerous cyclists in Islington in London has been applauded by pedestrians and residents but condemned by angry cyclists.
The long and bumpy road: The route in Islington, North London, where 14 speed bumps have been put in to slow down cyclists
But residents say the move on the pedestrian-only backstreet graphically highlights the dangers of speeding cyclists.
Stacey Roswell, 32, said: 'I live here and kids are always playing out the back but there are a lot of cyclists coming down here really fast.'
The full-time mum-of-three added: 'It's not a bike path but they think it is. They're just a nuisance, they're not very considerate.
'I've got three kids myself, one with special needs. If he came out of the house onto here it's dangerous.'
The yellow and black plastic speed bumps were installed over the last fortnight after dozens of complaints by fed-up residents to Homes for Islington (HFL), the firm that runs the borough's housing estates.

''It's not a bike path but they think it is. They're
just a nuisance, they're
not very considerate'

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Miss Roswell said: 'Something has to be done but they're an eyesore and some of them don't even go right to the edge so you can cycle round them anyway.'
The crackdown has been imposed on reckless pushbikers in Canonbury, north London on a vehicle-free backstreet.
Cyclists use the 250-metre narrow road as a cut-through to avoid the traffic-congested main highway.
Phill Millership, 31, an architect from Stoke Newington, regularly cycles down the road on his way to work in Finsbury said the move was 'ill-conceived.'
He said: 'It may be an economical solution but it's certainly not a practical or aesthetic one - for bike users or residents.
"It's ill-conceived. People have got prams and all sorts to get down here. To wake up and see that every day, it's a bit garish.'
Another cyclist said the bumps were just displacing the cycle traffic as bikers were just choosing other roads.
But one pensioner said: 'They don't look very nice but they'll fade in time. If it stops the cyclists then that's the main thing - they come hurtling down here.
A HFL spokesman said the local tenants' and residents' association had decided to install the ramps.
He said: 'HFI is undertaking a survey of residents. If residents are now unhappy with the current arrangements, money spent will have been wasted and new work will have to be funded again - with no guarantee that there is funding available.'
Moves to make motorists responsible for all accident involving cyclsits has been modelled on regulations in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, which are heavily skewed in favour of cyclists.
Even in cases where a crash results from illegal or dangerous manoeuvres by the cyclist, the motorist is usually blamed.
Cyclists' groups say the reforms would encourage people to get out of their cars and make more journeys by bicycle or on foot.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0S9CT5zHe

Cyclists' groups say the reforms would encourage people to get out of their cars and make more journeys by bicycle or on foot.

Those are the sort of humps which might easily trip up a pensioner!
If they do, I hope they sue!