LETTER: I like pavements free of bikes, parked vans and cars

Most cyclists do obey the law and use cycle lanes correctly. It is just some who think they can do what they want, and it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or even worse.

There are still vans and cars not obeying the signs from Windermere Road and going straight onto Stricklandgate.

Some delivery vans do obey the unloading times in Kendal but some do not. Stricklandgate to the town hall and Market Place is not for vans from 11am to 4pm but some just come and park anywhere.

I saw one delivery driver at lunchtime go to a shop near the Yorkshire Bank, then go to a bakery and sit in his van to eat, blocking a space a blue badge holder could have used. I know it is sometimes hard to get out of the middle of town before 11am but the law is the law.

I walk into town most days from the Milnthorpe Road end of town and I see at least one or more illegal activity most weekdays (very little at weekends) such as illegal parking or someone on a phone at the wheel. If we had more police out on the beat and traffic wardens, the fines would pay for the extra police in no time, and this is just one part of town.

On Friday, August 2 I was in town for about an hour and I saw one cyclist go through the town hall traffic lights on red, one cyclist on the pavement near Nether Bridge with his phone to his ear, and one van driver texting at the bottom of Glebe Road blocking the traffic. So, can we have more police and traffic wardens out on the streets booking all these people?

All cyclists should have lights, helmet, hi-vis jackets, a bell or some audible warning and pay some sort of insurance. This could be done by shops when they sell a new bike.

I like to walk down a pavement free of bikes, parked vans and cars, and walk in pedestrian areas without looking for cars and vans which should not be there.

Hopefully we should get some more police as our new Prime Minister has said there is going to be an extra 20,000.

Ian Conway

Kendal