C
Colin Blackburn
Guest
My better half and I were trying to buy a sofa on Saturday which meant driving all over Newcastle
and Gateshead to various retail parks and industrial estates. While at Kingston Park in Newcastle we
decided to pop into the Tesco there to save an extra journey. It is a huge Tesco with a suitable
huge car park. We parked some distance from the shop and walked down a covered walkway towards the
supermarket entrance. As well as a walkway the covered area also had a two lane cycle path running
its length. I assumed it was for cycle access to the supermarket but as we got near to the entrance
it bent off and seemed to go around the back of the store. It seemed to just use the car park as
somewhere to pass through. No doubt Tesco did there bit in paying for some of it.
However, it struck me as one of the most dangerous off-road cycle paths I have seen for a while. It
crossed car park lanes every few metres, and driving in car parks seems worse than the roads as
drivers seem to think all normal rules of priority are defunct. It was essentially a shared facility
despite its marking since trolley pushers were everywhere. It was littered with littler bins for
some reason. And, finally, as it got near to the store it went between the walkway and the trolley
storage area. Not only did pedestrians have to mill around in the cycle path to get a trolley but
many of the trolley stacks were longer than the storage area blocking the cycle path completely.
Not surprisingly I didn't see a single cyclist using the path. Does anyone local know where this
path connects to and from?
Colin
and Gateshead to various retail parks and industrial estates. While at Kingston Park in Newcastle we
decided to pop into the Tesco there to save an extra journey. It is a huge Tesco with a suitable
huge car park. We parked some distance from the shop and walked down a covered walkway towards the
supermarket entrance. As well as a walkway the covered area also had a two lane cycle path running
its length. I assumed it was for cycle access to the supermarket but as we got near to the entrance
it bent off and seemed to go around the back of the store. It seemed to just use the car park as
somewhere to pass through. No doubt Tesco did there bit in paying for some of it.
However, it struck me as one of the most dangerous off-road cycle paths I have seen for a while. It
crossed car park lanes every few metres, and driving in car parks seems worse than the roads as
drivers seem to think all normal rules of priority are defunct. It was essentially a shared facility
despite its marking since trolley pushers were everywhere. It was littered with littler bins for
some reason. And, finally, as it got near to the store it went between the walkway and the trolley
storage area. Not only did pedestrians have to mill around in the cycle path to get a trolley but
many of the trolley stacks were longer than the storage area blocking the cycle path completely.
Not surprisingly I didn't see a single cyclist using the path. Does anyone local know where this
path connects to and from?
Colin