The Times: Cyclists have been angered by speed bumps but residents welcome them
Motorists have complained about them for years, and now it’s the turn of cyclists to curse the speed bump. Fourteen have been installed in Douglas Road, Islington, North London, to slow the many cyclists who use the route.
One, Phillip Laurent, 36, from Camden, said: “The bumps are really aggravating. You have to slow down even when there’s nobody else on the road.” Another cyclist said that the bumps had been installed for the benefit of “hypochondriac grannies”. She added: “It’s a public walkway and I never go too fast anyway and I don’t see what the problem is.”
Samantha Thomson, 28, who lives in Angel, said the alternative route, by a canal, was dangerous. She said of the installation of the bumps: “I think it’s ridiculous, especially when people are being so encouraged to cycle instead of using cars.”
However Maureen Elliot, 68, a local resident who has three grandchildren, said: “I absolutely hate cyclists and I think the speed bumps are a really good idea. Before they were put in place they would just come whizzing down the road and one of my grandchildren got knocked down by one.”
Elliot Charles, 72, who also has three young grandchildren, said: “I think the speed bumps are a good idea because it means our grandchildren are safer.
“They like to play on the road and I used to get really scared that they would get knocked over by cyclists going too fast. I hope the bumps are here to stay.”
