A Bike Lane Apparently Wasn’t ‘Victorian’ Enough—So Residents Parked Cars Directly On It
Clevedon is a ridiculously picturesque town located in Somerset, England—and the small town has made headlines over the weekend as a ‘flash mob’ of anti-bike lane protestors jammed up a new bike lane along the seaside by parking directly in the lane.
The disagreement came from the addition of a new painted bike lane along the waterfront, which forced cars to—seriously—shift from parking head on facing the water to parking on a angle to create space for a bike lane. This, angry drivers contended, would ruin the drivers’ views of the water. Apparently, drivers in this area really suffer from a lack of neck mobility.
Yup, this is a thing that really is being protested. Apparently, drivers in this area really suffer from either a lack of neck mobility, or the ability to get out of their cars to take in the view.
According to the BBC, 40 drivers parked facing the sea (head on, not diagonally) Saturday night and refused to move their cars on Sunday. The categorization of a flash mob feels a titch extreme, but so does this reaction to a shift in the angle of parking spaces. Chris Berry, a member of local campaign group Save our Seafront, told the BBC that this demonstration was “a peaceful parking flash mob.” He added, “I can see about 40 cars all enjoying the view of the sea... These aren’t people who are accustomed to civil disobedience; these are people who feel incredibly strongly about what's happened to their sea front.”
The small town has been divided over the issue, with local cyclists slightly perplexed about the debate but also contending that perhaps there were better places to spend the council’s money on road resurfacing.
According to Road.cc, the council contends that the new bike lane will “encourage more walking and cycling in the town” as part of a “commitment to promoting healthier lifestyles and tackling the climate emergency.” (As opposed to what the car-loving protestors have called an attempt to reduce car-based tourism.)
Then, there’s the simple aesthetic factor. The bike lane in question is undeniably weird, a beige path that’s waved rather than straight. In fact, the BBC claims that locals have called it the “yellow brick road” and said it was “not in keeping with the look of the Victorian seafront.”
That's right: A bike lane isn’t Victorian enough. Proper, head-on parking spaces? Much more historically accurate.
As the very small-scale battle rages on in a weirdly low-key way, it does point towards the seemingly-growing divide between cyclist and driver culture.
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