Why take posties off pedals?

All the political parties are pushing to make the country cycle safe and friendly. Some progress has been made. I am therefore very disappointed to see that in my home town, Battle, in East Sussex our Postal workers, who are perfectly happy delivering our post on bikes, have had their bicycles taken away and now have to use trolleys! Apparently the reason for this is due to concerns for the safety of the postal workers. Apart from the health benefits to the workers and the environmental positives why is it better for more vans to be used, increased cost of vehicle servicing, slower delivery times and more traffic on the road? Why is it unsafe? The speed limits in the town are generally 30 mph and the road conditions are the same for the postal workers as any other cyclist. If it is unsafe for the postal workers, is it unsafe for all cyclists? Does this mean that funding for improved cycling facilities have been focused only on big urban centers? Are parking and traffic calming measures not in place to facilitate confidence in the cyclists’ safety by organisations?

Thank you for your consideration to include this in the paper.

Susan Burton

by email

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