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 Blackburn <[email hidden]> wrote: ( ... 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.
Are you sure it didn't go to the store's "cycle racks"? The sort of Tesco that comes with a car park of its own seems always to have a standard cycle rack consisting of ever so slightly undersized copies of Sheffield bars in polished steel, mounted tight against a wall so as to make it impossible to get a bike into them, and they're always out of sight around the corner of the store.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
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Colin Blackburn <[email hidden]> wrote: ( ... 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.
Are you sure it didn't go to the store's "cycle racks"? The sort of Tesco that comes with a car park of its own seems always to have a standard cycle rack consisting of ever so slightly undersized copies of Sheffield bars in polished steel, mounted tight against a wall so as to make it impossible to get a bike into them, and they're always out of sight around the corner of the store.
I did think that but I didn't have time to follow it around. I have the Tyneside cycling map somewhere at home, I'll see if it pops up as a recognised route.
The sort of Tesco that comes with a car park of its own seems always to have a standard cycle rack consisting of ever so slightly undersized copies of Sheffield bars in polished steel, mounted tight against a wall so as to make it impossible to get a bike into them, and they're always out of sight around the corner of the store.
Ours at Cleckheaton is right by the front entrance, clear of the wall by enough to put a line of trolleys down. There is always a line of trolleys there. Its also next to the dog hitch.
We also have a 'Ram raid deterrent' right in front of the entrance which is like 2 oversized Sheffield stands
Colin Blackburn <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
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?
No idea, I've only ever cycled there along the big roads. I'd bet they have more cycle stands there than the rest of Tyneside put together though. I saw one other parked bike when I was there.
Try the Gateshead Tesco that's easy to get to by bike, but has no decent cycle parking whatsoever. Though there's a few signposts that generally do the trick.
