Date issued: 23 July 2019
This week, Colchester Borough Council and Essex Police are working together in the town centre to promote cycling safety, provide information on local cycle routes and facilities and offer support to prevent bike thefts.
The free mobile service will be available until 26 July and will move around various locations the town centre throughout the course of this week and will be stationed in Upper Castle Park by Hollytrees Museum from 2pm tomorrow.
This is the first event of this type in Colchester and follows a recent increase in the number of cyclists using footpaths in the town centre and Castle Park which can be dangerous and put pedestrians’ safety at risk.
In the town centre, cycling is not permitted on any footways or footpaths and is only allowed in Castle Park along the designated cycle path that runs beside the river in Lower Castle Park.
Cyclists who are seen by Essex Police and the Council’s Neighbourhood Services Team to be using footpaths in these areas face a £100 fine.
Councillor Martin Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, said: “It’s fantastic that there are so many cyclists in the town centre and it’s something we want to support and encourage, so it’s important that we promote cycling safety and security to protect everyone’s safety and enjoyment in these areas.
“This is also a great example of partnership working, and I would encourage cyclists to drop-by and find out more about cycling safety and routes in the area.”
Sergeant Martin Willsher, of Colchester’s Community Policing Team, said: “There is a lot of hard work ongoing to help combat bike theft and these awareness events will help us give helpful security advice to keen cyclists.
“We have had a decrease in reported bike theft in the town, but are still finding that some thefts are not reported to us.
“We often find that there are prolific bike thieves rather than lots of people stealing bikes, so your information, no matter how small could help us gather intelligence that will help bring an offender to justice or reunite a cyclist with their treasured bike.”
To find out more about bike security, please visit Essex Police’s website.
Page last reviewed: 23 July 2019