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Derbyshire’s infamous Snake Pass – after weeks of landslide repairs, road closures and pedalling protests which, if I’m honest, gave the live blog plenty of material over the spring – has been reopened to motorists and cyclists for the last month and a half.
And, I regret to inform you dear reader, the drivers are at it again.
Excellent driving on Snake Pass early yesterday morning. Surely a @roadcc near miss of the day contender. On a more positive note, at least Snake Pass is safely open for cyclists again @theJeremyVine pic.twitter.com/WleFi29LpU
— Faction Chamois Cream (@Faction_cc) May 16, 2022
This video, shot over the weekend and uploaded to Twitter, features a rather impatient Audi driver – perhaps they’re also not happy the A57 is so busy again? – attempting to overtake a long line of cars and almost striking an oncoming cyclist in the process, who was forced to take evasive action.
To cyclists on Twitter, this terrifying near miss only served to highlight the absurdity of Derbyshire County Council’s decision to ban cyclists and walkers from the pass while the landslide repairs were being carried out, apparently “because of concerns over safety”.
Blimey. This is why cyclists don’t use the Snake Pass. This could’ve been a whole lot worse!!
— Marc Etches (@marc_etches) May 16, 2022
But but it was too dangerous without cars….oh wait it looked infinitely safer without cars. Who would have thought 😳😳
— Andy Roberts (@ic3creamman) May 16, 2022
It’s so good to see that it’s safely open to all road users and everyone is sticking to the 20mph limit 👍
— Joseph Torsney (@JTorsney) May 16, 2022
For a brief period in February (just in case you were hiding under a rock or avoiding the live blog at that time) Snake Pass became a car-free “cycling utopia” after it was closed to motorists due to the storm-induced road works on a small portion of the road.
However, the council also soon closed the infamously dangerous section of the A57, which runs for 12 miles from Ladybower Reservoir to Glossop, to cyclists and walkers, except for local access, sparking complaints and even organised mass ride protests from active travel advocates who viewed the ban as an anti-cycling decision “dressed up as health and safety”.
> Cycling UK urges council to publish evidence justifying Snake Pass cycling ban
The council claimed that the road was closed due to fears that “there will be an accident involving a vehicle and a cyclist because of the large numbers of cyclists that have taken the opportunity to go out and ride the road.”
We definitely preferred it closed @100Climbs @MikeyCycling @HarryHamishGray
— Faction Chamois Cream (@Faction_cc) May 16, 2022
Have you contacted @Derbyshirecc to thank them for making it so safe for cycling now?
— Matthew Williams (@DronnyMatt) May 16, 2022
Well let’s see what Derbyshire Constabulary think of that seeing as they were so worried when the road was closed. Usual letter of advice?
— David Bellini (@DavidBellini6) May 16, 2022
Well, by the looks of things, Snake Pass is a lot safer now…
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