Because Celia is not on trial. Apparently the council are now planning to widen this path.
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Yet the cyclist put Auriol’s life in danger that day.
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Some folks just don’t like cyclists, lets face it.
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That’s the key here, I think 
Hating on cyclists so they all deserve to be intimidated and forced into the road and the bully get away with it
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I see the hate on (some) folks faces as I pootle along and come to a complete halt when the situation dictates.
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Yes, some people do have an issue with cyclists. Unfortunately some cyclists behave like complete idiots regardless of where they’re riding which of course provides ammunition for the antis. It is illegal to ride on pavements, years ago the police would have intervened, certainly in London and you didn’t answer back!
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But there’s no evidence whatsoever that Celia Ward was riding like a complete idiot
Nor that she was riding on a pavement and not a shared pathway
And even if she had been, the penalty for that isn’t death?
But the haters take out their venom on this poor dead lady and accuse her of all sorts
And the pedestrian, of course, can do no wrong, especially if they can play a disability card
Even though her disability doesn’t mean she doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong and she was evasive and manipulative when interviewed
I agree totally with the words of the investigating police officer
"Everyone will have their own views of cyclists on pavements and cycleways, but what is clear is Grey’s response to the presence of Celia on a pedal cycle was totally disproportionate and ultimately found to be unlawful, resulting in Celia’s untimely and needless death.“
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On the whole (potwhole 
), I’d say older cyclists are safer. More likely to be considerate, careful and experienced.
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Quite, I fully agree. I suppose I was looking at the bigger picture. In short I’ll nail my colours to the mast, Auriol was well and truly in the wrong, no excuses!
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She was this according to a tribute from her family…
Family pay tribute to loving mum who died after collision in Huntingdon | The Hunts Post
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I am both a cyclist, and a pedestrian - all cyclists are pedestrians at some point, so should be able to see things from both angles.
I never cycle on pavements unless it’s clear i can do so legally and safely - the elderly, infirm, children, are most at risk, and more vulnerable at times.
Easy enough to get yourself a bike and off you go, but still a bike is capable of causing injury (and death) to anyone on foot, and especially to weaker people who are slow to react.
I can’t see that she did
But we do know for sure that Auriol’s nasty bullying behaviour put Celia’s life in danger, don’t we? But that doesn’t count because Celia was a cyclist?
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Thanks Mart, not a reckless, speeding, law breaking cyclist after all, just an elderly lady trying to keep herself fit and active after spending most of her life helping others…
Those batting for Auriol don’t want you to know this, they want to claim the sympathy vote for Auriol, but every person has a story to tell, they are not faceless, random humans that are expendable. They are someones mother, wife, grandmother and good friend to many.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if Auriol had bitten her abrasive tongue, stood aside, and through gritted teeth, bidded Celia a cheery good morning instead of losing her temper.
That’s the way that I would act when faced with bikes, scooters, disabled buggies, and anyone else trying to squeeze past me on a narrow walkway.
We are not all children and should not need a law for every eventuality, just common sense usually prevails and leaves a happy, satisfied feeling that keeps you warm for the rest of the day.
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Laws regarding vehicles of any kind are there to keep people safe, and i can’t imagine what would happen if we had no laws at all or didn’t believe any of those laws applied to us.
And really those laws have to be there for those who don’t have common sense.
The cyclist had no common sense, and the end result proved that.
How did she do that? She didn’t cycle straight at Grey as far as I could see. If Grey had stayed on her side of the pavement the cyclist would have passed her by. However, Grey took it into her head to verbally attack the cyclist, waving her arms in a threatening manner, causing the cyclist to veer into the traffic. Maybe the cyclist shouldn’t have been on the pavement but she didn’t deserve to die for a minor infringement of the law. On the clip where the reporter is seen talking to camera a cyclist whizzed past her at speed - she was still alive after he passed! The cyclist whom Grey confronted was not whizzing along at speed; looking at the kind of cycle she was on that would not have been possible even if she were so inclined!
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That’s not a fair comment. Particularly given she had been a midwife. You need quite a bit of common sense to do that job. She shouldn’t have been on the pavement, she could have pulled into the health centre driveway, her reflexes and judgement may have been slowed due to age. But I’m sure she was a very sensible individual.
The council is to blame for creating such an unsafe environment for both pedestrians and cyclists. The road looks extremely busy and the pavement is very narrow and cluttered with unnecessary street furniture. They are planning to widen the path as a result of what happened. That to me is an acceptance of liability. The speed of the traffic, a lack of safety barriers right next to a medical centre is not acceptable. It’s meant to be a 30mph road but it looks as though cars speed down it. Had the road been more safely laid out Celia would not have died.
There’s simply not enough funding to invest in all the work to create safe environments for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists. But it’s pretty easy & cheap to put a couple of speed bumps on the road near a medical centre. It’s likely to be local politics that stops this.
I don’t believe the council is to blame for this unfortunate accident Annie, agreed, there are things that can be done to make the footpath safer for both pedestrians and cyclists, but people should see a potential hazard and make allowances. Celia Ward could see the danger of cycling on a busy road so elected to ride steadily on the footpath, much to the annoyance of Auriol Grey. What ever happened to a little bit of tolerance?
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Walking or cycling everyday seems to dispel her being a wobbly and frail old cyclist
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Absolutey fair when you consider what i actually meant by that.
I’m sure she had common sense when it came to her job (although none of us can really be certain as we dont know this person or how she performed at work) but obvious to me when it came to riding a bike, and safety for other people around her - pedestrians and motorists alike, no evidence of common sense at all.
OGF there is no excuse for having such a dangerous road design next to a health centre where vulnerable people may need to walk safely to and from for treatment. You wouldn’t have such poor design near a school. There isn’t even a metal barrier on the edge of the pavement to protect people - had that been in place at this spot then Celia’s death definitely would not have happened.
If a group of people had been walking out of that health centre perhaps pushing a wheelchair, what then? Who should give way first? It’s all very poorly designed, very cluttered and very car-centric.
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