Blue Cycle Trail Signs

A week or two ago a whole load of blue cycle trail signs appeared around the Illogan, Pool and Redruth area. Now you might think well ok, we're in the middle of the biggest round of hard hitting cuts in public services for many years - and perhaps there are better things to spend money on - but maybe the money for these signs had already been budgeted and accounted for.

The problem is that many of the signs advertise 'supermarket', and give the length of time it takes to cycle there. So the question is - why is Cornwall Council advertising and promoting 'supermarkets'.

I asked this question and the answer that I received really makes no sense at all. Apparently, the Council believes that, by promoting 'supermarkets' on the cycle trail signs, they are encouraging local people to make shopping trips by bike rather than making a car journey.

Now I don't know about you, but, to me, there are a few things that seem to be a bit strange about this proposition.

First of all, why do 'locals' need to be told where the supermarket is. Surely part of being a 'local' would be to have the knowledge of where the supermarket is?

Secondly, is the Council actually serious in believing that anyone is going to go and do their weekly shop at Tesco on a bike rather than take their car? I can see that the signs might inspire someone to try out the cycle trail as a leisure activity- but going shopping by bike?

Next, the signs direct people past local businesses, where the money generated stays in local, Cornish hands. Why is the Council actively promoting big UK wide, if not multi-national, supermarkets, whose profits flow straight out of Cornwall and into the coffers of big business at the expense of local businesses.

Call me cynical but this justification for promoting Tesco, Morrisons et al by Cornwall Council smacks of being either plain daft or just a cover for something that the Council would prefer not to be known. I don't have a clue which.