Wed - May 16, 2007

Cycling friendly Cities show the way

With our new Tory Council already banging the drum for lots of road building it would perhaps be apposite for them to look at the latest video produced by cycling journalist Carlton Reid's media business www.quickrelease.tv.

'Cycle friendly Cities' is a 15 minute film about just that and needless to say, neither Hereford, nor indeed anywhere in the UK, is featured. Amsterdam and Copenhagen, with their established and still expanding cycling ethos do, as well as Bogaota in Columbia, where they have decided the car madness must stop. Here, 40% of cars are now excluded and once a year all cars are excluded. There is a low res version here on YouTube and a hi-res version on iTunes via www.quickrelease.tv; watch and wonder what could be. Also take a look at our article from last July - 'Copenhagen - City Of Cyclists'.

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Tue - May 8, 2007

Battle continues for cyclist-friendly Highway Code

A revised draft of the Highway Code has not properly addressed the concerns of 11,000 cyclists who last year joined a CTC campaign to have the Code re-worded. The original draft of the Highway Code included a seemingly innocuous addition, which told cyclists to ‘use cycle facilities…where provided’. Following the campaigning efforts of 11,000 cyclists, the revised wording, issued on 28th March, reads: Use cycle routes and cycle facilities…wherever possible, as they can make your journey safer.

According to CTC, the new wording does not address its original concern that insurance companies will use the wording of the new Code as an excuse to reduce the amount of compensation they pay if a motorist hits a cyclist that has chosen to use a road rather than a nearby cycle facility. CTC Campaigns & Policy Manager, Roger Geffen, said: “We are working hard behind the scenes and very much hope that the Government will see sense and amend the wording to say “use cycle facilities where they help with your journey” – thus leaving the decision at the cyclist’s discretion. If it does not, we will seek to persuade the Lords to vote it out, or may ultimately initiate a Judicial Review against it.” CTC would like to hear about incidents where a cyclist has been injured while using a cycle facility, or has suffered verbal or physical abuse, or hassle from the police, as a result of using the road rather than a nearby cycle facility. Please email adam.coffman@ctc.org.uk For updates, visit www.ctc.org.uk/campaigns. UPDATE: sign the online petition to the Prime Minister to listen to cyclists and not approve the revised highway code here http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/roads4bikes/

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Thu - May 3, 2007

Keeping Cycling on Track

In July, the Government will publish a White Paper laying out its vision for the future of the railways. It's a golden opportunity to influence the next 30 years of rail travel, so the CTC have joined forces with the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPCG) to call on the Government to make it easier for passengers to take cycles with them on the train, or to park them safely at stations. Please add your voice to the campaign. There is a special feature on the CTC website http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4801

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Tue - May 1, 2007

Sustrans River Wye bridge scheme is through to the final selection stage

We are very pleased to announce that final list of Connect2 projects has just been published and the Hereford scheme is one of just 80 to be on the that list (from over 400 originally submitted) and which will be presented to the Big Lottery and taken forward to the live television vote during Winter 07/08. It is these projects that will be made reality should Connect2 be succesful in the vote. Sustrans have been delighted by the positive reaction to Connect2, the time and hard work invested and the impressive quality of the schemes. Also, the extremely strong reaction to Connect2 from the public. Sustrans have received thousands of pledges of support from individuals, communities and organisations and Hereford has been no exception to this - this is great news! For the full details, click on the logo.

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Sun - April 29, 2007

Tue - March 6, 2007

Sustrans launch bid for new cycle bridge over River Wye - we need your votes!

There are around 140 Sustrans Connect2 projects shortlisted across the UK - and Sustrans want your comments, opinions and feedback on the one that matters to us ie altering the river bridge currently carrying only sewerage pipes just east of Bartonsham to allow cyclists to cross the river and join existing and new cycle routes. The 140 shortlisted projects will be narrowed down to about 75 by May 2007 so your opinions count and your vote is vital.

Please click on the connect2 logo or the link in the right hand column for information and a map and then click on the 'Pledge your support' button to do just that. Please forward this on to anyone you think will be interested. Click on 'Read more' for background info on Connect 2. Please keep spreading the word to people to pleadge their support.

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Thu - February 22, 2007

Yazor Road cycleway consultation drawing to a close

The Council are currently consulting on 3 alternative options for a cycleway along the length of Yazor Road. Option 1 involves the felling of one tree whilst options 2 and 3 involve felling 11 trees (or 10 if you read the press release), which is something the Council generally seem quite keen on at the moment. Option 1 shows the use of an unsegregrated shared space (such as that pictured) whilst options 2 and 3 show a segregated shared use (where the footway would be divided into two parts, one for cycling and one for pedestrians) and a marked cyclepath on each side of the highway respectively. Cycle Hereford will be submitting its formal response very shortly and we'll be posting it here. The consultation closes on 2 March and full details and a leaflet to download are on the Council website, click here. Please take a moment to let the Council have your comments and click on 'Read more' to see Cycle Hereford's response.

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Tue - February 13, 2007

Tue - January 23, 2007

'Naked' streets are safer, say Tories

Writing in The Times, Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent reports. Inspired by the new-look Kensington High Street traffic lights, road signs and white lines would be removed from many high streets across the country under Conservative proposals to improve safety and reduce congestion by giving drivers and pedestrians equal status. Road humps, chicanes and other physical measures designed to reduce the speed of vehicles would be removed and the question of who had priority would be left open deliberately, making drivers more cautious. Read the full article in The Times online. Of course this is exactly what Cycle Hereford have been advocating, most recently in our St Owens Street representation and last year in our Widemarsh Street representation (which wasn't acted on by the Council). The Conservative proposal also featured on Jeremy Vine's show on Radio 2 yesterday when he had both Ben Hamilton-Baillie (Shared Space Consultant) and Owen Paterson talking about it. Paterson had been to Drachten in Holland with Hamilton-Baillie where these measures are already in place and spoke well and convincingly about what he had seen. Hamilton-Baillie has been to Hereford and talked to the Council about his unique expertise in the development of shared space principles for street design to improve safety, congestion and access. In fact, he designed the innovative 'hub' at the junction of Nelson Street, Green Street and Harold Street in conjunction with the St James and Bartonsham Community Travel Plan. Predictably, the scheme has not been constructed, despite three years of discussions, having been sidelined by political bickering. So, the Council had, and still has, the opportunity to be at the forefront of providing innovative solutions for reconciling traffic movement with quality public spaces in our City. We have a Conservative dominated Council so why don't they take the baton from Head Office and surprise us all?

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Tue - January 16, 2007

Thu - January 4, 2007

St Owen's Street cycle contraflow 'consultation' is underway

We're back and the year is off to a bad start already as we learnt today that Herefordshire Council announced, very quietly, that the St Owen's Street cycle contraflow consultation is under way, with the usual indecent haste. They're promoting the scheme no one wants, the one where cyclists are sandwiched between pedestrians and cars as in King Street. If you're a cyclist, a pedestrian or a motorist, you'll have probably had a near miss there, its a good example of bad design which musn't be repeated. There is to be a one day public exhibition of the scheme this coming Monday, 8 January, from 9.00am to 6.00pm at the Town Hall and written comments have to be submitted by 15 January "in order to maintain the scheme proposal programme". The proposed plan is available to download; click on the link below. We'll be back with more news on this very shortly but in the meantime, please head over to the forum here, where we've set a facility for you to vote on the proposal. Update: covering letter now also available to download. Update: this proposal was not announced in either of the local papers this week nor was it announced on the Council's website. Please note that your letters can be emailed to Mr A Culley at aculley@herefordshire.gov.uk

Update: Cycle Hereford have submitted their formal response to this proposal and copied it to all 58 Councillors. Click on 'Read more' to see our letter. Once again, we'll let you know if any Councillors respond. Update: Councillor responses added (only 2 but its a start ...).

Update 17 January: CYCLEWAY CONSULTATION EXTENDED. Herefordshire Council has decided to extend the consultation period to 2 February. Please take this opportunity to respond if you didn't manage earlier because of the stupidly short time scale.

StOwensStPlan(560k).pdf

Consultation Letter page1.pdf

Consultation Letter page2.pdf

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Wed - December 20, 2006

St Owen's Street - Greens want a better environment for business in 2007

Hereford Greens have welcomed news that the public consultation on St Owen's Street cycling access has been deferred. They say it would have been a very bad time to ask people for their views. Greens oppose the plan tabled to local residents and traders, which is to put a one-way cycle route towards St Peter's Church in between the pavement and a row of parked cars. They believe this would be dangerous to both cyclists and pedestrians, would make the street look messy, and would not improve the situation for traders.

Greens want to see a full street audit, out of which could come plans to create a more attractive street in keeping with such fantastic buildings and more supportive of local traders. Such a design would see lower traffic speeds, allowing cyclists to stay on the road,  and making it safer for pedestrians. It would also help to create a social street, with space for cycle storage, more trees and planted areas, seating and pavement cafes.

"Spending money consulting on a fundamentally flawed plan is a waste of Council Tax payers money", said the Greens Rob Hattersley. "We don't only want cycle access to the city centre, which is crucial in solving traffic problems and addressing climate change. We also want St Owen's Street to become an attractive cultural centre for Hereford, and to encourage more high quality businesses to complement and support those we already have. A more attractive street layout is needed than the one proposed."

Picture: St Owen's Street early 20th century - shared space, busy, social, safe, pleasant, good for trade, lots of cyclists! Click 'Read More' for a larger version.

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Tue - December 19, 2006

High Town cycle parking - is that all there is?

With High Town now resembling a latter day ‘Pottersville’ we almost missed the planting of 4 Sheffield racks outside Marks and Spencers. As we can’t see any other cycle parking provision, other than the temporary rack we’ve had to suffer all summer, we have to assume that this is the only crumb that the Council is going to throw cyclists in the great High Town refurbishment. Strange, because the consultation drawings showed 9 of the new stainless steel hoops (used in Eign Gate) to which Cycle Hereford objected to the quantity, asking for at least 18 hoops to hold 36 bicycles. The Sheffield hoops that were removed at the start of the year held 24 bicycles and were nearly always full. We’d like to think that the Council will be planting lots more hoops as part of their stated commitment to encouraging cycling and of course as indicated on the consultation drawings. Perhaps one of the 55 Councillors who haven't replied to our letter about St Owens Street could let us know. Update: 18 January. More racks have ben planted, more details soon.

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Thu - November 30, 2006

St Owens Street cycle contraflow - the latest chapter in this very long debacle

Many will know of long standing proposals to provide a cycle contraflow along St Owens Street, from the ring road to St Peters Square. This has been an adopted Policy dating back to 1988 and numerous schemes have been drawn up only to be scuppered by certain traders and Councillors. Once again, a scheme is being prepared, the Council having been pushed into action by St James and Bartonsham Community Association (CA), who identified a very strong demand for access into the City through their Community Travel Plan. Traders and the CA and the Council have met with an independent facilitator to try and move things forward. Cycle Hereford were actively excluded from this meeting. To the CA's surprise, a draft scheme was tabled at that meeting which is now on display in the notice board outside Bartonsham Stores. Although an outdated, inappropriate and dangerous solution (in the same manner as the King Street contraflow), we understand that this proposal will be published for public consultation mid-December. To try and head off yet another Council disaster, Cycle Hereford wrote to Cllr Wilcox, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transportation, who is responsible for the final decision and we copied our letter to all Councillors, relevant Council Officers and other interested parties. All replies will be published here. Cllr Wilcox has replied along with just 2 other Councillors, leaving 55 Councillors who haven't responded. Cycle Hereford will of course be responding to the consultation as will many other groups and individuals and we'll be updating this article as things proceed. Read our letter to Cllr Wilcox and the replies by clicking on 'Read more'. UPDATE: public consultation now deferred until early January. Hereford Greens offer their views on cycling provision and the potential for St Owen's Street to become an attractive cultural centre for Hereford on their website www.greenhereford.org.uk.

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Fri - November 17, 2006

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims -Sunday 19 November 2006

Third Sunday of November - now officially adopted by the United Nations
Initiated by RoadPeace in 1993 - this day is now globally recognised with the adoption by the UN General Assembly on 26th October 2005 of a resolution to recognize the third Sunday in November of every year as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, as an appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic crashes and their families.
Brigitte Chaudhry said: "We at RoadPeace are extremely pleased at this official adoption by the UN of our Remembrance Day, which we have worked so hard to promote over so many years together with our colleagues from victim organizations in Europe and beyond. This important recognition will help ensure that victims worldwide will feel less marginalized and that the profound impact of road deaths and injuries will become better appreciated and the causes more urgently addressed." - see UN News and Press Release and Roadpeace Press Release. Worldwide, over 3,000 people are killed and 100,000 injured every day on the road. The price in terms of human loss, grief and care is immeasurable. Official RoadPeace website here.

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Tue - October 31, 2006

Reinventing the bike shed

Cycling is booming in London and to a lesser degree in the rest of the country. London is now Europe's fastest growing cycling city with trips by bike up 50% in the last 5 years, but there are challenges to be faced. As increasing numbers of Londoners take to two wheels new demands are emerging for more and better cycle parking.

Bike theft is an ever-present problem; around 403 000 bikes are stolen every year in the UK and 1 in 4 people who get their bike stolen give up cycling.

Reinventing the Bike Shed was launched to both encourage inner city cycling and provide a catalyst for some critical thinking on how better design can play a part. The website www.reinventingthebikeshed.com includes a fascinating animation of bike thief methods and how to minimise the chances of having your precious bike stolen.

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Thu - August 31, 2006

Stop climate chaos ...

When: Saturday November 4th, 1-3pm. Where: Trafalgar Square. Why: To show you care about climate change.

Whether you care about the environment, global poverty, wildlife or just you and your family, climate change is fast becoming the greatest challenge we face, affecting everything we do. But we can stop climate chaos – if we act now.

It’s time! More and more of us care about climate change, and want our voices and actions to count. That's why on Saturday November 4, in Trafalgar Square, Stop Climate Chaos will launch the I Count campaign. This is the start of something big, as organisations and individuals make their voices heard in the fight against climate change.

On the eve of critical international climate change talks in Nairobi, join thousands of people to send a message to the Prime Minister and other world leaders that they too must stand up to stop climate chaos. There will be activities happening around London during the day including the Campaign against Climate Change march, which will converge on Trafalgar Square. In the Square you’ll find music, film, special guests and speakers…but most importantly, we need you! It’s your voice… your actions… your future… your planet. Together, we can stop climate chaos. Go to www.icount.org.uk for more details over the coming weeks and months.

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Sun - June 18, 2006

The silence of 20,000 bicycles

Chicago's Mayor Daly is apparently a cyclist and this picture certainly shows that where there's a political will there's a way. The end of May saw 'Bike The Drive' as the windy City's Lake Shore Drive became a no-car free-for-all for cyclists of all ages and levels for the day, with 20,000 cyclists taking the opportunity to demonstrate their strength. Participants were stunned out how quiet the City became. So, can we expect Hereford's new Mayor to champion Hereford's ring road looking like this? Ah, we forgot, it needs a political will and with this Council's recent track record ... probably not until the oil runs out. Thanks to http://galfromdownunda.livejournal.com/27840.html and http://www.bikethedrive.org/

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Thu - June 15, 2006

More cycling bans!

Proof, as it were needed, that the lunatics really have taken over the asylum. A Public Notice in this weeks Hereford Journal tells us that cycling is to be banned for a distance of 3 metres in Bewell Street. We also understand that the recent changes to allow cycling across High Town, St Peters St and Commercial Street all day Sunday are to be reduced to before 10.30am and after 4.30pm to bring the order into line with the Widemarsh Street ban. Cycle Hereford did ask the Council to look at it logically and amend the new Widemarsh Street order to fall into line with the existing High Town one but they declined. So, more money wasted, more confusion.

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Tue - May 30, 2006

Cycling debated at the House of Commons - Hansard

Emily Thornberry, MP: “There was also a suggestion in another place that 1,000 pedestrians in London were injured by cyclists last year. May I put an accurate defence of cyclists on the record? Last year, more pedestrians were hit and injured by mopeds than by bicycles. In 2004, one pedestrian was killed in a collision with a cyclist, but that is the only recent known death. Motor cyclists, of whom there are a similar number on the road as cyclists, killed 20 people and seriously injured another 200 last year. The number of direct pedestrian deaths caused by cars in the same year was 388, with another 5,000 people seriously injured and 20,000 moderately injured. On top of that, there were another 2,000 deaths on the road, all caused by motorised transport. It is a simple fact that the more cycling there is on the roads, the safer our roads become.” via Velorution. Image from christiana bikes.

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Thu - April 20, 2006

Village Bicycle Project

If you do nothing else this week, find the time to look at this 9 minute streaming film here; it tells of the Village Bicycle Project, which came about in response to a critical lack of basic reliable, affordable transport for millions of Africans. VBP partners with Bikes Not Bombs from Boston, USA, to ship bicycles to Ghana, Africa. A majority of these bikes will be sold to pay for shipping costs while a percentage of the best bikes will go to rural villages where transportation is lacking or non-existent; when mobility is improved so is the standard of living. As an added bonus there is a great soundtrack.

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Fri - April 14, 2006

We have the answer to the Widemarsh Street cycling ban!

Use a small bike and no one will notice you! Have a good Easter.

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Mon - March 27, 2006

Love Your Bike

Excellent site, packed with information and links to all things cycling and provides practical advice on cycling to work, put tpgether by bike lovers at Manchester Friends of the Earth and Manchester City Council (would that our Council be so supportive of cycling ...). Click on the logo!

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Fri - February 24, 2006

Cyclists to be banned from Widemarsh Street, 7 days a week - now confirmed

It seems that Herefordshire Council really are pursing an anti-cycling agenda as the traffic orders have now been published banning cycling 7 days a week in Widemarsh Street; read our full story below. Can someone in authority please explain what possible harm cycling at 10.30 on a Sunday morning will cause? Perhaps the Council should take a look at ‘Cycling Exeter', a £3m three year scheme, putting in links from residential suburbs to the city centre, via a new cycleway and modifying existing streets to provide a shared surface for cyclists and pedestrians (as we suggested to our Council for Widemarsh Street). Funding from Cycling England has been matched by Devon County Council and Exeter City Council.

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Thu - February 23, 2006

Cyclists to be driven from road? Cycle Hereford lobbies MP Paul Keetch

The Driving Standards Agency has begun a public consultation on a revised draft of the Highway Code - it can be viewed at www.dsa.gov.uk/highwaycode. There is a small but significant change which is sounding alarm bells in the cycling world. Briefly, the new rule tells cyclists that they 'should' use cycle facilities where provided which joins the existing rule that cyclists 'should' wear helmets. The legal consequences of the rule about cycle facilities are even more insidious, as it will be far harder to argue against 'contributory negligence' claims. The proposal is in draft form and we have written to MP Paul Keetch to ask for changes; read more for the full text of our letter. UPDATE: The CTC (Cyclist's Touring Club) are heading the campaign against this bad proposal. They have even penned a suggested email, automatically addressed to your MP. See the CTC website for the full story: http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4303. FURTHER UPDATE: BBC News magazine article about the proposals 'In The Gutter' here.

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