Dear All,
I have read through the Draft Cycling Strategy, and offer the following comments for your reading pleasure.
There's quite a lot of it so brace yourself. It might be an idea to do this a few lines at a time:
If you have a hardcopy of the strategy, have this to hand. Otherwise you might like to open up the report online, the link to which is in the mail below from Jeff Stafford.
-oOo_
General
There seems to be two sets of numbering interleaved through the document: a), b), c) as well as 1, 2, 3. It would be easier to follow if these were integrated.
Section 1
Havering Council wishes to promote cycling for the following reasons:
Havering Council wishes to promote cycling for the following reasons:
All sensible. 1.6 Local context says it will take regards of the local context but this is not explained.
I would add into this statement: Apart from the major trunk roads running through the borough, the roads are relatively quiet and the terrain is mostly flat particularly to the south of the borough so the area is well suited to cycling and yet according to 2001 census figures, the numbers of people cycling are well below the National and London average and also significantly less than neighbouring Barking and Dagenham who have a more extensive cycle route network.
Section 2
To promote Cycling:
To promote Cycling:
2.3 Assisting local organisations ...
Sensible but Havering council should also lead by example and provide proper facilities for its own staff. Mention could also be made of BOOOST which gives income tax relief on the purchase of a new bike used to cycle to work.
Sensible but Havering council should also lead by example and provide proper facilities for its own staff. Mention could also be made of BOOOST which gives income tax relief on the purchase of a new bike used to cycle to work.
2.4 Agreed but more could be done: The Travel Choices Map could be part of a pack containing: the Havering travel choices map, the relevant TfL cycle guide (map), cycle training information, a guide on utility cycling - to work, college, shopping etc. These packs could be available at the events mentioned, at libraries and distributed through the borough's cycle shops for example, attached to every new bike.
Target 1 To Conduct a survey of cycle use - Some information exists from the 2001 census which was collated by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists. This showed the percentage of people cycling to work in the borough near the bottom in the country at below 1% compared with 1.5% in Barking and Dagenham.
Target 3 has no due date.
b) Engaging the cycling community through effective liasion.
There have been some good examples of effective liasion but there are many bad ones. we need to have a measure of how effective the liasion is - We should start counting "non-compliances" where either we have pointed out the shortcomings of a plan and we have been ignored, or we weren't consulted AND the result is either a cycle facility that is sub-standard or a highway rearrangement that poses a hazard to cyclists. we should have a target to measure these and see that they reduce.
There have been some good examples of effective liasion but there are many bad ones. we need to have a measure of how effective the liasion is - We should start counting "non-compliances" where either we have pointed out the shortcomings of a plan and we have been ignored, or we weren't consulted AND the result is either a cycle facility that is sub-standard or a highway rearrangement that poses a hazard to cyclists. we should have a target to measure these and see that they reduce.
c) Improving and lengthening cycle routes
Strongly supported. I would question the claim that there are 40km of routes. Does this count all the gaps? To the best of my knowledge none of the routes are continuous nor do they connect with each other.
Strongly supported. I would question the claim that there are 40km of routes. Does this count all the gaps? To the best of my knowledge none of the routes are continuous nor do they connect with each other.
4.2 ASLs Havering council seems to have more than its share of ASLs without feeder lanes.
4.3 Greenways. These are great for recreation and for getting people used to cycling but in terms of helping the environment, the real benefit comes from encouraging people to cycle where they otherwise would have driven - to the shops, to work, to the sports centre. Let's not lose sight of that.
d) Cycle parking. Agreed and recent progress noted.
e) Proficiency training. This needs MUCH more prominence in the strategy. Redbridge council offered free adult training in 2004/5 and trained 200 people. I saw this advertised even though I do not live in the borough. Reference is made to a poor take up of Havering's training offering - I have to wonder how it was publicised.
The benefit of succeeding with good training is that we would not need to extend the cycle route network much more than we have already. Competant, confident cyclists do not need cycle routes unless they are in unfamiliar territory.
Target 8 reduce cyclist casualties - I don't see how the council can directly influence this. It would be more pertinent to have a zero target for cyclists using cycle routes. (As discouragement for implementing cycle lanes that run from the pavement into a busy, narrow road)
Target 9 continue to offer training - I would like to see a more challenging annual target for training both child and adult cyclists. eg To actively promote free cycle training to adults and children. Children (present numbers + 10% per year), Adults 50 + 20% per year.
Target 10 cycle audits for planning applications. Agreed.
target 11 deliver CLG wish lists. Agreed.
Target 12 planning applications provide for cyclists, Agreed.
Also, in order to encourage cycle-thinking in all traffic planning reports, I would like to see the planning report templates include prompts for the planner to consider the impact of each and every change on the cyclist.
-oOo-
That's all I could think of.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards
Terry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Havering Cycling Campaign" <hcc@...>
To: <Have_Bike@...>
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 9:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Have_Bike] Cycling Strategy consultation
>
> Thinking about responding to the the strategy document.
>
> We could go through it on our own in detail and post our views here before
> responding.
>
> That way we could develop a few more ideas?
>
> Does that sound reasonable?
>
> Terry
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Councillor Jeff Stafford" <jeff.stafford@...>
> To: <Have_Bike@...>
> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 2:24 PM
> Subject: [Have_Bike] Cycling Strategy consultation
>
>
> >
> > Consultation details can be found here:
> >
> >
> http://www.havering.gov.uk/servlet/page?_pageid=536&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&_type=site&_fsiteid=104&_fid=558855&_fnavbarid=1&_fnavbarsiteid=104&_fedit=0&_fmode=2&_fdisplaymode=1&_fcalledfrom=1&_fdisplayurl=
> >
> > Jeff
> >
> > Cllr. Jeff Stafford
> > tel: 07710 302603
> >
> >
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