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Newsletter 22 (February 1999)
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Contents:
- Bikes and Trains
- Money Talks
- Cyclists' eye
- Cambridge City
- Membership update
- Cycle Friendly Employers
- Car-parking revisited
- Josie Dew comes to Cambridge
- Safer Routes to School
- Cleaner diesels
- The Hills of Cambridge
- Letters
- Cycling Shorts
- Trishaws in Thailand
- No trishaws in Cambridge
- Regulator
- Travel for Work survey results
- Take a letter
- Cycling in the UK
- Tools of the Trade
- (S)Light disagreement
- About the Campaign
- Elected Officers
- Contacting the Campaign
- Campaign Diary
- Discounts
- Cycling Campaign Subgroups
- Other organisations - contacts
Bikes and Trains
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It's now more than two months since the 300 extra cycle parking spaces were opened at Cambridge station. Many cyclists appreciate not having to spend five or ten minutes hunting for somewhere to park. Word seems to be spreading, as fewer cyclists try to shoehorn their bikes into the original areas each day.
At the end of December, WAGN - the train operating company which runs the station - cleared out dead bikes and rotting leaves from half of the original stands, and they had plans to clear out the remainder during January. This clear-out was announced with suitably prominent posters, which included this delightful statement from the Area Business Manager:
I would take this opportunity of reaffirming our commitment to all cycle users at Cambridge Station. We acknowledge the benefits they bring in lowering traffic congestion in our station area.
On Friday 22 January, Anne Campbell MP visited the station, to highlight many of the improvements WAGN have been working on, at Cambridge and elsewhere:
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- 300 new parking places at Cambridge (jointly funded by the County Council)
- six new 'personal' stands - a kind of halfway house to lockers, offering improved security and a guaranteed space, in return for charge of £2 per week. If these prove successful, WAGN will install more
- the cycle hire and repair business featured in Newsletter 21
- provision of free hire cycles to regular commuters, and new Sheffield stands at Ashwell and Morden, Ely, Littleport and Waterbeach - to enable commuters to park their own bikes at one end of the journey, and use a free cycle at the other end
- plans for a cycle route through the car park (and hopefully filling in the gully, too)
- cycle storage on the refurbished class 317 trains
- clearer information about cycle carriage in timetables.
In Newsletter 17, we mentioned the code of practice for rail companies, CycleMark - Providing for Cyclists, which sets out objectives for rail operators for two distinct groups of users - those arriving at stations by bike (and needing cycle parking) and those wishing to travel with their bike (and use their bike at both ends of the journey). In conjunction with this code of practice, a CycleMark award scheme was set up, to recognise companies that have met the objectives. We have been so impressed with WAGN's progress for cyclists in the Cambridge area, that, at our January meeting, we decided to nominate the company for a CycleMark award.
Clare Macrae
Money Talks
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Late December is the time for Christmas presents. Perhaps the Government had a sense of humour when it first chose the week before Christmas as the time to announce the amount of money being given to councils to spend on transport for the next year. But the system is changing.
This year, the amount of money available to the county has nearly doubled, to £7.8 million, after years of constraints. And it has shifted in largely the right directions, especially that of the Cambridge Package. This funds most of the changes we see in the city. There will be £2.5 million for this, a whopping increase. Much of the detail will be decided later, but Park and Ride will continue to be a major focus, allowing the planned changes on Hills Road to proceed as well.
After years of neglect, £700,000 has been allocated to 'minor works', which will allow schemes outside the City area to be funded, probably including some elements of the Fens Cycle Package, which did not receive funding in its own right. In addition, £850,000 has been awarded for local safety schemes across the county. In my opinion, much of the best work for cyclists in the city has been funded out of this budget. Speed cameras are top priority for this money.
Bridges continue to get lots of money, notably to strengthen them to carry 40-tonne lorries (boo, hiss!), but also simply to keep them maintained. Interestingly, the Carter cycle bridge at Cambridge station is included in the priorities for this maintenance (and no, we don't expect to see 40-tonne lorries using it next year!).
The Council has persisted in bidding for a Fordham bypass (north of Newmarket), despite the consistent failure of the scheme to find funding. Likewise, the proposed Addenbrooke's Station. This was again turned down, apparently because Government sees it as a scheme in a vacuum - there isn't a coherent rail strategy for our area.
'Continued and increased support for the Cambridge Package is further recognition of the good progress made with a transport strategy that has the clear focus of encouraging a switch from the private car to more environmentally friendly alternatives, set against a background of increasing restraint and local demographic pressures'
Cambridgeshire County Council, report to committee, January 1999.
Local Transport Plans
In future, the funding system will change to a five-year cycle. There will be a practice run for the new system in the first year, for which a skeleton bid will be prepared by March. Next year the Plan will cover a full five years. Also, we should see the amount of money available nationally go up by well over a third in two years. However, the really big bucks will come from charging for workplace parking, so it's essential Cambridgeshire includes something to develop this.
As well as reflecting the national policy shift of the Transport White Paper, the new system will place much more focus on public participation (us!), on monitoring and feedback (which Cambridgeshire has tried to do in its most recent bids), and on bringing the requirements of the Road Traffic Reduction Act into play for the first time. The themes of the new structure include:
- widening travel choice;
- traffic management and restraining demand;
- integrating transport;
- integrating with wider policies (education and social services, as well as the more obvious land-use planning).
Responses from Government to this year's bid indicate that the Cambridge Package will continue to be a key element in the new system. However we should also see more emphasis on 'demand management' and on bus infrastructure that isn't just about serving the city centre. Cambridgeshire already gives weight to some subjects which are weak in the national guidance, such as partnerships to reduce car dependence. However, there are still areas where we need to see progress locally as well as nationally. These include reducing road traffic and road traffic danger, and road space reallocation (especially lower speed limits and more people-friendly road environments).
David Earl
Cyclists' eye
Milton and its consequences
What to do about Cambridge Road and the High Street in Milton is turning interesting. If you've been following the story, you'll know we raised the problem a couple of years ago that islands installed as minimal traffic-calming were causing cyclists to be squeezed by passing cars. Then along came proposals for narrow cycle lanes in this road, but keeping the islands. Local councillors, however, said no, we want to put cyclists on to the pavement instead.
Last autumn the County Council consulted Milton people about both. The Campaign said neither scheme was satisfactory, and that it was the islands that were the problem. The result of the consultation exercise was that there was slightly more support for the on-road lanes.
Not having got the answer they wanted, councillors then blamed us. They seemed to think we had subverted the opinions of the residents of Milton, and that we were neither 'real' cyclists nor representative of the cycling community. Some councillors seemed to think it was none of our business what was done in Milton.
This seems like sour grapes to me, but does leave us work to do. With 550 members, it seems that there is no other organisation in the area that can come close to providing a voice for cyclists. Councillors are nevertheless looking for ways to discount our opinions.
Because of the inconclusive results, councillors accepted officers' recommendation to defer the work in Milton. New plans have now been drawn up. These still incorporate shared-use pavements, but remove the offending traffic islands and provide a decent width cycle lane northbound. They also show a speed table (a paved, raised area) by the shops where one of our criticisms was that neither previous plan did anything, just where it's most needed. More minor and cycle-friendly traffic-calming measures are also suggested.
These new proposals look much more satisfactory and give all parties a solution they can be comfortable with. It remains to be seen whether councillors will be satisfied with this or whether they will want to impose their own view of what is best for cyclists.
It would be wrong to describe the new plan as a compromise. It's more than that: it's a compound solution. It sets an interesting precedent too: using traffic-calming as a way of providing for cyclists - the budget doesn't have to be exclusively for building cycle paths and lanes.
There are two remaining problems though. We know that some of you do want to cycle on the pavement. Providing complementary answers, as is now being promoted in Milton, means that, at least some of the time, everyone can be happy. But where a shared-use path is provided for the less assertive cyclist, the police and the courts may take the view that all cyclists should use it. Therefore the cyclist on the road can be held to be at fault if a collision occurs, even though they are rightfully there. We must find a solution to this, otherwise we will be driven off the roads.
Secondly, so many of the shared-use paths, even those that have been purpose-built within the last few years, have serious deficiencies. Just because someone feels vulnerable, he should not have to put up with things such as street furniture in his way, big bumps up and down, exceptionally narrow routes or ridiculously sharp bends.
Comberton to Barton
Because work at Milton has been delayed, the money allocated to it will be swapped with the next scheme on South Cambridgeshire's list. This is the building of a cycle track between Barton and Comberton.
The construction is typical of recent rural routes: a shared-use path with minimal pedestrian use, on one side of the road only. Two side road crossings at the Barton end will simply be flush kerbs with give-way lines across them. While most of the length will be a more or less adequate 2 m wide, 1.8 m is common and some stretches will be as narrow as 1.3 m with a kerb on one side and a fence on the other. This is not enough space for two bikes to pass, let alone do so safely.
Having to cross the road twice travelling west (and then encountering two side roads you wouldn't otherwise have to cross) must surely be more hazardous than staying put. While I understand the reluctance to be on the road with vehicles passing at speed, I am even less convinced this kind of provision makes things safer. At best, it may mean some cyclists, especially children, are allowed, or feel able, to cycle - those who wouldn't ride at all without some sort of marked cycle track.
We feel it's appropriate to ask why cars should be allowed to travel at 60 mph along a relatively narrow country lane in the first place.
Harston
Anyone who regularly uses the A10 knows it's undergoing a series of road works. The section from the M11 to Harston has been resurfaced and in Harston village a series of traffic-calming measures is being installed.
The resurfacing is exceptionally smooth and comfortable to ride on. If only they could surface cycle tracks to such standards! At the same time, road markings have been repainted to narrow the carriageway significantly, leaving a good margin on either side for most of the length. It's noticeable how many more cyclists are using the road rather than the abysmal shared-use path alongside. Quite why the new lines could not have formed a proper cycle lane, though, is an interesting question.
However, the traffic-calming is a different matter. Though the road works are making conditions much more difficult than they finally will be, it's already clear that siting islands at intervals along the road is a major hazard for cyclists. Indeed we told the Highways Agency this when it consulted about the scheme a couple of years ago, but it is doing it anyway.
The problem is the same as in Milton, but speeds are higher here. Drivers try to overtake at high speed approaching and even within the constricted space at the islands. This is dangerous for cyclists and is worst at the first island where the traffic is moving fastest. At the time of writing, a pair of islands is being constructed at the southern end of the village; this could be even worse than the one that has been in place for about six weeks now at the northern end.
David Earl
Cambridge City
Junctions being altered
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Work has started on reconstructing several junctions around town. We've reported on the plans for these previously.
On Hills Road, at the junction with Long Road, new signals are being installed with pedestrian crossings and advanced stop lines for cyclists. Work has started on changes at the Station Road junction, too. These are two of several junctions on Hills Road which will be made more cycle- and pedestrian-friendly in advance of the Babraham Park and Ride site being opened in the autumn. Of course, the main impetus for these changes is to give buses priority along Hills Road, but significant improvements for cyclists are incorporated into the scheme, too.
At Brooks Road, the mini-roundabout at the end of Mill Road is almost gone, with traffic signals taking over here too at long last. As part of the scheme, the cycle crossing between Brookside and Natal Road (and on into Cambridge) is being moved to the Mill Road junction. We have not succeeded in persuading the County Council that there is anything wrong with having a phone box and a post box in the middle of the cycle track, however!
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At Murkett's Corner (the end of Victoria Road at the top of Castle Hill), we understand that as well as the significant improvements for cyclists and pedestrians that we reported on previously (see Newsletter 20), the left turn lane into Shire Hall is to be protected with a cycle lane to its right. This indicates to cyclists more clearly where they need to be on the road; encourages motorists to keep further out; and, most importantly, avoids conflict between cyclists going straight on and left-turning cars.
Work is well underway there. Probably the most advanced of the group of changes, however, is the nearby junction of Lady Margaret Road and Madingley Road. Traffic signals were turned on there in the third week of January. They certainly make it easier to turn right onto Madingley Road. There is still work to be completed, including various cycle markings on the road.
Green Street
Green Street, in the centre of Cambridge, is being reconstructed. This was a great surprise to us. We are generally consulted about changes, but we hadn't heard about this.
The idea is to make the street more attractive and the pavements wider to attract more people to use the street. At present it has the feel of a back street.
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Judging from the artist's impression, the V-grip cycle racks are to be replaced by Sheffield stands, which is good news. However, potentially less good news for cyclists is that the surface to be used on the street will be 'reclaimed granite setts', which most people would describe as cobbles. The Evening News says these are coming from the Cattle Market. Carefully done, and with a suitable profile, these can be satisfactory, but there are some appalling examples in Cambridge and elsewhere. They can be uncomfortable to walk on as well as slippery and bumpy to ride over. We'll try to find out more about this, but even if an uncomfortable surface is to be used it will probably be hard to do much now, as the plan is so far advanced.
Emmanuel Road
Proposals have been published for the closure in Emmanuel Road and Short Street. We will make comments on these soon. As we said in Newsletter 20, this closure forms the second stage of the Core Traffic Scheme, after Bridge Street.
There are five main elements to the scheme:
- the closure, and the junctions at
- Jesus Lane (Four Lamps),
- Drummer Street,
- Clarendon Street-Parkside, and
- Downing Street-St Andrews Street.
The aim is to greatly reduce traffic in the whole area so that life should become pleasanter, even in streets where there are no specific measures.
Four Lamps
The proposal is to introduce a bus and cycle lane around most of the Jesus Lane side of the roundabout in the left-hand lane, to lead into the northbound bus and cycle lane in Victoria Avenue. Nothing is specifically proposed to help cyclists here, though there is perhaps a smaller area of tarmac to cross into the new lane.
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King Street
It will be legal to make the right turn from King Street into Short Street which everyone does already - the shape of the island will be changed to accommodate this.
The bollards
There are two suggestions for the closure itself, which would be close to where the southernmost pelican crossing is now. The first is an arrangement like that in Bridge Street, while the other allows two-way working, which is now also to be proposed for Bridge Street. Both approaches would be clearly restricted at the ends of New Square so cars don't find themselves at the barrier without having passed through a barrage of signs. Incidentally, the pelican would revert to a zebra crossing, at long last giving priority back to pedestrians on this immensely busy crossing.
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Drummer Street
A mini-roundabout is proposed for the Drummer Street junction with Emmanuel Road. Roundabouts and cyclists do not mix, so we should be wary of this. It may be, however, that the much reduced traffic levels make this workable.
Clarendon Street
Here we see some significant improvements for cyclists, with advanced stop lines on the approaches (including approach lanes), and a marked out path diagonally across the junction for people to make the common movement from Clarendon Street to the corner of Parker's Piece.
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Downing Street
At Downing Street, left turns would be banned except to buses, taxis and cyclists. This removes the need for two cramped lanes, for cars, and gives room for an approach lane for cyclists to a forward stop line. This may turn out to be one of the most significant parts of the scheme for cycling.
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There seems to be lots of good news in this package. The downside is that there is likely to be more traffic elsewhere, on Gonville Place and Regent Street in particular.
At Downing Street it would be nice if we could turn left without needing to wait for the lights to change, and we will suggest such an arrangement. It would also be helpful to cyclists if the approach to the northern pedestrian crossing on Short Street did not taper in to an island forming a pinch point. Again the scheme provides an opportunity to suggest such changes. If you have any other comments, please get in touch quickly.
Bridge Street
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Now traffic in Bridge Street has been reduced, the next step is to try to make the street pleasanter. The heavyweight but essentially temporary equipment and street furniture can be revised and the layout of the street reconsidered - the subject of an exhibition held in December at Magdalene College. The aims are to
- reduce the impact of vehicles that still use the street, by limiting speeds, removing waiting areas and so on;
- extend the 'feel' of the City Centre along Bridge Street and Magdalene Street;
- make the street more pedestrian-friendly; to be sympathetic to the historic nature of the streets;
- add interest to the street; and
- improve public transport facilities.
A 20 mph limit would be introduced and loading and waiting restrictions brought in. Where possible the pavements would be widened. A one-way-at-a-time traffic system will be needed to allow this in the very narrow section outside Magdalene College.
The street would be paved in various places, especially at crossing points, perhaps to the extent of forming a kind of piazza around and south of the bridge, extending the feel of Quayside, while an architectural gateway at the northern end would help to discourage unwanted traffic from entering the street.
The most significant traffic management measure affecting cyclists, except possibly the speed limits, would be the revised arrangements at the bollards. Here it's proposed to replace the current one-way-at-a-time system with lanes in each direction. This would mean slightly reducing the width of the cycle lanes. However, kerbs would be replaced with posts, effectively providing as much space. More importantly it should remove the most serious of our criticisms of the present scheme - the way buses are forced to swing into the path of cyclists around the islands.
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We can't do justice here to the significant amount of work the City and County Councils, working in partnership, have put into the suggestions and design, and the willingness of lots of community and interest groups to work together on improving the street.
David Earl
Membership update
When we reached our target of 500 members last August, we sat back and relaxed for a while, and dropped the emphasis on the number of members.
So it's particularly pleasing to see that many more people have joined since then - we're now up to 569.
As the cliché goes, if you think we're doing a good job, please tell others - do encourage friends and family to join. (The cliché also says, if you don't think we're doing a good job, please tell us!)
Clare Macrae
Cycle Friendly Employers
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David Meiklejohn is the new Cycle Friendly Employers Co-ordinator in Cambridge. David, a former journalist who changed careers through a Masters of Environmental Studies in his native Australia, has since worked for Cambridge-based campaign group, Baby Milk Action, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Here he explains why the Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme is important and what you can do to support and expand it.
Traffic congestion is costing UK business an estimated £15-£20 billion annually. With the Government foreshadowing congestion and parking charges in the near future, the time is ripe for employers to change their practices before having to pay.
Since July 1995, the Cambridge Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme - of which the Cambridge Cycling Campaign is a steering group key member - has sought to coax employers and their staff away from the car. So far, 25 companies, university departments, health bodies and local authorities have joined and are working to improve facilities and boost the culture of cycling within their workplaces.
A range of changes
Some employers install new, good quality cycle parking, upgrade old stands and put in showers or changing facilities if requested. Most improve support for both the regular and potential cyclist alike, for instance through the development of bicycle user groups (BUGs). At the moment, employers involved in the scheme are busy drawing up company cycle plans. These plans should be completed by the end of March and will set out objectives believed to be achievable within the workplace.
Each employer has a cycle co-ordinator who stays in contact with the other members of the Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme. The co-ordinator is encouraged to establish a BUG within the workplace to act as a forum for ideas about what can be improved and how to go about it, as well as a form of support for the co-ordinator. The idea is that it should not just be a lonely cyclist battling against a car culture but a group of like-minded people coming together to develop innovative and exciting ideas to promote cycling to, from and for work.
Building support
It's important to get the support of management throughout this process as this is often key to ensuring the success of the scheme. Employers may sometimes be sceptical about the merits of being involved but there are tremendous advantages to having more staff cycling to work. For example:
- it improves the health of those who do
- overcomes the problem of them being delayed in traffic either on the way to the workplace or on the way to meetings elsewhere
- can bring savings in the cost of parking provision
- is rarely as expensive to implement as managers may fear and many of the costs can be offset against tax.
The steps involved in getting an employer to sign up to the scheme and improving the culture of cycling are set out in a Good Practice Guide, compiled by Anne Taylor, the original Co-ordinator of the Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme. The guide, which is due out soon, will incorporate many of the lessons learned during the three-and-a-half years the scheme has been running and will be invaluable for potential cycle co-ordinators... and this is where you come in!
At present, we are concentrating on implementing company cycle plans for those already in the scheme but from April we are looking to expand the scheme by signing up new employers. Often, Campaign members are among the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable advocates for cycling within the scheme and are ideal to help promote cycling to their colleagues. If you think you would be interested in becoming a co-ordinator for your place of work or would just like to know more about what's involved, please phone me on 475136, write to me at
Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority
Hillview, Fulbourn Hospital
Cambridge CB1 5EF
or e-mail me - david.meiklejohn@exchange.chh.anglox.nhs.uk
The Cambridge Cycling Campaign website includes recent newsletters of the Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme as well as information about its associated scheme, Travel for Work.
It's an exciting time to be promoting cycling in Cambridge, but we need your help to make it a success. Contact me and get involved!
David Meiklejohn
The contact for the Travel for Work scheme is
Teresa Broadstock, Travel For Work Advisor
Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority
Hillview, Fulbourn Hospital
Cambridge CB1 5EF
475131
Teresa.Broadstock@exchange.chh.anglox.nhs.uk
Car-parking revisited
Judging by the volume of correspondence we've received since the article on problem car-parking in Newsletter 21, it is an important issue for many of our members. Thank you all for copies of your sets of correspondence, going back over several years.
A number of locations have been specifically mentioned, including:
- Perne Road, where a campaign member has been in correspondence with BT's public relations office, over their drivers' repeated parking across both a mandatory cycle lane and the zig-zags of a pedestrian crossing.
- Huntingdon Road, where a police car was parked in a mandatory cycle lane (see Letters). We hope to hear more details of the police response soon. There may, though, be significant exemptions for certain broad classes of vehicle - more news to follow.
We now know that:
- parking in a mandatory cycle lane is an offence for which a non-endorsable Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued, the penalty being £20,
- parking within the limitations of a Pedestrian Crossing is an offence for which an endorsable Fixed Penalty Notice can be issued, the penalty being £40 and three penalty points on the driver's licence,
- driving in a cycle lane is a non-endorsable offence, for which a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued, but '...at officers' discretion. For the majority of cases however, a verbal warning would probably be appropriate.'
- To enforce a penalty, the ticket must be placed on the vehicle at the time of the offence.
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We have finally received a reply to our letter to the City Council, which requested that the CCTV cameras should be used to provide evidence on this issue. Unfortunately for us, the reply was that the police have to ask the City for information from the tapes; the City cannot offer it to the police. So no progress yet.
Curiously, Anglia TV picked up the article from our last newsletter, and invited us to contribute to a five-minute community program on antisocial car parking, to be shown on Monday 25 January. They also covered the issue from the perspective of pedestrians in general, blind people and those with pushchairs and prams. I had worried that all Cambridge motorists would be model citizens on the day of filming. Needless to say, I had nothing to worry about! The cycle lane opposite Tommy Tuckers on Milton Road provided plenty of good examples in broad daylight.
Clare Macrae
Josie Dew comes to Cambridge
Readers of London Cycling Campaign's magazine might be familiar with cycling chef and writer Josie Dew, through her entertaining - and occasionally suspenseful - column 'BackPedalling'. She is also the author of two delightful books on her incredible adventures by bike:
- Travels in a Strange State - Cycling Across the USA
- The Wind in My Wheels - Travel Tales From The Saddle
I read Travels in a Strange State cover-to-cover this summer, having just returned from a two week holiday over there. I was immediately transported back to my own travels, with a delightful account of trying get a drink - of water, wart-her, waah-der, clear stuff. The blurb gives a wonderful picture of the book about her ride around Hawaii, and then from California to Halifax, Nova Scotia:
By most people's standards, Josie Dew is hugely adventurous. By American standards, she is completely insane. For Americans drive everywhere: through cinemas, restaurants, even trees. But driving past Josie as she pedalled across America was a new and alarming experience.
On her eight-month journey Josie experienced it all; race riots in Los Angeles, impossible heat in Death Valley, Sexual Tantric Seminars in Hawaii. From Utah to the Great Lakes, via improbable places like Zzyzx and Squaw Tit, her two-wheeled odyssey brought her into contact with all the wonders and worries of this larger-than-life country.
Highly entertaining, richly informative, Travels in a Strange State is a personal memoir of an improbable journey, revealing the United States as it is rarely seen - from the seat of a bicycle.
We invited Josie to give a talk in Cambridge. Fortuitously, it happens that she's launching a new book A Ride in the Neon Sun - A Gaijin in Japan in April, and so we asked her publisher to arrange a slide show at Waterstone's in Bridge Street, Cambridge. Josie's talks come very highly recommended by those who've seen and heard them, so be sure to make a note in your diary now! Tuesday 20 April (not the originally advertised Thursday 22 April), 6.30 pm.
Clare Macrae
Safer Routes to School
Tara Lammas-Daniell and Gillian Carey, project workers on the Safer Routes to School scheme, came to our January open meeting to tell us about their work.
The aim is to encourage walking and cycling to school, for three main reasons:
- to improve childhood health and fitness,
- to reduce school-run congestion and air pollution,
- to make children more independent and overcome fears about abduction.
Local surveys have shown 51% of those driving to school travel less than a mile; 34% of parents who drive children to school go straight back home; and 54% of children delivered to school by car would prefer to cycle.
There are currently nine member schools, with a total budget of £60,000. They are in St Ives, Littleport, and Coleridge, Romsey and St Philip's in Cambridge. To collect details of current travel patterns and postcodes, parents fill in questionnaires, and the results are used to produce a map of travel flows. Children are involved staff work with them, using plenty of 'resources' such as workbooks on traffic-calming.
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Problems vary from school to school. At Coleridge there was a problem getting across Radegund Road safely, so a crossing will be installed outside the school. St Philip's organised a bike week in October. They specifically wanted money to buy helmets, reflective gear and lights for example, and the scheme was able to find funding. (It seems only dark cycle helmets are trendy at the moment - but there's no problem with brightly coloured jackets.) Other schools will hold bike weeks in the spring. The County is looking to community groups (such as us!) to be involved.
It seems 90% of parents want to see cycle training provided. Currently, training starts when children reach the age of ten. From April, the County will be training volunteers to do off-road (playground) training for seven- to ten-year-olds. Pedestrian training for young children has also been requested, and Tara and Gillian are looking for good examples on which to model a local scheme.
Cycle sheds are important, but cost can cost around £5,000, and need to be somewhere visible, not hidden away. Many schools have concrete slots, which won't take chunky mountain-bike tyres.
The Coleridge and Romsey schools would like to produce a Safer Routes to Schools map, with safety tips.
In November 1998, recruitment started for the next batch of ten schools, and there was a lot of interest. Part of the selection process involves ensuring schools understand how much commitment is required. This is hard, due to their already heavy workload.
We heard about a variety of interesting ideas from elsewhere in the country. In St Albans, there is an interesting and popular scheme whereby parents take turns to walk to school with children from designated pickup points. There is usually one parent to five children, with a trolley for bags. It's known as the Walking Bus. Another Hertfordshire scheme provides a cycle lane towards school in the morning, with car-parking on the other side of the road. The two are reversed in the afternoon.
Tara and Gillian were keen to stress the scheme is not about attacking car drivers, but about changing attitudes and behaviour.
They also mentioned the shortage of volunteers to run school-based cycle training. If you are interested in helping cyclists of the future, do get in touch with the Campaign, or with Tara at the County Council.
Tim Burford
Cleaner diesels
A really unpleasant aspect of urban cycling is the lungful of black smoke you get when following many lorries and buses. 'Particulates' - soot - from diesel engines are a big health hazard, too. Catalytic converters on cars are gradually reducing some of the invisible pollutants in the atmosphere. However, because catalysts aren't effective until the engine has warmed up, pollution will increase again if traffic continues to grow, especially if shorter journeys are not reduced. But legislation on diesel smoke has been lax in comparison.
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Now it looks as if some headway is being made. Before Christmas, EU ministers agreed a set of new controls for large vehicles. The controls are intended to cut particulates by 30% by next year, and by 90% over the next six years. Given that this will partly be done by 'soot traps' - physical traps that stop even the smallest particles escaping - it is hard to see why it has taken so long.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides from large vehicles will also be cut by 30% next year; but a further 60% reduction will take until 2008 - far too long. A third measure means manufacturers will have to show how much carbon dioxide their new cars produce.
One feature of diesel engines is that they produce dramatically more pollution if they are not maintained. Because heavy lorries work on a shoestring budget, we have to be sceptical about the effectiveness of the particulate directive, but at least soot traps can be retro-fitted to existing vehicles. Some of the gain will be achieved by improved fuel manufacturing.
Finally, one local consequence of the take-over of Cambus by Stagecoach is that for the first time in years some real investment is being made in new buses in the City. This means some of the oldest and filthiest buses are being replaced with much cleaner models. I am aware of how few buses I see producing clouds of black smoke, compared to only three or four years ago.
David Earl
The Hills of Cambridge
Why are Peas Hill, Market Hill and Hills Road so called? I was intrigued by these questions put by Cycling Campaign members recently and have done a little research. The Cambridgeshire Collection, on the third floor of the Central Library in Lion Yard, is a wonderful resource and I looked at maps, and books such as the Victoria County History vol. III and The Place-names of Cambridgeshire by P H Reaney.
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Hills Road is the road to the Gog Magog Hills, just as Trumpington Street is the way to Trumpington. The other hills are all areas which were slightly higher than the surrounding countryside. The Romans built on the highest point 70 feet above sea level, the chalk spur overlooking the river crossing, bounded by Northampton Street, Magrath Avenue, Victoria Road and Mount Pleasant. In medieval Cambridge 'the position of the earliest settlements was determined by a gravel ridge... so that dwellings could be above the flood plain' (Victoria County History). What is now St John's Street, Trinity Street and King's Parade was the main street (Magna strata 1250, Highe streate 1592). The low-lying land was between here and the river, but four centuries of dumping rubbish have levelled it all out. In 1475 'the town covenanted with Queens' College to be allowed to deposit rubbish in the space between the College grove and the road to Newnham.'
You can trace the several high spots by looking at our street names -
- around Great St Mary's there is Senate House Hill, Market Hill, Peas Hill
- around the Shire Hall area (site of Roman fort and Norman castle), there is Castle Hill, Honey Hill, Pound Hill and Mount Pleasant
- St Andrew's Hill (where the Holiday Inn is today)
You can also see that the line of early churches is along the gravel ridge. Starting from the north - St Peter, St Giles, St Clement, St Sepulchre, All Saints in the Jewry, St Michael, St Mary the Great, St Edward, St Benedict, St Botolph and St Mary the Less.
Anne Taylor
Letters
Royal Cambridge Hotel junction
This letter was a response to one which Campaign committee member Nigel Deakin sent to members of the County's environment and transport committee, in which he urged them to approve changes designed to improve cyclists' safety at this junction. Shona Johnstone is chairman of that committee.
As I explained at the [Campaign] AGM on 6 October, I thought that the Silver Street stage of the core scheme should be linked to the Grand Arcade scheme. I do not necessarily mean that no work should take place until then - indeed there is no guarantee that the Grand Arcade will go ahead; rather that the planning should be linked, so we are not in a position of having to undo work that might conflict.
Any decision about the future of the Lensfield Road junction is bound to arouse a great deal of passion. There is a very fine balance to be struck between safety improvements at the junction and the disbenefits that would arise from installing traffic lights. These are the increase in queuing traffic with the potential for gridlock increases in pollution levels. I also have to take into account the fact that local people are opposed to having traffic lights at the junction.
Although I accept fully the right of the cyclist to travel on the public highway, there are alternative, safer cycleways which could be used. There are now many areas in Cambridge where we are saying to drivers 'to improve traffic flows and pollution levels you may not drive along this road.' Motorists now accept this. In view of my comments above, I do not think that it is unreasonable to say to cyclists 'you may prefer to use a safer route until we can resolve the outstanding issues surrounding this junction.'
Councillor Mrs S Johnstone
Madingley Road cycle route and McDonald's
As a very keen cycling family, we are very worried about the new McDonald's on Madingley Road and wonder if you can help. At peak times (all weekend, and lunchtimes) one car crosses the cycle path to enter or leave the McDonald's every five to ten seconds. (I have watched and counted.) Last Saturday I called the police and the restaurant was temporarily shut down whilst the problem abated!
This development makes a complete mockery of the cycle path. It's now actually more dangerous calling it a cycle path than if it weren't there.
Alan Paul
Long queues mean traffic constantly tails back across the footway. On Saturday lunchtime at McDonald's on Madingley Road, it took the manageress only 30 seconds to appear and demand to know what I was doing filming (off their premises) - 'People will not move on' she said. 'We have somebody out here all day on Saturday just moving the traffic on. You can't physically make people move on. If we had a drive-through we wouldn't have half these problems. Most of these people just come in, eat and go... It would be so much easier. We need about another seven McDonalds and it would be cool then.' Heaven forbid! Silverwood Close residents can be thankful they won against McDonald's on Coldham's Lane. This shows all the objectors' fears were justified.
David Earl
Grafham Water, and helmets
I never liked the idea of helmets (Newsletter 21 page 10); however, I bought one of unknown provenance at a CTC sale for 50p to help the funds. I found it better than a cap: it didn't blow away, it kept the sun off my bald pate, therefore no sunstroke, and it was less sweaty than any cloth cap. It also probably saved my consciousness when I had the only spill off my bike (Newsletter 20, Westley Waterless). The point of this is that I believe helmets are a good thing. Although no-one likes compulsion, it does need to be said that some of the negative aspects of helmet wearing are simply not so much of a problem as one would expect.
The circular path round Grafham Water (Newsletter 21 page 11) is jolly rough in places; I went round on my beautiful black Sunbeam and the jolting made my hands ache. I don't know how my old father got on but he seemed OK. The paths were so rough in places that I proceeded very carefully, and father walked some lengths. One chap on a mountain bike, though, passed us on a downhill scree at about 30 mph, a danger to himself and all other users nearby.
Keith Morris
More on car parking
Coincidentally, in the week in which Newsletter 21 arrived, with its excellent coverage of cars parking in cycle lanes, I met an extremely bad example on my way home up the Huntingdon Road. It was dark and raining, with a good deal of reflection from oncoming lights on the road surface. And there, parked on the solid white line, empty and quite hard to see, was - a police car. Much as I appreciate the job an over-stretched force is doing, this is surely unacceptable, and I have written to the Chief Constable about it. It was good to be reminded of the other side of the Force in Clare's interview with PC Lappin.
Douglas de Lacey
Traffic-calming in Harston
What must have been a small fortune has been spent resurfacing the A10 between the M11 junction and Harston village, and a very nice surface to cycle on it is too, except for the traffic whizzing past at 60 mph or more! Beside it there is a broken up strip of tarmac laughably called a cycle path. This is precisely the sort of stretch of road where a good quality shared-use path would actually be welcome, but it appears they couldn't spare enough tarmac to do the cycle path as well. We are left with a strip which dwindles to barely 12 inches wide in places, is often overgrown and at this time of the year is covered in wet dead leaves.
I attempted to use this to return to Cambridge at the end of my first day working in Harston, and I can safely say I have never used such an appalling 'facility' - the bit between the M11 junction and Trumpington was the worst because there are no street lights, and even with my quite decent headlamp it was quite hard to follow where the strip of tarmac meandered as it bumped over tree roots and bent around lay-bys. Twice I had to halt simply to let a bike pass the other way. I returned to the road as soon as I reached the speed limit signs, and I haven't attempted the route since. I prefer to do more than a mile extra on the unlit roads and tracks via Haslingfield and Grantchester - at least you've got a bit of elbow room!
Are there any plans to improve this cycle path, and if so, when?
There is also an interesting situation at Scientific Generics where I now work. The firm has had plans for expansion turned down, partly because of objections to the proposed enlargement of the car park and fears of increased traffic levels. They are therefore actively looking at all sorts of ways of reducing car usage! An e-mail came round asking people what they thought was a 'reasonable' distance to cycle to work (each way). The early consensus, with which I tend to agree, would indicate about five miles. I certainly find the ten miles I currently do (but only two or three times a week) a bit much in terms of the time it takes, and not particularly enjoyable at this time of year. I'll keep you posted on progress, though I'm sure there are other Campaign members at SG as I've seen some literature on a notice board. The firm is a member of the Cycle Friendly Employers Scheme.
Stefan Kaye
See 'Harston' in David Earl's round-up of campaign news for more about this. I cycle about 4½ miles to work, and in winter I'm pleased it is no further. I'd agree with the five mile figure you suggest - Ed.
Cycling Shorts
South Cambridgeshire District Council voted to contribute £15,000 towards cost of CCTV at a Waterbeach car park, but by borrowing money from this year's cycleways budget (Cambridge Evening News, 12 November). We hope this will be paid back next year, with interest.
We recently heard of another business offering free home delivery. Cambridge Wine Merchants (formerly Bin Ends), of 2 Mill Road, and 32 Bridge Street, delivers within the local area.
Chris Lloyd, of Chris's Bikes, has opened a shop at 2 Thornton Way, Girton, and Cycling Campaign members receive discounts.
Nearly three months after the introduction of new parking restrictions in Cambridge city centre, one Tuesday at 9.45 pm, we found 12 cars parked in the Market Square alone! We knew the plan was for a phased introduction of enforcement, but we didn't think it was going to take this long. The modifications to signs in the area have been completed. Whilst I can understand the need to be somewhat subtle with road signs and yellow-lining in the 'Historic City Centre', I do feel that most motorists would be extremely unlikely to notice the subtle changes involved, and could perhaps be excused for not realising the rules had changed. The most useful way to enforce the regulations would be to fill some of the old parking bays with Sheffield cycle stands - leaving a suitable amount of space for shop deliveries, of course.
In September last year, the charge for carrying bikes by taxi (i.e. Hackney Carriage) went up from £1 to £2. The charge also applies to folding bikes, even if they are packed away in a carrying case. Incidentally, the City Council controls charges only for taxis. Private hire cars (which is what you get when you phone to book a cab) are not regulated in this way, and can charge what they like.
In November, Cambridgeshire County Council launched its first Travel for Work Plan for the Shire Hall site, with a very impressive four-sided colour newsletter. The idea is to give all staff clear information about cycling, public transport, pool cars, car sharing, teleworking, and even a staff bus. In support of this plan, staff have negotiated an increase in the maximum tax-free cycling mileage allowance, from the oft-quoted 6.5p to 10p. We had hoped that this might be transferable to other companies, but it looks as if every company has to negotiate individually with its own tax office.
As we reported last issue, the Fen Cycleways Package failed to receive TPP funding for the second year running. However, the County Council hopes to use roughly 20% of the £700,000 which was allocated for Minor Works to carry out the highest-priority sections, and to secure matching European funding.
Consultancy firm Babtie is carrying out a study, on behalf of the Highways Agency, into the future development of the A14 between Felixstowe and the M6 junction. STEER (Sustainable Transport and Environment for the Eastern Region), of which we are a member, has been represented at the workshops.
Clare Macrae
Trishaws in Thailand
I took a ride on a trishaw last week, in the city of Sukhothai in central Thailand. I offered 20 Baht (about 35p) for a short journey of about half a mile. I could have probably got away with offering less, but the rider didn't speak English so it didn't seem worth the bother. When I reached my destination I judged that my generous fare entitled me to ask the driver to pose for a photo, which he duly did.
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The trishaw had room for two passengers, though it was somewhat smaller and older than those operated in Cambridge by Simon Lane. It had only one gear, and the rider wore flip-flops, but despite this we overtook several slower-moving motor vehicles along the way and executed a right turn across a busy dual carriageway without difficulty.
There were trishaws plying for hire all over the city centre - though not as many as of their moped equivalent, Thailand's notoriously noisy and smelly 'Tuk-Tuk'. Both forms of transport were highly convenient for travelling short distances, especially given that the temperature during the day was around 35°C. I tended to prefer to use Tuk-Tuks after dark because they had lights!
It was apparent that the trishaw drivers were poorer and probably less well educated than the Tuk-Tuk drivers (who were in turn, presumably, poorer than the taxi drivers).
I saw a lot of bicycles in Thailand (except in Bangkok), but the most common form of transport by far was the moped. I saw mopeds being used to carry entire families, and, with various sidecar and trailer attachments, a wide variety of goods.
I did hire a bike, for about an hour, to get around the widely scattered ancient ruins of a historical site. Thai people are in general smaller than me - it took quite some time to find a bike large enough! I ended up on a cheap, heavy mountain bike with thick, soft tyres and dodgy brakes. On the road, it took some time to get used to the slow pace of traffic. It would have been quite dangerous to zoom about in the way that I do at home. Fortunately they ride (and drive) on the left.
Traffic in the towns and cities (except Bangkok) proceeded remarkably slowly, and vehicles (especially mopeds) were often happy to give way to crossing pedestrians. It took some time to realise that the best way to cross a busy road was to step out into it. On a couple of occasions in Bangkok I saw pedestrians step into the road, making a 'stop' gesture to the approaching traffic - which duly stopped!
Nigel Deakin
No trishaws in Cambridge
Shame on Cambridge City Council! In January, after months of digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole over trishaw licensing, the Environment Committee decided that form of transport was were just too much trouble and banned it completely.
Councillor David Howarth and the Liberal Democrat group made a valiant effort to save the human-powered vehicles, but to no avail. Simon Lane's only remaining way of staying in Cambridge is now an appeal to the European Court, a recent appeal to the House of Lords having been dismissed.
Words such as 'over-zealous' spring to mind when thinking about this absurd decision. It is a massive triumph for the bureaucrats, and was no doubt welcomed gleefully by taxi drivers who were the only people to complain when trishaws came on the scene.
While Nigel's experience of trishaws in Thailand (see Trishaws in Thailand) is in a rather different cultural environment, a more comparable example is Key West, Florida, where tricycles mix quite happily with the other traffic and are a big part of the tourist scene there.
In the meantime, if you want to try a trishaw, head for London where they are being introduced.
David Earl
Regulator
If you have dynamo lights that keep blowing their bulbs, consider fitting a regulator to the circuit. This does two things:
- it prolongs the life of your bulbs (especially if you occasionally whiz down hills at a fairly high speed)
- saves bulb two from overload when bulb one blows. When a front light bulb fails, the back lamp usually lasts only a few hundred yards, shining rather brightly, before it follows
A regulator is also worth while if you fit a halogen front light bulb (a good idea, as these are brighter than the ordinary kind). This is because halogen bulbs are very sensitive to overload (because they run much hotter) and quite expensive to replace. Note that some models of generator, and some lights, have a regulator built in.
Howes Cycles sells a Reflectalite regulator for £4.99. Campaign and CTC members are entitled to 10% discount. You get a little plastic-encapsulated thing with a push-on connector and two short wires (40 mm or so) coming out of it. In the same packet is a selection of crimp-on connectors. The two I've fitted also needed a cable tie or bit of plastic tape to stop the regulator dangling loose on its wires. It fitted neatly on a spare bit of the generator bracket in each case. They really do work. The only complicated thing about wiring in a typical regulator is getting its two wires the right way round - one to the generator, the other to the cycle frame.
Mark Irving
Travel for Work survey results
Staff at the County Council are polishing off an analysis of the replies from the Travel for Work survey, held in August. The response was impressive, especially given the time scales involved. Of the 9,000 survey forms distributed, 2,147 (24%) were returned.
Of those who replied, 20% said cycling was their main method of travel that day. This seems different to the oft-quoted figure of approximately 25% of journeys to work in the city being by bike. However, this overall figure doesn't reveal the length of journeys, so the two numbers aren't directly comparable.
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We ran our own survey of Science Park vehicle movements on 24 September, so we were keen to compare these with the council's. Bidwells assisted the County Council in this exercise, and 939 responses were received from Science Park staff - a response rate of just over 20%. Of these, 12% said they had cycled to work. Given the location of the Science Park, very close to the A14, and the cycle-unfriendliness of its environment, it is probably not surprising that this is considerably lower than the 20% overall figure. Furthermore, the low level of cycling on the Science Park has a big effect on the overall Cambridge figure. I calculate that approximately 26% of non-Science Park staff cycled on the day!
During our two-hour survey, 10.7% of movements into the Science Park were by bike. Given the differing nature of the two surveys (methods, dates and weather) the Science Park figures are in remarkably good agreement.
An incredible 90% of individuals who responded to the questionnaire had a free car parking space available for their use while at work. A quarter of the 10% who did not have a car parking space at work left their vehicle at home. This gives an indication of the importance of taxing of work-place parking.
Each member of the Travel for Work scheme who returned more than 50 surveys has received a detailed report, including a breakdown of responses to all the questions. Each report contains a map showing the starting points for each journey (based on home postcode), with a symbol showing the method of transport used. This will enable companies to decide which are the 'easy wins' when targeting improvements.
There were also questions about each mode of transport, asking what specific changes would encourage people to switch from driving to car sharing, public transport, cycling or walking. The table below shows the responses for cycling.
| Improvement | Requests from non-cyclists |
| Better quality cycle routes | 49% |
| More cycle routes | 47% |
| Better maintained cycle routes | 34% |
| Less traffic | 34% |
| Shower/Changing facilities | 32% |
| Secure cycle parking | 29% |
| Slower traffic | 15% |
| Other | 22% |
Personally, I worry that showers, for example, are a bit of a red herring. I fear that the survey tells us that 32% of non-cyclists have the perception that cycling is hard work, rather than that it tells us about the likelihood of cycling increasing if showers are installed. For example, I work in a 35-person company with a very nice shower. I calculate that 40% of staff cycle regularly, and 15% cycle occasionally. The shower only gets used after lunch-time sporting activities. I'd be interested in feedback from others who work at locations with showers, to hear how typical this is. (I do know a few cyclists who are very grateful for the shower facilities at their workplace - but they tend to cycle very fast, and further than ten miles each way to work, and so are unlikely to be typical of most potential cyclists.)
On a brighter note, however, the survey does demonstrate that a huge number of people are willing to consider changing their mode of transport, which is very good news indeed for the Travel for Work and Safer Routes to Schools initiatives.
This first survey was deliberately carried out during the school summer holidays, when congestion is lower. The aim is to run four regular surveys a year. The next one was due on 20 January, within school term. A comparison of journey times over several such snapshots will be interesting. Hopefully it will also be broadened to include non-business travel, too; school journeys would be an obvious candidate.
The Transport Research Laboratory has recently published some very interesting research into Attitudes to Cycling. The report is one of the outcomes of the National Cycling Strategy, and includes lots of valuable information about effective, and ineffective, ways of promoting cycling. It makes very interesting reading, especially in conjunction with the results of this survey.
These surveys have been launched at just the right time. To assess potential changes, and to evaluate the effectiveness of changes, companies involved in the Travel for Work and Cycle Friendly Employers schemes need information on staff travel habits. Meanwhile, guidance from central government makes it clear that in future bids for funding, local authorities need to show they are monitoring the effectiveness of completed schemes.
This series of surveys will provide the detailed data required, avoiding duplication of effort, making the exercise worthwhile.
Clare Macrae
Take a letter
Earlier this year we heard that Spokes, the Lothian cycle campaign, considered their letter writing members to be a valuable asset in their work. As we found out with the Bridge Street consultation, each letter counts.
Sometimes the hardest part of letter-writing is finding who to contact. A
superb source of local information is The A-Z of Council Services in
Cambridgeshire 1998. A few hundred thousand copies of this were distributed
earlier this year. You should still be able to find copies in libraries and
council offices. It is also published on the
Web:
http://www.camcnty.gov.uk/sub/az/azind1.htm
We have also been collating a list of useful addresses and phone numbers for reporting cycle-related problems in the Cambridge area. The most up to date copy is at the back of every Newsletter.
Last May we were in Edinburgh for the spring National Cycling Conference. We noticed a very well publicised information and suggestions service - the answer for pretty much any transport question or query was 'Phone Clarence.' Clarence was a figure like helpful Hector the tax man.
The nearest thing in Cambridge seems to be the Freephone Charterline (0800 243916) which is billed 'for any enquiry about the County Council.'
If you are seeking facts to back up a letter, the Cambridgeshire Collection, in the Central Library, is valuable. It's packed with books, illustrations, newspapers and cuttings, periodicals and maps, and even a computerised, searchable, Ordnance Survey map.
The Local Government Information Service, based at Shire Hall, has an archive of Council reports and the staff are helpful.
There are several points to consider when writing letters. Some of these suggestions are taken (with permission) from Effective Letter Writing, a CTC leaflet.
Style
- Be polite! It might be satisfying to attack someone verbally, but it can be very counterproductive. It's unlikely to get you listened to. There's a huge gap between being assertive and being abusive.
- Be brief. Remember the person you are writing to is probably busy. Long letters and e-mails are unlikely even to get read all the way through, let alone replied to.
- Write clearly. Avoid complex sentences. Make sure your letter is easy to read and digest.
Content
- Get your facts straight. A few well-chosen statistics can lend enormous weight to your argument. For example, if you are commenting on lack of cycle parking, count how many times over a week or a month you have been unable to find a place.
- If you have to cover more than one subject in one letter, use clear headings for each section.
- Divide your points into numbered or bulleted lists. They are much easier to read, and to reply to.
- A suggested remedy for a problem is more likely to be effective than a simple complaint.
- Finish with a clear summary. Be especially clear about what you are asking the recipient to do. Make sure you send your letter to someone who has the power and authority to do it.
- Think about the likely response. If you think your point might be dismissed with a particular answer, counter it at the outset. For example, 'I would not accept the suggestion that..., because...' This might save an entire round of correspondence.
- Please avoid any statements that might suggest you represent the Cycling Campaign.
General Points
- Make a point of re-reading your letter before you send it, preferably the day after you wrote it. Does it make sense? Have you checked the spelling?
- Copying your letters to other (relevant!) parties can be a useful tool. For example, our article on bus driver behaviour was in part suggested by a letter which a Campaign member copied to us, describing a shocking incident.
- Keep a copy of your correspondence. If you send us a copy of your original letter, please forward a copy of any response, too.
- Do send a thank you afterwards if you receive help, or if you feel your point of view has been taken seriously. Aside from this being common courtesy, you never know when you'll be writing to the same person again.
- Personal letters are important. People expect lobbying organisations such as the Campaign to write. Letters from individuals are an important addition to the argument.
- The County Council treats letters more seriously than faxes, e-mails and phone calls. Letters are logged, and must be replied to within a certain period. Faxes should be treated as letters, but do sometimes go astray. No formal records are kept of phone calls and e-mails, and these are sometimes not followed up.
It can be worthwhile writing.
For example, one Campaign member complained about the speed of vehicles on Histon Road. The Cambridge Evening News has since credited the use of speed cameras in the area to complaints made by residents.
Another member wrote to Sustrans and WAGN, about (lack of) cycle parking at Cambridge station. We saw a copy, and this spurred our interest in the subject.
So next time you feel like making a suggestion or a complaint, put it in writing!
Clare Macrae
Cycling in the UK
Never mind pictures - sometimes a statistic can be worth a thousand words, for example, in letters to local newspapers. At a recent monthly meeting, there was a suggestion we might publish some numbers for general use. Several organisations have collected useful facts and figures.
- The Slower Speeds Initiative leaflet is packed with useful figures and accurate references. Contact Clare (see Elected Officers) for a copy of this excellent publication.
- The Bicycle Association's Britain By Cycle contains useful
statistics, together with other contact details. The Bicycle Association,
Starley House, Eaton Road, Coventry CV1 2FH (01203) 553838
- The CTC's Cycling Factsheet also contains useful information.
CTC, Cotterell House, 69 Meadrow, Godalming, Surrey GU7 3HS (01483) 417217
The CTC press and publicity material for the 1998 National Bike Week also contained useful statistics on 'Cycling in the UK' which we've reproduced here.
Cycle use
- Six million people are bicycle users and there are more than 1.1 million daily cycle commuters (Department of Transport National Travel Survey 1993)
- Only 1.9% of journeys in the UK are made by bicycle. This compares with 9.8% in Germany, 18.4% in Denmark and 27.3% in the Netherlands
- 66% of junior school children cycled on local roads in 1971. By 1990 this had declined to 25% (Policy Studies Unit One False Move 1992)
Cycle ownership
- There are around 20 million bicycles in Britain (Bicycle Association)
- One in three adults owns a bicycle (Minter Market Intelligence 1991)
- Half of all households possess a bicycle (Minter Market Intelligence 1991)
- Between 1975 and 1991 the number of cycles owned in the UK doubled (Department of Transport National Travel Survey 1993)
Travel patterns
- 72% of all journeys made in the UK are under five miles; 50% are less than two miles; 61% of car journeys are less than five miles (Department of Transport National Travel Survey 1993)
- The majority of journeys between one and two miles are car trips (Department of Transport)
- The volume of road traffic is predicted to rise by between 83% and 142% by 2025 (Department of Transport National Travel Survey 1993)
- Between 1975 and 1985 the number of journeys made remained static. The amount of time spent travelling increased by 10%, though, and the distance travelled went up by one-third (Potter and Hughes Vital Travel Statistics 1990)
The community
- In 1970, 80% of seven- and eight-year-olds travelled to school on their own. By 1990 this figure had fallen to 9%. According to parents the main reason is 'traffic danger' (Policy Studies Institute One False Move 1990)
- Cycling and walking facilitate social interaction, while motor vehicles degrade the physical and psychological environment in urban areas in terms of noise, vibration and visual intrusion (Hillman 1992)
The environment and the economy
- In 1991 traffic congestion lost London business £15 billion, costing each London household £20 a week (CBI London)
- Motor vehicles produce 90% of the carbon monoxide, 51% of the nitrogen oxides, 4% of the volatile organic compounds, and 19% of the carbon dioxide released into the air over Britain each year (CTC Bikes Not Fumes 1992)
- In 1960, 17% of the UK's energy consumption was on transport. By 1990 this figure rose to 30% (Potter and Hughes Vital Travel Statistics 1990)
- For one person travelling in a town, a large car uses 85 times more energy than a bicycle (Potter and Hughes Vital Travel Statistics 1990)
Cycling and health
- Cycling at least 20 miles a week reduces the risk of heart disease to less than half that for non-cyclists who take no other exercise (Morris, British Heart Foundation)
- Regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equal to that of a person ten years younger (Sharp National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Prevention)
- If one third of all short car journeys were made by bike, national heart disease rates would fall by between 5% and 10% (CTC Bikes Not Fumes 1992)
- For every extra 10% of the adult population cycling regularly, three million people would move from the 'unfit' to the 'fit' classification (CTC Costing the Benefits 1993)
- In the United States vehicle pollution causes an estimated 30,000 premature deaths a year (American Lung Association CTC Cycle Digest, Jan-March 1992)
Land take
- Cyclists require far less space to get about than car-borne travellers. For example, a four metre wide cycle path can carry five times the number of people catered for in cars on a road twice as wide (Clarke, Pro-Bike: A Cycling Policy for the 1990s, Friends of the Earth)
Equity
- 49% of women hold a driving licence compared with 80% of men (Department of Transport National Travel Survey 1993)
- One-third of all households don't own a car (Association of County Councils, Towards Sustainable Transport Policy 1991)
- One person in two believes that political decision-makers assume support for the private car is higher than it actually is (Friends of the Earth Less Traffic Better Towns 1992)
Clare Macrae
Tools of the Trade
Guidelines for Cycle Audit and Cycle Review
The National Cycling Strategy said that guidelines should be developed for Cycle Audit and Cycle Review. The Institute of Highways and Transportation has now published these, with the full backing of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. The authors are David Davies, a well known cycle activist who now runs a transport consultancy business, and Mike Sharpe, Cambridgeshire's former Director of Transportation. Perhaps the authors chuckle a little to themselves in naming the form provided for the review process 'CRP.' Does this describe the state of the road environment for cyclists?
The book is dry reading, but that is not the point. The idea is to provide a way of objectively measuring the cycle-friendliness of the road environment. Cycle Audit is applied to planned changes to the transport network. It tries 'to ensure that opportunities to encourage cycling are considered comprehensively and that cycling conditions are not inadvertently made worse'. In contrast, Cycle Review looks at the existing network 'to assess ways in which those networks could be changed in order to encourage cycling'. Both emphasise convenience as well as safety.
Cycle Audit provides a four-stage 'recipe' for evaluating the impact of traffic scheme proposals on cyclists. This is intended to cover all developments, not just those aimed specifically at cyclists. Like existing safety audit procedures, the job should be done by someone independent of each scheme's designer. By formally introducing the process at various stages of development it is hoped that design flaws will be picked up before there is too much investment in a scheme - and too much emotional attachment to a design. In the longer term, design standards should be improved.
Cycle Review, on the other hand, is a way of looking systematically at the existing roads, scoring them on their cycle-friendliness. In this way, councils can make informed investment decisions based on priorities arrived at by asking the right questions, rather than a 'finger in the air', gut-feeling approach.
In fact, Cambridgeshire County Council already operates a kind of review - it has a form for scoring facilities thought to be in need of improvement and it has recently extended this to include roads where there are no facilities at all. The County Council does not, however, have any formal mechanism for auditing proposals. As a result we have seen damaging schemes such as road narrowings and the removal of the vehicle Give Way at the Quy A14 roundabout.
Both audit and review leave an 'audit trail'. One of the central tenets of 'quality management' is that there should be a documented and controlled path for arriving at a decision, and that this can be examined after the event. The later stages of both processes prompt gathering of information such as traffic flow, actual traffic speeds, accident rates and so on. Scores are then assigned to these to arrive at a 'level of service' from A to F, where A is very cycle-friendly and F is exceedingly unfriendly.
From our point of view, the main benefits are twofold.
Firstly, if implemented, it means that the right questions are asked. The process is based on the 'hierarchy' of ways of providing for cyclists which is now part of national guidance. This says that traffic reduction, reducing traffic speeds, traffic calming, junction improvements and redistribution of the carriageway should be looked at, in that order, to improve conditions for cyclists. Only when none of these are possible should off-road facilities be considered. Therefore the first stages of the audit process ask whether each of these items has been considered and insist on an explanation if it is not used.
Secondly, it gives us a recognised tool which we can use ourselves to back up concerns about schemes being proposed by the Council. It will be instructive to apply the process to the new Barton Road cycleway, for example. My feeling is that it would not score very highly since there are negative scores for things like frequent driveways and for loss of priority at side roads. It may also be useful to say to councillors, 'Look, you're proposing this scheme in Milton which national guidelines show coming in at next to bottom for level of service to cyclists - why are you wasting our money on it?'
The challenge now is to persuade the Councils, especially the County, to adopt the guidelines. The indications are not good. Both audit and review are labour-intensive. Council officers are hard pressed already. Officers' and contractors' time is also money, though perhaps slightly less obviously than tarmac and signs are. We would argue that it can save money being spent on poorly justified schemes. We were also told that the lack of a similar process for pedestrians might mean not adopting the cycle process. What a shame that we should see nothing done simply because you can't do everything.
Edinburgh already operates a systematic audit. While the new guidelines offer a very useful tool, we can't help feeling that there is something very simple and direct about Edinburgh's equivalent. I think that this stems from Edinburgh's secure feeling that they know what makes good cycling provision. Here in Cambridgeshire I don't think there is this agreement.
David Earl
(S)Light disagreement
Over the last few months I've noticed the Campaign supporting the annual police campaign to light up; we've endorsed the blitz on cyclists without lights, and the accompanying £20 fine; and I, like many others no doubt, have often felt like shouting at other cyclists without lights as we've almost collided on Midsummer Common.
But hang on - I have been one of those cyclists without lights on several occasions, and having begun to reflect on why I don't always use lights, my outlook has changed a little. For a legal requirement, it strikes me as preposterous, firstly that lighting is considered an accessory rather than an integral part of a bicycle, and secondly that lights are generally of such poor quality.
I won't dwell on why new bikes don't automatically come with lights - for that, manufacturers blame retailers, retailers blame consumers, and cycling campaigners blame manufacturers and retailers. Instead I want to highlight the poor quality of bike lights, as someone who has gone through many sets in the last 15 years or so. This experience shows how difficult it is to find lights that work, that work well, and which continue to work well.
About five years ago I bought the bike I now use for most journeys. It came with a flashing rear light permanently attached to the seatpost, and a detachable halogen front light. The rear light was snapped off by a thief one day. The front light worked well until I had to change the bulb - when something unfathomable went wrong with the contact so it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. That experience, and cycling to and from a regular job for the first time, led me back to a dynamo - no longer would I have to take the lights off my bike whenever I parked it, find that the batteries had gone flat because the light had become switched on in my pannier, or have to remember to recharge them for the next journey.
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I chose lights by Busch and Müller along with a Nordlicht generator (all sold by the CTC). For the most part, this is an excellent system. The rear lamp uses five LEDs pointing in different directions, so the light they generate is impressive; but more important is that the lamp stays on for a couple of minutes when you stop. Apparently their front lamps now work this way too, but even without that, mine throws out a good strong beam from its halogen bulb.
So what do I have to complain about? Well, over three years there have been many minor problems. I have had to re-solder the cable connections to each lamp two or three times. The bottle generator often makes an awful noise, especially at certain speeds and certain angles to the wheel - and unless it stays at a particular angle when it's raining, I have no light at all. Finally, I recently found the front lamp cutting out quite randomly, and ended up breaking the bulb as I took it apart to work out why. It turned out that the spring behind the bulb had somehow been bent and wasn't always making contact.
I recently got round to buying a dynamo for my other bike, which I only use when I have to leave it overnight at the station. I had been feeling self-conscious as I had ridden home several times in the dark with no lights at all. I wanted to spend as little as possible, as I'd only be using it once or twice a month. I paid £20 and expected clear and accurate instructions, brackets to fit any bike, and lights that worked when I needed them. I was disappointed in the first two; for the last I await my next overnight stay, but my hopes are not high.
All in all, I have experienced around six different sets of lights over the last decade, and none have worked well enough - and stayed like that - to allow me to take it for granted I would be within the law whenever I cycled in the dark. Motorists would not, of course, put up with such uncertainty, or such shoddy value for money. If car lights were as unreliable as even the best bike lights, we would see far more cars with lights that had worked but had now packed up. Then, however, we would see the AA and the RAC condemning the manufacturers and defending motorists, their members. They would claim motorists were prevented by short-sighted commercial interests from obeying the law. Government would pass new standards, and lights would rapidly improve.
With bikes, things are very different. Of course, many cyclists ride around without lights for no justifiable reason. But many, like me, do so on more occasions than we would like to, simply because bicycle lights are - to put it bluntly - crap. What happens then is that everybody from the car lobby to the local press condemns cyclists and ignores the duty of manufacturers to improve their products. Cycling bodies such as the CTC have too little clout to make an impact. And the police now threaten to fine us the cost of a new set of lights - guaranteeing that poor cyclists won't be able to afford even bad lights. No wonder, then, that so many of us don't always bother.
Paul Rosen
About the Campaign
Please note: the most up-to-date general information about the Campaign is always in the about the Campaign section of the website.
If you like what you see in this newsletter, you can add your voice to those of our other 550 members, and join the Campaign.
Membership costs are low: £6 individual, £3 unwaged, £10 household. For this, you get six newsletters a year, discounts at a large number of bike shops, and optional third-party liability insurance. Get in touch if you want to hear more.
Cambridge Cycling Campaign was set up in 1995 to voice the concerns of cyclists. We are not a cycling club but an organisation lobbying and campaigning for the rights of cyclists, and promoting cycling in and around Cambridge.
Come to our regular stall on Saturdays outside the Guildhall. This is the public face of the campaign and volunteers are always welcome to help. And don't forget our meetings, open to all, on the first Tuesday of each month, 7.30 for 8.00 pm at the Friends' Meeting House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge.
Elected Officers
Please note: the most up-to-date Committee list is always in the Committee list section of the website.
Treasurer - Simon Nuttall 773699
Co-ordinator - Clare Macrae h 501050 w 336024
Membership Secretary, Liaison Officer and Press Officer - David Earl 690718
Stall Officer - Sarah Elsegood 366152
Newsletter Editor - Mark Irving 882378
Officer Without Portfolio - Nigel Deakin 311073
Contacting the Campaign
Please note: the most up-to-date contact details for the Campaign are always in the contacts section of the website, which includes an online feedback form.
In particular, note that our fax number is now separate from the phone number.
Cambridge Cycling
Campaign
PO Box 204
Cambridge CB4 3FN
Telephone David Earl
690718
Web http://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/camcycle
E-mail
contact@camcycle.org.uk
Campaign Diary
Please note: the most up-to-date version of the diary of events is always in the events section of the website.
February | ||
| Mon 1 | 8.00 pm | Core traffic scheme meeting moved to Thursday 4 February |
| Tue 2 | 7.30 pm | Open Meeting, Friends' Meeting House, Jesus Lane. Topic Bikes and Trains with guest speakers Tom Joyner and John Sarson from WAGN. (Tea and coffee, a chance to chat, and for us to introduce ourselves to new members for the first half-hour. The meeting itself starts at 8.) |
| Thur 4 | 7.00 pm | Core Traffic Scheme sub-group meeting at 7.00pm, followed by Discussion of our response for the Cambridgeshire Local Transport Plan at 8.00pm. Both of these are at 35 Ainsworth Street. |
| Sat 6 | STEER meeting in Chelmsford | |
| Tue 9 | 7.00 pm | National Bike Week planning meeting, 100 Thoday Street |
| Wed 10 | 8.30 am | Newsletter 22 editorial review meeting, at Tatties café |
| Sun 14 | 2.00 pm | Leisurely Ride. Meet at Brookside, near Lensfield Road An archaeological ride of 20-25 miles, ending at Lucy Cavendish College for a Valentine's tea. We're usually back in Cambridge by 6 pm. Bring lights. |
| Mon 15 | 8.30 pm | Pub social. We'll be at the Zebra on Maid's Causeway |
| Tue 16 | Conference: Integrated Road Safety - addressing
the new deal at Leicester City Football Club. (0116) 252 6533, or
traffic@edd03lcc.demon.co.uk | |
| Tue 23 | 8.00 | Safety on the Roads subgroup meeting, focusing on issues surrounding motor vehicle speed. 46 Suez Road |
March | ||
| Tue 2 | 7.30 pm | Open Meeting, Friends' Meeting House, Jesus Lane. Guest speaker Mike Sharpe, of the National Cycling Forum. (See 2 Feb for description.) |
| Fri 12 | Newsletter 23 copy deadline. Please, please, please send articles to the editor on time for this one | |
| Sun 14 | 2.00 pm | Leisurely ride. Meet at Brookside, near Lensfield Road. 'Lorraine's Leisurely Loop' - going to the Shelfords, Thriplow, Foxton, Barrington - with tea at the farm shop in Barton A countryside ride, using bridleways and quiet roads, at a gentle pace. Bring lights. We'll be back in Cambridge by 6 pm |
| Mon 15 | 8.30 pm | Pub social. We'll be at the Zebra on Maid's Causeway |
| Sat 20 | 10.00 am | Police Cycle Auction, at Parkside Police Station.
Viewing starts at 9.00. (01354) 688197 for information |
| Fri 26 | 7.30 pm | Newsletter 23 stuffing, at 8 Thirleby Close - volunteers welcome |
April | ||
| Tue 6 | 7.30 pm | Open Meeting, Friends' Meeting House, Jesus Lane. (See 2 Feb for description.) |
| Thu 8 | 8.30 am | Newsletter 23 editorial review meeting, at Tatties |
| 9 - 11 | Bike 99, Hall 4, NEC, Birmingham - with new
family cycling area. (01369) 708008 | |
| Sun 11 | 2.00 pm | Leisurely ride. Meet at Brookside, near Lensfield Road. A windmill ride to Swaffham Prior (see 14 March for description.) |
| 13 - 16 | Velo-City conference, in Graz (Austria) and Maribor (Slovenia) | |
| Mon 19 | 8.30 pm | Pub social. We'll be at the Zebra on Maid's Causeway |
| Thu 22 | 6.30 pm | Josie Dew's slide presentation at Waterstone's in Bridge Street (see Josie Dew comes to Cambridge) |
| Sat 24 - Sun 25 | National Cycle Campaigning Conference | |
Discounts
Please note: the most up-to-date list of shops offering discounts to members of the Campaign is always on the membership discounts page of the website.
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Ben Hayward Cycles 69 Trumpington Street Cambridge 352294
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Ben Hayward Cycles Laundress Lane Cambridge 301118
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Bishop's Cycles 51 Station Road Histon 518855
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Cambridge Recycles Cambridge Railway Station |
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Cambridge Recycles 61 Newnham Road Cambridge CB3 9EN 506035
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Chris's Bikes 2 Thornton Way Girton 276004
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Cycle-Logical 171 Mill Road Cambridge 576545
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D.TEK Little Thetford Near Ely Cambs. CB6 1BR 01353 648177
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Geoff's Bike Hire 65 Devonshire Road Cambridge 365629
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Howes Cycles 104 Regent Street Cambridge 350350
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Kingsway Cycles 8 City Road Cambridge 355852
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King Street Cycles 82 King Street Cambridge 367275
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Mike's Bikes 26-28 Mill Road Cambridge 312591
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University Cycles 9 Victoria Avenue Cambridge 355517
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Cycling Campaign Subgroups
Please note: the most up-to-date list of subgroups are can be found in the subgroups section of the website.
Telephone number
e-mail address
Chisholm Trail - Promoting a major new cycle route across Cambridge.
Jim Chisholm
841954
Jim.Chisholm@ucs.cam.ac.uk
Cycle Enumeration - Analysing cycle journeys in Cambridge. Contact
Dave Earl 690718
david@frankieandshadow.com
Cycle Parking - Working to improve cycle parking provision throughout
Cambridge. Contact Clare
336024
macrae@ccdc.cam.ac.uk
Hills Road Corridor - Studying the route to Addenbrooke's. Dave
Earl 690718
david@frankieandshadow.com
Maps - Should we produce a map for Cambridge cyclists? Contact
Nigel Deakin 311073
npd@dial.pipex.com
Newsletter - Co-ordinating this, the Campaign's newsletter. Contact
the Editor, Mark Irving
882378
irving@home.cam.net.uk
Safety on the Road - To look at the many issues affecting cyclists' safety. This new group needs a co-ordinator.
Science Park Access -
Contact Clare
336024
macrae@ccdc.cam.ac.uk
Trailer Loan Scheme - Contact Clare
336024
macrae@ccdc.cam.ac.uk
Other organisations - contacts
Please note: the most up-to-date list of organisations is in the local links section of the website.
Telephone number
fax
e-mail address
Addenbrooke's Bicycle User Group
Colin Carr,
216726 216862
cc232@hermes.cam.ac.uk
Cambridge City Council (including Highways Department for potholes
in the City) 457000
Cambridge Friends of the Earth
St Michael's Church Hall, Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1SU
517509
camfoe@ndirect.co.uk
Cambridgeshire County Council
717111
(Road Safety
717385; potholes south of Cambridge
833717; potholes north of Cambridge
(01353) 667826)
CTC (Cyclists' Touring Club), Cambridge District Association
Sue Taylor, Secretary
563414
Cycle-Friendly Employers and Travel for Work schemes
David Meiklejohn and Teresa Broadstock
Cambridge and Huntingdon Health Authority
Hillview, Fulbourn Hospital
Cambridge CB1 5EF
475131
Teresa.Broadstock@exchange.chh.anglox.nhs.uk
David.Meiklejohn@exchange.chh.anglox.nhs.uk
Parkside police station and traffic wardens
358966. Cycle squad:
PC Marcia Bate and PC Tony Kennedy.
South Cambridgeshire District Council
443000
Sustrans - Nigel Brigham
The Environment & Energy Centre, 33a Westgate
Peterborough PE1 1PZ
(01733) 319981
(01733) 346902
The Slower Speeds Initiative
PO Box 746, Norwich NR2 3LJ
Transport 2000 Cambridgeshire and West Suffolk
Simon Norton, Co-ordinator 312654
simon@emu.pmms.cam.ac.uk
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