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There are dozens of cycling cafés around the world, but surprisingly, it’s taken until now for Britain to get a cycling pub.
The new pioneer is the Freewheel in Graveney, Kent, which has recast itself as a “cycling destination pub”. Facilities include a bike workshop, cycle parking, a group lockup, and its own array of bicycles including a “seven-seat monster bike”.
New landlord Adrian Oliver told Kent Online:
“When I went to view the property there were cyclists going past even then, so I saw the potential. The pub is ideally located two minutes from the National Cycle Route which runs all the way through Kent [NCN 1], so there was no better opportunity for me here.”
Just as importantly, there’s real ale from local breweries, and real cider too. Homemade food is served, made from produce which Adrian collects from local farmers on his cargo bike.
Follow the Freewheel on Twitter and check out its listing on the CAMRA website.
A new official app for London’s hire bikes, now sponsored by Santander, lets you take a bike without using the streetside touchscreen terminals.
The new Santander Cycles app, available for both iPhone and Android, is able to send a ‘bike release’ code straight to a user’s phone, which means they can hire a cycle without having to use the docking station terminal. The app also shows nearby docking stations and bike availability.
All customers need to do is register with their bank card, use the App to ‘hire now’ from a nearby docking station, and just tap the code into a docking point to release a bike for use.
At the end of the hire period, the phone will pop up a notification showing the cost of the journey, and confirming that the bike has been securely docked.
According to Mayor of London (and newly elected MP) Boris Johnson:
“The new Santander Cycles App will make finding and hiring a bike in our great Capital city even more of a doddle. The App is packed full of handy new features and is part and parcel of our plans to take the cycle hire scheme to the next level and encourage more people on to two wheels.”
The new red-and-white livery of Santander Cycles is already widespread across London and the transition is continuing at pace as docking stations and distribution vans are rebranded.
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There’s a General Election coming up in the UK – you could hardly fail to notice it – and this week sees the publication of the parties’ manifestos.
As each one is published, we’ll be scouring them for cycling policies and reporting them here.
First up is the Labour manifesto. It has two cycling promises:
“We will support long-term investment in strategic roads, address the neglect of local roads, and promote cycling.”
“We will embark on the biggest devolution of power to our English city and county regions in a hundred years with an English Devolution Act. It will transfer £30 billion of funding to city and county regions, along with new powers over economic development, skills, employment, housing, and business support. This will include control over local transport systems so that in future, local bodies can integrate trains, buses, trams and cycling into a single network.”
Twitter reaction was lukewarm at best, contrasting the pledge of “investment” for strategic roads (i.e. motorways and trunk roads) with mere “promotion” for cycling.
The Green Party manifesto is unsurprisingly more pro-cycling, and has an ambitious target of spending £30 per head on walking and cycling. It also makes a significant nod to segregated cycle lanes by recommending “safe, convenient routes that reduce any risk of conflict”.
“We need to… reduce the number of journeys made by car and switch as many as possible to walking, cycling and public transport.
“We would ensure that pedestrians and cyclists get their fair share of road space and would spend at least £30 per head on them over every year of the Parliament. Funding should be allocated flexibly to make safe, convenient routes that address the needs of pedestrians and cyclists while reducing any risk of conflict between them.
“Motor vehicle drivers should be presumed liable for injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.
“Require newly manufactured lorries to be equipped with best practice technology to make sure that drivers are fully aware of the presence of all pedestrians and cyclists. Lorries already in use must be retrofitted with the same equipment.
“Reduce lorry activity… by using cargo bikes for last-mile deliveries to replace some white van trips.
“Reduce parking spaces in new developments and increase rates of walking, cycling and public transport by strengthening planning law to make best practice travel plans mandatory.
“Reduce the need for car parking spaces by reducing car dependency… car parking takes up valuable road space that could be reallocated to pedestrians and cyclists.
“Provide cycle parking throughout towns and cities at locations where there is demand and invest in on-street secure cycle storage in residential streets.”
Perhaps surprisingly, the Conservative manifesto has slightly more concrete commitments on cycling than the Labour one. But the £200m investment promised is still very small change compared to the overall transport budget, which envisages £38bn on the railways and £15bn on roads. It says:
“We will make motoring greener and promote cycling, to protect your environment Our aim is for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050 – and we will invest £500 million over the next five years to achieve it. We want to double the number of journeys made by bicycle and will invest over £200 million to make cycling safer, so we reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year.”
The Liberal Democrat manifesto pledges a £10 per head spend on cycling, as recommended by the Transport Select Committee’s Get Britain Cycling report. Equally significant is that it argues for cycling to be woven into planning and health policies rather than simply being treated as a pure transport issue. The manifesto says:
“By opening up more sports facilities and building more cycle routes we can cut obesity and reduce heart problems.
“Our National Air Quality Plan for consultation will include new incentives for local schemes that cut transport-related pollution, and encourage walking and cycling.
“Support options for an intercity cycleway along the HS2 route, within the overall budget for the project.
“Implement the recommendations of the Get Britain Cycling report, including steps to deliver a £10 a head annual public expenditure on cycling within existing budgets. This will allow greater investment in cycling including bike lanes, high-volume secure bike parking, and road safety measures to keep cyclists safe.
“Update planning law to introduce the concept of ‘landscape scale planning’ and ensure new developments promote walking, cycling, car sharing and public transport and improve rather than diminish access to green spaces.”
The UKIP manifesto contains absolutely nothing about cycling, judging it more important to exempt cars over 75 years old from Vehicle Excise Duty.
Brighton railway station now has one of Britain’s biggest bike parks after the opening of a £1.5m cycle hub.
500 secure cycle parking spaces have been provided at the rear of the station, open to rail and non-rail users alike, and bringing the total to 800.
The centre also offers a bike repair and maintenance workshop, and a coffee shop for visitors. New keep fit facilities, offering classes such as yoga and bike spinning, showers, changing rooms and accessible toilets are due to open shortly.
Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said:
“Our ambition is to encourage people to cycle more often. This government has announced £15 million of funding to improve cycling facilities at rail stations and hubs like this one in Brighton will help make that vision a reality. We are serious about getting people on their bike and this fantastic facility will make it easier and more convenient for people to cycle to and from their station.”
The Department for Transport provided £650,000 funding for the hub, with additional contributions from Brighton and Hove City Council, Southern Railway and Network Rail.
The plan will be dwarfed by Cambridge’s new station bike park, however, where a staggering 3,000 spaces will be provided.
A new canalside cycle route has opened to provide a picturesque, traffic-free route from Stoke-on-Trent to the heart of the Peak District.
Four miles of resurfaced towpath along the Caldon Canal from Stockton Brook to Cheddleton extend the existing towpath which follows the canal from Stoke. Work has been underway over the winter, carried out by Staffordshire County Council at a cost of £4m, and is now finally complete. Funding is coming from a Government scheme to improve cycling in England’s National Parks.
The next section to be tackled will be the Leek branch of the Caldon Canal, to the edge of the market town of Leek. There will also be an on-road section along quiet lanes from Cheddleton, which will connect to the popular off-road Manifold Trail.
Councillor Gill Heath from Staffordshire County Council said:
“This is a hugely exciting project for us and we are very pleased with the progress the teams are making. Each month we see more and more of this wonderful route along the canal improved. Hundreds of people are already using the new path, and I'm sure we'll see even more visitors to the area as the summer approaches. More visitors also means a welcome boost for our tourism businesses which is good for our local economy.”
The Pedal Peak project will see the creation of four new cycleways into the Peak District national park from the surrounding urban areas. Councillor Lesley Roberts, chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, called the canalside route “a fantastic gateway enabling local people to be less car-dependent”.
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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