Three new cycleways on the way for Cambridge

Busy employment sites around Cambridge are to become easier to access by bike, with the construction of three new cycleways in the New Year.

The three routes, funded by the Government’s Cycle City Ambition Fund, will run:

• from Granta Park (near Babraham) towards Whittlesford station, along the A505 (map);
• from Babraham Research Campus to Wandlebury Country Park (by the Gog Magog hills), providing a continuous cycle route along the A1307 (map);
• and north of Cambridge, from Boxworth End in Swavesey to Buckingway Business Park, then over the A14 to Cambridge Services (map).

The three routes are all designed to serve hi-tech business estates, and make it easier and safer for people to commute to work by bike.

All three cycleways will be 2.5 metre shared-use paths. However, Cambridgeshire County Council admits that the Granta Park route will be compromised where the A11 crosses, with limited space under the bridge. To begin with, it plans to provide advisory on-road cycle lanes and a footway – “which, due to physical constraints, will be rather narrow”. In the longer term, the Council is considering making the slip-road one-way for motor traffic, and giving half of it over to cyclists and pedestrians.

Work will start on all three routes in February 2014, with completion between May and August.

Blue paint hastily removed at Bow Roundabout

London’s Cycle Superhighway 2 has been hastily ‘unpainted’ at Bow Roundabout, after a coroner described the route as “an accident waiting to happen”.

CS2’s terrible accident record has dominated cycling news for weeks, following further deaths and the inquest into Brian Dorling’s death at Bow Roundabout in 2011. Most recently, Venera Minakhmetova was killed by a lorry at the roundabout on November 13th.

According to London blogger Diamond Geezer, TfL has now removed the blue paint at the roundabout that gave the illusion of a dedicated cycle lane. Coroner Mary Hassell expressly criticised this at the inquest, saying “Motorists and cyclists are confused about who has right of way and the lane lulls riders into a false sense of security.”

Andrew Gilligan, the Mayor of London’s ‘cycling commissioner’, wrote a Guardian article in response to the media attention in which he claimed “We should  not assume, as so many have, that the latest fatalities were the fault of the road design”. TfL has yet to announce any concrete plans to improve safety at the roundabout.

York gets its first cycle café

For one of Britain’s premier cycling cities, York has been strangely bereft of a cycling café – until now.

Your Bike Shed, next to Micklegate Bar, opened this month promising “a comfortable and friendly meeting place for food and coffee enthusiasts whilst supporting cycling culture and the experience of riding”. Curiously, the inspiration came not from the Netherlands, Denmark or even London – but from Bangkok, where according to founders Adele Procter and Martin Harman, “cafés and workshops of this kind are the norm”.

As well as the essentials of coffee, beer and cake, YBS has a basement gallery which doubles as a showcase for local art (and arty bike frames) and a meeting space. The on-site mechanics offer bike repairs including a fixed-price ‘menu’ for the most common work.

Your Bike Shed is at 148/150 Micklegate; their website is www.yourbikeshed.co.uk.

Hereford’s new bridge opens on 10 December

Hereford’s new cycle bridge, one of the Sustrans Connect2 projects, is to open to the public on Tuesday 10th December.

The bridge over the River Wye at Rotherwas will link the east of the city, around Tupsley and Eign Hill, with the Rotherwas Industrial Estate – providing a safe way for cyclists to get to work. But it also forms part of a wider ‘Greenway’ from the city centre, starting at the eastern gate of Hereford Cathedral.

The ultimate intention is to continue the route as National Cycle Network route 44 to the village of Holme Lacy, and from there along country lanes towards Ross-on-Wye and the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Sustrans’ local manager Henry Harbord said:

“This project is all about giving people the opportunity to make ‘everyday’ journeys by bike or on foot. Once open, it will help us towards our ambition to double the number of journeys under five miles made by foot, bike or public transport.”

New paths are being created on either side of the bridge, though those on the southern side won’t be fully open until 20th December.

You can follow construction of the bridge at its unofficial Facebook page.

Cycle South Brum wins the Lottery

South Birmingham is to get a new cycling ‘hub’ after Cycle South Brum won a televised phone poll for Lottery cash.

As the runners-up in the People’s Millions for the Central TV area, Cycle South Brum have been given £50,000 for a fleet of free hire-bikes, a programme of guided rides, and training sessions. Here’s what they say they’re planning to do with the money:

“People who can't afford to get to a new job before their first pay cheque, will be able to borrow one of our free bikes.

“With 1 in 4 local children leaving primary school obese, it's essential we help kids get more active. But we find many parents don't have their own bike, meaning the family can't go on rides together. They’ll be able to borrow our free bikes too!

“The prize money will also enable more people to give cycling a try, without having to commit first by buying a bike.”

It’s not just these noble sentiments that swung the popular vote for them – but a team of little green men. The faceless green campaigners, touting posters with the phone number on, were swarming over the streets of Birmingham on Tuesday to persuade passers-by to vote for the project. “It’s been a true team effort and proof of what can be achieved when a whole community gets behind a project!”, said the organisers.

Congratulations Cycle South Brum – we’re looking forward to see the project get off the ground.