Have your say on Birmingham cycling

Birmingham City Council has sketched out a Transport Plan for the next 20 years – and it’s asking for feedback as to whether it’s on the right road.

The Birmingham Mobility Action Plan signals a shift away from the car-centric thinking that dominated the city from the 1960s onwards. Indeed, it explicitly states “road capacity will need to be shifted from cars to public and active transport (e.g. walking and cycling)”. For example, the Plan envisages Green Travel Zones in which less than 50% of their commuters will arrive by car.

The ‘Birmingham Cycle Revolution’ scheme, for which the city has already won £17 million of funding, is part of this. This will see a network of routes created within 20 minutes of the city centre: over the next 20 years, BMAP envisages expanding this to further develop cycling.

“Not ambitious enough”

However, the document falls short of the ‘Go Dutch’ vision being pursued in London. Sample street designs ask merely for “a wider footway that could be used by cyclists”, rather than fully segregated cycleways.

Birmingham Friends of the Earth say that the document is not ambitious enough. “While the Action Plan does place good emphasis on cycling, Birmingham should be aiming for 10% of cycle journeys in the next ten years rather than the next twenty.”

You can read the document online, and make your views known, at the Birmingham Be Heard website.

Cycle Campaign presses for quieter road

Cambridge Cycle Campaign is calling for the County Council to make a simple change that would make cycling much more pleasant near the Science Park.

The Guided Busway is set to be extended from its current limit at Milton Road to the new railway station serving Chesterton and the Science Park. The Cycle Campaign thinks that the first 300m of the extension should be built as a full road – so that lorries can use it to get into the industrial estate.

That, in turn, would keep lorries off Nuffield Road and Green End Road, providing a safer environment for cyclists and local residents. As the Campaign explains, “Nuffield Road’s residential section should then be cut-off for motorised through traffic just past the proposed cycle and pedestrian access to the Science Park Station.”

Local cyclists are being asked to sign a petition on the County Council website in support of this idea. The closing date is 31st May.

Car-free offices are good news for cycling

A new office development is to take place in central Worcester, with 500 new jobs – but not a single car parking space.

The employers, social housing firm Sanctuary Group, have instead promised to improve cycling and walking in the area. The development will be on Farrier Street, running just west of Foregate Street in the city centre.

The Worcester News reports that, although some councillors were sceptical that there wouldn’t be parking issues, other members of the planning committee pointed out “it’s up to people to travel in a sustainable way”.

Sanctuary will now discuss a financial package with Worcestershire County Council to pay for cycling and walking improvements.

Cyclox chairman steps down after 10 years

James Styring, chair of Oxford’s cycle campaign group Cyclox, has stepped down after 10 years.

Cyclox was formed in 2003 with a mission to improve cycling in Oxford. Writing in his column in the Oxford Mail, James says there’s still much to do:

“Despite the thriving bicycle culture and the successful ‘20’s Plenty’ campaign, cycling still isn’t that easy. There are actually some high-quality, if intermittent, bike routes in and around the city but every cyclist has their own list of black holes and disconnected routes. My bugbear is Cowley Road, a chaotic, pot-holed, traffic-choked melee, as bad for cyclists as it is for drivers despite the £1m safety improvements. A cycling city like Oxford deserves much better.”

So what next? Cyclox and Sustrans are jointly developing a vision for the Oxford “city region”, setting out what a cycle-friendly Oxford could and should be, and calling for “proper joined-up bicycle infrastructure”.

James Styring will remain on the Cyclox committee. The new chairman is Dr Simon Hunt from Headington.

'Safety summit' called for CS2

The London Assembly is to stage a ‘safety summit’ to investigate the notorious Cycle Superhighway 2.

CS2, from Aldgate to Stratford, is the focus of concern after three cyclists were killed using the route. The route is most infamous for Bow Roundabout, but is generally agreed to be poor quality until it reaches the new section at Stratford High Street. It was memorably skewered by the Guardian’s bike blogger Peter Walker in a recent video.

The summit will take place at City Hall on Thursday 28th November. It will be chaired by London Assembly Member John Biggs, of the Labour party, who said:

“The tragic death of cyclists on our streets should not have happened and I want the Mayor to acknowledge the gravity of the situation. The Mayor needs to hear what road users who regularly use this route have to say about whether they feel safe or what changes could be made to improve it. I would encourage anyone who cycles or drives on CS2 to come along to the meeting and share their views.

“The Mayor’s Cycling Czar Andrew Gilligan will be attending to report back to the Mayor about the issues raised at the meeting. We urgently need the Mayor to act and make Cycle Superhighway 2 safer for all road users. It is unacceptable that people continue to die on this stretch of road and it will be invaluable to hear from people who use CS2 everyday.”

The meeting is open to the public, but must be booked by e-mailing cityhalllabour@gmail.com. It will start at 6pm in Committee Rooms 4 and 5.