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Not Many People Know This But...
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Cycling and Health - statistics
BRADFORD CYCLE ACTION GROUP NEWSLETTER JUNE 1999
It is a wonderful chance to do lots of things - not least persuade a friend or a relative to come cycling during that week. And from that dipping of toes in water, who knows what (to get my metaphors wildly and excitingly mixed up) oak might grow! The programme is as follows:
Sat. 12th: FAMILY FUN DAY Richard Dun Sports Centre
Sun. 13th: Family Ride - Meet 10am Ellis Briggs Cycles, Shipley, Bring a picnic, and ride to Apperley Bridge and back (canal)
Tues. 15th: Fun for Kids - 6.30 pm Myrtle Park. A fun evening for youngsters: skills and games on a small supervised course. Just how good a bike handler are you? Bring mum and dad as well!
Wed. 16th: Fun for Kids - 6.30pm Northcliffe Gardens, Shipley: skills and games on a supervised course Sponsored by Ellis Briggs Cycles
Wed. 16th NATIONAL BIKE TO WORK DAY
Thurs. 17th: Women’s Social Road Ride - Shortish evening ride with a chance to meet people and make new friends. Starting 7pm Saltaire roundbout - Contact Anne 492631.
Sat. 19th 10am onwards @ Richard Dunn Centre, the Bradford Heat of the BCF/IMPRUV Challenge 99 Skills and Speed Competition for children
Sun. 20th 11am - 3pm, The Grand Finale! CTC 5-Mile Challenge at Peel Park. Can you ride five miles round Peel Park? Solo or with your family? Brush the cobwebs off that bike in the garage/shed, come and stretch your legs. Achievement, fun and good company, all for the cost of a little effort on your bike. Certificate for all finishers. Dr Bike Safety check sponsored by Paul Holliman of Wibsey Cycle Centre.
For details contact: The Organiser, Mike Healey, The Bungalow, Dyehouse Road, Bradford, BD12 7BX, tel. (01274) 602394 (eve) or 01422 323355 (day). Volunteers are extremely welcome - the NBW can’t happen without you! Get off that sofa and out into a fun evening with other people!
The Bike User Group at the university are having events too!... if you work at the university there are some serious incentives to get you cycling...
The Bradford University Bicycle Users Group will have a stand in the Richmond Building Foyer from 8.00 - 9.00 am every day. 'Clock in' at the stand and you will be given a voucher for a Free Shower in the Sports Centre and a Half-Price Cooked Breakfast in the Refectory. If you are a New Cyclist your name will be entered in a Prize Draw and you may win a Gift Voucher from one of the local Bike Shops.
Lunchtime Talk Tuesday 15 June 12pm Room F27 Richmond Building - interested in cycling to work? Already cycling and would like to meet fellow cyclists? Come to a buffet lunch, talk and discussion about cycling to work. Please book (contact Helen Crabtree, Staff Development, tel 3102) so that we know how many to cater for.
Book a Bike Buddy! Like to try cycling to work at the uni.? ... Not sure of the best route? ... Not confident in the traffic? ... An experienced member of the University Bicycle Users Group may live near you and would be happy to escort you to work! To request a Bike Buddy, contact Brian Ford on ext 3421, or e-mail b.r.ford@bradford.ac.uk
If you want to get out into the wilds of Yorkshire, but won’t or don’t drive, the train is an obvious way to jump that bit of dullness that we call the suburbs. It’s not easy, though, to know which trains you can put your bike on, how much it’ll cost, and whether it’s different on a Thursday with an ‘r’ in the month. As far as my researches got (and I got contradictory information! - national rail enquiries seem not to be very clear about much of this!), it appears that:
All of Northern Spirit’s routes have the same rule:free but subject to a maximum of two bikes, no reservation system, and subject to conductors ‘disgression’ at peak times (= before 9.30am, between 4pm and 6pm).
Northern Spirit run trains between Bradford (Interchange or Forster Sq) - Leeds, Bradford - Skipton, Bradford - Ilkley: The same rules apply to the Transpennine Express, which can take you off to Scarborough and the N. Yorks Moors. It also seems that it is always (officially) just two bikes per train.
T&A 20/4/99.
Support for the West Yorkshire Town & Country Cycleway was ditched last year in a moment of political idiocy by Bradford Met. Council (in association with other local councils). Now Sustrans and Kirklees want to push for the route along the Spen Valley, which would come into South Bradford, and they have funding for it!! Bradford is dithering - 'as usual' I hear you say. PLEASE (we are on our knees at this point, imagine this touching and pathetic scene) write to your Cllr if you want it to happen, and especially if you live in South Bradford. It would link up South to the Transpennine Trail. Imagine - a cycle route starting from Bradford and taking you into a whole network of further cycle friendly routes - is this paradise? Have I been transported to a new celestial plane? No, this could just be Bradford!! So write now! You can also write to the chair of the Transport Planning and Design Committee c/o City Hall, Bradford, BD1, saying how important this route is...
Don’t know who your councillor is? Phone the council, or look at
http://www.bradford.gov.uk/council/councillors/councillors_ward.html
Cycle Liaison Group Meets at the Tranportation Department, City Road Offices, on the following Tuesdays from 5.30pm: 13th July 1999,7th September 1999, 9th November 1999. Come along - it’s a great way to get cyclist’s views into the planning process.
Please note that there’s no BCAG mtg in June - we’re going to be at Nat. Bike Wk!!
Next Critical Mass in Leeds is on Friday June 7th, the day the "bulldozing baronet" is due to launch Green Transport Week in the city; a good turn-out would be a fitting way to mark the occasion. Meet 5pm in City Square, opposite railway station. See the critical mass website: www.critmass.org.uk What about a CM in Bradford?.......
Craven and Keighley Sustrans Group meets 2nd Monday of each month, at the Old White Bear pub, Crosshills (a village out beyond Keighley). Contact either Mike Shaw (01535 652516) or Tom Elliott (01535 642710) for more information. But in June they’re meeting on the first Monday - ‘cos of National Bike Week. In NBW they’ve planned a ride on Sat. 12th June from Embsay - meet at Embsay Station at 10.15am, to ride in company, or to make your own way along the Yorkshire Dales Cycleway. Riders can go in either direction, out by train or back by train - First train from Embsay leaves at 10.45am. Breakdown assistance available along the route until 3pm. Tickets (for the train) £2 for adults, £1 for children. These special discounted fares can be used on any train during the day - but this is only if you have a bike with you. For information g 01535 634212 Stephen Kane. Buy your special ticket in advance by sending an SAE to: The Business Manager, Bolton Abbey Station, Bolton Abbey, BD23 6AF, Cheques made payable to ‘Y.D.R.M.T’.
BCAG has been pushing hard for the council to work out where it’s got to in its provision for cyclists. One small step on this path was to ask the apparently innocuous little question ‘what is the total mileage of cycle lanes in BMDC area’ at the Highways Sub-C’tee. This question did not produce an answer. The council attempted to clothe its shocking nakedness with a piece of paper - asserting its desire to see cycle use double by 2002 and again by 2012 (taken from the National Cycle Strategy), but on the crucial question of cycle mileage, well, it was all a bit embarrassing. We averted our eyes. But, positively, a map is being produced by the council, as a result of our provocations, that will indicate which roads have cycle lanes, cycle paths, proposed future cycle routes, city centre cycle facilities (e.g. Sheffield stands), roads of greatest cycling significance, junctions with advanced stop lines for cyclists, and so on. Roll over Mercator! We’ll then have the basis for a cyclists guide to Bradford , and, of course, we’ll put (and are now putting) maps up on the BCAG website - visit www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1791/map.html to see our first offering.
The Trans Pennine Trail will be a multi-user route from Liverpool to Hull when it is completed in about 18 months time. The route uses disused railways, canal towpaths, a few minor roads and other facilities. At present large sections are available for use including the one in Barnsley. As a multi-user route it is probably not ideal for any one type of user – walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Cyclists wish it was tarmac, walkers find it a bit straight and monotonous and horse riders just wish they had a continuous route instead of the one with gaps in which the 27 local authorities have provided for them so far. However it is extremely popular with families and with many other people who enjoy taking time out in the countryside because it is traffic free and passes through some stunning countryside.
The idea came from Barnsley Borough, Sustrans wrote a report on the feasibility and 30 (later to become 27 with re-organisation) local authorities got stuck in. That is where I came in and enjoyed five great years as the project officer. During that time we made a lot of progress on funding the completion of the Trail and generally sorted the route and standards out. I now have another job and Louise Owens has taken over as project officer. On 30th April a huge continuous section was opened in Barnsley thanks to the funding of new lightweight bridges over two busy roads. The funding came from the Millennium (Lottery) Commission, who have given over £5 million to the Trail to hasten the completion and the Trail at that point is on the former Woodhead railway line where it crossed Manchester Road (A628) and the road at Hazlehead. Other major funders include English Partnerships (now called Yorkshire Forward) and the EU. Many local authorities have also put precious resources into the project.
The opening was a great "do" with cyclists, walkers, horse riders and disabled people in attendance. We rode a few miles, and the keen ones among us explored it further after the buffet lunch at the pub. Conditions were dry so the Trail was in good condition. It is only an ash surface, and there have been some problems with drainage and damage by contractors so it can be mucky. The enormous pleasure of being away from traffic offsets the disadvantages for me.
Eventually we hear that through the enthusiasm of Kirklees the route will connect with the Spen Valley former railway which will also become a route for walkers and cyclists. This will bring some sort of route to the Bradford boundary so it will then be a question of asking Bradford Borough to do their bit. It is a brilliant opportunity.
Pam Ashton
At the last BCAG AGM we had a speaker about Healthy Living Centres. One of the things that was clear was the delivery of such health programmes is very much about developing services locally. If you feel that cycling and its health benefits need promoting and you live in one of the areas listed below please contact the Lead People and let them know your views.
Whether its about the need to do cycle proficiency for children, safe routes to schools, the mental heath benefits of cycling or whatever WRITE NOW! Healthy Living Centres are not necessarily buildings but where they are do they have cycle parking facilities? Ask for them… These people have money (some) and wouldn’t it be nice if some got spent on that (e.g.) safe route to school that just needs a bit of finance and enthusiasm...
Manningham Paul Mawson 366125
Keighley Andy Binns 366220/Isobel Scarborough 01535 665258
Bradford West/Allerton Tracy Higgins 751194
Newlands Mohammed Khan 752512
Bingley Patti Gregory 781222
West Bowling Margaret Munyard 227580
Little Horton Anne Marie Cobrough 390097
Royds Tony Dylak 414111
Holme Wood/Bierley Jo Verrant 01535 274583/Angela Moulson/Bill McKevitt 682267
Men’s Health Project Rob Mills 227988
Lets encourage the Heath Authorities and the Council to think and work ‘joined up’. Don’t delay write or phone today! (see the next page for why cycling is good for you)
Spotted in a recent edition of CTC magazine:
The CTC is delighted that one of the less trumped elements of the recent budget was the announcement that the tax free allowance for cyclists on business is to be raised to 12p per mile. This is still a little below the CTC costing of rather over 14p per mile but the latter figure includes a provision for clothing. An additional budget measure aimed at encouraging cycling to work allows employers to provide cycles, cycling equipment and changing facilities tax free. These concessions are part of a wider action to encourage green transport - a carrot to entice motorists out of their cars, to counterbalance the stick of increased fuel duty announced at the same time. The CTC says the move sends a clear message to employers that it is now easier than ever to discourage unnecessary business car use.
Another howl reaches my ears as a car tries to achieve warp speed, and put down some rubber, along Barkerend Road. For a year or two now there’s been a slower speeds campaign supported by everything from the Children’s Play Council and the Pedestrians’ Association through to the CTC and Transport 2000. The initiative believes that speeds can be reduced through traffic calming (of decent quality), speed cameras, policing, changes in the law (to enable successful prosecutions), new technology (different car design - e.g. so its safer for those outside the vehicle as well as those inside) and promoting ‘wholesale changes in public attitudes to speed (make it as unacceptable as drinking and driving - I suspect that it’s seen as cool by those of severely arrested mental development). The results would be lives saved, the right to play (and cycle) made a reality (and it’s not just children who need space to play), improved quality of life, fewer hospital beds needed for the victims of accidents, the protection of quiet lanes, fewer animals killed, reduced vehicle emissions (and so less asthma, etc; and presumably longer lasting vehicles as a bonus for the idiots who push their engines to the limits - so even they might see a benefit). Sounds like it’d get Mother Teresa’s, Mahatma Gandhi’s and the Dalai Lama’s unanimous thumbs up, so fair enough! Contact: The Slower Speeds Initiative, PO Box 746, Norwich, NR2 3LJ.
The boring bit…….
The shift from TPP's (Transport Policies and Plans) to LTP's (Local Transport Plans) is really good news for cyclists! For the last few years a consortium of the five West Yorkshire authorities and Metro have made annual bids for transport funding under the TPP scheme. Pro cycling elements were part of the so called "package bid" part of the scheme which was developed in isolation from the other components. And annual bidding meant forward planning was hit and miss and lots of bits of schemes got pulled out of the drawer at the last minute for implementation.
The DETR identifies the main components of an LTP as:
· widening travel choice
· traffic management and demand restraint
· integrated transport
· managing the highways network
· rural transport
· sustainable distribution of goods
· integration with wider policies.
On cycling, the guidance says the minimum requirements for an LTP are:
· A discrete strategy to encourage cycling
· An unambiguous target that contributes to the National Cycling Strategy targets
· Evidence that cyclists have been given high priority
· Ensures that encouraging cycling is part of all transport policies.
· Evidence of co-operation with land use planners to encourage people to cycle
· Reviews the road network to establish where improvements to encourage cycling are needed
· Assesses the quality of existing cycle networks
· Implements measures to improve the safety of cyclists
And crucially
· Evidence of partnerships with other local organisations to promote cycling, including health and education sectors
The guidance goes on to suggest that the characteristics of a "good" LTP will include adopting a hierarchy of road users (e.g. the York model, with pedestrians at the top, private motor vehicles at the bottom), conduct cycle audits (which are a powerful tool for interrogating proposals in the right hands) and encourage cycling in Travelwise, Green Commuter Plans, LA21 schemes and school transport plans.
In short it is offering forward looking authorities the chance to take the lead in a local transport revolution with much tighter national control of the feed bag. We have to keep up the local pressure to make our authorities take the opportunity to be forward looking!
Pete Latarche
CTC County Rep & BCAG member
The warm sun has brought me out in shorts, white legged and blinking, onto the sun-kissed lanes. As the umpteenth large 4WD zoomed passed me on my rather slow way up a hillside, and as yet another cycle-laden car went past, I couldn’t help reflecting that a substantial minority of the traffic were, in some sense, cyclists heading to stretch their legs in the leafier regions that lay over the hills. Given my speed of cycling up hill (I’m a velocity-challenged cyclist) I had plenty of time to debate the problem. The biggest issue here is the lack of really cycle-friendly links between the urban density of cities and the leafy lanes and cycle trails beyond - particularly notable in Bradford which is, as the tourist office (do we have one?) would tell you, the ‘gateway to the southern dales’. Those who heard the recent speaker on the trans-pennine trail will have seen just what can be done! So all the more reason to get writing to your councillor, etc, about the proposed cycle route out South down the Spen Valley. The lack of cycle-friendliness on the railways remains another little nest of problems - e.g. a family can’t use the train ‘cos its the popular ‘two bikes per train only’ rule, and what if other cyclists turn up for the same train, etc, etc. It doesn’t get your journey off to a relaxed start!. The White Paper of last year promised action on these areas, but it all depends on local enthusiasm, willingness (though a great deal more enthusiasm from you, Mr Blair, wouldn’t come amiss!) and the ability to dream! Cycle-friendly infrastructure has to include things like the Spen valley route and the West Yorkshire Cycleway - otherwise cycling may contribute to traffic density rather than be its salvation.
Contributions to Bikerights very welcome - letters, ideas, pictures, tales from the road, etc. Be Creative!
Chair: Titch Kavanagh (01274 493995)
Secretary: Mike Healey (01274 602394 eves; 01422 323355 days)
Treasurer: Pete Latarche (01274 482176) e-mail:
pyotr@legend.co.uk
Bikerights Editor: Steve (solar powered) Carr (01274 734723)
e-mail: smcarr@zetnet.co.uk
Website: www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1791
BCAG MEETS ON THE 3RD WEDNESDAY OF EACH
MONTH AT THE RESOURCE CENTRE, CHAPEL ST. BRADFORD but note - no meeting
in June, we’re all at National Bike Week...