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CYCLETALK
The Newsletter of CTC ScotlandNumber 22: August/September 2002 Editor of this issue:
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| MSPs bike to work | Bike Week |
| East Lothian | D & G |
| Borders | Rights |
| Cycling & Physical Activity | Bike parking at stations |
| Where's CTCS going? |
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If you’re not riding, please help.
If you’re not helping, please ride.
Registration in advance helps a lot. Make up your mind TODAY to join in.
Brian Curtis writes “Already (end of June) over 100 riders have registered for this year’s fourth Pedal for Scotland ride, and the organisers are hoping to double last year’s record entry of 1000 riders.
“Many of the riders are new to cycling and seem to be attracted to the organised ride that covers 50 miles from George Square, Glasgow to Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh. To experienced cyclists this distance is not much of a challenge but, of course, to new riders it really is a major challenge.
“This event gives cycling groups fertile ground to meet “new” cyclists and to demonstrate to the public at large just what a versatile mode of transport the cycle is.”
Why not organise a team entry where every 5th person gets a free entry?
Helpers for the day, please contact Brian Curtis on 0131 669 5918
Pedal for Scotland, PO Box 13873, Portobello, EDINBURGH, EH15 3YE
0131 657 4393; organiser@pedalforscotland.org
Web site: www.pedalforscotland.org
Here in East Lothian the towns are small and generally conducive to cycling. The facilities are compact and traffic, at least in Dunbar, is reasonably cycle friendly - I allow my two daughters (11 and 13) to cycle alone. Nevertheless there are few regular cyclists. I am heartened to see some older people cycling especially those who have clunky looking electric-assist machines. But there are many people who, if they got into the habit, could do themselves and everyone else a favour by choosing to use their bike instead of the easy four-wheeled option.
The Right to Ride reps in East Lothians are myself and Keith Burns. We have organised the meeting with the Council, attended the Access Forum and a consultation about the future of East Lothian with regards the structure plan. I also check the planning applications. If anyone were able to assist by checking the planning applications in Haddington occasionally then that would be most helpful.
We should have another meeting with the Council. The last meeting discussed lots of ideas but for a small number of reasons these ideas haven’t been followed up. There has been change of personnel at the Council. The Access Officer is now XXX. Hopefully there will be more than just 5% of one staff member to spend on cycling issues. With the Edinburgh Transport Initiative asking for opinions on road charging it is a great chance to see how the money can be spent on wider cycling facilities throughout the Lothians.
In the meantime - as road charging, IF it comes in, won’t go ahead until 2006 please let’s badger the Council. Let me know what you would like to see improve to get more utility cyclists and more cycle visitors into the County
I am your Right to Ride County Rep and I welcome your input. I would like to have more contact from other DA members. We can achieve more by working together and showing that we are not just a few people who like to potter about the byways of East Lothian but want cycling to be part and parcel of everyday life through out the county.
Have you got ideas of how to promote cycling in East Lothian?
Contact me maj@finnsdad.freeserve.co.uk 01368 864717 or 5 Manor Gardens Belhaven
City of Edinburgh Council want to ban cyclists from a section of the A90 connecting Edinburgh to the Forth Road Bridge – the section between Echline Junction (the roundabout just south of the bridge) and Burnshot Junction (the last junction before Cramond Brig), a distance of about 3 miles. The ban is believed to be on grounds of safety, as there have been cyclists killed and injured on this section.
CTC Scotland has lodged an objection. We agree this is a busy road, with heavy and fast-moving traffic. But there are cyclists who use it, mainly for commuting, and it is the fastest, most direct, and easiest (in terms of gradient and surface quality) route between the city and Queensferry and routes over the bridge into Fife.
The Council, with Sustrans, have provided an alternative but one which falls short on several grounds. Although reasonably direct, it involves considerably more ups and downs and a lot more crossings which require cyclists to slow down, bump up kerbs etc; the surfaces are in places rough and uneven; and the path has narrow sections with widths of less than 1 metre. Overall, this alternative does not meet the standards laid down in the Scottish Executive’s design manual (‘Cycling by Design’), nor those of Edinburgh’s own ‘Cycle-Friendly Design Guide’, even though the route forms part of the National Cycle Network.
There are important issues at stake here. CTC policy nationally is that cyclists have the right to use all roads, including trunk roads. In this case we in Scotland might be prepared to accept a ban, but only if an alternative is provided, of a standard comparable with what we are losing – or of a standard such as motorists expect. In many European countries the problem is solved by providing a segregated cycle track in parallel with the main road, so that cyclists can pursue an identical route but be free of (and in turn free-up space for) motor traffic. The track would have to meet standards of width and surface quality (most bikes, unlike cars, don’t have suspension systems!).
Cyclists were banned from the Edinburgh City Bypass a few years ago, but the cycling organisations were consulted in advance and the Scottish Executive agreed to invest £100,000 to provide, and sign, an alternative route. And we accepted this. We don’t mind agreeing to a ban, so long as the alternative matches the specification of the existing road.
If you would like to write in support, the contact is: John Richmond, City Development (Transport), 1 Cockburn St Edinburgh EH1 1ZL, or fax 0131 469 3777.
Newhailes is a stately home and estate on the outskirts of Musselburgh, which was taken over by National Trust for Scotland 3 years ago and has now been conserved and opened for visitors. It had been in the ownership of a single family since the 18th Century and has been kept almost in its original state – quite unique.
When the NTS took it over, CTC Scotland wrote in and asked for the unofficial access on the north side to be retained and formalised, since it links to a cycle route which connects Edinburgh to Musselburgh directly. This would, we argued, encourage visitors to the property to come by a sustainable mode of transport, walking or cycling, and NTS would need to provide less car parking.
Our arguments fell on deaf ears. The wall surrounding the estate was to be re-built and the access closed – partly because of local vandalism. We pointed out that a proper access, used regularly by the public, would deter vandals just as it has proved to do elsewhere. We seemed to have lost our case – but in April we received a letter from NTS, to the effect that access was to be retained after all, and the path inside the estate, which leads to the House, has been upgraded – though cyclists would be asked to walk!
Despite the ‘Cyclists Dismount’, this was welcome news. A more recent letter tells us that the Council are to upgrade the short path connecting the access gate to the cycle path, and that the Trust will raise with the Council the issue of adequate signage. Clearly there are people within the Trust who are now seeing the advantage of encouraging sustainable visits to their properties. This has been the case in England for a few years, where the NT has had problems providing sufficient car parking.
Many CTC members are also members of NTS. If you know of an NTS property which could benefit from better cycle access, this might be a good time to get in touch with your Regional NTS Office.
Despite the unseasonal weather, reports are that there were more events this year in Bike Week than ever before. Certainly if you arrived at the Edinburgh City Bike Breakfast after 9:30 all the rolls had gone. A lot of hungry cyclists turned up for a free coffee and egg or sausage roll, a chat, little speeches from John Grimshaw, Director of Sustrans, and Andrew Burns, Executive Member for Transport on the City of Edinburgh Council. Andrew has been in the job for just over a year, and at the moment is fairly well occupied with Edinburgh’s plans for congestion charging, but he finds time to listen to cyclists, and to chair the Edinburgh Cycle Forum – and he is a CTC member. Cycle campaigning is a 365 days a year task, and these special occasions help to highlight the links between the cyclist in the street, the active campaigners and the council officials. I hope that you all make use of your local Right-to-Ride rep to raise issues with your local councils.
There was no Commuter Race from the city centre to the Gyle this year, as the Gyle Breakfast was on a different day. The Gyle is workplace to thousands of people, and has major traffic problems. It proved a truly international breakfast, with Scandinavian-type cold meats and cheeses, French croissants, and Scottish bacon rolls!
Edinburgh Bike Fest included a parade of bikes along Princes St followed by a gathering in the Meadows, with stalls, races and a band. Children, with lots of help from parents, were kept amused by a Spokes quiz consisting of 20 photos of locations (mostly steps and ramps, to give it a theme!) on cycle routes, and a cycle map with 20 spots, the object being to match the photos to the spots.
It all comes down to money or political pressure– or at least a lot of it does. For 6 years I was on the Executive of the Scottish Sports Association* and so had extensive dealings with and insight into the workings of sportscotland. The support they gave both in advice and grants was constantly varying as they responded to political and government moods. At one time sport was considered as four layers of a pyramid – Foundation, Participation, Performance, Excellence. At times the emphasis was all to be on getting medals at the Olympics, this is what sport was all about, so there was money for Olympic sports, money for potential Olympic athletes etc., pity those lower down. Next year, it was all ‘We must get people into sport’ and children’s starter courses and school sport were all the rage. It always seemed to me that these two layers were the ones that got the support, never those who were the mainstay of all the sports clubs – those who paid the subscriptions to the clubs, who supported the club training and events – the ‘participants’, and those at the ‘performance’ level who competed at national level who were prepared to travel to compete at the other end of the country on a regular basis got little support. So it’s largely a matter of fashion and having to jump when the whip is cracked.
So where does CTC and CTCS fit in to all this – organisations which are not into competition? How can we benefit or plug in to get support? Well we need to be doing something, to have a plan and a vision (perhaps that is what ‘Vision 2000’ was all about!) and some targets. Does our local cycling club or DA have this, or do we sit in a corner reminiscing about the glorious past? If we do have plans and visions, then to get support they need to be matched to the ‘flavour of the month’ in terms of external support. If we can show that something we want to do can promote targets that the government is supporting, then we have a chance to get both support and funding. And because we are also a campaigning and pressure group we are consulted and (sometimes) listened to. It’s no secret that for the last ten years or so schemes which involved racial and sexual equality and social deprivation would get support, but as people have become more aware of the decline in general health and physical fitness of the nation – and especially of young people – there would seem to be an opportunity for CTC members who have always been aware of the health benefits of all kinds of cycling to jump in and get involved. Combine this with the fact that every council has money for CWSS (Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets) and we do have an opportunity just now which may not come our way again.
An example was in a document I received from South Ayrshire last month on a public consultation about New Opportunities for PE and Sport. About £1.5m for developing facilities and programmes for 5-16 year olds with a general lifestyle improvement aim (lifelong learning, social inclusion, health, school- community links, crime reduction, truancy reduction) in out of school hours activities. So this is inviting organisations (like a local group of CTC or a cycling club) to plug in to this scheme. Is there anything like this happening in your area? Would you know about it, if it were? Would you be prepared enough so that you could take advantage of it, or would you need six months of committee meetings to get ready?
* Scottish Sports Association – a federation of the Governing Bodies of sport in Scotland (English equivalent is the CCPR – Central Council for Physical Recreation). The constitution of the Scottish Sports Council (now sportscotland) requires it to consult with the sports bodies, and it does this formally through the SSA. Most of the members are bodies dealing with competitive sport, and the SCU is such a member. CTCS is an associate member as we deal principally with leisure/recreational/health/utility cycling.
Instructions, which have to be complied with, are now given to all stations by the body responsible for security in transport (TRANSEC) which covers air, maritime and rail situations. There is no one-rule-fits-all case. The security risks at each station are different, and TRANSEC has basic rules and guidelines which determine each case. It seems as if when they first became involved with rail, some of the train companies over-reacted or mis-interpreted the guidelines, and in some cases cycle racks were removed. In general a station should be able to have cycle racks if they can be located suitably. Unfortunately what is suitable for security purposes may not be suitable for users. For example, we like them to be close to the trains and in view, whereas for security against terrorism (in case you stuff the down-tube with an explosive) security would like them to be well away from where people are – in a dark back corner. In most cases where space is not an issue a reasonable compromise can be reached. If your local station doesn’t have suitable parking, please talk rationally to the station authorities and understand that they will have rules they have to follow. Hopefully you will be able to get a workable solution. Bike lockers and left luggage lockers are much more of a problem.
A notice about the ‘Sport, recreation and physical activity strategy for Aberdeen city’ was received at the end of June. This is available on the web at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/acc/Consultations/CurrentConsultations but consultation ended on July 31st – not very helpful to have only 4 weeks and that during the holiday period! I hope that our Aberdeen members got more notice. I see though that on the same site they have a page on Traffic Suggestions, who made them, and the council’s comments and answers. Other local authorities, please take note.
On the subject of health, there is currently a Physical Activity Task Force which has produced a consultation document and is looking for responses by 13 September. You have just time to get yours in. You can read the document on the web at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/patf and also respond on the web. The working party of 15 includes at least two active CTC members so I think we can be sure that when they come to make recommendations for action that cycling will feature as a recommended activity. We know that cyclists are healthier than the average person, but we need to get the message across. Spokes has prepared a detailed criticism – please take a look at this (www.spokes.org.uk/sw020626.htm).
Spear-headed by some of the Council outdoor education people, D&G got together a group of them and others to devise a big programme of about 15 events. The largest by far was a sponsored ride of 50 miles, the “Lockerbie Loop”, in aid of Children First and prompted by last year’s Pedal for Scotland. It attracted over 60 riders, the oldest of whom was CTC’s own Les Brown, now in his tenth decade, and who, despite stopping frequently for videoing, was NOT last!
There were Dr Bikes, Come-and-Try-Its, 4 forest events, a 20 miler also associated with Treefest, and a Pedalling picnic at Drumlanrig, all spread through a huge area from Newton Stewart to Lockerbie. A publicity hitch and the perception of bad cycling weather kept numbers down, but still nearly 200 took part. Taking scatter into account, this was not too bad a number.
It was hoped that a Council BUG could have been launched, but that will now happen a little later. One of the positive outcomes was the identification of a demand for 20-30 miile rides, including some Saturday ones, with stop-and-see incorporated. A programme for these is already on its way.
The coordination of the programme was fairly late in starting. The determination to do better next year is expressed in the fact that a date for starting the process next year has already been set for December.
This is just one of the many ways in which cycling is beginning to get through to people in D&G. See last issue for others.
Dalbeattie member Mavis Paterson has retired from work in order to cycle the whole network this summer. She started at the end of May, has completed Scotland (except the Northern Isles which would have taken too long and been too expensive) and, by the time you read this, will be well down into England. Perhaps some of you met her.
Mavis is an adventurous lady. Amongst other epics, she has cycled across the U.S., Fiji and Australia to see her sister in Melbourne, who is now terminally ill with breast cancer. So Mavis is cycling for “Breast Cancer Care”. Taking on a sponsored ride of this dimension, you expect to raise a tidy sum, don’t you? If you wish to support, please send donations to “Breast Cancer Care”, c/o Gavin Fox, The Cottage, Barcloy Raod, Rockcliffe, DG5 4QL.
Seen in Edinburgh traffic was a man who obviously had no confidence in any part of his bike. He was cycling with a whole spare bike, balanced across his shoulders! He was having to wait behind a bus because there was not enough space to overtake......and I didn’t have a camera with me!
“The Borders Group of the Lothian DA, after over 12 years in existence, has more or less come to the end of its useful life. After a number of years struggling to get any support from the local members, and numbers turning out dwindling, with last year’s Foot and Mouth on top, it is time for the Co-ordinator to officially declare the Group dead.
“Ian Oliver will continue to attend the Borders Cycle Forum to represent the CTC as local representative, but would prefer if someone with more time and enthusiasm would come forward to take on this role. Indeed if anybody would like to resurrect the Group in some other form from previously, they are welcome to put their suggestions forward.”
The Falkirk DA is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, and is having a dinner-dance and presentation on Friday October 4th. Any old friends of the Falkirk DA are invited to contact Denis Callaghan (4 Mansionhouse Road, Camelon, Falkirk, FK1 4PS; 01324 636935) to buy tickets at £11 each. Please do this now, as they would like to finalise numbers by the end of September.
Nora Radcliffe, Elaine Thomson, David Mundell and Kenneth Macintosh were the four MSPs who cycled to work on 19 June during National Bike Week. There were quite a number of MSPs who sent their apologies and all in all it does indicate a “healthy” interest in cycling among our elected representatives in the Scottish Parliament.
Many thanks to George Di Ponio and Bill Rayne who organised the event on the day and to Castlecliff* Bicycle Workshop who loaned the bikes to the MSPs free of charge.
Brian Curtis, Secretary to the Cross Party Cycle Group, says “It is sound policy to maintain contact with MSPs both through the Cross Party Cycle Group and by individual approaches to your own MSP.”
*Castlecliff has just received funding to employ a workshop manager. More about its work in a future issue of CT.
CycleTalk – Issue 22 edited & compiled by Mike Harrison
© 2002 CTC Scotland, 11 Stead’s Place, EDINBURGH, EH6 5DY
All possible effort is made to ensure that facts in this newsletter are accurate. Please tell the editor of any inaccuracies – it’s too late to correct what’s in print, but most information is repeated on the web and can be corrected there.
Opinions are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the policies of CTC and CTC Scotland.
Copy for next issue to CycleTalk Editor by 1st Sept
CycleTalk 22 compiled and edited by Mike Harrison
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