Connect 2 Scheme - Killamarsh

I had a letter from Legal Services notifying  that the Public Bridleway Creation Order has been referred to the Secretary of State for determination following an objection.Am awaiting advice as to whether there's anything members of the public in Sheffield can do to support the order.

Cycle Tracks Order - Bowden Housteads Woods

This one legally confirms the track between the Mosbrough Parkway/Sheffield Parkway and Handsworth Rd (ASDA) as a cycle track. This cuts off an unnecessary section of NCN Route 67, which takes you up to the next bridge before doubling back (& means that Sustrans Rangers can sign it) as well as providing a link between the TPT/NCN & Hansworth Rd so if you are a primarily on-road cyclist you can use the tarmac traffic-free sections of the Trans-Pennine Trail to avoid busy inner city roads and then take to Handsworth Rd, which as a former A-road that has now been bypassed by the Mosbrough Parkway, isn't all that busy. So it's perhaps of more use to CTC-type cyclists than people who would prefer to religiously take the Sustrans route. 


The track was upgraded some time ago but this Order if approved will legally confirm its status, and may help in tackling the problems of anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping etc that occur in this area. 

Simon  

Cycle Track Order - Gleadless

Got confirmation of a Cycle Track order - Gleadless Avenue to Hollinsend Rd. Not too sure why they're doing this  (part of the City Centre  - Gleadless Town End route perhaps?) but I don't have a problem with it anyway.

TRO's - Speed Reductions

A little birthday present for me  from the council  - proposed reduction of the speed limit on A57 Manchester Rd from Cutthroat Bridge to Rivelin and on A61Penistone Rd through Greno Wood. Rivelin Rd 30 mph section to be extended slightly.

Setbacks to Sustainable Transport

This week we participated in two major campaigns.

The cycling world is alarmed to hear that the government plans to abolish Cycling England - we know that cuts are coming but when is has been shown that investment in cycling, which costs very little, has a cost benefit ratio of 5:1 (for every pound you spend you get five back) we had hoped that the con-dems would show some sense. We've written to Nick Clegg about this (having the Deputy PM as your MP could turn out to be handy) and plan to follow this up with a visit  to his surgery in November. We have heard, however (but not in writing) that the bikeability cycle training programme has been safeguarded

We were also alarmed to hear that the PTE had decided to cancel the planned trial of bikes on Supertram, following a negative response from Stagecoach that exaggerated the difficulties of allowing bikes on board, and played down the benefits. We won't this rest here, but we are getting a little tired of getting the run-around from the public transport operators. Stagecoach are the custodians of a system that was built with public money and should be operating it for the benefit of the community.  Meanwhile  another branch of the Stagecoach empire, East Midlands Trains, has been raising hackles by cancelling the buffet on London trains and running a trolley service instead and are still threatening to close the station footbridge to non-rail passengers.

This weeks meets

Cyclesheffield meeting last night - good to see that the new structure is taking hold and people are are starting to take responsibility for their areas. Tonight I'm off to talk to Sheffield District CTC about campaigning issues , and tomorrow it's the Green Party meeting to talk about 20's plenty. Busy week!

Cycle Tracks Order

got this today:-




CYCLE TRACKS ACT 1984 – SECTION 3
CONVERSION OF EXISTING FOOTPATHS TO SHARED FOOTPATH/CYCLE TRACKS AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS;
1. GLEADLESS AVENUE TO  HOLLINSEND ROAD
2. BOWDEN HOUSTEADS WOOD


I've written to support these useful little links. 

Sheaf Valley Park & elsewhere

Some changes have been made to the proposals for this new park behind the Station. This now includes a shared use footpath between the Station tramstop and Shrewsbury Rd. This isn't quite the flat route alongside the tram tracks that we were looking for, but it will be a welcome addition to the rambling collection of leisure paths that was first envisaged.

In Hillsborough some restrictions on waiting on the back streets around Holme Lane are proposed. we support these.

Right to ride discussion list

I've unsubscribed from the CTC's Right to Ride discussion list. I wonder whether anyone will notice? The reason  is that I have become increasingly frustrated with the quality of the posts.People readily go off-topic, use it as a soapbox for their personal opinions, discuss the same topics over and over again - the CTC's proposed change to charitable status has dominated it recently, not really a lot to do with campaigning. There is no moderation and the Council member with responsibility for the Right to Ride network is one of the worst offenders. The whole thing is a mess - there is some feeling that setting up a network of individuals rather than groups was a mistake in the first place. My options seemed to be, resign as a Right to Ride or just unsubscribe from the list so I chose the latter and I feel better already. There is still some value in the RTR network but it needs to be radically reformed if it is going to reach its potential.

Baslow Rd

Don't believe this one - a proposal to raise the speed limit on Baslow Rd (Totley to the city border) to the National Speed Limit (60mph) following the cock-up over the bus turning circle.

To re-cap on this one - the landlord of the cross scythes at Totley wanted to get the bus turning circle outside the pub moved because he wanted to do B&B and didn't want his guests disturbed by nasty noisy buses. The council, without doing any proper consultation, obliged and provided a turning circle and lighting all the way up to it. CPRE quite rightly objected, saying this was an extension of light pollution into the Peak District. Meanwhile, the pub went bust so there was no need to do this work after all. The lighting is being taken out - tend of thousands of pounds of public money wasted - and the only benefit to the travelling public was the reduction in the speed limit, which the petrolheads at the council now want to remove. Derbyshire CC has implemented 50mph on all its A-roads in the Peak district, and Sheffield ought to be matching this if it is serious about road safety.They also want to install an electronic warning sign so speeding motorists know when a bus is turning - with a lower speed limit there would be no need for this further expense.

 I've objected of course, and you can too - write to eric.wilson at sheffield.gov.uk quoting ref TR/36/0

Bents Green

Waiting restrictions and road humps are proposed to improve safety at Silverdale, Bents Green and High Storrs school.

We say:- that's all very well, but what about the rest of the area? Wouldn't a blanket 20mph limit on all the residential streets in the area be more effective?

City Centre (& Uni) Cycle thefts

There has been a big increase in the theft of cycles from all parts of the city centre. Please be vigilant and inform the police of any suspicious activity.


There are also a small number of free smart water kits available to city centre commuters, ring John O'Malley on 252 3054. These would be probably be very effective at preventing the theft of individual bikes.


There have been quite a few thefts around the Uni as well. If you are in the Uni area in the evening you are welcome to use our lockers, located at Interval Bar, Concourse and Mappin. Please leave them clear in the daytime for staff use though. 


This message was received via your hard-working Green Councillors!

No trouble at AGM!

Went to the AGM yesterday - no not that one, the Cyclenation one silly! We had a successful meeting - two important motions were passed, the main one being to change our fee basis to a levy one.

The motions that were passed are as follows:-


This meeting resolves that, in accordance with Article 5 of the CCN Articles of Association, the membership fee structure of CCN be changed from a banded system based on group size to a levy per group member- system based on the declared membership of each member group at the date the levy becomes due.

 This meeting resolves that the initial levy be 20p per member with a minimum fee per group of £20 and a maximum fee of £1,000  .

The minumum of £20 was agreed because we felt that even smaller groups could afford this, while  the cap of £1,000 is so that groups with very large memberships such as London were not overly penalised.

This will enable the Cyclenation board to continue it's important development, with seats at the national and European tables. The potential is that as groups grow income will increase.

The meeting was very positive and agreeable and we have a new Board with some new members ready and willing to take the utility cycling agenda forward.

After the meeting we had an excellent lunch in the FOE cafe - well worth a visit , it's just a few minutes walk or ride from New Street, behind Moor St station. Then  we had a bike round the cirty centre and had a look at some of the cycling facilities   - much improved from the bad old days of Birmingham Motorway City. I took a longer ride along the canal towards Wolverhaampton which was also very enjoyable. Pictures below!


On the "other AGM" theme, on a personal basis I was very pleased to see that CTC council got the proposal to change the CTC's status to a charitable trust approved. The debate that surrounded this amended highlighted the structural problems that the CTC has, and with this decision in place the organisation can start to address these issues.

Grosvenor Place - kids were gathered here to party in the sunshine.

Canal, towpath, rail and road meet.

Netherton tunnel - it's a long one! Over 2000 metres. 

I've often seen this sign from the train.

This heron didn't seem bothered by the passing trains

 Sherborne Quay, back in town.

A wheeling ramp gets you back to street level

New Building in the city centre.

Bridleways

It's Bridleway Day!

Have the following in from the council:-
Some changes to the bridleways at Fox Hagg, Lodge moor - part of an improvement programme.

And a big one:-
New Bridleway Killamarsh   - Halfway.

This is part of the Connect2  programme, providing an alternative to the very nasty Station Rd (A616) . I'll be writing to strongly support this Order.

notification of a Public Inquiry into modifications to a footpath between Steel Hill and Birley Edge (the stuff I get!)

If you want more details of any of these please get in touch.

TRO's Crookesmoor

Got TRO's for changes to the parking permit scheme in School Rd, Redcar Rd, Barber Place. Contact me if you'd like a look.

Hung TRO's

Got a TRO through for Convent Walk (back of the old Glossop Rd baths) introducing a formal prohibition of driving. This is because the council is worried about people using it to get round the bus gate enforcement on Glossop Rd. I've asked for an exemption for cyclists. Workmen were putting up new signs when I arrived for work this morning so it looks as though enforcement is about to start. When it does cyclesheffield will organise a meet on the corner of Glossop Rd & Upper Hanover Way to monitor the situation.

Most of the TRO's I'm currently getting refer to keeping parked cars clear of junctions and bus "hot spots" I'm letting these go through "on the nod" as they generally benefit cyclists as well.

Future Cycling Cities

Simon Geller There were some excellent presentations on twentys plenty at the future cycling cities conference in Portsmouth this weekend. Officers and politicians from Portsmouth talked about how they got the policy through, while a conservative cabinet member from Oxfordshire talked about how they did it in Oxford. One of the key… points that came through to me was that you can’t have sustainable economic growth without bringing in sustainable transport. In Oxford the issue is that to cater for increased motor traffic you would have to start knocking down the Dreaming Spires, and the same issue exists in Cambridge. In Portsmouth the issue is the physical constraints if living on a crowded island. Twentys plenty is a key component of creating an environment where people feel safe to walk and cycle.
Had a great bike ride towards London on the Sunday as well – ended up at Virginia Water.
Route desc here:
http://gb.mapometer.com/en/cycling/route_534454.html

view over Portsmouth - heading for the south downs

Progress on Upper Hanover Way

Work is in progress on upgrading the cycle/walking route on UHW - something we've been pressing for since, well since the original scheme went in really.

The centre line should be burnt off and replaced in the middle once the work is complete. (or just burnt off completely  - but I think the plan is that it will still be segregated.

The new crossing looks ready to go once the approach routes are finished.

At the moment the path is too narrow for two cyclists to cross without one going over into the pedestrian area. In the morning large groups of students walk up here to the University, presumably from the new apartments off London Rd, making cycling slow going. Also pedestrians have to cross the bike lane twice, creating conflicts.

The workman have thoughtfully put some tarmac down to make it possible to get round their containers
and into Broomhall.

This area has never worked particularly well - cyclists prefer to go in a straight line while many pedestrians seem to prefer to use the bike route. It would be better as a large shared use area so people could just veer around each other, coupled with a super-crossing so everyone could cross together rather than having the cyclists and the walkers corralled into different areas, again with different users often on the "wrong" side. 

Annes Rd/Prospect Rd Crossing

This is what the cycle lane leading to the crossing from the south looked like originally:-

No dropped kerb, just a short stretch of pavement painted red with some symbols on it.
Following some complaints, and the mentioning of some words like "Warirngton" which may or may not have had  an effect, the council have now made quite a nice job of it:-

They've left the original cycle lane as you can see but otherwise made a nice wide shared area. However, the devil as ever is in the detail. On this occasion you couldn't access the dropped crossing because a car was parked across it (the photo was taken on match day, Bramall Lane is just down the road) If the double yellows had been stretched a bit further this would have solved this problem. The other issue is that the bollards on the other side are too close together to allow HPV*'s, wide trailers etc to get through (Heeley City Farm has several of these and there are others in the area - you can see the back end of one in the top picture.) So, 7 out of 10 perhaps?

*Human  Powered  Vehicles -freight carriers etc.

Report on Birmingham RTR day

I promised a report back on this, and as I've just had the notes from Alec, the hardest working RTR co-ordinator in showbiz, this seems like a good time. I've borrowed heavily from Alec's report, but bringing out the salient points from my POV. 

The purpose of the meeting was to take a fresh look at the existing and possible future regional structure of

the CTC Right to Ride network. The ideas and discussions at Birmingham give a very good starting point for

deciding what the CTC and the RtR Network do next.

Participants

24 RtR members attended, including some who were also CTC councillors or staff.

Four main topics were discussed:

- Working at a Regional Level
- Growing an Effective Network
- Training Issues
- Communication


There seemed to be considerable support for the concept of organising the RtR network on a regional basis.
Part of this support was to do with how to deal with government structures, and another part was recognising
that support for individuals was important.
Several comments showed that people felt isolated at times.
Financial support for the network was discussed, with the possibility of part time positions being available for
regional reps, and for a discounted category of CTC membership as a campaign member.
Formalising the network a little by expecting members to attend at least one regional meeting a year had
some support. Regular meetings would also help build a necessary better alignment of views between
individual reps and other campaign groups.
A more organised method of dealing with the mass of information involved was seen as very important, as
was developing individual members various skills.
Greater publicity in Cycle magazine for RtR was another request.
Better education of those responsible for road schemes was seen as necessary, and might be made easier to
organise if CTC became accredited to one or more professional institutions in the field of transport.


The ideas and discussions at Birmingham give a very good starting point for deciding what the CTC and the
RtR Network do next. We have hardly had a better opportunity to move forward. The drive must come from
both sides to be effective. 


My key issues are that I don't feel that the RTR network is sufficiently valued by the CTC - the fact I had to fight to get travel expenses for this day is a case in point. Some of the ideas we had were - assess the value of the RTR network in monetary terms (i.e. as if we were getting paid) publish  an annual report (RTRs are supposed to provide an annual report, but we are not asked for it, so many including myself don't, and the ones that are received are read by CTC staff but don't go any further) - enhance communication with a social networking site. (We are currently using Yahoo!, which while it has improved over the years has never been entirely satisfactory)


I found this to be  very positive day, which was welcome at a time when the CTC is racked with in-fighting over the charitable trust issue. After the seminar Roger led us through the Bullring, some with bikes and some without, in search of a pub for a quick pint before heading home - unfortunately some people had to had off before we found one, but the experience was almost worth coming for in itself! 

Off to brum

I'm off to Birmingham for a conference on regional organisation of the CTC RTR network. Will let you know what transpires.

What do we want to see in LTP3?

The Council along with the rest of South Yorkshire is drawing up its plan for transport for the next 5 years. What would we like to see in it? Ideas are being collected at ltp3  - please post comments to the blog. One thing's for sure - there won't be any money for large capital projects and small-scale cycling projects represent excellent value for money.

New Cycle Crossing open

The new pedestrian cycle crossing is open at the bottom of Commercial St. This means you can get from Sheaf St, one of the busiest roads in Sheffield but now mostly having an alternative off-road route to Exchange St, Blonk St, the National Cycle Network and quieter roads to the North-East, without mixing with heavy traffic. A lot of the traffic has already been diverted away from this area by the Northern Inner Relief Road, but Sheat St still carries a lot of traffic from the West and South of the city towards the Parkway & M1. Eventually, we are told, there will be crossings on all the exits of Park Square (the parkway already has a subway conveying NCN6)

Cycling seems to be on the increase in this area - here's the cycle parking at the new offices on Blonk St (at the Five Weirs Walk entrance  - this part of the Walk is closed at the moment however, for environmental works) 

And this is the cycle parking at the PTE offices   - wonder if any of these cyclists would ever find it useful to take their bike on the tram?

Consultations on new rail franchises

The DfT have issued consultations on three train company re-franchises, all of which are (or were) part of the National Express group:

· Greater Anglia (London to Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, parts of Hertfordshire and Essex) - http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-07/

· Essex Thameside (London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness, via Grays, Tilbury, Southend) - http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-09/

· InterCity East Coast (London to Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and northern/eastern Scotland) - http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/2010-08/

At the same time, the Department has been busy re-jigging the way rail franchises will work. They aim to make the terms of the franchise longer, with the possibility of extensions if operators are prepared to invest in new stations, re-opened track or other major projects.

Although only one of these franchises passes close to Sheffield the consultation is open to all UK citizens. If you choose to respond please make the following points:-

The current franchising arrangements have failed to deliver for cyclists. Studies have shown that up to

10% of rail travellers want to travel with their bikes. Combining cycling with rail travel offers a real alternative to car travel for many journeys, decreasing congestion on the roads, improving the health and fitness of travellers improving air quality and contributing to UK targets to reduce carbon emissions.

The Franchise specification should therefore include the following conditions:

1. The new franchises should operate Minimum Standards for stations proposed in the Better Rail Stations report (http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=5327) which suggest that there be cycle parking for 5% of passengers at all stations, with major stations offering secure cycle storage with hire/repair services.
2. Tandems and trikes to be carried on all trains. These vehicles are used by the visually impaired and by others with mobility problems as well as by lots of families and of course many able bodied couples. The ban on tandems operated by many companies is an unacceptable discrimination. Intercity trains should have space for two tandems.
3. At least five bikes to be bookable on all booked services and more than five bikes to be carried on all services that cannot be booked. This is critical for family use of trains as part of a cycle trip or holiday. The present arrangement where many companies will only book two bikes effectively bans families, as using a family railcard all have to travel on the same train. Bikes should also be carried on peak hour services – the possibility of charging for this service should not be ruled out.
4. Child trailers to be carried (and bookable where appropriate). For the same family friendly reasons as above.
5. Guards to be trained in company policy on cycle carriage and any discretions to be clearly stated
6. The TOC to establish a cycle forum, on the award-winning Northern Rail model. This will facilitate co-operation and understanding between the TOC and the cyclist's groups of each other's needs and act as a steering group for bike-rail development.

No bikes on trams!

It's been a mixed a couple of weeks for the movement to get bikes carried on trams

Greater Manchester "Integrated!" Transport Authority
have decided not to allow bikes on the new trams they are ordering for Metrolink extensions - see http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2010/jan/15/manchester-bikes-on-trams

Then at the Northern Rail Cycle Forum in Preston today we heard that the project team responsible for the tram-train trial (Sheffield to Rotherham Northgate via the freight line) had decided that the 4 vehicles they were ordering would not carry bikes. The somewhat inadequate reason we were given for this was that passengers would be confused as some trams would be carrying bikes and others not.

We were outraged to hear this - how can this be a proper trial if these vehicles don't carry bikes? These are vehicles that are intended to replace heavy rail vehicles that do carry bikes on suburban & rural lines.

I got back to town in time to relay this news to the City Cycle Forum and it received a similar response to mine. Councillors will be taking this forward and an ally at the SYPTE will be making enquiries as to how this decision was made.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh has made a historic, for the UK, decision to allow bikes on its new Trams - see http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Tram-chiefs-agree-to-be.4727223.jp

20's plenty for Nether Edge

Nether Edge Neighbourhood Group are organising a petition for 20mph limits in the South Sheffield area - news story at

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Residents-demand-20mph-limit-for.5985434.jp#4825788

I'd urge CTC members and others who live in the area to sign it.

Contact details on the website at http://www.netheredge.org.uk/

Bradfield Rd

Had cause to visit Bradfield Rd (between Penistone Rd & Hillsborough Corner) yesterday, both by bike and car as I was there to pick my car from the mechanic (unlike many Sheffield motorists I believe it to be important that all your lights and indicators are working, and of course the bike is the easiest way to get to and from the garage)

What a nasty environment the council has made of this road. It started with putting barriers up to keep pedestrians out of the road - at a time when visionaries like South Kensington were realising the benefits of taking street furniture away - and this was compounded by the "it's driving me crazy" initiative which removed the hatching to force traffic into a single lane as you approached the Langsett Rd junction.

The result is a speedway, pedestrians penned into a narrow pavement - totally inappropriate for a shopping street, and just enabling potential shoppers to speed away to Meadowhall.

I wish I'd campaigned harder to stop this from happening. Still you can't win them all I suppose.