Change Your World

Nearly one in four car journeys are less than two miles, so we're asking you to join with thousands of others and swap just one car trip between 29 June – 4 July 2009.

Just walk, cycle, use public transport or car-share instead. Amazingly, if we all take this one easy action, together we'll reduce car traffic by 10% – healthier journeys, cleaner air and quieter streets. Sounds like good car-ma to us.

It's easy – give it a go and tell Sustrans you'll swap a car trip today.

Crab & Winkle Way extension

Dear friend of the Crab and Winkle Line,

Your urgent action is needed to extend the line in Whitstable

18 months ago, we submitted a planning application to the council to extend the route of the Crab and Winkle Line over the railway line and Teynham and Old Bridge Roads in Whitstable, down behind Clare and Station Roads, through to Harbour Street and the sea. Some local residents were concerned that the environment would be damaged, and the council asked us to survey the trees and plants, and the lizards, bats and other animals in the disused and overgrown land behind Clare Road.

We've now completed all these surveys, showing that:

• there'll be no damage to existing wildlife;
• there's no need to cut down any trees with preservation orders;
• there'll be sympathetic, improved planting to screen houses and gardens.

Over 500 local people have signed our petition in support of the extended line. It will provide traffic-free, step-free access from one side of the railway line to another, helping children get to the Community College, and families walk their children to the primary schools on the sea-side of the railway. It will help all those with mobility problems get around town without a car, provide a community resource for everyone in the town to enjoy this green lung, and it will be the perfect way for visitors to enter the town.

The council is now consulting on the application, which you can see in council offices in Harbour Street, Whitstable during office hours. Last time there were a few dozen letters of opposition. It is ESSENTIAL that the council also hears from people who support the proposal too. PLEASE WRITE. Letters can be sent to Nicola Hughes, Planning Officer, Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1YW. Please quote reference CA/07/01442/WHI. Please say how you think the line would benefit the community, whether you'd use it, who else would, and that you support the proposal. The council must receive your letter by 30th June [Date extended].

Without your help - by writing a letter to the council in support - officers and councillors may only hear from those opposed to the plan. An extension of a popular and well-used footpath and cycle path through to the sea would be a massive asset to the town, and something that will last for and be enjoyed by many generations. We could all be proud of having helped make it happen. Without your help, it won't.

Trustees would be happy to talk to you about what else you can do to support the Crab and Winkle Line Trust. You can contact us at cwlt_mail@crabandwinkle.org  THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Yours faithfully,

Marcial Boo, Chairman, and Trustees
The Crab and Winkle Line Trust

Canterbury to Chartham riverside cycle / pedestrian route

Spokes would like to say a big thank-you to everybody that wrote letters of support for the Canterbury to Chartham riverside cycle / pedestrian route. Well over 150 letters were received by Canterbury City Council with the vast majority in support. We'll post more information here when it becomes available.

Ashford cycle forum formed; cycling and walking strategy underway

A new Ashford cycle forum has just been formed, having its initial meeting in late January. The forum will help shape cycling and walking developments within Ashford by bringing together interested parties from Kent County Council, various cycling and walking groups (including Spokes), and members of the community. If you live, work, or otherwise cycle in Ashford then the forum would like to hear your opinions.

Currently the forum is preparing Ashford's new cycling and walking strategy, the current draft of which can be downloaded by clicking the link below. This includes a proposal for developing an integrated "Butterfly" cycle network within the town (See the image to the left). Suggestions for improvements are also welcomed (e.g. faults with signs which need to be fixed, places where new cycle routes could go, better cycle facilities at the station, ideas for encouraging more cyclists, etc.).

If you'd like to participate in the cycle forum, find out more about it, or provide comments on the current draft of the strategy, please contact Liz Wedgwood via email to liz.wedgwood@kent.gov.uk (for comments on the strategy, please refer to the section numbers where appropriate.).

• Ashford Cycling & Walking Strategy (Now updated to reflect March's draft)
• Ashford "Butterfly" Cycle network (PDF)

Poor cycle parking in Canterbury's Whitefriars

Spokes are not impressed by the new cycle parking found in Canterbury's Whitefriars shopping centre. The faults with this are simply too numerous to mention.

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Occasionally we need to get a message out to cyclists in East Kent quickly. For example when a planning application has submitted for cycling facilities which we'd encourage you support by writing letters. If you'd like to receive these announcements you can join this group using the box to the right.

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