Newsletter for Winter 2009/10

Front cover

50,000 people at The Wave Climate Change March in London (including some Spokies) on December 5^th 2009.

Editorial

Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams told the audience of 3,500 in Westminster Central Hall, at the London climate change march, to stop sucking the world with our greedy wills. He said we must become less comfortable, we must consume less so that we, our neighbours and all creation can share in the good news of life.

By cycling instead of driving we consume less. Most of us can cycle but few of us do or cycle as much as we ought to. It is time for all those who are physically able, to get cycling and to do so regularly. We cannot ignore how our travel choices impact upon the climate. Our duty is to curtail our excesses now. So what if this is less comfortable for us, said the Archbishop because we are personally responsible to all life on this planet. Morally, do we have a choice?

Around 50,000 people participated in the London climate change march. Some Spokes members attended. Spokes is also a member of the Climate Chaos Coalition. 192 countries are attending the Copenhagen conference this month in order to thrash out a legally binding agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change. Big changes are necessary. We must all start now by using our bikes and public transport for getting around.

Emily Shirley, Editor

Chairman's Ramblings

Well here we go, yet another edition of the newsletter and an end to what has turned out to be a rather splendid and productive year for Spokes, let us hope the next one is as fruitful. Early next summer we have the new Chartham to Canterbury route to look forward too. With the completion of this new route it is hoped that an increase in commuters cycling to work and schools will be just one of the many benefits it will bring. We still need to connect other outlying communities to our city and town centres, but just as importantly we also need to provide a workable network within the urban environment. We are looking at various routes and these will soon be listed on the website. Spokes would like to say a big thank-you to Peter Collinson and his company Canterbury Web Services Ltd., who have, until very recently, kindly hosted our website for free since it was started. The website now has now grown in size and popularity, and as such we’d outgrown what would be fair to have for free. So our website is now commercially hosted for a modest fee.

Steve Fawke

Membership fees

At Spokes AGM in late October, a vote was passed to raise the annual membership fees for Spokes. The fees were last raised in November 2003. The rise is intended to cover inflation, increased newsletter printing and postage costs. The committee has agreed to implement the rise from 1 Jun 2010. Individual Adult membership will rise from £6 to £7.50, family membership from £10 to £12, whilst our concessionary rate for members that are retired, students, or otherwise unwaged will remain at £5.

Terry Croft, Spoke’s Treasurer says ‘to save money, pay the old Spokes membership fee of £6 single or £10 joint, in advance, for future membership costs. Use the form in the newsletter, print a form off the web or send me a cheque with your details on it. Please also let Spokes know how you would like your membership money spent.’

Gregory Williams

New Money and Projects for Cycling England

Cycling England (‘CE’) was established in 2005 by the Department for Transport in order to increase cycling in England. CE co-ordinates a Schools Programme centred on Bikeability, the Cycling Demonstration Town (CDT) Programme and a third new area is called ‘Finding New Solutions (‘FNS’). See http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/ for more information.

European funding towards the first six ‘Cycling Demonstration Towns’ Aylesbury, Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter and Lancaster with Morecambe, helped these communities to implement measures which accelerated local take-up of cycling and increased cycling by an average of 27% in 3 years!! This is very impressive considering that cycling elsewhere in the UK only accounts for 1% of all trips and 2% of trips of less than 2 miles(DfT 2007).

This success has led to more funding and in 2008 eleven more towns were designated as CDT. Bristol was also chosen to become England’s first cycling city.

The Schools and CDT Programmes have quite specific target audiences. The Schools programme focuses on children and the CDT on local authorities. However, it was clear that other ‘would-be’ cyclists could be targeted. The FNS programme is devised to do this.

In outline, the main pilot FNS will aim to encourage better integration between bikes and trains, comprehensive journey to work’ schemes for large organisations such as the NHS and methods to turn leisure cyclists into habitual cyclists. A total of 11 projects, under these headings are being financially supported by CE (four Rail, four Work and three Leisure orientated projects in total so far). The details of these projects will be posted on CE’s website once all the funding has been finalised.

Information provided by Isobel Stoddart a long term Spokes supporter who now works for CE.

Dover Police Anti-cycling Campaign

When everyone else especially London and Paris, have woken up to the fact that cycling should be encouraged as much as possible because it is beneficial for the planet and our health, Dover Police has decided to launch an over the top anti-cycling campaign in Dover, Deal and Sandwich. Without consulting Spokes, other ‘transport’ organisations or local residents, Dover Police has erected warning signs in many areas and given out warning notices to passing cyclists. The signs and notices mention Dover District Council but in fact Dover DC has nothing to do with the campaign and was apparently not consulted either!

According to Chief Inspector Elmes, the police will be handing out Fixed Penalty Notices at £30 a shot or a summons to any cyclist they think is cycling unlawfully, dangerously or inconsiderately. I was handed a warning notice in Dover on the pedestrianised area of Biggin Street. I have cycled all over Dover without incident every working day for over 10 years (2,650 days) but I am now a problem according to the policeman who was sitting in his car with his engine running.

The police are over- reacting. Very few people are hurt by cyclists. Collisions between cyclists and pedestrians are so rare that it escapes proper statistical analysis, whereas around 55 pedestrians annually are likely to be hit and killed by a car whilst walking on the pavement. Why aren’t the police tackling this real problem? The anticycling campaign will demonise all cyclists and seriously lower the already miserable levels of cycling in the district. Many cyclists have to cycle ‘unlawfully’ to cycle at all. The roads are often too dangerous (especially in Dover ) and the cycle routes often incomplete or unconnected. For safety many cyclists use the pedestrianised streets to get around – in contrast Ashford, has won an award forits popular mixed cyclist and pedestrian town centre. Fixed Penalty Notices were not supposed to be used in this way. Spokes has complained to Dover Police, CTC and Cycling England about the anti-cycling campaign and will keep Spokes members posted.

John Shirley

Locks of Sandwich

The well known and beloved Locks Bicycle shop of Sandwich is for sale. Please contact Arthur or Eileen Lock on 01304 617161 or email enquiry@locksofsandwich.co.uk

Words on Wheels

Poet Maggie Harris is keen to hear from cyclists who would be interested in taking part in a writing workshop and possible performance to celebrate the coming Olympics. The workshops can take place either at an agreed spot or spots on a cycle trail in or around Canterbury and/or on the university campus in the spring, subject to the application to the Slipstream Project being successful. Maggie is open to ideas and can be contacted by email maggie729@btinternet.com. Some of her own writing is displayed on her website www.maggieharris.co.uk

Census results for Canterbury

Our latest census in October 2009 was encouraging in some respects: despite cold drizzle and even rain there were still as many cyclists on their bikes as we'd counted the previous October, and in total more of them were cycling legally - i.e. on the road or on a cycle track - and fewer on the footway. Slightly fewer adults than before were wearing helmets; the pattern for children, as before, was that only very few wore helmets because schools don't require it! The detail could show the effects of the blitz PCSOs had been having on pavement cycling just before our survey, as the number of pavement cyclists had dropped markedly only on the Dover side of the city, where the campaign was located. It will be interesting to see if this effect lasts, and if it shows elsewhere in the district as more PCSOs tackle pavement cycling.

[Note: This does not necessarily mean that the pavement cyclists have now become road cyclists. They may have given up cycling altogether especially if they were children. The Editor]

Beatrice Shire

Newsletter distribution

You may be aware that Spokes attempts to deliver newsletters to members by bicycle (Currently we achieve 81%). This is both greener and saves postage. We currently have 19 dedicated volunteers who deliver newsletters in their neighbourhood, but some of these postal rounds are now getting a bit large. So, if you fancy helping out then you’d be more than welcome. Deliveries can be as large or small as you like and are quarterly for each season’s newsletter. There’s particular demand in Thanet, Deal, and Canterbury. Spokes also distributes newsletters in libraries, tourist information centres, bike shops, pubs, etc. to enable people to discover us and our objectives. However we’re aware that we can’t know every suitable distribution venue so if you think you know of somewhere else that could benefit some newsletters each quarter, or if you already receive our newsletters but run out of them too quickly then let us know.

To enquire about newsletter distribution to members or via venues please contact our Newsletter Distribution co-ordinator, whose details can be found in the contacts section of this newsletter.

Gregory Williams

Stand By Your Plan

Sometimes it’s hard to be a planner
Giving all your love to just one plan
Ya'll have bad times
And ya'll have good times
Doing things that you don't understand

But if you love it you'll forgive it
Even though it's hard to understand
And if you love it
Oh be proud of it
'Cause after all it's just a plan

Stand by your plan
Give it two wheels to cling to
And something warm to come to
When nights are cold and lonely

Stand by your plan
And tell the world you love it
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your plan.

Stand by your plan
And show the world you love it
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your plan!!

Sam Webb

Abandoned bicycle policy

Canterbury City Council has just introduced an Abandoned Bicycle Policy. The aim is to free up cycle parking spaces around the district that are currently being filled by bicycles that are obviously not being actively used (e.g. flat tyres, bent wheels, etc.).

Bicycles suspected as being abandoned will have a secure tag attached to them by the council's Street Scene Officers advising the bike's owner that it'll be removed in 14 days time together with contact details at the council. Once bicycles are removed, they will be held securely by Canterbury City Council for a further 14 days and if unclaimed then they'll be recycled.

Bicycles can be claimed by contacting 01227 862211 or by emailing abandonedbikes@canterbury.gov.uk. You'll need to be able to describe the bike (colour, make/model, identifying features) and the location where it was left. The same contact details can be used if you spot an abandoned bike that you think the council should know about.

Gregory Williams

Cycling leaflets

Spokes now stocks a wide selection of cycling leaflets which we distribute via our stand at various events during the spring, summer, and autumn. As the night’s draw in it’s natural to be looking forward to next year’s cycling delights. If you’d like to receive some of these during the winter months then please send us a stamped addressed envelope to address at left. A full list of what we’ve got available can be found at http://www.spokeseastkent.org.uk/leaflets.php

Gregory Williams