Bicycles as Advertising Hoardings

Want to get close to this map?  Think again

Cambridge City Council has a published policy on Illegal Advertising but is seemingly reluctant to enforce its own rules.  Aside from fly-posting which is commonplace (and about which the Council claims to have zero tolerance) there are now numerous bikes placed across the city centre which act as fixed advertising hoardings.

Many of these bikes are not in a road-worthy condition and have been parked so as to gain the retailer maximum exposure - regardless of the needs of those who need to use the pavement.  Bike polite, anyone?

Cycle advertisement fly-parking is taking place on some of the busiest shopping streets in the city often utilising railings, signposts or other street furniture.  Here they impede the space for pedestrians, prams, wheelchairs etc, contribute to a more cluttered street-scape and are liable to give all cyclists a bad name. 

With its stylish blue chain and sprayed white tyres this cafe owner won't be cycling anywhere soon, but he / she has certainly upped the ante on current Cambridge bicycle advertising.  And they've had the decency to park against a proper bike rack.  But do we really want this form of unauthorised advertising around our city streets?  Mr T thinks not.

Opening of the Reach Lode Bridge

One of the most enjoyable bike rides out of Cambridge is to the fine fenland city of Ely.  Famed for its cathedral, it has some decent pubs and restaurants along the riverside and also boasts an excellent bookshop.  Since there are good rail connections between the two cities, leisure riders can cycle to Ely, spend a good part of the day there and then take the train back in the evening.  With yesterday's opening of the bridge over Reach Lode and the associated cycleway, much more of this journey can now be undertaken on quiet lanes and off-road cycle tracks.

To mark this event, on Sunday Sustrans organised a bike ride from Ely to the opening event at Reach Lode.  Ca. 50 riders gathered outside the front of the cathedral and after a short safety talk departed at 11:15.  Cyclists from different organisations, age ranges and degrees of lycraness took part and there was a fair amount of good-natured bantering and discussion as we made our way out of Ely towards Wicken Fen.

The weather was delightful, allowing us to enjoy the famously large Fenland sky and spot wildlife such as cormorants and roe deer.  From Wicken Fen we were cycling along the Lodes Way - a 14km route designed to provide clear access for cyclists and walkers south to the village of Bottisham and passing close to Anglesea Abbey.  This route has been largely funded by Sustrans using funds it received from the Lottery Fund in 2007.

At Reach Lode we met other cyclists and walkers who had started out from places including Cambridge, Wicken Fen and Anglesea Abbey.  Altogether there were about 200 of us.  After speeches on behalf of the National Trust and Sustrans, the official opening ceremony was conducted by representatives from the nearby communities of Burwell, Lode, Reach and Wicken. 

After the opening most folk stayed around for a picnic and staff from the National Trust were on hand to explain their plans for managing Burwell Fen.  Some parts of this Fen are two metres below sea level and the impending construction of a clay bund will facilitate the establishment of wet grassland habitats.

The Reach Lode bridge is a genuine boon for walkers, horse-riders and cyclists from Cambridge, Ely and adjoining villages.  What's needed now is a proper cycle / bridleway link from Waterbeach to the Lode Way. Mr T has it on good authority that the National Trust are trying to achieve just such a link and are in communication with a currently reticent landowner.

New On-Street Parking from Cycle Cambridge

Magnifying glass, anyone?

In March 2010 the Cycle Cambridge Team at Cambridgeshire County Council announced plans for " City Cycle Parking Improvements ".  Although Cycle Cambridge claim on their webpage to have been "consulting" about the changes, it is not clear how, or with whom, the consultation exercise was conducted.  Formal orders from the Area Manager Traffic City and South Cambridgeshire dated 5th March 2010 (concerning the planned introduction of new "pedal cycle parking places") were displayed near to where the cycle racks were to be introduced.  However, the notices were so nondescript, and set in such a small font, that few members of the public will have paid them much attention.

As shown on the notice, new cycle racks are being introduced at 11 on-street locations across the city - something Cycle Cambridge claims will "ensure footpaths are kept clear for pedestrians as bikes will not need to park on street furniture".

So let's take a look at what's being introduced.  Here are the figures:

              Location                    Cycle Parking Length               Est. No. New Cycle Stands
      
          Brookside (E)                            19.5m                                            13
          Free School Lane                       9.0m                                               6
          Gwydir Street                            3.5m                                                2
          Harvey Road (N)                         8.5m                                               6
          Harvey Road (S)                         2.5m                                               2
          King Street                                8.5m                                               6
          Mawson Road                            8.5m                                               6
          Pound Hill                                  8.0m                                               6
          St Phillips Road (N)                    5.0m                                               3
          St Phillips Road (S)                  10.5m                                                7
          Trumpington Street                     7.5m                                                5

          Total                                                                                               62

That's right, a measly 120 or so extra on-street places for cyclists to park.  This should be seen in the context of Cambridge having being awarded National Cycling Town status in 2008, not to mention £3.6 million to be spent on cycling improvements in the city and surrounding villages.  Given that there are well over 10,000 cyclists in Cambridge and that some 300 bicycles a month are stolen, this new provision from Cycle Cambridge is meagre in the extreme.  Sadly, it would appear that Cycle Cambridge lacks the will and / or ambition to provide Cambridge with the level of cycling facilities commensurate with being a National Cycling Town.

New on-street cycle parking on King Street

Although only recently installed, the new cycle stands on King Street are already being regularly used and at peak times cyclists are forced to find alternative places to park which is often still against walls and street furniture. 

It is now possible for the public to make suggestions as to where extra cycle parking
could be provided in Cambridge via the website Cycling Sorted, which is run by Cycle Cambridge.  We can but hope that there is a strong response from the public and that Cycle Cambridge in future is minded to propose much more radical proposals to County Council transport bosses.

Bicycle Cull at Cambridge Station

Alright, where should I park today?

Anyone who has tried to park their bike at Cambridge Railway Station in the last few years knows what a nightmare this has become.  Each day some 1000+ cyclists try to park at a facility with 748 spaces.  As a result, bikes have to be parked against walls, railings, street furniture and other bikes.  No wonder the station is a hot spot for bicycle theft.  And as the first view of the city for many visitors, the scene is a disgrace.

Every so often some bright spark suggests that that the bicycle parking crisis could be ameliorated if only those bikes that had been abandoned were removed.  The trouble is bicycle culls take time and effort, and there is little money to be made from the resale of rusting, unloved, machinery.

To overcome the inherent economic barrier to culling, National Express has now teamed up with the social enterprise charity Opportunity Without Limits (OWL).  National Express are tagging seemingly abandoned bikes once a month and, after a grace period of 2 - 4 weeks, OWL are removing them to their workshop.  There they are restored, or taken apart for spares, by adults with learning difficulties or health problems.

National Express are clearly pleased with the scheme and large posters about it have appeared on a number of platforms.  We can all be reassured to learn that removing abandoned bikes is "part of an ongoing operation to ensure the most spaces possible are available for cycling customers".

The most spaces possible, eh?  Then Cambridge Station Duty Manager Graham Ellingham might want to take a look at the figures.  The number of bikes removed since the scheme was introduced has been as follows:
April - 24 removed; May - 32 removed; June - 26 removed; July - 22 removed.  Given the scale of the problem, these are small numbers.  There is an existing pent-up demand for secure parking at the station, with some cyclists declining to leave their bike there for fear of it being damaged or stolen.   Mr T regrettably predicts that this latest bicycle cull exercise will have no noticeable effect in improving cycle parking conditions.

20mph Speed Limit for Cambridge City Centre

Cambridge has today followed the pioneering example of Portsmouth and a number of other towns and cities, and implemented a 20mph speed limit within the entire area of the inner ring road.  This action by Cambridgeshire County Council, is for a 12 month trial period and follows their decision in April 2009 to change their speed limit policy.  Under their revised policy, in those urban areas of Cambridgeshire where the average speed of traffic is no greater than 24mph, the county council now has the power to introduce 20mph speed limits.  Using this policy they agreed in April 2009 to undertake a trial 20mph speed limit scheme in Cambridge City Centre, Whittlesea, St Ives and Soham.

The case for a 20mph speed limit throughout Cambridge City Centre has been made in some quarters for at least five years but has become more vociferous as formerly quiet neighbourhoods have experienced increased amounts of dangerous "rat-running" by motorists.  Speed limits of 30kph (19mph) have been the norm across many urban areas of northern Europe since the last century, and there is now a national campaigning group - 20's plenty for us - in the UK.

Proponents of 20mph speed limits point out that accidents have decreased in areas where reduced speeds have been introduced and that survival rates have increased.  Suggestions that lower speeds encourage a greater take-up of walking and cycling remain contentious.  Along with improving road safety, the County Council is hoping that the new measures will provide a more amenable environment for all road users.

Cycleway to Wandlebury is Open!

The speeches have been made, the ribbon cut and the ice cream eaten.  Which means, of course, that the shared use cycleway from the Babraham Park and Ride to Wandlebury Country Park is now officially open.  Hooray!

The rain held off against the forecast and about thirty people, including representatives from the councils, Cambridge PPF, Cambridge CTC and the Cambridge Cycling Campaign came along to celebrate.  This section may only be 2km long, but by connecting with pre-existing shared-use cycleways it completes a safe route from Wandlebury to the City Centre.

Jackson Civil Engineering were responsible for the construction of the shared-use cycleway, which has been built to a pleasingly high standard.   Some 400m along from the Park & Ride, the cycleway needs to cross Cherry Hinton Road at the Gog Magog roundabout.  The route here has been sensibly chosen so that Cherry Hinton Road is crossed in two stages by directing users to make use of a small triangular piece of land between the slip roads and the roundabout.  Tactile paving has been placed at each end of the uncontrolled crossing points on the Cherry Hinton slip roads and joins with the cycleway is a near seamless manner.  The tarmacked surface is very smooth, though I had expected it to be coloured rather than black.  Signage has been kept to a minimum and consist of shared use signs mounted on pleasing wooden bollards.

After trying out the route to Wandlebury, cyclists headed into the park and through the old stable-block to be met by a classic 1920s ice cream bike.  This was the excellent Icicle-Tricycle.  Their ice creams are sourced from Suffolk and I can personally vouch for the quality of their toffee variety.  With snack in hand the park was a lovely setting to meet other cycling enthusiasts in Cambridge.  Thanks to Carolin Gohler of Cambridge PPF and colleagues from partner organisations for holding this event.

New Cycleway to Wandlebury Opens on 6th August

Wandlebury Country Park is situated on chalklands of the Gog Magog hills, less than 10km from Cambridge City Centre.  It boasts an Iron Age hill fort,  meandering scenic footpaths and picnic areas set in 110 acres of woods and grassland.  Owned and managed by Cambridge Past Present and Future (formerly the Cambridge Preservation Society) they carefully tend the grounds to encourage a diversity of fauna and flora making this a fine destination for families and nature-lovers.  Yet, incredibly, until now it hasn't been a particularly convenient place to reach by bike.

This is because the journey necessitated cycling along a 2km section of the Babraham Road (A1307) with fast-moving traffic passing at a close distance.  Supposed safety improvements in 2003 consisted of narrowing the width of the outbound lane leading up the hill to Wandlebury in the belief that this would cause traffic to slow down.  Whether it had the desired effect or not is debatable, but it certainly caused fast-moving vehicles to pass cyclists at ever closer distances.  Not surprisingly, many residents chose to make the journey by car instead.

Wishing to encourage visitors to arrive at Wandlebury by bicycle, CambridgePPF took the bold step of applying, together with Cambridgeshire County Council, for central Government funding for a new shared cycle path from the Babraham Park and Ride to the park entrance.  The bid for £585,000 was successful and construction work began on 12th April 2010.

Schematic from: County Council consultation plan, 2009

Official opening of the shared-use cycle path takes place on 6th August and Mr T plans to be on hand to participate in the opening celebrations and to see how well the shared cycleway operates.  A "consultation briefing note" of August 2009 proposed a shared use cycleway of 2.5 - 3.0 metres width; Cambridge Cycling Campaign favouring 3.0 metres.  Yet by the time approval was sought at Cambridgeshire County Council cabinet in September 2009, reference in the briefing paper was solely to "a 2.5 metre wide shared use path".  Such criticism notwithstanding, improved cycling routes around Cambridge are very much to be welcomed.  Well done all those who have made this cycleway a reality.