Pete is cycling to Blackpool ! (Sunday 10th July)

On Sunday 10th July, I will be joining an intrepid band of Manchester Friends of the Earth supporters cycling the 55+ miles from Manchester to sunny Blackpool to fundraise for Manchester FoE's and Love Your Bike's campaigning work.

The Love Your Bike campaign is co-ordinated by Manchester FoE so any support you can give will help LYB strengthen our campaigning for better cycling policies, infrastructure and practical support across Greater Manchester.  (See the Love Your Bike website for information on the LYB campaigns)

It would be great if you could join us on the bike ride on Sunday or consider sponsoring me or the Manchester FoE team.  All the Manchester FoE riders will be transported back to Manchester in style aboard a 1940's classic Big Red Bus (bikes downstairs, party upstairs!) so another great reason to join us on the day.

Details of the Manchester to Blackpool cycle ride organized by Bike Events available here.


Update (4th July). This just in from Bike Events

NO BIKES ON TRAINS:Trans Pennine Express, the train operator between Blackpool and Manchester, has informed us that they will not allow any bicycles on their trains on Sunday 10 July – the day of the ride.  Their reason for this is that they have found in previous years that the restricted space available causes friction between cyclists.

Good job we have a big red bus to bring us all back to Manchester then !

Bike Fabulous... cycling with style

Saturday 25th June, 11am - 5pm.

Manchester Arndale, Halle Square

Bike Fabulous 2011 will showcase clothes and accessories designed with cycling in mind, as well as everyday wear perfect for riding your bike and looking great.   The event will feature catwalks shows, demonstrations, competitions, and activities for all ages including the chance keep the music going using just pedal power!

Bike Fabulous began last year and was launched at the end of Bike Week 2010 with the first cycle style show at Manchester Arndale. The event was entirely pedal powered from sound to smoothies, and Saturday shoppers enjoyed the chance to look at a variety of bikes as well as customising their own reflective vests! One lucky visitor won a bike and there were plenty of of other prizes including a pampering day at Lush.

Cycling doesn’t mean sacrificing style for comfort. Bike Fabulous is part of Love Your Bike, a campaign promoting cycling as an attractive, accessible and fun way to get around.

Throughout Saturday 25th June, the event will include:

• Fashion catwalk shows that will feature products designed for cycling in style and high street brands combined for versatile looks. 
• Pedal powered PA system – sign up for a cycling session and help us power the event with green energy. 
• A bicycle magician.
• Dr Bike bicycle maintenance demonstrations.
• Pedal powered Smoothie maker – make a healthy drink and pedal yourself fitter at the same time.
• Craft activities for children to redesign and redecorate hi-vis vests.
• Advice and tips on looking good while you ride – including hair and makeup.
• Enter the prize draw competition for a Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative bicycle worth up to £350.
• Win a private party in Lush for up to 10 people including food & drink and many wonderful Lush treatments…. and much more.

Check www.bikefabulous.org for more details of events and great prizes.  @bikefabulous on Twitter.

Bike Fabulous Needs You!

If anyone would like to sign up for a little pedalling exercise to help power the music/PA system please contact Pete at pete@manchesterfoe.org.uk

 

A public service announcement.....

This just in from TfGM.....

"Manchester Cycling Survey

Transport for Greater Manchester is bidding for government funding to improve cycling and walking facilities across Greater Manchester.

To assist us in making this bid, we would like to ask for your help by completing this short survey about cycle parking facilities in the city centre and barriers to cycling around Manchester.

Your responses will help us to establish the extent of use of current cycle facilities, which facilities require improvement and where additional facilities may be required to improve cycling in Manchester initially, and then across Greater Manchester.

Please note that all responses will be anonymous.

Contact details are being requested to help us with future research, and will not be used in conjunction with responses to this survey.  If you have any questions about this survey, please feel free to contact Ian Davies at Ian.Davies@TfGM.com or by telephone; 0161 2441245.

Thank you for your help."

End of message.  

Editors note: the survey will be online till 15th July....

Update 4th July 2011: The TfGM survey is now closed.


There was a great response to the TfGM survey about cycle parking facilities in the city centre and barriers to cycling around Manchester with 500+ completed surveys.


Also, a fair few people responded asking "what about my area" !   In the light of these responses, it is rumoured that TfGM will be carrying out a GM-wide survey in the not-too-distant future. Meanwhile, a overview of the Manchester City Centre survey results will shortly be available via the survey website.

Caption contest.....

OK !  Recently spotted this sign near Manchester Town Hall on Princess Street and am wondering what exactly its purpose is?

Does the sign mean that it is a slightly half-hearted cycle way or perhaps a total lunch-out cycle way...?  Am I allowed to cycle on the ramp where it has been posted and, if so, why is there not a similar sign at the other end of the ramp route?

If people are not supposed to cycle on the ramped pavement where this sign has been placed - why not put a "no cycling" sign - and if people don't understand the logo sign then spell it out in words.

And here's me thinking that in the "Age of Austerity" that City Councils are supposed to be strapped for cash... am tempted to send in a Freedom of Information Act request to ask how much was spent on this splendid example from the Department of Silly Signs...

Meanwhile... would welcome suggestions from readers of this blog for any suitable alternative captions.... there maybe a (small) prize for the best (and printable!) suggestion.... now there's a challenge.

Yours in puzzlement.

TfGM... cycling towards a sustainable transport plan?

Well the bids are in and now everyone has to wait for the Department for Transport (DfT) equivalent of the white smoke from the papal chimney....I am off course referring to the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) bids that have been submitted seeking a slice of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund available from national government.  The Local Sustainable Transport Fund (or LSTF) is a Department for Transport funding scheme for "projects which stimulate economic growth whilst reducing carbon emissions." and TfGM have submitted two bids.

The "key component bid" (up to £5 million) for the Greater Manchester Commuter Cycle Project was submitted on Monday 18th April and the 'Large Project' bid (up to £45 million) was sent off on Monday 6th June.

The main element in the "key component" bid is for several large Cycle Centres (to be located in Manchester City Centre and possibly Media City) and a number of other smaller scale cycle parking/storage facilities. Whilst, the jury is still out in many cities on whether the large Cycle Centres will flourish or prove to be expensive white elephants there is a clear need across Greater Manchester for more and better cycle parking and storage facilities.


The "key component" bid also contains funding for a range of "Cycle Support Measures" including the provision of cycle training and the bid document states that:  "Bikeability Level 3 training will be provided for adults along their route to work, or as part of their work, particularly targeting new cycle commuters. Cycle training will also be offered to all those taking up the Bike Back to Work offer." (Page 11)  

The bid document goes on to state: "A central pool of some 3,330 places will be funded by LSTF funding, to be matched by a similar level of locally funded training." and that "Beyond 2014/15 the full costs of a cycle training programme will be met from local resources." It will be interesting to see if the 10 GM local authorities will still agree to the funding for adult cycle training beyond 2014/15 - even if the LSTF bid is unsuccessful.

Those nice people at Love Your Bike helped lobby Manchester City Council to introduce adult cycle training (for more details see the Freewheeling website) and over the last few years have been encouraging all GM local authorities to introduce similar schemes... so are delighted to see this included in TfGM's key component bid.

The snappily titled "Large Project Bid" was for just under £45 million and is an "expression of interest" which, if it makes it through the first round at the end of July, will be developed further with Department of Transport officers between August and December 2011.

Because the LSTF is a "competitive bid process", ie TfGM are bidding for funding against any of the other Metropolitan areas in England and Wales, the detailed bid documents were not available for public consultation.


A brief "Vision for Sustainability' document was circulated to a small number of organisations before the bid deadline. One of the "outcomes" listed was the aim to achieve a "doubling of commuter mode share for cycling into the Regional Centre and a 50% increase elsewhere, delivering over 7,000 additional commuter cycle trips per day and replacing around 420,000 car trips per year." (Page 9).

Which sounds ambitious, until you realise that current levels of cycling into the City Centre (during the AM peak time) are estimated to be a 1.1% modal share. Therefore the 'target' is to go from 1.1% of travel trips being made by bicycle to a grand 2.2%.   Compare this to Copenhagen's current cycling modal share of over 40% !

It is also interesting to note the comment in Manchester City Council's Local Area Implementation Plan (LAIP) which states that: "Cycle journeys into the City Centre have doubled in the last 3 years and walking trips have increased by over 80%."  [Page 21]

Whenever discussing statistics it is always worth remembering Mark Twain's "lies, damned lies, and statistics" observation. However, if cycle journeys into the City Centre have already doubled over the last 3 years, then given that TfGM are asking for up to £50 million of Local Sustainable Transport Funds, it does seem a little unambitious to set a similar target (although of course the actual number of people cycling would be much larger than in the previous 3 years).

The Large Project Bid document is now available and outlines proposed projects in 4 main themes:

• Sustainable Access to Key Destinations and Transport Hubs
• Supporting sustainable choices
• Smarter Travel
• Enabling community transport

In the 'Supporting sustainable choices'  section the document describes how cycling training provides a "cost-effective means of giving adult cyclists the confidence to cycle to work and to cycle as part of their daily lives. It has already been successfully trialled in Manchester and Trafford, and the bid includes proposals to roll this out across the rest of the conurbation." (Page 10). Tucked away on Page 22 is a budget allocation for £2.9 million for Cycle training. If the LSTF bid is successful this revenue funding would support cycle training for 36,000 people in Greater Manchester over a 3 year period. 

Now, when adult cycle training is discussed, comments often run along the lines of "why do people need cycle training, anyone can ride a bike".  However, academic research has shown that between 7% and 12% of adults never learnt to ride a bicycle and the results from the Manchester Freewheeling adult cycle training scheme has shown that approx 20% of all the cycle training places were for "Learn to Ride" sessions i.e. for people who could not ride a bike - but in most cases could cycle after attending the training sessions.

Also, taking into account the large number of people who can cycle - but do not have the confidence or experience to cycle on the roads in Greater Manchester - then adult cycle training can have a big impact in helping and encouraging people to start, or return to, cycling.

If TfGM's Local Sustainable Transport Fund bids are successful, then Greater Manchester will have a mega adult cycle training scheme and this is very, very welcome....  and this element of the LSTF bid certainly cannot be described as unambitious! 

....but I cannot help wondering what effect such a huge cycle training programme would have on those damn statistics!


Update 5th July


Norman Baker M.P, the Transport Minister today announced the local authorities who had been awarded Local Sustainable Transport Funds for their "key component" bids.  Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) have been awarded the full £4.9 million requested for the Greater Manchester Commuter Cycle Project "key component bid".  Good news.

Say goodbye to cycling down Cross St / Corporation Street ?

Metrolink – proposed Second City Crossing (2CC).

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has just launched a 12-week statutory consultation on proposals for a second Metrolink line across Manchester City Centre which will run between Deansgate (GMEX) and Victoria via Cross Street to help prevent City Centre bottlenecks on the tram network.

The proposed route runs along Lower Mosley Street, through St Peters Square and along Princess Street (by the Town Hall) before turning right into Cross Street. The artists impression (right) is from the Second City Crossing Route proposal (page 28) presented to the GM Integrated Transport Authority committee meeting on 18th March 2011.   It may only be an artist’s impression but shows no provision for cycle routes/paths and Manchester's cycle campaigns are concerned that the new Metrolink route result in the loss of Cross Street/Coronation Street as a well-used low-traffic,  two-way route for people cycling across the City Centre.

One of the pinch points will be the area between Marks & Spencers and the main Arndale building where the road is fairly narrow. It is rumoured that the "solution" in this area will be to create "shared use" pavements.  As one of the busiest shopping and (pedestrian) commuter streets in the City Centre it does not seem much of a solution to me - more a recipe for collisions with pedestrians (and yes, I know that people could get off and walk their bikes through that section but unfortunately many people don't/won't).  

Now it is likely that many people will simply cycle along the tram tracks but not a solution that is likely to appeal to people new to cycling or encourage people to try cycling for the first time.

The latest GM Local Transport Plan (LTP3) contains a number of Priority Commitments.  One of which boldly states that: “Our proposals set out ways to… remove barriers to cycling” (page 44). If Manchester wants to increase the number of people cycling then it is vital that there are safe and pleasant cycle routes across the City Centre.  In transport planning jargon we need to increase the ‘permeability’ of the city.  

I do not believe that the Metrolink consultation will see any major changes to the new tram route but we could use the consultation process to raise the need for better (and more pleasant) cross-city cycle routes and to lobby for Manchester City Council to include such designs and improvements in any negotiations with Metrolink - a similar process to the Section 106 funding often required for planning approval.  It only seems reasonable that if Metrolink remove access to a cross-city cycle route that they be required to fund suitable replacement routes (or am I being hopelessly naive and optimistic?).

If you would like to send TfGM your views on this issue then the deadline for consultation reponses is 9th September 2011.

TfGM say that they would like to hear the views of local residents, community organisations, businesses and anyone who visits the city centre for work or leisure.  There are 3 ways to send in your views....

• via the online consultation form.
• return the response form in the brochure available from Travelshops in Piccadilly Gardens and Shudehill Interchange or at one of our public exhibitions (see website for dates/locations).
• Email 2cc.metrolink@tfgm.com with your comments

Happy consulting !

PS the Metrolink 2nd City Crossing issue will be discussed at the Manchester Cycle Forum on Tuesday 14th June.  Venue: University Place (Oxford Road), Room 5.205.  Time: 5.15 - 6.30pm.

More details should be available on MCC Cycle Forum webpage.

DIY publicity : 'This one runs on fat & saves you money'

Love Your Bike's Fast Lane / Fat Lane poster

Bike Week will soon be upon us (18th - 26th June) and if you are looking for striking images to promote the benefits of cycling then Love Your Bike's Fast Lane / Fat Lane advert is a great example. Created in 2006, the strapline of 'Burn calories, save cash, get there on time" provides a short, pithy summary of some of the (many) benefits of choosing to cycle instead of driving. But, using the poster on bus and billboard advertising spaces does not come cheap.

So if your budget doesn't stretch to billboard size proportions, this example of stencil art / street graffiti may fit the bill.

Photographed by Carlton Reid in Adelaide, Australia and designed by Peter Drew, the photo image has been picked up by many blogs and websites around the world including the Fat Cycle Rider who is 31 years old and weighing in at 21 stone bought a bicycle and hopes that cycling will be the "start of the rest of his life!"

Am sure that all lovely local craft shops have all the bits n pieces needed to make a simple stencil ....

Digging a hole, don't dig there, dig it elsewhere !

"...When along comes this bloke in a bowler which he lifted and scratched his head.

Well he looked down the hole, poor demented soul and he said. Do you mind if I make a suggestion? Don’t dig there, dig it elsewhere. Your digging it round and it ought to be square. The shape of it’s wrong, it’s much much too long. And you can’t put hole where a hole don’t belong..."

Younger (!) readers may not be familiar with the lyrics to the Hole in the Ground song made famous by Bernard Cribbins but it seemed apt  for the subject of this blog posting.

One of my frequent cycle routes into Manchester City Centre takes me along Charles Street past the (very fine) Lass O'Gowrie pub and my return trip often goes down Princess Street and turns right back onto Charles Street.  There used to be two fine specimens of Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs) - otherwise known as big green boxes - at the Charles Street / Princess Street junction. That was until some contractor, working for one of the utility companies, came along and dug up the road and unfortunately did not seem to feel the necessity to return the cycling infrastructure to its former glory.  

Now it is very nice of Manchester council tax payers to fund the development of cycling infrastructure - but it seems a little strange that Manchester Council should have to spend more money repairing the damage caused by contractors working for privatised utility companies (Ed... does that count as a hidden subsidy?).

Well according to the Department for Transport (DfT) document "Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways: Second Edition 2002" (who said we were sad!).  Section 6.4.5.4 Coloured Surfacings states that : "Coloured surfacings used to highlight highway features such as speed warnings, bus or cycle lanes, ‘gateways’ etc. shall be permanently reinstated using like materials of equivalent type and similar colour, subject to the following requirements: 

a) Where the coloured surfacing is overlaid onto a road surface, a coloured overlay shall be applied to the same thickness. 
b) Where the coloured surfacing is laid full depth, a coloured material shall be laid to the same thickness, wherever possible and practical. Where it is not possible or practical, the coloured surfacing material shall be reinstated by agreement.

c) Some high friction surfacing materials that are coloured have a limited manufacturer’s guarantee and may be subject to wear and abrasion during the guarantee period. However, the reinstated area shall not be inferior to the adjoining surface during the guarantee period."

Which seems a very long winded way of saying - put it back as you found it!


So bearing in mind the above snippets... I sent an email (with the above photos) to Manchester City Council Highways Services asking if they had the powers to request (dare we say - order?) the utility company / contractors to repair the damage and reinstate the ASLs.... and received a very quick response saying that they had initiated a "streetworks defect" order - which is all very encouraging although there was no indication of how long one of these would take to come into effect.

However, in November 2010 in a report to the "Communities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee" the Interim Head of Services stated in Section 2.2. Inspection frequency that: "The frequency of inspection is based primarily on the level of use and importance of the section of highway in question. In general, all highwainspected at six monthly intervals however, principal routes are inspected at three monthly intervals and the City Centre and busy parts of district centres are inspected on a monthly basis." [Emphasis added]

Well, I think it is fair to argue that Princess Street would be classed as a busy part of the City Centre but it seemed more than one month had elapsed since the vandalism of the ASLs. 
So I wrote back to the nice Council officer and asked for the following information: a) when was the work on the highway, which resulted in the degrading of the ASLs, originally carried out, and b) which utility company/contractor carried out that work.

Not exactly asking for state secrets so was rather surprised to receive the following response:

"I am advised that this information cannot be made available. I think it is a question of who owns this data. It's been suggested that you could consider putting in a request under the Freedom of Information Act, so perhaps this route is worth pursuing?"

Why such a bureaucratic and secretive response?  Is MCC's Highways Services seriously arguing that, despite holding details of all the organisations which are authorised to carry out road and street works in Manchester and presumably authorising when said companies can dig up the roads Manchester, that they do not "own"  this data ! 

Pursue it?  Indeed I will... updates as they wend their way to my inbox.

But next time you see cycling infrastructure that has been damaged by utility company contractors why not drop a line to your Council's Highway Services and remind them that they can (and should) be requiring the contractors to "put it back the way they found it".

Lets hope it does not end up like the last verse of Bernard Cribben's song...."Well there we were, discussing this hole. Hole in the ground so big and sort of round it was. It’s not there now, the ground’s all flat. And beneath it is the bloke in the bowler hat. And that’s that."


Update (1st July 2011)

Well you will just have to hold breath a little longer for the MCC Highways response to the Freedom of Information Act request submitted on 3rd June which sought the following information. 

"For the Charles Street / Princess Street junction area:

a) when (date) was the work on the highway, which resulted in the the damage to the Advanced Stop Lines (ASLs), originally carried out?

b) which utility company/contractor was authorised to carry out that work?

c) were the completed road works inspected by Manchester City Council staff, and if so,

i) on what dates were the inspection(s) undertaken?
ii) what information was recorded as a result of any inspections?
iii) what actions, if any, were initiated as a result of the inspections?


Well the 20 working days period (as outlined in the FOI legislation) for responding to FOI requests was up yesterday but what I received was the following:


"Thank you for you recent Freedom of Information Request regarding works on Charles Street / Princess Street.   Unfortunately we have been unable to complete your request with the time scale previously given.  Once we are in receipt of all information we will then be in a position to respond and l will contact you further."

Now, the FoI legislation does allow public bodies to take more time to respond to information requests (as long as they let you know) but am a little puzzled about why it is taking so long to respond to, what should be, a very simple request.  Or am I missing something here.....