Policeman shoots racoon, injures cyclist.....

This just in from Road.cc 

"On Sunday morning, a 48-year old cyclist riding his bike near New York state’s Rockefeller State Park was slightly injured by a fragment from, or dislodged by, a bullet fired by a police officer who had been requested to shoot a racoon. Lohud.com reports that the animal was discovered sick or injured by the State Park police who requested one of their colleagues from the nearby town police force be sent to put the creature out of its misery. 

Here in the UK a vet might be considered an appropriately qualified professional to euthanize a sick or injured animal but it seems that in the US the job can be carried out just as effectively by policeman equipped with a .40-calibre handgun. Having despatched the unfortunate critter the officer moved it to the side of the road and returned to his regular patrol duties.

Some time later that morning the cyclist rode up to Sleepy Hollow Police Headquarters (no, we are NOT making this up) and explained that while riding his bike he had heard a gunshot and immediately felt a stinging pain in his leg whereupon he looked down to see a small cut on his left shin.At the time he was situated at a spot about 170ft from the where the racoon came to its sticky end, separated from it by a major four-lane highway, heavy woodland and a fence.The cyclist then rode the two or three miles from the scene of the incident to the police station to report it.Police insisted the man receive medical attention and he was taken to a local hospital where no bullet fragment was found. The local Police Chief, Louis Alagno, said: "It appears to be a freakish accident. The officer took all proper precautions. Thankfully, the bike rider was not seriously hurt." Without a bullet or some other fragment, Alagno said it is impossible to determine exactly what struck the rider."

Hopefully not one of the barriers to encouraging people to cycle in Greater Manchester !

Inactivity..."the silent killer"

On 11th July, the Department for Health (DH) and NHS released a new report on the benefits of physical activity and the risks from inactivity.  The'Start Active, Stay Active - A report on physical activity for health from the four home countries’ Chief Medical Officers' document  highlights that 

"whatever our age, there is good scientific evidence that being physically active can help us lead healthier and even happier lives. We also know that inactivity is a silent killer."

For adults (19–64 years) the report recommends that (page 7):

1. Adults should aim to be active daily. Over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate intensity activity in bouts of 10 minutes or more – one way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.
 

2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity spread across the week or a combination of moderate and vigorous intensity activity.
 

3. Adults should also undertake physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week.
 

4. All adults should minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary (sitting) for extended periods.

The report recognises the varied benefits that could be achieved by increasing the number of people choosing to cycle and walk and notes that:

"cycling and walking will reduce transport costs, save money and help the environment. Fewer car journeys can reduce traffic, congestion and pollution, improving the health of communities. Other potential benefits linked to physical activity in children and young people include the acquisition of social skills through active play (leadership, teamwork and co-operation), better concentration in school and displacement of anti-social and criminal behaviour." [Page 9]

Also welcome, is the recognition that for most people the "easiest and most acceptable forms of physical activity are those that can be incorporated into everyday life." Such as cycling instead of travelling by car. 

Table 4 below (page 18) shows the amount of calories a person would 'burn' if they cycle at  'moderate' (10-12mph) or 'vigourous' (12-14 mph) speeds for 30 minutes. (Editor... no wonder I am always hungry!).

It is great to see that the Department of Health and NHS are promoting clear guidance on the wide ranging benefits of increasing the numbers of people choosing to walk or cycle. But as the report also recognises (Creating towns and cities for cycling).... "Central to this is the need for cycling to be prioritised as part of local authority transport plans." (Emphasis added).  The challenge now is to translate the clear health (and environmental) benefits into a progressive strategy to improve the active travel (walking and cycling) facilities and culture in Greater Manchester.  The recent successful Local Sustainable Transport Fund bid could help with this, but compared to many European and North American cities - we still have a long way to go.

The Hub - Cycling Knowledge for Professionals.....and hopefully a few campaigners!

Just received an email from Richard Armitage, Chair of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) new Cycling Forum.

 

"Welcome to The Hub; new home for Cycling England's online resources. These pages are now hosted by The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport - CILT(UK) - as a free source of carefully selected guidance for anyone working to get more people cycling.

This site is currently being created with key resources from the former Cycling England website. Documents are available for download and the catalogue of reference material will be added to on a regular basis."  Visit: http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/pages/cycling

Haven't checked it out yet... but it is good that a new home has been created for the excellent materials produced by Cycling England before they fell foul of the Government's shortsighted and ill-conceived "bonfire of the quangos".

Public Service Announcement #2

Cycling Survey. The Visions for Walking and Cycling is a research project which seeks to assess the potential in the UK for achieving substantial increases in walking and cycling, and in improving the quality of the walking and cycling experience, by 2030. By taking part in this research you will be helping us to better understand your perceptions and experiences about cycling, particularly in terms of what helps and hinders you in cycling, and in how we can improve the physical environment to improve the cycling experience.

Your views will really help us to suggest to government how the cycling infrastructure can be improved - so thank you for your help, it is really appreciated!  Please click this link to take part in our questionnaire:

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), this research commenced in October 2008 and involves the universities of Leeds, Oxford, East Anglia, Salford and Manchester, in consultation with local walking and cycling groups in four UK cities. It builds upon a growing recognition that walking and cycling can make a considerable contribution to sustainable transport goals, public health and the sociability of communities.

For more details see the Visions 2030 website.

Brompton pods...coming to a train station near you?

On 7th July, South West Trains  launched the UK’s first ‘self-service’ Brompton Bicycle rental scheme at Guildford Station (see photo).  The solar-powered Brompton bike dock has been installed by a partnership between South West Trains and Brompton Bicycle, the folding bike manufacturer

The scheme is designed to "encourage passengers to cycle as part of a fully integrated low carbon journey combining bike and train."

The company offers bikes for hire to South West Trains season ticket holders and the general public. These bikes have no travel restrictions and can be carried on all South West Trains services as long as the folding cycles are stowed as luggage.

The Brompton dock currently holds 50 bikes (but can be expanded up to 80 bikes) in the same area as one car parking space. The dock is a ‘self-contained’ unit entirely powered by solar-panels, manufactured in the UK and is made from 95% of recycling material. Passengers who want to cycle to or from Guildford station and use the dock should register and purchase a smartcard online  for £50 a year. To hire a bike simply swipe the card on a locker door, take the bike, and off you go.  The hire period can be for as short or long as you like, and hire prices go from £4 for a single day hire, to £2 per day for hires of seven days or more, dropping to £1.60 per day if you for hire periods of 23 days and up.


The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted the small posters, with the slogan "From bike to train with just a snap, click and fold" that have been appearing at Manchester Piccadilly train station advertising a Brompton hire scheme based at Stoke train station.  (See photo).

The Brompton system at Stoke station is reported to be a "manual" system with human operators handing out the Brompton bicycles (and presumably showing some people how to fold/unfold the bikes!).

Now, there are strong rumours that Manchester Piccadilly will soon (!) be getting an automated Brompton docking system  a-la Guildford...... although there appear to be some security concerns as Piccadilly is classed as nationally important transport infrastructure... but hopefully such concerns can be sorted.  More details as they arrive.....