2010 : The Year of the Bicycle ?

Well lets hope so.  There is plenty of evidence that increasing the number of people cycling can help reduce air pollution, traffic congestion, obesity levels and C02 emissions.  More positively, increasing cycling levels can help people become fitter, healthier as well as save money. (Re)designing and (re)engineering communities to make it easier, safer and more desirable to walk and cycle can also help to improve social cohesion at the community level. 

Some of this work will require funding and unfortunately Manchester was unsuccessful in its 2008 bid to become the first Cycling Demonstration City and neither did Greater Manchester get shortlisted in 2009 for the Sustainable Travel City funding.




But 2010 will provide many opportunities (and challenges) to increase the resources available to improve the cycling facilities and level of cycling promotion within Greater Manchester.

Here are a couple of things to look out for:


Local Transport Plan (LTP3) for Greater Manchester.  This Plan will decide how much funding will be allocated for promoting "active travel" (cycling & walking) and will be drafted and consulted on during 2010.   Various campaign groups will be lobbying to increase the resources made available for cycling.  Give them a hand if you can.


Local Development Framework (LDF).  During 2010 many of the Greater Manchester councils will be consulting on their draft Core Strategies.  When completed these LDFs will replace the Unitary Development Plans (UDPs) for each Council.  Now this may all sound very, very dull (and it often is) but these documents will set the planning frameworks to 2025 (or beyond).  So what, I hear you ask?  Well here is one example, if you want better cycle parking facilities outside buildings, offices and local shops then lobby your Council to include better cycle parking guidance in their Core Strategy document. This will set the amounts of cycle parking that the Planning Departments will require any new (or redeveloped) buildings to provide.  (See the No Place to Park (My Bike) post)

Manchester's Climate Change Action Plan includes some interesting references to developing cycle facilities and cycling promotion. These include:

• Smarter choices will be easier to make. Cycle and pedestrian routes will cross the city region, making it easy to get around without cars. Our workplaces will encourage cycling and walking to work with storage, changing facilities and bike rental schemes 

• Invest in active transport such as a City Centre network of Cycle Centres; pedestrian and cycleroutes; and interchange and storage facilities at public transport and cycling destinations.
  

• Support businesses and other organisations in developing sustainable and low carbon travel plans, including car sharing, car pools, public transport ticket schemes, workplace cycle facilities and flexible working.

• Develop mechanisms to encourage more people to cycle and walk as part of their own travel plan.

• There will be workplace facilities for cyclists, walkers and runners and advice available for those looking to travel more sustainably as well as adult bicycle training to give people the confidence to travel by bicycle.

• A major programme of development and investment will have extended the reach andintegration of the city’s public transport network and there will be a wider network of cycle paths available, too.

Which all sound nice and lovely, but as with all plans the hard part is to convert the nice words into real actions. So here is one challenge for 2010. Another is to encourage the other 9 Greater Manchester councils to develop Climate Change Action Plans that go beyond what Manchester is promising to do.

Local Elections.  All 10 Greater Manchester councils will be holding elections for local councillors in May.  Even if you don't want to vote for them..... why not ask the candidates if they support increasing the number of people cycling and what they will do to achieve this ?

This stuff works! Supporting increased cycle training and promotion can deliver. Last December, Cycling England reported that the use of bicycles had increased by 27 per cent on average in the six cycle demonstration towns it supported between 2005 and 2008. Cycling England calclated that "each pound spent on cycling in Aylesbury, Brighton and Hove, Darlington, Derby, Exeter and Lancaster delivered benefits worth £2.59 in reduced mortality as people became more physically active"  (Cycle towns show benefit)

So have a Happy New Year and lets hope that "to start cycling again" or "to cycle more" are two New Year Resolutions that many more people get to keep.

Desperately seeking Member Champions for Cycling

In February 2008, Cycling England wrote to all local highway authorities in England encouraging them to agree to appoint a "Member Champion for Cycling".

Cycling England suggested this idea because they wanted to support local authorities to increase the promote of cycling and recognised that elected Councillors play a key role in setting the priorities of their Councils. The invitation outlined the range of support that Cycling England were offering to councillors who signed up to become a Member Champion for Cycling. This included a number of benefits for the local authority, including:

• Assisting the local authority in meeting a wide range of policy targets and objectives
• Facilitating the proper consideration of cycling in the various council meetings and other activities
• Improving relations with external stakeholder groups, particularly those involving local cyclists
• Enabling the Council to tap into best practice in other authorities and to link into the free support available from Cycling England.
• Offering personal and professional development opportunities for those taking on the role.
• Encouraging networking between individual councillors with an interest in promoting cycling.

Cycling England were also offering a funded toolkit to support designated Member Champions for cycling in local highway authorities, including districts with agency agreements covering highways / traffic. This comprised:

• Welcome pack, including advice on best practice, key references and a flexible presentation on how cycling can contribute to a council’s policies and strategies.
• A support hotline to Cycling England’s consultancy team.
• Each Champion can make use of Cycling England consultants’ time in support of their role, involving phone / email support, meetings / site visits as appropriate.
• Cycling Champions email discussion group linking them to Champions in other authorities.
• Regular e-newsletter and publishing advice / guidance for champions
• Free attendance at Cycling England led professional training events for Champions on existing and emerging cycling issues (subject to demand).
• National Standard Level 3 cycle training ‘refresher’ course to bring the Champion up to date on developments in cycle training, including the new Bikeability programme.
  

 Which all sounds really goovy and very helpful. So thinking that it would be useful to know how many Greater Manchester councils had taken up Cycling England's kind offer of support, but having failed to find any details on the various council websites, we submitted Freedom of Information requests to all ten GM councils asking for details.

Now all you devotees of the Freedom of Information Act will know that local government bodies covered by the Act are supposed to respond to requests within 20 working days or at least tell you that they are going to take longer to give you an answer.

So how did the Greater Manchester councils perform?  Well all but one Council answered within the 20 working days with Oldham Council topping the chart responding within a blisteringly fast response of one day. The response times for the other councils were:  Bolton (4 days), Salford (5),  Trafford (6),  Stockport (8), Rochdale (9), Wigan (11), Bury (18), Tameside (18). Manchester didn't manage to respond within the 20 working days timeline and as this blog goes to press the clock is still counting.....

But have any of the local authorities seen fit to take up Cycling England's kind offer of really useful support and appointed a Member Champion for Cycling we hear you ask?  Well the results were:

Bolton:  None (See note 1)

Bury:  None (See note 2)

Manchester: None (See note 3)

Oldham:  Stephen Barrow. Appointed 12/2/2009.  (Email: stephen.barrow@oldham.gov.uk)

Rochdale: Wera Hobhouse.  (Email: wera.hobhouse@rochdale.gov.uk)

Salford: Jim Dawson. Appointed 3/2009.  (Email: councillor.dawson@salford.gov.uk)

Stockport: Stuart Bodsworth. Appointed 5/2008. (Email: cllr.stuart.bodsworth@stockport.gov.uk)

Tameside: None (See note 4).

Trafford: None (See note 5)

Wigan. None


So far only 40% councils within Greater Manchester are making use of the support offered by Cycling England with Bury suggesting that they are "anticipating making an appointment in the very near future" which will take the tally up to 50%.

Five councils have not appointed a Member Champion for Cycling although four of these (Bolton, Manchester, Tameside and Trafford) do have councillors with cycling somewhere within their remits.

Assuming that there were no onerous strings attached to the support being offered by Cycling England it seems very odd that so many Councils have declined to make the most of the support being offered from the national body responsible for promoting cycling in England. Specially at a time when most Council's are claiming that they want to promote and increase cyling levels.

We do hope it's not because the various Councils couldn't meet the "person specification" required to nominate a Councillor as a Member Champion for Cycling which required:

"A councillor who is a regular cyclist. You could be an executive or a nonexecutive member, depending on your Council’s policy on Champions. You will have technical support from competent, senior, officers."

Perhaps readers would like to email the Councillors below and ask them if they intend to join Cycling England's scheme.



Notes:

(1) Bolton Council has not specifically appointed a Member Champion for Cycling, but does have Members assigned to the Bolton Cycle Forum to promote cycling within their political parties and the Authority as a whole.

Members: 
Councillor John Byrne             (Email: john.byrne@bolton.gov.uk)
Councillor Richard Silvester  (Email: richard.silvester@bolton.gov.uk)
Councillor Michael Hollick      (Email: micheal.hollick@bolton.gov.uk)
Councillor David Chadwick   (Email: david.chadwick@bolton.gov.uk)
Councillor John Higson          (Email:  john.higson@bolton.gov.uk)


(2) The Executive Member for Environment & Transport has discussed the matter with senior officers of Bury Council and is anticipating making an appointment in the very near future.


(3)  Lead councillor for cycling is Emily Lomax. Email: cllr.e.lomax@manchester.gov.uk


(4)  The following Members have specific interests within their portfolios:  Alan Whitehead, Andrew Doubleday (Chair of Council Cycle Forum), Barrie Holland (Chair Carbon Reduction Panel).

For Andrew Doubleday and Barrie Holland  email: angela.monks@tameside.gov.uk
Alan Whitehead email jan.jackson@tameside.gov.uk

(5)  the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Alan Mitchell, has as part of his remit the promotion of cycling within the borough. He will receive updates from the Cycle Forum, and reports about cycling measures being implemented across the borough.  (Email: alan.mitchell@trafford.gov.uk)

Cycle Centre Proposals for Manchester and Salford

The Cycling England - Feasibility Report on proposed Manchester and Salford Cycle Centres has recently been made available.

The report summary states that there "is evident potential for growth in cycling in Manchester and Salford. This growth is being constrained by the lack of secure parking.To meet this need there are funds available to create a number of Cycle Centres providing a range of services across the regional centre."

It is great that there are funds available for cycle centres, although the report does not  provide any details of the amount of funding and how many cycle centres this will support.

What is a Cycle Centre?
The report  describes a ‘cycle centre’ as a facility that may provide a range of services including one or more of following:

• Secure, covered cycle parking either self parked or by staff (full or part time) 
• Cycle information including security (locking one’s cycle), travel planning and links to public transport 
• Cycle hire 
• Sale of parts and new cycles 
• Repairs 
• Lockers for storage of clothing and cycle equipment 
• Showers and changing facilities 
• Clothes drying facilities 
• Food and drink (café or vending machines) 
• Cycle cleaning 
• Free use of tyre pump 
• Cycle training 
• Cycle maintenance classes

but at a minimum any Cycle Centre should provide secure cycle parking and one other service.

The report identified a number of potential sites including:

• Piccadilly Station: Site 2 - Station Approach
• Piccadilly Station: Site 4 - Fairfield Street/London Road
• Aquatic Centre
• Piccadilly Station: Site 3 – Fairfield Street
• Piccadilly Gardens
• Salford Quays and Kennedy St 

and currently the reports' consultants are carrying out a more detailed evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of each these suggested sites. They are due to deliver a prioritised list of site(s) for the Cycle Centre very soon.


Watch this space for further news......